Friday Facts: September 11, 2026

What do you say about a moment as remarked upon as 9/11? 

The 25th anniversary of that terrible day brings an obligation of remembrance, yet even the veteran writer recognizes the futility (or heresy) of trying to express something new or different.

So today, in this week’s commentary, I decided simply to share what I’m telling my children about that day.

– Kyle Wingfield

Friday’s Freshest 🗞️

Georgia has averaged roughly a million new residents per decade, drawn by an economy that rewards showing up and doing the work, but what a paycheck is worth isn’t set by the employer alone. Here are five key questions that show where Georgia still has room to improve.

Arkansas billed its Medicaid expansion as the conservative alternative, using federal dollars to buy private insurance for able-bodied adults instead of enrolling them in traditional Medicaid. But the experiment produced steep cost overruns and no improvement in the state’s health outcomes.

Much of the data center pushback focuses on water consumption, but this is overblown. But a closer look at these concerns shows that some of the loudest objections do not survive contact with the numbers.

Most people are probably aware that where they receive their healthcare affects the price. But perhaps less intuitive is that the payment can change depending on who owns the healthcare facility.

Peach Picks 🍑

​​A small community in northwest Georgia is under consideration for the state’s next large data center. The proposed 350,000-square-foot facility would be located in Kingston in Bartow County.

Gov. Kemp announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the state $500 million to help communities impacted by Hurricane Helene strengthen the resilience of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and respond to water-related emergencies.

Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance infrastructure built and expanded in its aftermath has become part of a far larger digital ecosystem, producing tools that can collect and analyze information on a scale unimaginable in 2001.

Tariffs cost Georgians an estimated $4,771 per household, according to a report from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation on the effects of presidential and regulatory tariffs. The overall cost to the state is $20 billion, with automobile imports hit the hardest, according to the report.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced a $68 million deal to sell the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County after weeks of active negotiation. The sale stands to free up space at Fulton County’s main jail on Rice Street, which is overcrowded and understaffed.

In the Media 📺

Foundation Director of Policy and Research Chris Denson’s article on Dolly Parton’s Georgia connection and literacy legacy was republished in the Henry Herald. Denson notes that 62% of Georgia’s third graders are not reading proficiently and points to the new Georgia Early Literacy Act as the state’s latest effort to close that gap.

Featured Report 📊

As Georgia decides whether to renominate its Opportunity Zones or pick new ones, a Keystone Strategy analysis in partnership with the Foundation suggests sticking with what’s already working ways off more than starting over.

Quote of the Week 🌟

Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, America endured an attack meant not only to take innocent lives, but to strike at the ideals our nation represents. That evening, President George W. Bush reminded Americans why those ideals matter: “America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.”

Freedom is not merely an American inheritance. It is a responsibility. The liberties we enjoy endure only when each generation understands their value and is willing to defend them.

Today we remember the lives lost, the extraordinary courage shown by first responders and ordinary citizens and the resolve of a nation confronted by evil.