As temperatures rise and summer draws near, sports practices head outside, but with those skyrocketing temperatures, the risk of heat-related illnesses increases. According to the Arkansas Department of Health, 17 Arkansans died as a result of heat-related illnesses in 2011. Heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke can occur from prolonged exposure to the extreme heat that accompanies an Arkansas summer. Many sports teams from sch...

CABOT — With a full-time job in Little Rock and plenty of after-school commitments for her son, Peyton, 8, Andrea Beedle has been putting in lots of evening hours to get her new business off the ground. When it opens in early June, her paint-your-own pottery store, Fired Up Cabot, will join a growing number of craft-oriented businesses owned by Cabot-area mothers. In 2011, stay-at-home mom Amy Belk started Knitty Bitty Dreamers, selling knit...

Johnny Mullens can remember the exact moment he decided he was going to write a children’s book. It was Dec. 26, 2011, and he was driving home from visiting his aunt in Oklahoma over the holidays. He had stopped at a restaurant in Fort Smith and started scrawling notes for what would eventually become his first book, Johnny’s Family Goes Camping. The book — available in print and e-book form on Amazon.com — is a combination of two of ...

SALEM — Of all the things that draw visitors to the annual Fulton County Homecoming Festival, the biggest pull may come in the form of apple pie. At the end of the Bank of Salem Mark Thomas Memorial Apple Pie Run, homemade apple pies await the top 20 runners. It’s a unique motivational tool for the 5K runners, and race organizer Sherry Jackson said the reward draws racers from as far as Jacksonville.

AUGUSTA — Sixteen years after she first started working with the fest, Janice Beard is still nervous as the Augusta Days Festival approaches. She wants it to be a success. Each year, Beard finally lets out a sigh of relief as the Sunday night fireworks show marks the end of another year.

SEARCY — Nine months after relocating to be closer to the students it serves, Searcy K-Life is going strong. The ministry, which stands for Kanakuk Life, is an interdenominational Christian organization that reaches Searcy youth through Bible studies, mission trips and after-school activities. On its website, K-Life’s mission is described as “the ability to build relationships with kids and bring the content of God’s word to bear on those rela...

McCRORY — For the residents of McCrory, mosquitoes in May aren’t a reason to break out the citronella candles just yet. Mosquitoes are a reason to celebrate. The 2013 event marks the 28th year for the community’s Mosquitofest, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday in downtown McCrory. Betty Kate Thompson, McCrory Area Chamber of Commerce president and coordinator of Mosquitofest, said the festival started out as a joke.

PLEASANT PLAINS — As identical twins, Destany Standard Lytle and Felisha Standard have often been mistakenly identified. And, at least once, the sisters tried to be mistaken for each other on purpose. “I remember when we were in second grade in Corning, we wanted to take each other’s test, but when it came time to do it, we couldn’t,” Felisha said. “We both started crying and told the teacher we were trying to switch places.”

HORSESHOE BEND — This year, Horseshoe Bend celebrates its 50th anniversary. In 1963, it was incorporated as a town. Five years earlier, this area of northeast Izard County was known as Gobbler’s Knob. It was all forestland except for a few cow pastures. Houses were few, and roads were fewer. In the 1950s, brothers Bill and Dick Pratt purchased land on the Knob.