Stories by Stephen Simpson

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.Sanders announced during a news conference Monday morning ... December 5, 2022

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 said it was worth every dollar.The execu... December 5, 2022

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 administrative assistant, who is the mayor's... December 3, 2022

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 agencies, calling into question the future ... December 2, 2022

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's office regarding implementatio... December 2, 2022

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 attorney general’s office over... December 1, 2022

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 attorneys’ fees.The fees were related to ... December 1, 2022

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 firearm after a certain amount of time has pas... November 30, 2022

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 regarding the delay of reporting resul... November 29, 2022

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 corrections center that will house approxima... November 26, 2022

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 votes cast in the 2022 general election.T... November 25, 2022

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 Election Commissioners to file a complaint agai... November 23, 2022

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 pandemic, addressing staffing issues is an o... November 21, 2022

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 agency continues to search for new ways ... November 19, 2022

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 Commission recommended suspension insuffic... November 19, 2022

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 he lost by 618 votes to Republican Re... November 19, 2022

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 reported that county election officials have... November 17, 2022

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.On Wednesday, the court announced that Kyle Bu... November 17, 2022

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 had been scarce until a husband and wif... November 16, 2022

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 more than 60,000 Arkansans... November 15, 2022

State Department of Corrections requests submissions from communities interested in new prison The Arkansas Department of Corrections issued a public notice for submissions Friday for communities interested in donating land for the construction of a new maximum-security prison facility that wil... November 12, 2022

Supporters of recreational marijuana look forward to future efforts Arkansas voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational marijuana on the same night a neighboring state approved its legal cannabis measure, leading some officials t... November 10, 2022

Griffin defeats Democrat for Arkansas attorney general post With over three-fourths of the votes counted, Republican Tim Griffin has opened up a big lead over Democratic opponent Jessie Gibson in the race to become Arkansas attorney general.Unofficial returns ... November 9, 2022

Thurston out front in secretary of state race Republican John Thurston was leading Democratic challenger Anna Beth Gorman on Tuesday evening in his bid to secure another term as Arkansas' secretary of state.With 57% of the vote counted, unoff... November 9, 2022

Griffin claims victory in contest for Arkansas attorney general With over three-fourths of the votes counted, Republican Tim Griffin has opened up a big lead over Democratic opponent Jessie Gibson in the race to become Arkansas attorney general.Unofficial returns ... November 9, 2022

Arkansas prison agency says its action backed by law; officials don’t fear lawsuits over parole rule misreading Arkansas Department of Corrections officials said Thursday they are confident they will be able to withstand any lawsuit brought against the agency after admitting to a seven-year mistake in interpret... November 4, 2022

State Board of Corrections OKs starting site selection process for new prisons PARAGOULD -- The Arkansas Board of Corrections on Thursday authorized the Department of Corrections to begin the site selection process for construction of a new prison facility, and suggested it migh... November 4, 2022

Arkansas attorney general files lawsuit against Texarkana pool company Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Wednesday a lawsuit filed against a Texarkana pool company for failure to complete projects and not paying subcontractors.Rutledge said Richard Youn... November 3, 2022

Familiar foes square off in state House District 98 race Democrat David Fielding is counting on his record of public service to secure a victory over Republican challenger Wade Andrews in the Arkansas House District 98 race in the Nov. 8 general election.Fi... November 1, 2022

State's land commissioner, challenger lay plans Republican Tommy Land believes his experience as Arkansas' Commissioner of State Lands will help him defeat Democratic challenger Darlene Goldi Gaines in the Nov. 8 general election.Gaines, 46, sa... October 31, 2022

Hopefuls for Arkansas Land Commissioner lay plans Republican Tommy Land believes his experience as Arkansas' Commissioner of State Lands will help him defeat Democratic challenger Darlene Goldi Gaines in the Nov. 8 general election.Gaines, 46, sa... October 31, 2022

State officials will request authorization to begin site selection process for construction of new prison Arkansas Department of Corrections Secretary Solomon Graves told legislators during a committee meeting Thursday that officials will ask the Board of Corrections to authorize the department to begin t... October 28, 2022

Department of Corrections admits misinterpretation of Arkansas law, leading to re-incarceration, serving entire sentence without parole The Arkansas Department of Corrections admitted during a legislative committee meeting Monday to a seven-year mistake in interpreting Arkansas law, explaining that is why two inmates who were released... October 25, 2022

Two trying to unseat Westerman in U.S. District 4 congressional race Bruce Westerman believes his experience and policy decisions will persuade voters in the state's 4th Congressional District to elect him to another term in the U.S. House of Representatives.Wester... October 24, 2022

Religious freedom proposal stirs sides in state A proposed amendment to the state's constitution would prohibit the government from burdening an individual's religious liberty, but opponents of the effort say the Arkansas Religious Freedom ... October 23, 2022

State Supreme Court candidate Carnahan touts conservatism; Wynne points to impartial approach Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Robin Wynne says he believes in maintaining distance from partisan politics when it comes to judicial races, while District Judge Chris Carnahan embraces his conservativ... October 23, 2022

U.S. Senate hopefuls trade jabs over loans CONWAY -- U.S. Sen. John Boozman on Friday clashed with Democratic candidate Natalie James on the debate stage, defending himself against allegations that he was more concerned about forgiving pandemi... October 22, 2022

AG hopefuls spar on abortion CONWAY -- Republican attorney general candidate Tim Griffin and Democratic opponent Jessie Gibson agree there should be exceptions in the state's abortion ban for rape and incest victims, but the ... October 20, 2022

Group calls for surplus use in state A nonpartisan coalition announced plans Tuesday to encourage Arkansas legislators to focus on community-based policy decisions during the 2023 legislative session.Officials with Arkansas Coalition for... October 19, 2022

Family Council launches effort in support of Arkansas Religious Freedom amendment A conservative political action organization on Tuesday unveiled a three-prong strategy it will use in an effort to get the proposed constitutional amendment known as Issue 3 passed in November.Family... October 19, 2022

Arkansas Democratic Party distances itself from District 4 congressional candidate after debate remarks An incumbent and two challengers who consider themselves political outsiders agreed Monday on several topics during a U.S. Congressional District 4 debate in Conway, but responses from the Democratic ... October 18, 2022

Attorney General hopefuls weigh in on crime, prisons, abortion Republican Tim Griffin says he will emphasize stricter guidelines and a revamped parole system to fight rising crime if elected Arkansas' attorney general, while Democratic opponent Jessie Gibson ... October 16, 2022

State attorney general hopefuls weigh in on issues Republican Tim Griffin says he will emphasize stricter guidelines and a revamped parole system to fight rising crime if elected Arkansas' attorney general, while Democratic opponent Jessie Gibson ... October 16, 2022

Forrest City School District contracts set to be examined A legislative audit will examine select consulting contracts by the Forrest City School District, but the particulars of what will be examined are unknown at this point, according to a report approved... October 15, 2022

Hutchinson OKs school safety commission’s report, asks Arkansas lawmakers for assistance Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has approved the Arkansas School Safety Commission's final report and written a letter to the General Assembly asking for assistance in helping schools adopt the panel... October 14, 2022

Arkansas attorney general allocates $1M to state’s adult drug court program The Arkansas Adult Drug Court program will get additional financial support from the state attorney general's office as officials hope to have a program in every jurisdiction.Arkansas Attorney Gen... October 12, 2022

Crime, education priorities for state House District 67 candidates Democrat Jannie Cotton is hoping her message of mental health support and bipartisanship will help her unseat Republican Karilyn Brown for the state House District 67 race in the Nov. 8 general electi... October 10, 2022

Prison seminary program in state looking to expand with a new facility The Arkansas Department of Corrections prison seminary program is getting ready to graduate its first class next year even as the program is already looking to expand by raising funds for a new facili... October 9, 2022

Arkansas prison seminary program looking to expand with a new facility The Arkansas Department of Corrections' prison seminary program is getting ready to graduate its first class next year even as the program is already looking to expand by raising funds for a new f... October 9, 2022

Rutledge commends Medicaid fraud unit Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Thursday her office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit had a record-breaking year, and she encouraged whoever takes over her post to build on the work the uni... October 7, 2022