Second Arkansas Graveler bike event set for early June

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

The Ozark Foundation’s second annual Arkansas Graveler, a five-day bike journey across county and forest backroads from the Ouachita National Forest in western Arkansas to scenic Greers Ferry Lake in north central Arkansas, will take place June 3-8, 2025.

The event will begin in Mena on June 3 and finish in Heber Springs on June 8. The course is known as The Bigfoot Route.

Approximately 400 touring and recreational cyclists from across the country are expected to participate in the ride which will include four stops in host communities along the route.

Second Arkansas Graveler bike event set for early June

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

This week, members elected to serve in the 95th General Assembly gathered in the House Chamber for an Organizational Meeting. Members chose their seats and committees, and incoming freshmen drew numbers for seniority. You can find the seniority list and lists of committee memberships at arkansashouse.org.

As we move forward, members have begun filing bills that will be considered during the upcoming 2025 Regular Session. More than 50 bills have been filed so far in the House. The proposed legislation addresses topics from maternal health coverage to voter registration. Our website also includes a link to the recently filed legislation.

There was another big development this week at the Capitol as Governor Sanders presented her balanced budget proposal to members. The governor’s proposal calls for a 2.89% increase in spending. The governor says her proposal prioritizes education, maternal health, public safety, and government efficiency.

As Education Freedom Accounts will be available to any student in the state next year, the governor said she is proposing $90 million in additional funding, plus an additional $90 million in set aside funding to create a reserve for the program.

The proposed budget also includes $13 million in new Medicaid funding for proposals created by the Strategic Committee on Maternal Health. The proposal includes $100 million for Medicaid sustainability.

The proposal includes $3.15 million in new funding for the proposed state employee pay plan and nearly $50 million for the Department of Corrections.

This proposal will be considered by the 95th General Assembly during the 2025 Regular Session. The session begins on January 13, 2025.

Veterans Day breakfast at UA Cossatot campuses

UA Cossatot hosted Veterans Day breakfasts at some of their school campuses on Monday. The pictures above were at the De Queen campus. The American Legion Post 54 Color Guard posted the flags, State Representative DeAnn Vaught and Chancellor Steve Cole were speakers at the event, breakfast was provided by UA Cossatot, area businesses donated many door prizes, and the De Queen High School Show Choir presented patriotic music.

The Supply Side: Natural State Beef seeks to place Arkansas beef in more stores

by Kim Souza (ksouza@talkbusiness.net)

Harrison-based Natural State Beef is the brainchild of Mike Fountain who said in 2020 when he could not find ground beef at the grocery store amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he began to think about the need for local beef supplies in his home state.

“It was very frustrating to see the local cattle supply backing up because commercial slaughter plants and feed lots were barely running because of worker shortages,” said the third-generation farmer and rancher.

Fountain said he has been in the cattle business his entire life, but when he was young his grandad also raised hogs. He said after feeding the pigs, he would sell them for profit. But over the years, family hog farms have died off, except for a few commercial farms for large companies. He said the Arkansas dairy industry also dried up, and he just could not sit back and watch the cow-calf industry also fold because of the lack of commercial markets.

The Supply Side: Natural State Beef seeks to place Arkansas beef in more stores

UAM Forestry Club shines at Texas Timbersports Competition

By Traci Rushing
U of A System Division of Agriculture – UAM College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources

MONTICELLO, Ark. — The UAM Forestry Club demonstrated exceptional skill and teamwork at the Lake Striker Axe Days competition in Texas on Nov. 2, securing a 2nd place overall finish.

Forestry colleges across the West Gulf gathered to compete in both physical and technical events hosted by the Sylvans, the forestry club and timber sports team at Stephen F. Austin University. For participating teams, the competition serves as an opportunity to bond as a club, network with other clubs across the region and practice for the Association of Southern Forestry Clubs Annual Conclave.

SAWING AWAY — Competitors in the log sawing competition. (UAM photo)

Nine UAM Forestry Club students, led by Laura Sims, traveled to the competition to compete in both technical and physical events. Technical events are designed to test the competitor’s knowledge and expertise in the field of forestry, while the physical events date back to the 19th century when lumberjacks would have friendly competitions outside of working hours to pass the time on a job site.

The UAM team’s impressive performance with technical events highlights the strength of the UAM forestry program and the hard work and discipline of its students. Team members Evan Beaver and Corbin Armon excelled in the wood identification and DBH estimation competitions leading the club to tie for 1st place in the technical events category.

“This group of students demonstrated a great attitude and showed enthusiasm in every event. Their success is a testament to the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources’ commitment to forestry education and its dedication to training students in both the technical and practical aspects of the discipline,” said Sims.

“I’m proud of our forestry club; they have a great dynamic together and with their peers at other forestry programs around the Southeast,” said Michael Blazier, dean of the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources and director of the Arkansas Forest Resource Center. “Their strong showing at this event is a testament to their work ethic and the guidance they get from their advisors and volunteers who help them. I’m also happy that Dr. Sims, who is director of our new Arkansas Forest Health Research Center, is as passionate about student success as she is her research program.”

Lake Striker Axe Days is held in preparation for the Association of Southern Forestry Clubs’ 66th Annual Conclave which will be hosted by Alabama A&M University in March of 2025 at Huntsville, Alabama. The 67th Annual Conclave will be hosted in Monticello by the UAM Forestry Club in March of 2026. 

The mission of the UAM Forestry Club is to educate others about natural resources, support the community, and provide students in natural resources with a welcoming group for assistance and friendship. For more information on the UAM Forestry Club and the forestry program, visit the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources’ website.

U.S. Highway 67 designated as Interstate 57

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

A stretch of Interstate 57, formerly U.S. Highway 67 from North Little Rock to Walnut Ridge has been designated as an interstate. The 120 mile swath is part of a highway that connects Canada to Mexico and goes through large cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas and Little Rock.

“Designating the sections of U.S. Highway 67 that already meet Interstate standards as Interstate 57 highlights this route and the cities and counties along this route for economic growth and job creation,” said Arkansas Highway Commission Chairman Alec Farmer. “This designation’s true value is connecting this north-south interstate route from Interstates 30 and 40 in central Arkansas via an existing Interstate 57 Mississippi River Bridge with many of the nation’s other primary east-west routes such as Interstates 70, 80 and 90 – better connecting Arkansas with the rest of the country.”

Arkansas has about 16,400 miles of paved roads but only about 800 miles are designated as interstate. The more interstate miles a state has improves its economic viability, Farmer said. State officials have been pushing for I-57 to become an interstate for more than six decades.

U.S. Highway 67 designated as Interstate 57

Arkansas Highway Commission Chairman Alec Farmer.

Little Rock hosts PGA Champions Tour

KUAR | By Brock Sheets

The Simmons Bank Championship, the second of three Charles Schwab Cup tournaments, concluded last month and crowned a winner in Little Rock. The tournament had several legends from the Professional Golfers Association in attendance. There were 54 golfers in total competing, including World of Golf Hall of Famers Ernie Els and Padraig “Paddy” Harrington.

Their long drives, straight chips, and calculated putts reflected their dedication to the game. Tracy West, Pro Links Sports’ executive vice president of PGA Tour tournaments, spoke on the impact of these golfing pros at a press conference last September.

“The beautiful thing about the PGA Champions Tour is these guys have made their mark. They’re legends of the game,” she said. “When you literally go, and see them drive off the first tee, and see what they can do, it’s gonna thrill you, excite you, and make you feel incredibly inadequate in your golf game all at the same time.”

Little Rock hosts PGA Champions Tour

Arkansas winter ag production meeting schedule kicks off Jan. 9

By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

These meetings, held between harvest and planting, are a time when land-grant extension and research personnel can share their findings and latest best practices with farmers in hopes of improving the following year’s crop.

Winter production meetings are an off-season staple to earn about new research and find ways to improve the next season's crop. (U of A System Division of Agriculture image)

UNDATED — Winter production meetings are a long-held tradition of agriculture’s off season, combining information, conversation and digestion — usually of catfish or barbecue — but sometimes even the most well-planned agendas can go up in smoke.

Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist, and Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, are both veterans on the winter production meeting circuit. Over the decades, the two have made dozens of appearances, and traveling thousands of miles to these county meetings, speaking to farmers across the Delta and the Arkansas River Valley.

“Over the years, we have had meetings in all types of venues,” Stiles said. “We've had meetings in warehouses, restaurants, churches, extension offices and research centers, country stores and country clubs, hunting clubs, civic centers, grain elevators, fire departments, community colleges, airports, armories, cotton gins, fairgrounds, and farm shops. 

“If it had a roof and four walls, we've had a meeting in it,” he said.

Technology changes

PowerPoints and videos may be the current standard for presentations, but that wasn’t always the case.

“For my first meeting, I went to the Oil Trough Country Store for the Independence County meeting. That was so long ago that we used transparencies and an overhead projector,” Stiles said.

“We met kind of off to one side of the store while lunchmeat was sliced for customers and the local quilters met in another corner of the store,” he said. “It was a hoot.

“I recall we had a meeting in a chemical warehouse down in south Arkansas once,” Stiles said. “We sat on boxes of chemical instead of chairs. Some of us got our pants all messed up with Prowl or some yellow herbicide. We all realized it when we were driving home and wondered what the smell was.”

Quite alarming 

However, there is one meeting in Cross County in the early 2000s that brings a twinkle to the eyes of both Ross and Stiles.

The meeting took place in an almost-new fire station. In a previous year, the presentations went on in an adjoining meeting room and lunch tables were set up in the bay with the fire engines. This time, the usual meeting room was in use, so the production meeting took place in the fire engine bay. This proved awkward, as light streaming through the garage’s big windows washed out the slide presentations, Ross said.

Being scheduled in January or February, “it was really, really cold outside, and cold inside the garage, even with the doors closed,” Ross said.

Two or three presenters had given their talks, and then Trey Reaper, who was the soybean verification coordinator at the time, stepped up to speak.

“Trey was about halfway through his talk, when the alarms went off,” Ross said. “And if you’ve ever been in a fire station when the alarms go off, it’s pretty loud.”

Then, “the firemen come out and put their gear on, and then they started the trucks,” he said. “They didn’t open the garage doors before they started the trucks. So here are these diesel engines just sitting there producing exhaust.”

Stiles said “the trucks had filled the station with a blue cloud of diesel exhaust and we all coughed the rest of the meeting. Nobody heard a word we said.”

“They finally opened the doors and this cold blast of winter air comes through and we’re all grabbing papers and stuff and coughing, and it’s about 20 degrees cold than it was,” Ross said. “It was pretty comical.”

“That was about the funniest experience I've had at a production meeting,” he said.

2025 winter schedule

With any luck, the 2025 slate of meetings will be less eventful.

Please note that the meeting times may be subject to change due to inclement weather or other factors. Be sure to contact the local county extension office for location, times and other details.

JANUARY

• Jan. 9 – Conway County – corn and soybeans

• Jan. 10 – Poinsett / Craighead counties – rice and soybeans

• Jan. 16 – Greene County – technology

• jan. 24 – Miller / Little River / Lafayette counties – corn, cotton, soybeans and rice

• Jan. 30 – morning: Cross County – corn, rice and soybeans

• Jan. 30 – afternoon: White County – corn, rice and soybeans

• Jan. 31 – morning: Greene County – corn, rice and soybeans

• Jan. 31 – afternoon: Clay County – corn, rice and soybeans

FEBRUARY

• Feb. 5 – Clay / Greene counties – cotton and peanut

• Feb. 6 – morning: Arkansas County – rice and soybeans

• Feb. 6 – afternoon: Jefferson County – corn, rice and soybeans

• Feb. 6 – Mississippi / Crittenden counties – corn, cotton and agricultural economics with Hunter Biram

• Feb. 7 – Jackson / Independence counties – corn, rice and soybeans

• Feb. 10 – Woodruff County – corn, rice and soybeans

• Feb. 11 – morning: Ashley / Chicot counties – rice and soybeans

• Feb. 11 – afternoon: Lincoln / Desha / Drew counties – rice and soybeans

• Feb. 12 – Crittenden / Mississippi counties – soybean, rice and agricultural economics with Hunter Biram

• Feb. 13 – Prairie / Lonoke / Pulaski counties – rice and soybeans

• Feb. 14 – Craighead/Poinsett counties – corn and cotton

• Feb. 18 – Ashley / Chicot / Desha / Drew / Lincoln counties – corn and cotton

• Feb. 20 – Phillips / Monroe / Lee / St. Francis counties – corn, cotton and agricultural economics with Scott Stiles

• Feb. 21 – Randolph / Lawrence counties – corn, rice and soybeans

• Feb. 27 – Clark County – cotton, corn, rice and soybeans

• Feb. 28 – Phillips / Lee counties – rice and soybeans

MARCH

• March 4 – Craighead / Poinsett / Greene / Mississippi counties – peanuts

• March 4 – Arkansas River Valley – rice and agricultural economics with Ryan Loy

• March 6 – St. Francis / Monroe County – rice, soybeans and agricultural economics with Ryan Loy.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

Cherokee Nation Entertainment sues Arkansas over passage of anti-casino amendment

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate, Mary Hennigan / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

The Pope County casino license holder sued the state of Arkansas Friday after voters approved a statewide ballot initiative that repealed the license and requires countywide elections for future casinos in the state.

Plaintiffs have asked a federal judge to declare the amendment unconstitutional and issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the amendment from taking effect on Nov. 13.

Arkansans supported the constitutional amendment, known as Issue 2, on Tuesday 637,110 to 505,038, according to complete but unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office. The majority of voters in seven counties, including Pope County, rejected the proposed amendment.

Cherokee Nation Entertainment sues Arkansas over passage of anti-casino amendment

Legends Resort & Casino

A rendering of Legends Resort & Casino in Pope County.

Attorney General Griffin announces plan to honor Arkansas D-Day "Band of Brothers" hero SSG Denver "Bull" Randleman with statue in Downtown Little Rock using private funds

Griffin: ‘I can think of no better person to sculpt and honor Denver Randleman than Kevin Kresse’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement announcing plans to erect a statue in downtown Little Rock honoring Arkansas native Staff Sergeant Denver “Bull” Randleman, who participated in the D-Day invasion as a member of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division that was portrayed in the book-turned-miniseries “Band of Brothers:”

Denver “Bull” Randleman - Facebook Image

“It is past time that we honor the selfless service of Staff Sergeant Denver Randleman, and today I am announcing that acclaimed sculptor Kevin Kresse has agreed to sculpt a statue that will honor Staff Sergeant Randleman and be placed in downtown Little Rock near the new home of the Office of the Attorney General. Kevin’s talent for capturing the spirit of his subjects through posture, expression, and countless other details is extraordinary, and his work was recently heralded for his statue of Johnny Cash, which now sits in the United States Capitol. I can think of no better person to sculpt and honor Denver Randleman than Kevin Kresse.

“Preserving Staff Sergeant Randleman’s legacy through this statue will add to the quality of downtown Little Rock, and it will call attention not just to this single man but to all of Arkansas’s military heroes, particularly those who served in World War II.”

Randleman was born in Rector and died in 2003 in Texarkana, Arkansas, where he is buried.

Staff Sergeant Randleman’s service in Europe after the D-Day invasion was immortalized in Stephen Ambrose’s book “Band of Brothers,” which later was developed into an award-winning miniseries by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, in which Randleman was portrayed by actor Michael Cudlitz.

The statue is being funded completely with private funds.

From pets to pests: Researchers explore new tool to fight disease-carrying insects

By Jenifer Fouch
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas researchers are testing a product commonly used to treat ticks and fleas on pets to target fly and mosquito larvae with the goal of helping reduce the spread of diseases carried by these insects.

FROM PETS TO PESTS — Fly plates in the lab being tested as part of a research project investigating the efficacy of fluralaner as a larvacide. (U of A Division of Agriculture photo by Emily McDermott.)

After switching to fluralaner as a veterinary medication for her dog, Emily McDermott, assistant professor of medical and veterinary entomology and a researcher for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, was curious about exploring other possible applications for it.

“The reason I put my dog on this fluralaner drug is because the spot-on treatments were not working very well,” she said. “Fluralaner is exciting because it has a different mode of action than current insecticides.”

The drug prevents insects’ nerve cells from working properly, disrupting their nervous systems.

McDermott says previous studies had shown promising results when fluralaner was applied as a spray but that it’s much more effective if ingested orally.

McDermott and Ph.D. student Blythe Lawson conducted research to find out if fluralaner would be effective as a larvicide and the best method to feed it to the larvae.

By treating larvae directly, they were able to use less chemicals and target specific areas where larvae are concentrated, reducing the need for widespread spraying and minimizing the risk of contaminating waterways and the environment.

The study “Successful yeast microencapsulation of fluralaner and its potential as a larvicide for vector control,” was published in the Acta Tropica journal in August.

TROJAN HORSE — Blythe Lawson, Ph.D. student in the entomology and plant pathology department, performs tests in the lab as part of research investigating how fluralaner could potentially be used as a larvicide. (U of A Division of Agriculture photo by Emily McDermott.)

“Fluralaner is an up-and-coming synthetic chemical, and there’s a lot of interest in expanding its use,” Lawson said. “There’s a big need for larvicides in the market; there are only a few for mosquitoes.” 

Flies and mosquitoes can carry diseases such as malaria, dengue and Zika virus. McDermott says disease vectors such as mosquitoes and flies have developed resistance to commonly used drugs and traditional methods often target adult insects. But Lawson and McDermott investigated ways to use fluralaner to target these insect’s larvae before they develop into adults, which is when they are most likely to spread diseases or become pests.

“You can knock those populations down before they start causing problems,” McDermott said.

Fluralaner is sold in chewable form for pets under the brand name Bravecto, currently the only labeled form of fluralaner in the United States.

The Trojan horse method  

McDermott and Lawson used a yeast microencapsulation technique to investigate if fluralaner would work. They encapsulated yeast cells with the insecticide and then tested it on larvae of three species:

• Common house fly— Musca domestica

• Asian tiger mosquito — Aedes albopictus

• Biting midge — Culicoides sonorensis, the most common midge in much of eastern U.S.

McDermott and Lawson said the larvae of these species naturally consume microorganisms such as yeast, making the microencapsulation an ideal delivery method.

“It acts like a Trojan horse,” Lawson said.

Their research showed fluralaner is effective and long-lasting as a larvicide. The study found that a single application of microencapsulated fluralaner could control mosquito larvae for five weeks and midge larvae for eight weeks.

BUG OFF — Emily McDermott, assistant professor in the department of entomology and plant pathology, started researching expanded uses for fluralaner after treating her dog with the drug. (UA System Division of Agriculture photo by Fred Miller)

“We compared our product to a couple of commercially available mosquito larvicides, and we found that it was as effective or more effective than the products that are currently on the market,” McDermott said.

The study also found that a higher concentration is needed to kill off housefly larvae compared to mosquitoes or biting midges, which McDermott says was not surprising given that houseflies are larger.

However, McDermott said the midges seemed to be less sensitive to the larvicide than mosquitoes, which was not expected because the midge larvae are much smaller than the mosquito larvae.

“So, we do think there’s a size component to this, but it’s not just size — there’s something about the physiology of the insects as well,” she said.

Future use

McDermott envisions this research will lead to the development of a product that could be used around households and trash collection sites, for example.

“The way our product is formulated is that after we encapsulate the active ingredient in the yeast, we freeze-dry it and get it back down to a powdered yeast form,” she said. “We envision this product could be in a backpack sprayer, and you would spray it like any other kind of insecticide.”

McDermott says her team is engaging with industry partners to move forward with this patent-pending technology.

‘We’re still several steps away from a commercial application,” she said. “With further testing and development, this yeast-based larvicide could provide a new tool for vector-control efforts and public health.”

This study was supported by Deployed Warfighter Protection Program Award No. W911QY2210003. The DWFP is a research program tasked with developing and testing management tools for pest and vector species that transmit diseases to deployed war-fighters. It’s administered by the Armed Forces Pest Management Board and sponsored by the Department of Defense.

To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.

Board of Corrections votes to accept land for planned prison

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

The Arkansas Board of Corrections (BOC) on Friday (Nov. 8) voted to accept the land for a planned 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County. The move comes after considerable protest from county residents and Arkansas legislators who represent the area.

Six of the seven-member BOC voted to accept the land, with one member abstaining.

Gov. Sarah Sanders, Arkansas Department of Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace, Arkansas Board of Corrections Chairman Benny Magness, and other state and local officials announced Oct. 31 that the state has purchased land north of Charleston in Franklin County to build the prison. The cost for the 815 acres was $2.9 million.

More than 1,800 area residents attended a town hall Thursday to ask questions about the prison and push back against it being built in Franklin County.

Board of Corrections votes to accept land for planned prison

AGFC taking Lake Conway habitat to new heights

MAYFLOWER — Anyone passing by Lake Conway Monday through Wednesday next week may notice quite a bit of activity overhead as the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission engages in one of the largest single habitat projects the agency has ever undertaken on the lakebed of Lake Conway. More than 600,000 pounds of gravel will be delivered by helicopter to various points of the lake to magnify spawning habitat in the 76-year-old impoundment during its renovation.

Lake Conway’s lakebed is full of stumps, but lacking in hard bottom needed for fish to spawn; the AGFC plans to remedy that next week through the addition of gravel spawning sites. AGFC photo by Scottie Wyatt.

“We may get more gravel than that out on the lakebed if conditions are favorable,” Nick Feltz, Fisheries Supervisor at the AGFC Mayflower Office, said. “We have close to 300 bags of gravel loaded and staged for the project, each of which has been filled with 3,000-pounds of gravel. Our goal is to place a minimum of 200 of those bags in the lakebed during the flights. If we get more, even better.”

Feltz says the gravel will be used by bass, crappie and especially smaller sunfish species like bluegill and redear to spawn. While the lake is still productive, the soft, silty bottom that has developed over its lifetime has decreased the amount of high-quality spawning habitat available for fish. Eggs laid in silty bottoms can sink into the muck and suffocate, so placing gravel beds offers fish prime hard-bottom habitat for building nests.

Feltz explained that due to the softness of the lake bottom, hauling this much gravel by truck would have required building temporary roads and many locations would not have been possible to enhance.

“They’re going to be able to move more gravel to more sites in three days than we would be able to move in weeks,” Feltz said. “We’ll be able to do more work closer to shorelines, which will be a little prettier; these will be rough, with no clean borders, but they’re going to be in areas we couldn’t reach otherwise.”

AGFC Staff have filled around 300 large bags with up to 3,000 pounds of gravel each and will move them by helicopter to locations throughout the lake next week. AGFC photo by Nick Feltz.

Once the bags are set, AGFC staff will return to the spawning bed sites and spread the gravel by hand to create the beds.

“We looked at using implements mounted to ATVs, but with the amount of stumps, roots and other obstacles, it’s looking like we’re going to be doing everything by hand with rakes in these remote locations,” Feltz said. “Having the helicopters deliver everything during the three-day operation is really going to save a huge amount of time in this process.”

The lakebed will be closed to access during the three-day operation to ensure public safety. Most of the work will be done in the Caney Creek and Pierce Creek arms of the lake, focusing on undeveloped portions of the lake and shoreline.

“This is really just the beginning of the habitat improvements we have planned for Lake Conway during the renovation,” Feltz said. “We also have around 180 to 200 pieces of concrete pipe that we plan to place for fish habitat,” Feltz said. “We had a contracting company donate these to the project, and we’re hoping to have that much more concrete pipe available next year to place as well. We may try to use the helicopter to place some of it if we have time, but most of these concrete structures will need to wait until we refill the lake. Then we can use a habitat barge to sink these structures with less chance of breaking them.”

Feltz also plans to have hundreds of concrete spawning disks poured to help with largemouth bass habitat.

“They’re about the size of a trash can lid and slightly concave,” Feltz said. “You can put about 10 pounds of pea gravel in them and they’re a great substitute for the tires people have placed over the years that we know are not great for the water in the long run. I’m really hoping to be able to distribute some of these disks to anglers who want to volunteer their time and create their own spawning areas in the lake once we get a little further along in the project.”

Gravel bags and concrete pipe are staged at two accesses in preparation for the first large-scale habitat project to renovate Lake Conway since its drawdown. AGFC photo by Nick Feltz.

Lake Conway was built in 1948, and at the time was the largest lake ever constructed by a state wildlife agency. Over the last few years the gates and spillway structure had begun to see failures at an increased rate, and the entire structure had outlived its initial life expectancy. The agency has drawn down the lake to begin major habitat enhancements as well as access improvements such as improved boat ramps and parking at Pierce Creek Access and much needed clearing of up to 30 miles of boat lanes for safer navigation. The spillway will be replaced with a new design that does not need manual operation to accommodate rising lake levels and will last at least another 75 years to continue offering fishing memories for anglers in central Arkansas.

Visit www.agfc.com/lakeconway for more information about this project, the largest lake renovation in the AGFC’s 109-year history.

Issue 2 passes, Pope County casino dead; Issue 1 receives voter approval

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

Tens of millions of dollars spent for and against an effort to block construction of a casino in Pope County with a constitutional amendment resulted in the passage of Issue 2. Voter approval of the issue means a Pope County casino will not be built.

Arkansas Secretary of State numbers show that 55.8% of voters were for Issue 2 as of 11:45 p.m. However, 55.6% of Pope County voters were against Issue 2 – an amendment based on the belief that voters should have a say about having a casino in their county.

Voters overwhelmingly approved Issue 1 with 89.7% of the vote as of 11:45 p.m. Issue 1 was a referred constitutional amendment from the Arkansas General Assembly that would expand the use of lottery proceeds so that they can be used to fund scholarships for Arkansas citizens enrolled in vocational- technical schools and technical institutes. The popular legislative referral was pushed by Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs, and Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock.

Issue 2 passes, Pope County casino dead; Issue 1 receives voter approval

Eureka Springs voters decide to retain hospitality taxes, tourism commission

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

Eureka Springs will retain its hospitality tax revenue and its adverting and promotion commission after 71.2% of voters in the tourism-focused city rejected a citizen initiative to put an end to the tax and the commission.

The final tally, according to the Carroll County Clerk’s office, had 839 votes against Issue 3 – the measure to remove the tax – and 339 votes for.

“It was the Eureka Springs business community that realized that the lifeblood of Eureka Springs is tourism. Without tourism, and without the promotion of tourism … the town could not exist. This was the business community and a tourism workforce of almost 3,000 people saying they wanted to keep this thing alive,” Mike Maloney, tourism director of the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission, told Talk Business & Politics.

Eureka Springs voters decide to retain hospitality taxes, tourism commission

Sanders Signs an Executive Order Concerning Food Insecurity in Arkansas

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME – GREETINGS: 

E.O. 24-18: EXECUTIVE ORDER CONCERNING FOOD INSECURITY IN ARKANSAS
 
WHEREAS: According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Arkansas has the highest level of food insecurity in the nation. In Arkansas, 567,110 people are facing hunger, and of that number, 168,430 are children. According to Feeding America, that is 1 in 5 Arkansans and 1 in 4 Arkansas children. It’s clear that our state is in critical need of comprehensive solutions to address these sobering statistics and ensure that all Arkansans have access to sufficient and nutritious food.
 
WHEREAS: It is the policy of my administration to increase the efficiency of state government to better serve the citizens of Arkansas. The State of Arkansas can help meet the current needs of Arkansans by identifying regulatory burdens that may hinder state agencies from contributing to the fight against hunger.
 
NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas, do hereby order the following:

1. All department secretaries are directed to conduct a thorough review of the regulations, policies, and procedures of their agencies to identify any items that may be contributing to or exacerbating food insecurity in Arkansas. This includes, but is not limited to, regulations related to food distribution, eligibility criteria for food assistance programs, and interagency coordination.

2. Department secretaries shall submit a report to the Governor’s Office within 60 days of the issuance of this Executive Order. The report should detail any identified unnecessary regulatory burdens, their impacts on food insecurity, and recommendations for repeal or amendment.

3. Based on the reports submitted, the Governor’s Office will direct departments to develop a plan for repealing or amending regulations that impede efforts to reduce food insecurity.

4. The Governor’s Office will facilitate collaboration among the departments to ensure that regulatory changes are effectively implemented and that departments are aligned in their efforts to combat food insecurity.

5. This Executive Order shall become effective upon its signing and shall remain in full force and effect until the completion of the actions ordered herein.  

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 29th day of October, in the year of our Lord 2024.

Osage Ramen fusion dish wins Mathis new Top Chef NWA award

By John Lovett
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A recipe that paid homage to the Osage Nation won Chef Roni Mathis the title of 2024 Top Chef NWA.

TOP CHEF NWA — Roni Mathis of the Arkansas Food Innovation Centers at the Market Center of the Ozarks won the Top Chef NWA competition on Oct. 25. The event is a fundraiser for the Rogers Public Library Foundation. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

Mathis, a chef with the Arkansas Food Innovation Center at the Market Center of the Ozarks (AFIC@MCO), bested three other competitors in the event sponsored by the Rogers Public Library Foundation in Lowell with her Osage Ramen, which combines flavors that she said “tells the story of the local landscape and honors the traditions of the Osage people.”

“It’s an honor to create a dish that not only celebrates the unique flavors of our local ingredients but also honors the legacy of the Osage people,” said Mathis, the center’s commissary and research and development manager. “At AFIC@MCO, we’re passionate about showcasing the richness of our region in every dish, while supporting the next generation of food entrepreneurs.”

Mathis’s Osage Ramen used locally foraged ingredients and a fusion of traditional and modern techniques. The ingredients included sassafras, pine, lotus, Asian carp narutomaki, sumac-pickled daikon radish, hickory-smoked mushroom and bacon.

“We are incredibly proud of Chef Mathis for this well-deserved recognition,” Darryl Holliday, executive director of AFIC@MCO, said. “Her culinary expertise and commitment to our mission — fostering the innovation and prosperity of northwest Arkansas’ small food businesses — are invaluable assets to AFIC@MCO.”

Holliday went on to say the Top Chef NWA award reflects the center’s commitment to regional excellence, the community’s potential to lead the future of food, and is “a testament to Chef Mathis’s dedication to highlighting local food culture and providing a platform for regional food entrepreneurs to thrive.”

AFIC@MCO — Darryl Holliday is the director of the Arkansas Food Innovation Center at the Market Center of the Ozarks, a unit of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

Chef Casey Coverdell, the Walmart AMP executive artist catering chef, won the Crowd Favorite Award with his main dish of Pastrami Short Rib and pumpkin risotto. The event, a fundraiser for the Rogers Public Library, was held at Metro Appliances and More in Lowell on Oct. 25.

The Arkansas Food Innovation Center at the Market Center of the Ozarks is a unit of the of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The original Arkansas Food Innovation Center is based at the Milo J. Shult Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville.

To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.

Results: 2024 Arkansas General Election

KUAR | By Daniel Breen, Josie Lenora, Maggie Ryan

Several national, state and local races were decided on Election Day in Arkansas. Here’s a roundup of some of the most prominent races statewide, and here in central Arkansas.

U.S. House of Representatives

All four Republican incumbent members of Arkansas’ delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives won re-election Tuesday. In the 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses most of Little Rock, Rep. French Hill beat his Democratic challenger, Col. Marcus Jones.

Jones said he’s proud of the campaign he ran to unseat the longtime incumbent. He called Hill to concede the race Tuesday night. In his concession speech, he thanked voters and spoke about reproductive rights.

Results: 2024 Arkansas General Election

John Sykes /Arkansas Advocate

The Arkansas State Capitol building in Little Rock.

All four of Arkansas’ GOP U.S. House members re-elected

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

In deep red Arkansas, outcomes of races in the state’s four Congressional districts provided no surprises, with all four of the GOP incumbents coasting to easy reelection wins. But as of late Tuesday night, it was unclear if they were returning to the majority in the U.S. House.

In the 1st Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, defeated Democrat Rodney Govens and Libertarian Steve Parsons. As of 11 p.m., and with 81% of precincts reporting, Crawford received 72.8% of the vote, Govens had 24.9%, and Parsons was at 3.04%. The win sends Crawford to Congress for his eighth two-year term.

In the 2nd Congressional District, U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, defeated Democrat Marcus Jones. As of 11 p.m., and with 75% of precincts reporting, Hill received 57.1% of the vote, and Jones had 42.9%. Hill returns to Congress for his sixth two-year term.

All four of Arkansas’ GOP U.S. House members re-elected

Boozman Convenes 2024-2025 Arkansas Congressional Youth Cabinet

Annual Initiative Aims to Foster Civic Engagement

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. –– U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) launched the eighth year of his Congressional Youth Cabinet on Tuesday at the Old State House Museum in Little Rock. The meeting brought together 114 high school juniors who were selected from public, private, charter and homeschool students across the state for their involvement and leadership in their communities.

“The Congressional Youth Cabinet benefits Arkansas students and families as well as their communities by promoting a healthy public policy dialogue and developing the next generation of leaders in our state. I am pleased to welcome this group of bright young people to contribute their ideas and experiences as we explore legislative solutions to the issues that interest them most,” Boozman said. “Their enthusiasm for enhancing their own understanding of civic engagement and helping shape the future of our state and country is inspiring.”

Senator Boozman and Congressional Youth Cabinet participants in Little Rock.

The Congressional Youth Cabinet is a non-partisan program that gives students insight and experience with the legislative process. The students will attend meetings throughout the year and work in teams to select and research national issues. In the spring, the students will present their policy recommendations to the senator.

Click here for more photos from the CYC kick-off.

The following students were selected to participate in the Congressional Youth Cabinet for the 2024-2025 school year:

 1st Congressional District

Jack Coleman – Mountain Home

Mark Gregory Green – Harrison

Lindsay Dunsing – Alpena

Luke Wilkins – Batesville

Penelope Jackson – Melbourne

Natalie Rodriguez – Cabot

Ella Curry – Alpena

Suraya Tennison – Alpena

Sara Hinson – Bergman

Kayla Thorndike – Cabot

Adam Stanisor – Cabot

Bryce Veasman – Cabot

Kaitlyn Carmical – Cabot

Jeremy Jason – Lake City

Andrew Boots – Jonesboro

Spencer May – Jonesboro

Sam Vaught – Wynne

Christian Boykin – Earle

Ajiah Parker – Earle

Aryanna Perry – Earle

Jada Maples – Earle

Lucas White – Manila

Kera Fesperman – Marion

Penelope Marie Salas – Marion

Gabrielle Weathers – Lepanto

Harlynn Robertson – Jonesboro

Deven Isbell – Jonesboro

William Crader – Jonesboro

Bentley McCoy – Clarendon

Sam Sabbatini – Hazen

Hailey Nichols – Wynne

Derek Lately Jr. – Earle

Zavion Maples – Earle

Kialynn Mitchell – Earle 

2nd Congressional District

Claira Tittle – Searcy

Landon Hillman – Jacksonville

Eva Harrell – Maumelle

Yusuf Taha Guven – Little Rock

Jayden Branch – Jacksonville

Garrett Fisher – Greenbrier

Fatimah Jabbar – North Little Rock

Zachary Tancinco – Searcy

Canadee Mosley – Conway

Jil Patel – Jacksonville

Luis Denilso Calderon – Little Rock

Katharine Wekly – Conway

Savannah Shelley – Little Rock

Gregory Lin – Searcy

Grabiela Valadez-Rizo – Little Rock

Lisandro Isai Salas – Little Rock

Ashlynn Pecanty – Maumelle

Damian Morales – Little Rock

David Salinas – Bryant

Ethan Bolton – Jacksonville

Sophie Swiney – Bradford

 3rd Congressional District

Schuyler Henehan – Fort Smith

Robinson Skaggs – Bentonville

Cole Kessman – Fayetteville

Kyndall Richey – Bentonville

Manvitha Narasimhan – Bentonville

Evalyn Clark – Bentonville

Lily Cate Caldwell – Bentonville

Matthew Velasquez-Amaya – Fort Smith

Preston Thai – Bentonville

Khant Sin – Fayetteville

Evangelina Hernandez – Fort Smith

Grayson Proctor – Lavaca

Adrian Gonzalez – Lavaca

Sydney Turner – Fayetteville

Lydia Parsley – Springdale

Terri Michelle Turner – Fort Smith

Alee Thongprachanh – Fort Smith

Colt Hood – Greenland

Caroline Sanders – Bentonville

Sullivan Shepard – Rogers

Oakley Allen – Fort Smith

Weston Arnett – Greenwood

Jadyn Patterson – Bentonville

Saqib Memon – Fayetteville

Sarah Amor – Fort Smith

Clara Hibbard – Mountainburg

Drake Norris – Fort Smith

Madelyn Maxey – Fort Smith

Aubree Stewart – Springdale

Aneeka Srivastava – Bentonville

Nidhi Nair – Bentonville

Grace Dickinson – Tontitown

Tatum Grace Loe – Fort Smith

Nathan Barney – Bentonville

Jude Alfaouri – Fayetteville

Claire Hassler – Fort Smith

Hannah Elliott – Greenwood

 4th Congressional District

Dana Liu – Russellville

Ian Warnick – Russellville

Peyton Gustave Blasé – Ozark

David Culver – Ozark

Sydnie Herriage – Ozark

Elizabeth Harrison – Russellville

Mallory Cloud – Russellville

Audrey Rogers – Russellville

Tristan Marrufo – DeQueen

Kyle Williamson – DeQueen

Miley Byler – DeQueen

Isabel Rivas – Russellville

Hannah Grace Skinner – Texarkana

Christian Hunter – Arkadelphia

Yasmine Sakr – Hot Springs

Mary Lopez-Furlong – Hot Springs

Tucker Arnold – Hot Springs

Heather Atchley – Sheridan

Madilynn Stuffle – Hot Springs

Alexandria Evans – White Hall

Blake Levi Jimerson – Sheridan

Carson Brody Lyons – Sheridan