Poinsett County Officials Mull Solutions to Troubled Jail
The Poinsett County Detention Center's deficiencies date to the time it was first built. But Sheriff Kevin Molder thinks the county can repair the jail for just under $2 million. read more >
Government & Politics
Arkansas Emerges as Bull's-eye for Gun Trade
A growing list of gun manufacturers with Arkansas facilities are currently employing more than 3,000. read more >
Dispensary Cultivation Begins as Demand Builds For Medical Marijuana
After two months and $2 million in sales, Arkansas' spanking new medical marijuana industry is poised to break a supply logjam. read more >
Bourbon & Boots Kicks Back AG's Allegations
Bourbon & Boots has filed an answer to the state attorney general's accusation that the company violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. read more >
Government Stars Are Aligned (Lisa Ferrell Commentary)
Investing in opportunity zones means investing in communities around Arkansas and joining the broader effort to combat poverty and geographic inequality. read more >
An Accurate Census Benefits All (Editorial)
An undercount could hurt all Arkansans in a couple of ways — first, by understating their political significance and leaving them underrepresented in Congress, and second, by preventing them from benefiting from all the taxpayer-supported programs to which they're entitled. read more >
Walmart Plans to Cease Gun Sales at New Mexico Stores
Walmart stores in New Mexico plan to stop selling guns later this month after a new state law expanded background checks to nearly all gun purchases. read more >
Where People Found Jobs: Business Services and Health Care
Job growth strengthened in nearly all major industry sectors in June, with notable jumps in government, business services, education and health. read more >
US Employers Added 224K Jobs in June; Unemployment Rate Up Slightly to 3.7%
U.S. employers sharply stepped up their hiring in June, adding a robust 224,000 jobs, an indication of the economy's durability after more than a decade of expansion. read more >
Mike Preston Announces Appointments to New Commerce Department
Secretary Mike Preston of the Arkansas Department of Commerce, which was formed as part of Gov. Asa Hutchinson's state government reorganization, has announced six appointments. read more >
Governor Announces New Adjutant General for National Guard
Arkansas' governor says Maj. Gen. Kendall W. Penn will serve as the next adjutant general of the state's National Guard. read more >
UAMS Translational Research Institute Receives $24.2M Grant
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Translational Research Institute announced Wednesday that it will receive five years of federal funding totaling $24.2 million to accelerate research addressing the state's biggest health challenges. read more >
Arkansas Ends Fiscal Year with $295M Budget Surplus
Arkansas ended its fiscal year with a $295 million budget surplus and nearly $74 million of that is going toward highway needs, state finance officials said Tuesday. read more >
Arkansas AG Asks for More Time to Respond to Abortion Case
The Arkansas attorney general is asking a federal judge for a hearing on whether to block three new abortion restrictions a day or two before they're to take effect. read more >
Lee Rudofsky To Be Nominated For District Judgeship
President Donald Trump announced Monday his intent to nominate Lee Philip Rudofsky of Arkansas as judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. read more >
Oklahoma's Medical Marijuana Enrollment Among Top in US
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority has already enrolled more than 3.5% of the state's population as patients in its first year, and there's no indication that applications will slow. read more >
Rules That Control Drive Time for Truckers to be Relaxed
The Transportation Department is moving to relax federal regulations around driving time, a long sought goal of the trucking industry and a move that would highlight its influence with the Trump administration. read more >
Airways Freight Sues OZK over Wisconsin Asset Freeze
Airways Freight Corp. of Fayetteville filed for an injunction against Bank OZK after the bank put a hold on its account. read more >
Right Goal, Wrong Path (Gwen Moritz Editor's Note)
We didn't know then — how could we? — that Dr. Ben Burris put then-state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson on a $5,000-a-month retainer to champion Burris' orthodontic agenda. That, needless to say, is not how representative democracy is supposed to work, even if the goal is worthy. read more >
About Time (Editorial)
This spring's rain and flooding have already taken a heavy toll on the farming sector. The trade war with China is only adding to farmers' pain. And because the agriculture industry is Arkansas' No. 1 industry, that pain can quickly be felt by other sectors of the state's economy. read more >
Trump's Tariff War with China Hits Arkansas Farmers Hard
President Trump's trade war with China is creating casualties in Arkansas. Soybean farmers have seen their exports to China plummet as prices have dropped 15%. read more >
Arkansas Companies Dealing With Tariff Costs
President Trump's tariffs of 25% on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods is making some Arkansas business either absorb their price increases or pass the cost hikes to their customers. read more >
Arkansas Center for Data Sciences Focuses on Jobs, Competition
The mission of the Arkansas Center for Data Sciences is twofold: to narrow the gap between open technology jobs in the state and the talent available to fill them, and to help existing businesses use data analytics to better compete. read more >
From Trusted Reporter Ernie Dumas, Lessons of a Lifetime
Ernest Dumas, the Arkansas Gazette veteran and dean of the state's political reporters, published his fly-on-the-wall retrospective last month with Butler Center Press. read more >
Wes Ward Wins VP at SASDA (Movers & Shakers)
Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward was elected vice president of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture at the annual conference in Fort Worth, Texas. read more >
Celebrating Consumer Independence (Craig Douglass On Consumers)
During this Fourth of July celebratory week, consumers across America will be exercising their independence in the marketplace. We may shop, but we may not. Either way, we will salute in some manner the notion of consumer independence. read more >
Protecting Your Business (Brett Morrison Commentary)
Fraud can be committed by your most trusted employee or a leader in your organization and shouldn't be thought of as something that only happens to other organizations or businesses. read more >
From Far East to Southeast, Yang Luo-Branch Brings Business Cultures Together
Yang Luo-Branch, president of the Arkansas Association of Asian Businesses, says her organization seeks to bridge Arkansas and Asia. read more >
Camden, Danville, Jonesboro Projects Mark Statewide Surge in Solar Power
As Today's Power Inc. of Little Rock and Ouachita Electric Cooperative Corp. dedicated a pioneering solar power plant at Southern Arkansas University Tech in Camden, Scenic Hill Solar announced Thursday the completion of the largest sun array in Yell County. read more >
Little Rock Diocese Settles Sexual Abuse Claims for $790K
Lawyers for five men who claim an Arkansas priest sexually abused them more than four decades ago said Thursday that the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock has settled after mediation in what the attorneys believe is a first of its kind case for the state. read more >
Editors' Picks
