Six years after a large-scale hog farm opened near the Buffalo National River, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that C&H Hog Farm would receive $6.2 million to shut down. That was the top story on AETN’s Arkansas Week. I joined reporter Benji Hardy for the round-table segment that opened the show. By chance I had made my first visit in 35 years to the Buffalo River the previous weekend. As a Boy Scout, I used to canoe the river once a year. Seeing it again, I was reminded of the river’s grandeur with the incredible bluffs and pristine water. I normally try not to express my opinions on radio or television, but I couldn’t help but share that I was happy that the hog farm and the risk it posed to contaminate the watershed would be going away. As Hutchinson noted, the farm’s operators never did anything wrong, but said the state never should have granted a permit for the facility to open.
Another key story I had reported on that week was an ethics complaint being dropped against Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen. The often outspoken judge had sparked controversy in 2017 by taking part in an anti-death penalty demonstration just hours after blocking the state from using a lethal injection drug. The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission said too much time had passed between the complaint being filed and the case being heard. In an exclusive interview with me, Judge Griffen said the action showed the complaint was “baseless, cowardly, malicious and utterly political.” So I also discussed that on the program.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
The gurney inside the Arkansas Death Chamber which inmates are strapped into for lethal injections at the Cummins Unit. Credit: Arkansas Department of Correction.
For almost two weeks I covered a federal trial with a judge considering a lawsuit by 18 Arkansas death row inmates challenging the state’s use of the sedative midazolam in lethal injections. Attorneys representing the inmates argued the drug doesn’t do enough to keep inmates unconscious when subsequent drugs paralyze the muscles and stop the heart. The plaintiffs’ attorneys suggested inmates suffer excruciating pain, but that’s masked by the paralytic.
Attorneys for the state countered that there is no legitimate proof to back up the claims. Much of the arguments and testimony focused on the execution of Kenneth Williams, one of four inmates Arkansas put to death in 2017. He lurched repeatedly for about 10 seconds during his lethal injection. But depending on which side the witness was testifying for was a factor in whether it was described as Williams violently hitting against the restraints of the gurney or was simply an involuntary muscle spasm.
In federal court, reporters are not allowed to record audio for broadcast, so much of my reporting went into detailed online stories. I also recorded longer than normal radio reports and joined KUAR’s local All Things Considered host a couple of times to talk about the proceedings. I also spoke about the trial on AETN’s Arkansas Week. Below are links to my reports and segments from the television program.
At the end of the trial, Judge Baker said she will consider the arguments and testimony. She did not give a time frame for when a written ruling will be issued. I spoke the following day, Friday, May 3 on AETN’s Arkansas Week about trial.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
The Rock Island’s Perry, Arkansas depot in the early 1970s.
A nearly $10,000 grant from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission will be awarded to the City of Perry, Arkansas in a couple of weeks and provide critically-needed funds to finish moving a former Rock Island depot to an adjacent lot. The shortline Little Rock & Western Railway ended up owning the building along with a 79-mile stretch of former Rock Island tracks running from Little Rock to Danville, Arkansas. This was part of the railroad’s Sunbelt Line, which ran the famed Choctaw Rocket passenger trains between Memphis, Tennessee and Amarillo, Texas.
I’ve been working with the Perry County Historical and Genealogical Society to raise money and relocate the 101-year-old depot. The Little Rock & Western had planned to tear down the depot to expand a locomotive servicing shop. But the railroad gave us time to put together a plan with the city offering us an adjacent lot next to the railroad’s property. It’ll still be alongside the same tracks, which will help in maintaining historic integrity. Preserve Arkansas has been providing us with technical guidance with the goal of getting the depot eventually named to the National Register of Historic Places. READ THE LATEST.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
I took part in the panel discussion on AETN’s Arkansas Week on Friday, April 26, with the top item being the formal adjournment of this year’s session of the Arkansas Legislature. I also discussed the federal trial I’ve been covering with 18 Arkansas death row inmates suing the state over the use of the drug midazolam as the first drug in lethal injections. Their attorneys argue it doesn’t sufficiently knock out inmates before the second and third drugs are administered, which paralyze the muscles and stop the heart, leading to unconstitutional pain and suffering.
Also joining the round table conversation was Arkansas Times reporter Rebekah Hall talking about Little Rock City Hall. She had been an intern at KUAR five or six years ago while still in high school and I was proud to see how well she did on the TV program.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
This is a sad day for Little Rock radio. Tom Wood, a radio legend in this market, was told today by iHeartMedia that his job was one of 70 being eliminated in the latest round of cuts by the bankrupt corporate radio company. His was one of the most familiar and beloved voices in Arkansas. Tom’s dismissal is just the latest example of how far the struggling industry has fallen, not only decimating heritage radio stations, but getting rid of icons like Tom.
He helped create the popular, longtime rock station Magic 105 in 1980, but with the deregulation of radio in the 1990s, Clear Channel bought the frequency and made changes leading to its downfall. Tom stayed with the company and even became the namesake for another station in the cluster called Tom-FM. But that station, following the corporate programming strategy of “we play it all,” was eventually changed to Big 94.9. Then the frequency changed formats again.
I interviewed him in February about his long career, which you can hear on the link. I hope his voice once again returns to the airwaves in Arkansas. READ MORE.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
This is the online home of Michael Hibblen, managing editor of Newsroom Ventures, which publishes six Arkansas newspapers. I've worked as a reporter, editor and manager for newspapers, radio and TV stations for more than three decades, with this website telling the story of my career. Also featured are outside interests I've researched. The views expressed here are my own and might not reflect those of my employers.
Released by Arcadia Publishing in 2017, Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas delves into the history of the railroad, which once had a huge footprint in Arkansas. The book features historic photos and tells the story of the Rock Island, which was shut down in March 1980. READ MORE ABOUT MY BOOK.
Preserving Rock Island Depot at Perry
Since 2017, I've been part of a group working to preserve the former Rock Island Depot at Perry, Arkansas. To keep it from being demolished, we raised money to move the depot to an adjacent lot, still alongside the tracks, which is now owned by the city. The building has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and our group has become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. LEARN MORE.
For 13 years, from May 2009 to December 2022, I worked for NPR station KUAR-FM 89.1 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. That included 10 years as News Director while continuing to anchor and report. You can read and hear reports from that time on Little Rock Public Radio's website.
