Extension expert offers spring pruning tips

By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — Timing is key when it comes to pruning flowering and fruiting plants. Randy Forst, extension educator for consumer horticulture for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said late February is an optimal time to prune plants that bloom in the summer.

PRUNING HELP — Pruning helps encourage new growth, and for many plants that bloom in the summer, late February is the optimal time to prune. Randy Forst, extension educator for consumer horticulture for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said using the correct — and sharp — pruning tool for the job is essential. (Division of Agriculture graphic.) 

“In general, plants that bloom in the spring should be pruned immediately following blooming, and plants that bloom in the summer should be pruned before growth begins in late February,” Forst said. “Pruning encourages new wood growth and more flower buds, and roses and cane-producing plants especially benefit from pruning.”

Some plants, including big leaf hydrangeas, oak leaf hydrangeas and gardenias don’t follow this rule.

“These plants all bloom in the summer, but they set their flower buds at the end of the summer into early fall,” Forst said. “If you prune them before growth begins, you will not have flowers this summer. The time to prune them is when the flowers begin to fade.”

Forst, who also coordinates the extension Master Gardener program, said gardeners should research specific information about the plant they want to prune, as some plants do not need pruning at all.

“Some of the most common mistakes people make is pruning too intensely, especially when it comes to crape myrtles,” Forst said. “Instead of dehorning — or entirely removing the top branches of a crape myrtle — gardeners should instead selectively remove branches so that the tree maintains its height.”

Forst said the following plants need to be pruned at the end of February and in early March:

• Ornamental grasses

• Roses

• Fruit trees

• Blueberries

• Blackberries, by removing old dead canes

• Buddleia, also known as butterfly bush

• Summer blooming spiraeas

In addition to timely pruning, Forst said pruning with the correct tool is important to a plant’s success.

“The size of material to be pruned reflects the best tool for the job,” he said. “Most of the time, it would be a bypass blade hand pruning shear. On larger branches, it might take lopping shears. On tree branches, it might require a bow saw. On any pruning device, it is very important that the blades are sharp, and you are getting a clean cut.”

Visit Arkansas Yard and Garden Pruning Resources, Spring Pruning Tips and Crape Myrtle Pruning for more information, or contact Randy Forst at rforst@uada.edu.

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. 

UAMS, AR Children’s brace for Trump administration cuts to medical research funding

KUAR | By Lara Farrar

From the Arkansas Times:

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s are preparing for the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Institutes of Health, a policy change that would upend grant-funded research at universities, medical schools and other scientific institutions in Arkansas and across the United States.

On Friday, the NIH announced that it would set a cap of 15% on payments for “indirect costs” related to research. Those costs include “general administration and general expenses such as the director’s office, accounting, personnel” and other expenditures. The change in indirect cost coverage applies to existing grants and for any new grants issued, NIH’s Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration said Friday.

On Saturday, UAMS Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson sent a memo to research faculty and staff, warning the NIH policy change “would have a significant effect on UAMS and other research institutions across our state and country.”

UAMS, AR Children’s brace for Trump administration cuts to medical research funding

UAMS

Arkansas House passes government funding, ballot initiative bills

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives on Monday approved a bill to end a government shutdown in Jefferson County, and another to give the attorney general more power over the direct democracy process.

County employees have worked without pay since the start of the year as quorum court members have repeatedly been unable to pass a budget in a slate of meetings. Rep. Glenn Barnes, D-Pine Bluff, spoke in favor of legislation he co-sponsored to end the shutdown on the House Monday.

"We have some 300 people who have gone a month and almost two weeks without pay," he said. "They are now losing their insurance, many are struggling to paying water, light, gas, house notes and rent, and they're in dire need of some legislation to act quickly."

Arkansas House passes government funding, ballot initiative bills

Arkansas House

Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives on Monday approved a bill to end the Jefferson County government shutdown that's lasted since the beginning of the year.

Lyon College unveils vet school architecture

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

Lyon College and the city of Cabot unveiled architectural renderings for the Lyon College School of Veterinary Medicine and Cabot Animal Support Services during an event Monday (Feb. 10) at the Cabot Justice Center.

The new campus will feature facilities designed to support veterinary education and community animal care services. Groundbreaking is set for later this spring, with the first class of students expected to begin in fall 2026, pending accreditation by the Council on Education (COE) of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

Lyon College hosted a consultative site visit from the COE in November 2023 and is awaiting the scheduling of a comprehensive review. The proposed program plans to admit 120 students annually.

Lyon College unveils vet school architecture

Boozman, Colleagues Push to Expand Access to Job Training Programs

Senators’ Bill Would Permit Pell Grants for Industry-Recognized Credentials or Certificates

WASHINGTON––U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) joined Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) to introduce the Jumpstarting Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Act, bipartisan legislation to help more Americans get good-paying jobs by allowing students to use federal Pell Grants –– need-based education grants for lower-income individuals –– to pay for shorter-term job training programs for the first time.

Currently, Pell Grants can only be used at two- and four-year colleges and universities. By expanding Pell Grant eligibility, the JOBS Act would help close the skills gap by opening access to job training that students might otherwise be unable to afford but need for careers in high-demand fields.

“Increasing the supply of workers ready and able to fill in-demand jobs is exactly what our economy needs to thrive. As more students choose to pursue skills-based careers, we can ensure this pathway is open to everyone including those who need financial assistance to start that journey. I’m pleased to champion this bipartisan effort that can help more Americans receive job training,” Boozman said.

“No one should be priced out of an education—including a technical education—but I hear from many Virginians that access to high-quality job training programs that align with their goals is out of reach because of financial barriers,” said Kaine. “Simultaneously, I hear from employers throughout the Commonwealth about their struggles to fill skilled labor positions. With these Virginians in mind, I wrote the JOBS Act to help remedy these issues and provide more workers with the skills they need to get good-paying jobs and provide for their families. This bill is good for workers, good for employers, and good for our economy as a whole.”

“Job training programs are proven, successful tools that help people gain the skills they need to prepare for rewarding careers,” said Collins. “By helping students in Maine and across the country access this career pathway, this bipartisan legislation would assist young people with obtaining good-paying jobs and make it easier for businesses to find qualified workers.”

The JOBS Act would allow Pell Grants to be used for high-quality job training programs that are at least eight weeks in length and lead to industry-recognized credentials or certificates. Under current law, Pell Grants can only be applied toward programs that are over 600 clock hours or at least 15 weeks in length, rendering students in shorter-term, high-quality job training programs ineligible for crucial assistance.

Specifically, the JOBS Act would amend the Higher Education Act by:
• Expanding Pell Grant eligibility to students enrolled in rigorous and high-quality, short-term skills and job training programs that lead to industry-recognized credentials and certificates and ultimately employment in high-wage, high-skill industry sectors or careers.
• Ensuring students who receive Pell Grants are earning high-quality postsecondary credentials by requiring that the credentials:
o Meet the standards under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), such as meaningful career counseling and aligning programs to in-demand career pathways or registered apprenticeship programs;
o Are recognized by employers, industry or sector partnerships;
o Align with the skill needs of industries in the state or local economy; and
o Are approved by the state workforce board in addition to the U.S. Department of Education.
• Defining eligible job training programs as those providing career and technical education instruction at an institution of higher education, such as a community or technical college that provides:
o At least 150 clock hours of instruction time over a period of at least eight weeks;
o Training that meets the needs of the local or regional workforce and industry partnerships;
o Streamlined ability to transfer credits so students can continue to pursue further education in their careers; and
o Licenses, certifications, or credentials that meet the hiring requirements of multiple employers in the field for which the job training is offered.
The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dan Sullivan (D-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The JOBS Act is supported by Advance CTE, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Association for Career and Technical Education, the Association of Community College Trustees, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Business Roundtable, the Center for Law and Social Policy, the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance, Higher Learning Advocates, HP Inc., the Information Technology Industry Council, Jobs for the Future, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, NAF, the National Association of Workforce Boards, the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, the National Skills Coalition, the Progressive Policy Institute and Rebuilding America’s Middle Class.

Click here to view text of the bill.

State of the State 2025: Leaders highlight ways to meet growing energy needs

by Jeff Della Rosa (JDellaRosa@nwabj.com)

The energy sector has welcomed the emergence of the lithium industry in Arkansas while it grapples with rising electricity demand and declining generation as coal-fired plants are retired. Leaders look to a mix of solutions to meet demand, avoid an “energy crisis” and “restore American energy dominance.”

Lauren Waldrip, executive director of the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA), highlighted one of the state’s most notable developments over the past year: the expansion of the lithium industry in southwest Arkansas.

“That is a new component of our membership,” Waldrip said. “We are seeing participation from folks like Exxon, Standard Lithium, as well as community and municipality organizations from that side of the state.”

State of the State 2025: Leaders highlight ways to meet growing energy needs

Learning in the Wild: 4-H members gain hands-on experience with Arkansas waterfowl

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

AUGUSTA, Ark. — Learning is better in the wild, and for Arkansas 4-H members the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge provided the perfect outdoor classroom.

Under the guidance of the state’s leading waterfowl and extension experts, participants in the Wonders of Waterfowl workshop engaged in an immersive learning experience focused on the ecology and management of Arkansas’ diverse duck populations.

Youth at the Wonder of Wildfowl event launch banded ducks back into the wild. (UA-Monticello image)

A favorite among the attendees was wading through a moist-soil unit to collect and examine aquatic invertebrates – a key food source for waterfowl.

With the help of University of Arkansas at Monticello waterfowl students and professors, participants analyzed their findings under microscopes, gaining firsthand insight into waterfowl feeding habits.

Other workshop highlights included discussions led by UAM waterfowl graduate students that covered waterfowl identification, habitat characteristics, and migratory hazards and patterns. These stops served as a perfect opportunity for Lily Barber, Grant County 4-H member, who attended because she wanted to learn how to identify waterfowl. At the close of the event, Barber shared her excitement in learning how to identify common ducks in Arkansas by their wings.

“We learned about ducks, what they eat, what their wing spans looks like and all the different types of ducks,” said Jayden Rushing, Calhoun County 4-H member.

Immersed in Research

As part of the Mississippi Flyway, Arkansas is a vital wintering ground for waterfowl, making it a hotspot for waterfowl research. Among the leading studies is the satellite tracking research led by Douglas Osborne, PhD, a renowned waterfowl professor and researcher at UAM.  Participants had the unique opportunity to learn about the banding and tracking practices used by the lab’s researchers and view live tracking data from ducks fitted with transmitter technology.

Drew County 4-H member, Jack Wagner, was amazed to learn the impressive distances and speeds at which ducks travel during their migration to Arkansas. In the workshop, he learned ducks can reach flight speeds of more than 80 mph and sometimes cover more than 1,700 miles during their migrations.

The event concluded with researchers from the Osborne Lab and personnel from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gathering ducks that had been trapped on the Cache River. They then demonstrated to youth how to tell the birds’ ages and band the birds. Participants were then each able to hold a duck and release it back on the refuge.

A Lasting Impact

The Wonders of Waterfowl program was started three years ago by Tiffany Osborne, UAM wildlife instructor, wildlife extension specialist for University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and workshop coordinator. Throughout the event, Osborne shared her passion for nature and extensive knowledge with the 4-H members.

“I started this program to connect youth across the state with nature and to teach them to respect the land,” said Tiffany Osborne. “It’s important that we create opportunities for the next generation to carry on the work of conservation.”

Through workshops like this, Arkansas 4-H continues to foster environmental education and stewardship, ensuring young people develop a deeper appreciation for wildlife, conservation, and agriculture practices. For more information on joining 4-H or upcoming events, contact your county’s Cooperative Extension Service Office.  

Chicken ‘woody breast’ detection improved with advanced machine learning model

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

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It’s called “woody breast” and for consumers it can mean a chewier chicken sandwich, but for the industry it can mean up to $200 million annual yield loss.

IMPROVED METHOD — Chaitanya Pallerla, a food science graduate student, has worked to improve the accuracy of detecting the "woody breast" defect on chicken by developing a new machine learning model and hyperspectral imaging. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

Work done by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station is not only making woody breast easier to detect in chicken meat but is accurate up to 95 percent of the time.

The development could help improve quality assurance and customer confidence in one of the state’s most economically important agricultural products. What allows researchers to see inside the meat is a combination of a hyperspectral camera, which examines the meat through various energy wavelengths, and machine learning to interpret what the camera sees.

“We’ve been able to improve accuracy of detection of woody breast by utilizing machine learning to analyze complex data from images with a hyperspectral camera,” said Dongyi Wang, an assistant professor in the biological and agricultural engineering department for the experiment station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

“The next step will be trying to integrate the system online and make this beneficial for stakeholders,” Wang said, noting this specific application of image analysis had not been done before.

Loss in premium meat

“Woody breast” meat is harder and chewier than normal chicken breast, but it is still safe to eat, according to Casey Owens, professor of poultry processing and products for the experiment station and a co-author of the study. When detected by processers, either by humans or computer-assisted imaging technology, she said the meat is diverted from whole-breast packaging for further processing into products including chicken nuggets and patties.

The loss in premium as a whole-muscle product accounts for yield loss as high as $200 million in Arkansas and over $1 billion in direct and indirect costs annually across the United States poultry industry, Owens added. Up to 20 percent of chicken breast meat can have the defect, which is more common in larger birds of 8 to 9 pounds versus 6- to 7-pound birds.

Hyperspectral imaging

Hyperspectral imaging is a rapid, non-invasive way to capture detailed data about objects and their composition. This data can be used to classify food products according to food quality, consumer preferences and other product requirements.

But hyperspectral images come with tons of data. That’s where machine learning comes in.

Chaitanya Pallerla, a food science graduate student who has been working on the project for the past two years with Wang as his adviser, said the new machine learning model is called NAS-WD. When correlated with known data about the “woodiness” of chicken breasts, the model allows for deeper and wider analysis of hyperspectral images to identify the defect.

“In hyperspectral imaging, there are common machine learning models being used, but we were able to develop a new model that could be well-suited for correlating more than two variables,” Pallerla said. “We kind of took two different models, made a few changes, and put them together to detect patterns better and correlate the hyperspectral data with hardness of the chicken meat.”

The results of their research were published in the journal Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture under the title “Neural network architecture search enabled wide-deep learning (NAS-WD) for spatially heterogenous property awared chicken woody breast classification and hardness regression.”

The results showed that NAS-WD can classify three woody breast defect levels with an overall accuracy of 95 percent, outperforming the traditional models like the Support Vector Machine and Multi-Layer Perception, which offered 80 percent and about 73 percent accuracy, respectively.

HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING — Dongyi Wang is an assistant professor in the biological and agricultural engineering department. (U of A System Division of Agriculture)

Wang said the study offers an example of how to use new algorithms to mine data and dig into key information. The form of hyperspectral imaging used in the research is called “push broom,” which takes an image of several objects once every 40 seconds, compared to a more common industry method of a “snapshot,” which takes an image of individual objects as fast as every 30 milliseconds. The “snapshots” have a lower resolution than the “push broom” method, but software upgrades may one day provide higher resolution for “snapshot” images, Pallerla said.

Wang said his team is working on deploying this technology in the real-time system.

The study was supported in part by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, project award nos. 2023-70442-39232 and 2024-67022-42882, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture.

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.

Lawmakers advance school phone ban, reject gun safety bill

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

Arkansas lawmakers are nearing final approval of an effort to ban cell phone use in all public schools in the state.

Members of the House Education Committee approved Senate Bill 142, also called the “Bell to Bell, No Cell Act,” in a meeting Thursday. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs, said schools which piloted the program have reported positive results.

“Attendance records are improving, disciplinary issues are going down, drug-related offenses are going down, bullying cases are going down, student engagement is going up,” Dees said.

Lawmakers advance school phone ban, reject gun safety bill

Affirmative action ban passes Arkansas House

KUAR | By Maggie Ryan

A bill to ban state-run affirmative action programs has advanced through another legislative hurdle. Senate Bill 3 received approval from the House Thursday with a vote of 64-27.

The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro and Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville. It now returns to the Senate to approve an amendment before heading to the governor’s desk.

Bentley discussed a brief history of affirmative action as she presented the bill on the House floor. She referenced a 1965 executive order from then-President Lyndon B. Johnson which required the government to expand hiring practices and prevent discrimination in government jobs.

Affirmative action ban passes Arkansas House

Bass Pro Shops to build an ‘Outpost’ store in Fort Smith

Bass Pro Shops is bringing its Outpost retail store to Fort Smith, the Springfield, Mo.-based company announced Monday (Feb. 10). The store will be located off Rogers Avenue and along Interstate 540 where the former Best Buy building is located.

The 70,000-square-foot Fort Smith store will be the third Bass Pro Shops store in Arkansas and is set to open in early 2026. The other two stores are in Rogers and Little Rock.

The company said it will employ more than 100 at the store. The company did not disclose the planned investment in the store or average employee wages.

Bass Pro Shops to build an ‘Outpost’ store in Fort Smith

State Representative DeAnn Vaught weekly update

As the Arkansas House of Representatives enters the 5th week of the 2025 Regular Session, several key pieces of legislation have moved forward, addressing issues ranging from food freedom to healthcare access and election policy. 

One measure that received House approval, HB1149, ensures that counties and municipalities cannot impose regulations on vegetable gardens located on residential properties. This bill upholds the right of homeowners to cultivate their own produce without restrictions. Similarly, the House passed HB1048, which expands opportunities for small farmers by allowing the sale of unpasteurized milk at farmers' markets or through direct delivery from the farm where it is produced. 

Healthcare policy also saw legislative action this week. HB1181 allows certified nurse midwives to admit and discharge patients from licensed hospitals if granted privileges, improving maternal healthcare access. Additionally, HB1309 clarifies cost-sharing requirements for breast cancer examinations. 

The House also passed HB1221 this week, which limits the validity of ballot initiative titles and petition signatures to the election cycle in which they are approved and collected. 

In addition, the House also passed SB3, a bill that seeks to eliminate affirmative action programs in state government. The proposed legislation states that the state shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in matters related to state employment, public education, or state procurement. 

The House also took up legislation impacting seasonal commerce, approving HB1324 to adjust the permissible sales period for fireworks. This bill moves the start date for summer fireworks sales from June 20 to June 13 while keeping the existing winter sales period unchanged. 

In the week ahead, the House expects to address cell phone restrictions in schools and free breakfast for students. You can watch all House committee meetings and House floor proceedings at arkansashouse.org.

Winter Weather Briefing from the National Weather Service in Little Rock

• Snow appears most likely well to the north of Arkansas

• A cold rain is favored across much of the southern half of the state and nearby areas

• There is an increasing concern that areas along the AR/MO border, including the higher terrain in Arkansas, will have to deal with freezing rain or mixed precipitation

Nominees named for Arkansas tourism awards

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

Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Thrive Inc. in Helena, and the Eureka Springs City Advertising & Promotion Commission are some of the nominees for Arkansas tourism awards. The winners will be announced Feb. 25.

The Henry Awards announcements will be part of the 51st annual Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Bentonville set for Feb. 23-25. The conference will also coincide with the second annual Arkansas Outdoor Economy Summit.

The tourism awards honor the individuals, organizations, and attractions making an extraordinary impact on the state’s tourism industry, according to the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. The Henry Award is named after Henri de Tonti, a 17th-century explorer believed to be one of the first Arkansas Travelers and who is credited with developing the first trading post in Arkansas.

Nominees named for Arkansas tourism awards

Bill to prohibit discrimination passes split Arkansas House panel after much public opposition

KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate

A bill that a slew of critics say would impede minorities’ opportunities for success in Arkansas passed a legislative panel on a split voice vote Wednesday after nearly three hours of debate.

Senate Bill 3 would “prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment” by public entities and eliminate required minority recruitment and retention plans and reports from public school districts and higher education institutions.

The bill would also repeal language in state procurement proposals that encourage minority participation or require bidders to adopt an equal opportunity hiring program designed to increase the percentage of minority employees.

Bill to prohibit discrimination passes split Arkansas House panel after much public opposition

Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate

Rep. Denise Ennett, D-Little Rock, criticizes Senate Bill 3, which would “prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment” by public entities during a House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs meeting on Wednesday, February 5, 2025.

Boozman-Backed Recycling Legislation Passes Senate Committee

WASHINGTON––U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Chair of the Senate Recycling Caucus, Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate EPW Committee, applauded committee passage of the Strategies to Eliminate Waste and Accelerate Recycling Development (STEWARD) Act.

The STEWARD Act, approved unanimously by Boozman’s EPW Committee colleagues, would improve our nation’s recycling and composting systems and establish a pilot recycling program at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award grants on a competitive basis to communities interested in improving their recycling accessibility. 

“Strengthening our commitment to recycling in order to preserve the resources we are blessed with, as well as spur economic growth and encourage industry innovation, benefits all Americans,” said Boozman. “I am proud to see the STEWARD Act advance with bipartisan support as we continue our efforts to encourage sustainable recycling infrastructure systems and practices.”

“For too many Americans, recycling remains out of reach – either because facilities don’t exist in their communities or because the infrastructure to make recycling economically viable is not in place. The STEWARD Act aims to close these gaps by ensuring that recycling services are accessible to all communities. The bill also recognizes that, to solve a problem, you need to measure and understand it first. The data provisions in the STEWARD Act will empower decision-makers to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions that will drive real change in our nation’s recycling systems,” Capito said.

“I’m proud to join Chairman Capito and Senator Boozman to lead the STEWARD Act, which is an essential preliminary step in reducing the amount of plastics seeping into our bodies and environment,” said Whitehouse. "Recycling is a stopgap in the rising flood of plastic waste, and I look forward to working with my colleagues—on both sides of the aisle—to tackle this issue on all fronts.”

Boozman, Capito and Whitehouse introduced the STEWARD Act last month. The measure combines Boozman-authored legislation from previous Congresses known as the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act and the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act that aim to enhance commercial and curbside recycling.

As a leader of the Senate Recycling Caucus, Boozman has also hosted events bringing together industry leaders to promote sustainability and preservation of our natural resources.

Find a one-pager explanation of the bill here.

Attorney General Griffin Joins President Trump at White House for Signing of Executive Order to Protect Women in Athletic Competitions

Griffin: ‘President Trump’s Executive Order Today Restores Common Sense’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement after he joined President Donald Trump at the White House for the signing of an executive order to protect women in athletics:

“Women and girls deserve the right to compete in athletic events on a fair and safe playing field. The previous administration was intent on putting female athletes at risk and degrading the integrity of competition because of its allegiance to ideals that are out of touch with reality. I applaud President Trump for doing what the Biden administration failed to do.

“When the previous administration proposed to re-interpret Title IX to mandate males being allowed to play in girls’ and women’s athletics, I led a 19-State coalition opposing it, and the administration backed down. Then last year I co-led a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s unconstitutional and nonsensical reinterpretation of Title IX that would have required schools and universities to allow males into girls’ and women’s locker rooms and showers. A federal district court agreed with our lawsuit and implemented a preliminary injunction against the new rule that we challenged.

“President Trump’s executive order today restores common sense. Women and girls deserve the chance to compete in athletics without fear of harassment, injury, or unfair competition.”

To read a copy of the President’s executive order, click here.

Researchers receive $550,000 USDA-NIFA grant to develop farmers market food safety game

By Brittaney Mann
U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Food safety education for small producers will take on an interactive gaming form with the help of a collaborative $550,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

FOOD SAFETY GAME — Kristen Gibson is serving as the lead investigator on a new $550,000 grant from USDA-NIFA. Gibson and her collaborators will evaluate current food safety training practices and develop a multimedia game to help teach farmers market vendors food safety best practices.

Kristen Gibson, department of food science professor of food safety for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and director of the Center for Food Safety, will serve as lead investigator on this grant, aimed at providing easy-to-access educational resources about safe food production directed at small- and medium-sized farmers getting started with their market endeavors.

Citing research that indicates interactive multimedia learning tools can help audiences understand concepts better than traditional education practices can, Gibson said the research team decided a multimedia game format may help producers retain the information better. The multi-institution project is titled “GLEAN (game learning to educate and advance knowledge): Transformative food safety training for farmers market vendors.”

“We want to be sure that they’re providing safe food to their customers,” Gibson said. “And so, in order to implement best practices related to the production and the handling of fresh produce, you have to have that knowledge base to understand why that is important.”

The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station is the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Farmers markets and food safety

Farmers market vendors do not sell a large volume of produce, and therefore are not covered by the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act, Gibson said. Food safety requirements may vary in each market, even within the same state, because farmers market managers can set their own regulations.

Farmers market vendors have varying levels of food safety knowledge and training, Gibson said. Additionally, farmers market managers may not have access to farmers market specific training that can be distributed to the local producers.

The Arkansas Department of Health does not require farmers markets vendors to obtain permits to sell uncut fruit and vegetables or temperature-stable cottage foods.

The researchers want to be sure that everyone has access to resources to aid in the adoption of food safety best practices, and to make it easier to receive them.

“The idea is to be sure you’re capturing those people who may be falling through the cracks,” Gibson said.

The game

The development of this food safety training game will take place over three years. The researchers will collect data from a sample of local food producers to understand what information is most relevant, assess the effectiveness of the game in knowledge retention and eventually release it to the public.

Vendors can find multiple answers to their questions on different media, like Google searches or YouTube, and by directing the necessary information into a game format, it may help growers feel confident in the validity of the information they consume, Gibson said.

The researchers want the game to be realistic to the growers’ specific situations so that food safety awareness can transfer into their practices. The game will include different risks and related regulations, allow the producers to get help from in-game organizations that mirror real-life support structures and allow them to understand the varying rules of different markets, Gibson said. The strategies will also center on how to gain entry to local and regional food systems.

Collaboration

Jennifer Acuff, assistant professor of food safety and microbiology in the food science department for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. (U of A System Division of Agriculture)

Jennifer Acuff, assistant professor of food safety and microbiology at the experiment station, will also participate in the project.

“I am very excited to work on the GLEAN project,” Acuff said. “With farmers markets continuing to grow in size and types of products sold, we want to make sure all the vendors are provided with as much knowledge as possible about relevant regulations and are empowered to employ best practices to prioritize the safety of their consumers.”

Acuff’s research focuses on reducing pathogens from foods at the post-harvest level through prevention and intervention. She received a $200,000 grant earlier this year from USDA-NIFA to investigate moisture levels that lead to bacterial survival in low-moisture foods.

“We will be collaborating with colleagues from around the nation to address local and regional knowledge gaps by employing creative learning tools, such as educational gaming,” Acuff said.

That nationwide team of researchers includes Barbara Chamberlin, Matheus Cezarotto and Pamela Martinez from New Mexico State University, and Sujata Sirsat from the University of Houston. New Mexico State University will develop the game through its Learning Games Lab, which has developed many educational games.

Gibson has received many grants that feed into her work on food safety knowledge. Many of her projects aim to characterize food safety risks for small producers. Earlier this year, she characterized the pathogen vulnerability of two popular microgreen varieties and their growing media.

She was also recently awarded a $27,739 grant from the Center for Produce Safety to evaluate current food safety knowledge for indoor leafy green production, with the goal of presenting evidence-based best practices and identifying knowledge gaps on microbial risks.

Gibson is excited to use a game approach to relay food safety information. She hopes to see an increase in confidence, knowledge and the implementation of best practices outside the game.

“To do the practice, you have to have the knowledge first,” Gibson said.

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

Local activists join nationwide '50501' protest movement

KUAR | By Nathan Treece

Local activists filled the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol at noon Wednesday protesting actions taken by the Trump administration within its first three weeks.

Cynthia Coen is a native Arkansan who returned home to care for her mother. Like many others there, she said it was hard to pin down just one issue that brought her out to make her voice heard.

"It's so difficult to list everything, to list everything that's happening," said Coen. "Back to wasting water in California, over 90 million gallons of water that just went into nowhere, to defying the FEMA organization. This whole DEI situation, it’s insane.”

Local activists join nationwide '50501' protest movement

Carlos Bonilla/Little Rock Public Radio

Activists line the steps to the Arkansas Capitol grounds for the '50501' protests

Hoops for Kids’ Sake charity basketball tournament set for March 4

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

Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives, Arkansas State Senate, Office of the Governor of Arkansas, and Office of the Arkansas Attorney General will square off for a worthwhile cause at Hoops for Kids’ Sake, the annual charity basketball tournament benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas (BBBSCA) and the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas.

The tournament will be held on Tuesday, March 4 at 6pm at the Eddie L. Boone & Oliver Fitzpatrick, Jr. Fieldhouse at Little Rock Central High School. General admission tickets cost $10 and will be available at the door.

The tournament will be played in a 3-on-3 format, with the winners of two key games playing for the championship title. The games include:

• Game 1: Office of the Governor v. Office of the Attorney General – The team from the Office of the Governor won the inaugural game against the team from the Office of the Attorney General in 2024.

• Game 2: Arkansas House v. Arkansas Senate – This is the 10th time this game has been played. Dating back to 2014, the Senate leads the series 6-3 after its sixth consecutive win last year. The game resumed in 2023 after a three-year break following the 2020 onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Game 3: Championship – The winners of Game 1 and Game 2 will play for the championship title. The Governor’s Office won the inaugural overall title in 2024.

Hoops for Kids’ Sake charity basketball tournament set for March 4