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Arkansas Advocate •

Farm Bill impasse tests Arkansas Sen. John Boozman’s low-key approach | Arkansas Advocate

Ten years ago, Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman faced a challenge from a Democratic rival who portrayed the lawmaker as out of touch with Arkansas and too aligned with Donald Trump.
His challenger, Conner Eldridge, brought in then-Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota to campaign for him. Heitkamp, a Democrat who sat on the Agriculture Committee with Boozman, talked up Eldridge’s candidacy.
Then reporters asked her what she thought of Boozman.
“I love John Boozman. He’s a great guy,” she said.
It...
Arkansas Advocate •

Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion is endangered. Again. | Arkansas Advocate

Months before Arkansas lawmakers convened for their 2013 legislative session, the thought that the state would expand Medicaid was almost laughable.
Republicans had just won a majority in both chambers of the Legislature, with many candidates winning what had once been localized races by running against President Barack Obama and his signature healthcare law. 
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that summer left up to states the decision on whether to expand Medicaid to more low-income people under...
Arkansas Advocate •

Arkansas healthcare providers alarmed by potential end of state's Medicaid expansion | Arkansas Advocate

The Trump administration’s decision not to renew Arkansas’ hybrid Medicaid expansion is alarming medical providers and experts who say the loss of insurance for thousands would be devastating and would damage a state healthcare system already facing serious strains.
The disclosure Friday by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office has created uncertainty for a first-in-the-nation program that supporters credit with cutting the number of uninsured and the costs hospitals pay to provide care for patien...
Arkansas Advocate •

Immigrants helped shape Arkansas. The state shouldn’t forget that history. | Arkansas Advocate

I’ve never been to Tontitown, nor have I had the pleasure of partaking in its storied annual Grape Festival. But the northwest Arkansas community founded by Italian immigrants feels familiar to me.
That’s partly because of Deputy Editor Antoinette Grajeda’s recent article on how the debate over immigration enforcement is playing out in the small northwest Arkansas community. 
Reading about Tontitown reminded me of Hibbing, the Minnesota mining town where my grandfather and father were raised. Ju...
Arkansas Advocate •

Arkansas’ smoking ban just turned 20. Can the state find common ground on public health again? | Arkansas Advocate

Just 20 years ago, trying to avoid smoke in Arkansas was an onerous task.
Going out to restaurants and bars often meant coming home reeking of cigarettes, even if you or your companions weren’t the ones smoking. Many employers had a smoke break room. 
At my first newspaper job in Arkansas, that meant walking through a thick, noxious cloud to buy a can of Diet Coke from the vending machine.
It wasn’t just a hassle navigating this environment. It was a serious risk, especially for a state that has...
Arkansas Advocate •

Arkansans who banded together to save PBS deserve better than this | Arkansas Advocate

In normal times, a group of citizens banding together and pitching in to save a public institution like PBS would be rewarded. They would be lauded for putting their money where their mouths are.
But these aren’t normal times, as Arkansans who fought to keep PBS programs in the state are learning the hard way.
Arkansas TV’s decision to remove one PBS news program from its lineup and reschedule another is a betrayal to those who were trying to do the right thing. The decision is also going to mak...
Arkansas Advocate •

The declaration’s lesson: Credibility matters. Arkansas leaders should take notice. | Arkansas Advocate

There’s no shortage of events occurring around Arkansas in the coming days to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.
One line in the nation’s founding document deserves particularly special attention amidst the fireworks, parades and other July 4 commemorations.
“Let facts be submitted to a candid world,” the declaration states before outlining the litany of offenses by the king that prompted the colonies to seek independence.
It’s an easily overlooked passage,...
Arkansas Advocate •

Nondisclosure Day: Secret agreements are violating Arkansans’ trust | Arkansas Advocate

In “Disclosure Day,” Steven Spielberg’s latest summer blockbuster, the heroes of the movie are in a race against time to reveal decades of secrets long hidden from view.
Across Arkansas, economic development leaders and elected officials seem to be a perverse Bizarro-land version of the story, rushing to keep even more information out of the public’s reach.
The stakes here are obviously on a different scale and don’t include any UFO or extraterrestrial sightings, but they’re still important to A...
Arkansas Advocate •

Arkansas’ LGBTQ+ community needs to be supported, not counter-programmed  | Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ proclamation declaring June “Fidelity Month” appeared innocuous enough at first glance. 
For most people there’s little to argue with the idea of encouraging residents to “reflect on and renew commitments” with civic and spiritual institutions as we near our nation’s 250th birthday. The wording even appeared tame to the ways President Donald Trump has couched the approaching semiquincentennial and tied it to his own political profile. 
But the month is part...
Arkansas Advocate •

The data center debates are only a preview of Arkansas’ AI challenges | Arkansas Advocate

As central Arkansas debated how to handle the influx of data centers needed to power artificial intelligence, another story played out in Fort Smith.
There, local police sent an alert to community members about an AI-generated video that purported to show an injured officer thanking the public for their support. The video falsely stated the officer, who was hospitalized, was back home with his family.
The stories may seem to have little in common, but they’re a sign of how inescapable AI and its...
Arkansas Advocate •

Arkansas children face real dangers. Reading ‘The Odyssey’ isn’t one of them. | Arkansas Advocate

It’s hardly news that being a parent is a nerve-wracking experience these days. Between fears of gun violence at school and predators online, there’s more than enough nightmare fuel to keep us up late at night long after we tuck our children into bed.
But the Arkansas Library Board has identified the true danger to young ones. It’s Homer’s epic “The Odyssey,” images of Michelangelo’s “David” or passages from “The Canterbury Tales.”
The board this month proposed new rules for libraries to receive...
KUAF 91.3 •

Arkansas fiscal session: DeMillo on Sanders’ address, what to watch

Moore: We start this Tuesday edition of Ozarks at Large with our friend in Little Rock, Andrew DeMillo. He is the editor-in-chief of the Arkansas Advocate. Hello, Andrew. How are you?DeMillo: I’m doing well. Thank you for having me again.Moore: Absolutely. We are here to talk fiscal session. Last time we talked was leading up to it. Now we are officially in it. Let’s start by talking about really the only thing that has more or less happened at this point in the fiscal session, and that is Gov....
Arkansas Advocate •

Facing prison pushback, Arkansas governor relies on greatest hits in speech | Arkansas Advocate

If you’re a red-state governor with an eye on 2028 and a prison you want to build has stalled, what do you say after a disappointing primary election? If you’re Sarah Huckabee Sanders, you return to your greatest hits.
The Arkansas governor’s 52-minute State of the State address amounted to fan service highlighting stances that appeal to fellow Republicans. She also steered clear of the only proposal she’s made that’s faced serious legislative resistance.
From advocating further income tax cuts...
Arkansas Advocate •

Close secretary of state runoff points to fissures and future fights for Arkansas Republicans | Arkansas Advocate

He cast doubts on the security of election machines and questioned the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. He showed little restraint on social media, with posts sprinkled with profanity that at times were aimed at fellow Republicans.
When Donald Trump displayed these traits, Arkansas Republicans and party leaders warmly embraced him. But for Bryan Norris, it was an entirely different story.
Sen. Kim Hammer’s whisker-close victory over Norris in the Republican runoff for secretary of state h...
Arkansas Advocate •

Close secretary of state runoff points to fissures and future fights for Arkansas Republicans | Arkansas Advocate

He cast doubts on the security of election machines and questioned the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. He showed little restraint on social media, with posts sprinkled with profanity that at times were aimed at fellow Republicans.
When Donald Trump displayed these traits, Arkansas Republicans and party leaders warmly embraced him. But for Bryan Norris, it was an entirely different story.
Sen. Kim Hammer’s whisker-close victory over Norris in the Republican runoff for secretary of state h...
KUAF 91.3 •

Arkansas runoff elections, the coming fiscal session

We begin this Tuesday edition of Ozarks at Large with our friend from his office in Little Rock, Andrew DeMillo, the editor in chief of the Arkansas Advocate.Matthew Moore: Andrew, happy election day again.Andrew DeMillo: Happy, happy election day. It seems like we just did this a few weeks ago.Moore: I can't decide if it's Groundhog Day or Election Day. We'll see. So let's start, Andrew, if we can, talking about some runoff elections. We've got some local, we've got some that's happening in mor...
Arkansas Advocate •

Arkansas’ Capitol grounds could bring people together. An anti-abortion monument won’t do that. | Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas will come closer next month to becoming the first state with an anti-abortion monument on its Capitol grounds when a state panel takes up a new round of proposals. The idea has run into roadblocks that should give leaders second thoughts.
The Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission is expected to discuss the latest submissions for the “Monument to the Unborn,” which a 2023 law required to be built near the state Capitol. 
Intended to commemorate the abortions that were performed before the...
Arkansas TV •

Arkansas Week: Primary Runoff Elections/UAMS Improvements & Goals

A political update on the primary runoffs and the partial government shutdown. Early voting began March 24 for primary runoffs in the state legislature, the office for Secretary of State, and county elected offices throughout the state. And now, several weeks into the partial government shutdown, Congress still remains at a funding impasse to reopen the government. Host Chris Kane speaks with editor-in-chief Andrew DeMillo for the Arkansas Advocate and Washington Correspondent Alex Thomas of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on the state and national political landscape. Then, the new chancellor for the University of Medical Sciences,
Dr. Lowry Barnes talks about health care, the work UAMS is doing to improve medical education, and his vision for the academic medical center.

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Arkansas Advocate •

6 years after COVID-19, Arkansas leaders need to do more to battle vaccine skepticism | Arkansas Advocate

Like most people in Arkansas, my daily routine changed completely six years ago this month when the state announced its first case of COVID-19. My beat as an AP statehouse reporter shifted almost entirely to covering the pandemic’s impact on nearly every aspect of Arkansans’ lives.
A key part of that work included covering the daily news conferences then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson led  about the growing number of cases and the steps being taken throughout Arkansas to battle the coronavirus.
Hutchinson...
Arkansas Advocate •

6 years after COVID-19, Arkansas leaders need to do more to battle vaccine skepticism | Arkansas Advocate

Like most people in Arkansas, my daily routine changed completely six years ago this month when the state announced its first case of COVID-19. My beat as an AP statehouse reporter shifted almost entirely to covering the pandemic’s impact on nearly every aspect of Arkansans’ lives.
A key part of that work included covering the daily news conferences then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson led  about the growing number of cases and the steps being taken throughout Arkansas to battle the coronavirus.
Hutchinson...
KUAF 91.3 •

Arkansas FOI turns 60, PBS gets a reprieve, LEARNS vouchers expand

Moore: We start this Tuesday edition of Ozarks at Large with our friend, the editor in chief of the Arkansas Advocate, Andrew DeMillo. Andrew, thank you so much for being with us today.DeMillo: Thank you for having me again.Moore: We are here in the midst of Sunshine Week as we think about the Freedom of Information Act and its legacy here in Arkansas. You recently wrote a column talking about the approaching 60th anniversary of the passage of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Maybe let's...
Arkansas Advocate •

Arkansas’ open records law turns 60 next year. Let’s give FOIA the birthday it deserves. | Arkansas Advocate

After Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller signed Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act in 1967, the Arkansas Democrat newspaper ran the entire text of the law in its pages.
“Freedom of Information law secures rights of everyone, not just the press,” the headline proclaimed.
It’s a statement that’s been repeated often by transparency advocates, press groups and others ever since Rockefeller signed the law protecting the public’s access to meetings and records.
And it’s one that should be repeated even more...
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