Governor’s portrait leaves a reflective Hutchinson all smiles
Outgoing Gov. Asa Hutchinson stared at his portrait during its unveiling Tuesday afternoon at the State Capitol and smiled, telling an audience filled with Cab…
Stories by Stephen Simpson
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Sanders to nominate Joe Profiri to lead state Department of Corrections, citing his experience at Arizona agency
Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced in a news release Tuesday that she will nominate Joe Profiri, a “key” player for the Arizona Department of Corr…
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Arkansas’ Bates, Cash statues receive final approvals, ready for bronzing
LITTLE ROCK -- The statues of civil-rights pioneer Daisy Bates and musician Johnny Cash destined for Statuary Hall inside the nation's Capitol were not complet…
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Arkansas’ Bates, Cash statues receive final approvals, ready for bronzing
The statues of civil-rights pioneer Daisy Bates and musician Johnny Cash destined for Statuary Hall inside the nation's Capitol were not completed by the end o…
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Sanders to nominate Washington County judge as secretary of Department of Transformation and Shared Services
Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced in a news release Friday she will nominate Washington County Judge Joseph Wood as secretary of the Department of Tr…
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Sanders to nominate Washington County judge as secretary of Department of Transformation and Shared Services
Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced in a news release Friday that she will nominate Washington County Judge Joseph Wood as secretary of the Departm…
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Sanders taps Florida education leader Oliva to replace Key as Arkansas’ secretary of education
Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Thursday that she will nominate a key official in Florida's education system as secretary for the Arkansas Depa…
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Sanders taps Florida education leader to replace Key as Arkansas' secretary of education
Jacob Oliva began his career as a special education teacher. Over the past 20 years, has has served in a variety of positions, including as a principal and sup…
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Sanders taps Walther to remain as Finance and Administration secretary
Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday announced her plan to reappoint Larry Walther as Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration.
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Sanders taps Walther to remain as Finance and Administration secretary
Sanders cited Walther's innovation while in the office as the reason she plans to reappoint him.
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Sanders will nominate Putnam as Department of Human Services secretary
Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday said she will nominate Kristi Putnam as secretary of the Department of Human Services and announced several ot…
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Bill proposes permanently adopting Daylight Savings Time in Arkansas
An effort to give Arkansans an extra hour of daylight is set to come up again during the legislative session that begins in January.
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Sanders will nominate Putnam as secretary of Department of Human Services
Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Tuesday her picks to lead the Arkansas Department of Human Services, including plans to nominate Kristi Putnam …
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Sanders taps former Entergy Arkansas official for commerce secretary
Sanders' pick, Hugh McDonald, said he plans on putting more funding into technical schools and secondary education.
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Arkansas attorney general files lawsuit against Paron couple
Leslie Rutledge said her office had received 22 consumer complaints against Stephen Rast and his wife, Taylor Wells.
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Hutchinson, others celebrate Blue Mountain Natural Area milestone
A project to connect trails throughout the Maumelle Pinnacles has reached a milestone with the completion of the first few miles of the state-acquired Blue Mou…
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Initiative aims to provide needed resources for Arkansas’ foster care system
Multiple public and private organizations will launch an analytics-driven initiative early next year to address the foster care crisis in Arkansas, a foster ca…
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Arkansas bars workers from using TikTok app on state-owned devices and computers
Arkansas has joined other states in banning the use of the social media app TikTok on state-owned devices and computers as two Republican legislators filed leg…
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Former Arkansas state auditor candidate fined $750, cited for campaign ethics violations
A former Democratic candidate for state auditor who was arrested during her campaign has been fined by the Arkansas Ethics Commission for multiple violations r…
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Former state auditor candidate fined, cited for campaign ethics violations
A former Democratic candidate for state auditor who was arrested during her campaign has been fined by the Arkansas Ethics Commission for multiple violations r…
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Rutledge to direct $140M to treasury; incoming attorney general undecided on transfer
Less than a month before she leaves her post, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Thursday that her office will transfer $140 million in opioid…
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Two medical marijuana firms big donors in issue vote
Two medical marijuana companies in Arkansas contributed more than $1 million each in an unsuccessful effort to get recreational marijuana legalized during Nove…
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2 medical pot firms in state big donors in issue vote
Two medical marijuana companies in Arkansas contributed more than $1 million each in an unsuccessful effort to get recreational marijuana legalized during Nove…
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Griffin announces staff, restructuring of attorney general’s office
Attorney General-elect Tim Griffin announced on Friday his senior staff and plans to restructure the state's legal team.
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Griffin announces staff, restructuring of attorney general's office
Attorney General-elect Tim Griffin announced the appointment of 18 senior staff positions as well as the creation of the Office of General Counsel.
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Republicans stack up on Arkansas House Education Committee
An assignment on the House Education Committee was the top pick for many lawmakers during the chamber's organizational session Monday at the Capitol.
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Finding quality child care key issue facing women in workforce, Arkansas commission finds
Finding quality childcare underlies many of the challenges facing women in Arkansas' workforce, but businesses, nonprofits and government agencies are working …
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Finding quality child care key issue facing women in workforce, Arkansas commission finds
Finding quality child care underlies many of the challenges facing women in Arkansas' workforce, but businesses, nonprofits and government agencies are working…
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Sanders will nominate Buffalo Outdoor Center founder as Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism secretary
Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Tuesday that she will nominate the founder of the Buffalo Outdoor Center to serve as secretary of the Departmen…
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Sanders announces nomination of Buffalo Outdoor Center founder as next Parks, Heritage and Tourism secretary
The founder of the Buffalo Outdoor Center has been nominated to serve as secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism under Governor-elect Sarah …
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Sanders will nominate Arkansas State Police commander for secretary of public safety
An Arkansas State Police troop commander will be nominated to serve as secretary of public safety under Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
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Almost $100M spent in Arkansas on contact tracing contracts, agreements, according to audit
Arkansas Legislative Audit told legislators almost $100 million was spent on contact tracing contracts and agreements, and the state's top medical official sai…
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Legislators criticize Bonanza mayor after audit indicates daughter embezzled a second time
The mayor of the small Sebastian County city of Bonanza fielded numerous questions Friday from legislators after a state audit indicated the city's administrat…
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Arkansas Supreme Court reverses $18M award for attorneys in road projects suit
The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that attorneys are not authorized to receive payment in an illegal-exaction lawsuit brought against multiple state ag…
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State attorney general’s office, audit committee at odds over raises
Arkansas Legislative Joint Auditing Committee members say it's time to resolve a disagreement between Arkansas Legislative Audit and the state attorney general…
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State attorney general's office, audit committee at odds over raises
Members of the Arkansas Legislative Joint Auditing Committee say it’s time to find a resolution for a disagreement between Arkansas Legislative Audit and the a…
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Arkansas Supreme Court reverses $18M award for attorneys in road projects suit
The Arkansas Supreme Court has reversed a circuit court decision that required the Arkansas Department of Transportation to pay more than $18 million in attorn…
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House bill would provide way for convicted felons in Arkansas to regain right to possess a firearm
State Rep. Vivian Flowers filed a bill Monday that would provide a pathway for people previously convicted of felonies to regain their right to possess a firea…
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Official Phillips County results from Nov. 8 election submitted to Secretary of State
The Phillips County Election Commission has submitted its official election results to the secretary of state's office after weeks of questions and criticism r…
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State seeks submissions for land donations for new community corrections facility
The Arkansas Department of Corrections issued a public notice Friday for submissions from communities interested in donating land for construction of a new cor…
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Arkansas increases number of counties chosen for post-election audit
The State Board of Election Commissioners will increase the number of counties selected for a random post-election audit by 10 in an effort to audit 5% of the …
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Phillips County gets heat over vote; state cites litany of issues in filing
Ballot errors, polling locations that opened late, and the mixing of early votes and election day votes are among the issues that led the State Board of Electi…
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Staff turnover posing challenge to Arkansas’ foster care system
While officials with the Division of Children and Family Services have made strides in correcting the damage done to the foster care system by the covid-19 pan…
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State corrections department continues search for new locations
The Arkansas Board of Corrections on Friday authorized the Department of Corrections to begin a site selection process for a community correction center as the…
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Arkansas Supreme Court imposes stiffer penalty on circuit judge, suspending him for 18 months
The Arkansas Supreme Court has suspended an El Dorado circuit judge for 18 months after finding the length of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability C…
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Recount sought in race for House District 62 in Phillips County
Dexter Miller, the Democratic candidate for House District 62 in Arkansas' Delta, said Friday that he has requested a recount after election results indicated …
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Phillips County results from Nov. 8 election still not made available to Arkansas Secretary of State’s office.
It has been more than a week since the Nov. 8 election, but vote totals from Phillips County are still not available as the secretary of state's office reporte…
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Burton named new clerk for Arkansas Supreme Court and Arkansas Court of Appeals
The Arkansas Supreme Court has hired a new clerk of the courts to replace Stacey Pectol, who served both courts for 21 years before her recent retirement.
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A century of women legislators in Arkansas is topic of couple’s book
LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas women have been able to serve as legislators for over a hundred years, but information about some of the state's female trailblazers ha…
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Arkansas legislators talk Alzheimer’s fight
LITTLE ROCK -- Legislators appeared ready to provide support to fight a "public health crisis" involving Alzheimer's disease and dementia after a report showed…
