by Michael Hibblen | Jun 14, 2026 | Arkansas News, Arkansas Politics
Actor and director Kevin Costner testified about the importance of preserving and funding national parks and public lands during a field hearing Friday of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources. Photo: Michael Hibblen
Just outside of Hot Springs National Park, a field hearing was held Friday by members of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources who heard testimony and advocacy for passage of the Great American Outdoors Act 250. The bipartisan bill would reauthorize a law passed by Congress in 2020 that was designed to protect public lands and repair aging infrastructure.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, who chairs the committee, invited members from around the country to his district. He noted that 40 years before Yellowstone was designated as the United States’ first national park, Congress protected the thermal waters of Hot Springs in 1832. That created “America’s first federal reservation of a natural resource, making Hot Springs the birthplace of what a lot of people call ‘America’s best idea.’ Today, Hot Springs serves as a powerful example of what can happen when federal investment, local leadership and private partnerships come together.”
Westerman and Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California, introduced the reauthorization bill Wednesday. The measure would expand on the 2020 legislation, which Westerman said represented the largest investment in public lands infrastructure in generations, providing long-overdue resources to address deteriorating trails, campgrounds, visitor facilities and historic structures.
In Arkansas, Westerman said more than $52 million has been invested in projects at Hot Springs National Park, the Buffalo National River and the Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge.
“Those investments have improved visitor access, strengthened recreational opportunities and supported some of our state’s most treasured public lands,” Westerman said, adding that “record visitation continues to place new demands on aging infrastructure.”
The new legislation builds on the successes of the original law, he said, while addressing lessons learned through its implementation. Deferred maintenance over several decades is also a problem that Westerman said still has not been rectified.
“While inflation and rising construction costs may make needed repairs even more expensive, we have also learned important lessons about how these funds are allocated, how projects are selected, how agencies measure deferred maintenance and how we can better leverage partnerships to stretch taxpayer dollars even further,” Westerman said.
The legislation would invest $1.9 billion annually in national parks, public lands and Bureau of Indian Education facilities for the next five years. Funding would come from private donations, onshore energy revenue and new fees paid by foreign visitors.
Among those who testified during the hearing was actor and director Kevin Costner, who has long advocated for preserving national parks, largely through his documentary films. He spoke about growing up in a family that did not have the money to travel to major tourist destinations, but made annual drives to national parks.
“We could afford the gas to get us to the mighty sequoias, the high Sierras, to Yosemite. It was better than Paris, at least for a kid with my imagination. We could fish in a lake, sleep in a tent next to a stream, wake up to the smell of bacon and an open fire. It seemed wild,” Costner said.
“What always struck me, but I couldn’t articulate as a child, was that it never changed. It was undisturbed. It was comforting to know when I came back, it would look the same every time. It was perfect,” Costner said. “Nature doesn’t need a lot of help being perfect. But getting to this spot would not have been impossible without a road, a marked trail, even our campsite was the perfect distance from the next camper.”
That infrastructure is critical to ensuring visitors have good experiences in parks, Costner said, but the signs of deferred maintenance are becoming increasingly apparent.
He also spoke of the role of explorer, geologist and physician Ferdinand Hayden, who led the first government survey of the Yellowstone region in 1871 and advocated for preserving the area. The following year Yellowstone was established as the nation’s first national park.
“The odds of that happening in the area and the era lived, and the forces that stood against it, at a time when America’s natural resources were up for grabs, free to be exploited, with little or no regard for the future — it was zero. But he did it,” Costner said. “He had a vision and the courage to champion preservation over profit.”
Nature remains vulnerable, he said, which is why he supports the legislation.
“While visitations continue to grow, many of our parks are struggling with aging roads, deteriorating trails, outdated water systems, historic buildings in need of repair and staffing shortages that make it increasingly difficult to protect these resources and serve the public. We need the people who care for these places,” Costner said. “There’s really no better time for us to reaffirm our commitment to these places that tell America’s story. Conservation can’t afford to be a partisan issue.”
In addition to restoring infrastructure, backers of the legislation say it would support 72,500 jobs nationwide and generate $26.4 billion in economic activity for communities neighboring national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and public lands. It also would promote transparency and accountability by streamlining contracting and procurement, expediting project reviews and requiring regular reporting.
Others testifying at the hearing included U.S. Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary Kate MacGregor, Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism Office of Outdoor Recreation Director Katherine Andrews, and Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks Executive Council Member Mike Ward.
The hearing was held at the historic Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, which sits alongside Hot Springs National Park and provides direct access to the park’s trail system. The landmark hotel, which has hosted several presidents over the last century, has recently undergone extensive renovations.
After the hearing, Westerman acknowledged that despite having bipartisan support, the legislation is far from a done deal.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman speaks with reporters after Friday’s hearing in Hot Springs. Photo: Michael Hibblen
“It’s an act of Congress — there’s always a challenge — but I’m working with our colleagues in the Senate [to build support]. You saw the administration is supportive. It would be great in our 250th anniversary to somehow get this to President Trump to sign by July 4th. That would be a very tall task to happen, but it’s something we all care about and I think it could happen,” Westerman said.
Environmental and conservation groups are supporting the legislation. Audubon Delta Arkansas Policy Manager Glen Hooks said he attended Friday’s hearing to learn details and was “really satisfied and happy” with what he heard.
“Audubon is going to support and endorse this bill because it’s the kind of thing that brings people together. National parks — everybody loves them. You’ve got an Arkansas Republican congressman, you’ve got environmental groups, you’ve got Crash Davis here in favor of this bill,” Hooks said, referencing the baseball player Costner played in the 1988 film Bull Durham.
Hooks said he visited three national parks last month and thanked Westerman for his leadership in bringing this bill forward. He said parks are quickly impacted by staffing or budget cuts.
“You can’t just leave the gates open and let people come in because when you do that, as we saw in the early days of government shutdowns, unfortunately some Americans will come in and vandalize,” Hooks said. “This bill will keep these national treasures intact for years to come, and I think, one of the best things the federal government has ever done is create the National Parks System.”
I reported this story for Talk Business & Politics, The Glenwood Herald and the Fordyce News-Advocate.
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.
by Michael Hibblen | Jun 7, 2026 | Arkansas History, Arkansas News, Music, Willie Nelson
Thirty years ago, Willie Nelson rolled into Glenwood, Ark. for an appearance on local radio combo KWXI-AM 670/KWXE-FM 104.5. A large crowd of cheering fans showed up with signs and red bandannas. Willie did not disappoint them, making the event on June 9, 1996 one of the most memorable days for the community.
Willie Nelson being escorted inside the Glenwood radio stations by Music/Programming Director Anna Donahue (right) on June 9, 1996. Photo: The Glenwood Herald
Nelson and four longtime members of his band arrived about an hour late aboard a pair of buses named Red Headed Stranger and Honeysuckle Rose III, according to a story by The Glenwood Herald. Stepping off his bus at Reggie Jones Plaza, where the radio studios were located, Nelson waved to the crowd and walked inside with harmonica player Mickey Raphael, rhythm guitarist Jody Payne and piano-playing sister Bobbie Nelson.
“We had to lock the doors, so many people were trying to come in,” former station owner Tom Nichols said this week while recalling the event.
They played live music for about 90 minutes with some banter between each song with Nichols and Music/Programming Director Anna Donahue. Afterward, Nelson ventured into the crowd and “courteously posed for pictures and stayed in the parking lot signing guitars, photographs, bandanas and anything else that was presented to him until no one was left,” the newspaper reported.
What inspired the legendary singer and songwriter to visit the city of less than 2,000 people for the promotional event was a letter from Donahue along with enthusiasm by Nelson for his new album “Spirit.” It had been released five days earlier.
“I talked it over with the band and we decided the best way to sell this album was door to door,” Nelson said on the air.
“Spirit” was his first album for British-based Island Records, which had never released an album by a country performer. It’s a stripped down acoustic record with a Spanish influence. It’s now considered a masterpiece and Nelson has said it’s his favorite album among his own recordings.
According to a story by The Glenwood Herald that ran a few days before Nelson’s visit, Donahue had written a letter the previous year to Waylon Jennings, a member of the supergroup the Highwaymen, which also included Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. The letter was in response to an interview in which they complained that despite strong concert attendance, radio stations were not willing to play new Highwaymen recordings.
She said record labels were only providing promotional copies of CDs to about 300 radio stations. “We would play the fire out of the CDs if we had them,” she wrote, “but our station, like about 2,500 other stations in the country, is not on the right list. We miss the days when radio and artists realized they needed each other and record labels treated radio stations the same.”
She was then contacted by a representative of Nelson in the fall of 1995 to set up the visit to Glenwood the following year as the kick off of a promotional tour for the album. But not everyone was convinced the music icon was really coming. Station owner Nichols says he didn’t believe it at first. “If truth be known, I was also skeptical,” reporter Mike McCoy wrote in his follow up article for the newspaper after Nelson’s visit.
Nelson and his four bandmates first performed every song from his new album. Donahue at one point told Willie that a song he had just played was a “two-box of hankies tear jerker.”
He responded, “Yeah, it’s a real wrist slasher,” to laughter.
Then Nelson began taking requests from listeners calling in and played some of his biggest hits and took. Songs included “You Were Always On My Mind,” “Seven Spanish Angels,” “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” and “Georgia.”
The newspaper described how Nelson “spoke softly, politely and was so modest one would never have known that this man had written songs for Patsy Cline and Faron Young, returned to Texas and stormed the nation from the Armadillo World Headquarters rock palace in Austin, and then gone on to star in movies with such stars as Robert Redford, Jane Fonda and Dian Cannon.”
KWXI/KWXE owners Polly and Tom Nichols pose for a photo with WiIlie Nelson. Photo: Tom Nichols collection
Nelson was originally scheduled to stay overnight in the community. He was to have arrived the night before the radio appearance, staying at Rivers Edge Bed and Breakfast in Caddo Gap. He was also planning to play golf at the Glenwood Country Club. But plans fell through and he and his entourage didn’t arrive until 7:30 a.m. on that Sunday morning. They still spent time at Rivers Edge to relax on the banks of the Caddo River and have lunch.
After the event at the Glenwood radio station was over and the last autograph was signed, Nichols says one bus with Nelson and members of his entourage left for Nashville where he was to attend an awards show. The other bus with members of his band turned back toward Texas where Nelson is based.
The two radio stations, which were once the broadcasting voice of Glenwood, are no longer in the community. After being sold by Nichols, the FM 104.5 signal was moved to Hot Springs where it’s used by a religious broadcaster. The most recent owner of the AM 670 signal, a Texarkana man, ended up in bankruptcy and the station is currently off the air. It’s unclear if the license has been officially surrendered to the FCC.
Now at age 93, Nelson has outlived his contemporaries, continues touring and released his latest album “Dream Chaser” on May 29.
This story was published in the June 5, 2026 issue of The Glenwood Herald. Tom Nichols is trying to find a recording of the broadcast so that we can share that audio here.
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.
by Michael Hibblen | Jun 4, 2026 | Arkansas News
After being extensively vandalized, only concrete foundations remain of the restrooms and concession stand at what was the primary Glenwood baseball field as seen on May 27. Photo: Michael Hibblen
A community meeting is planned for Monday, June 8 at the dilapidated and vandalized baseball fields in Glenwood which haven’t been used in years. Karen Baker, a supporter of cleaning up the fields so they can again host games, says she wants people interested in volunteering with the project to see the extent of what would need to be done.
Baker was among those speaking on the idea during a Glenwood City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 26. The fields are currently owned, but not used by the Centerpoint School District. Superintendent Jody Cowart and members of the school board attended the meeting, expressing their support for the idea of donating the property, but because of legal requirements, said specific details will first need to be finalized. So far, this is simply in the discussion phase.
“I’ve researched what, from a reality standpoint, the school district can do if this was planned out well enough, where the school board wanted to deed the property over to what has to be an institution of higher education, technical institute, community college or a nonprofit organization, which would obviously be what would apply in this case,” Cowart said. “Is there a structure plan in place where the district or the board would feel comfortable in making that commitment to donating the property?”
Mayor Billy Plyler said residents who have been actively calling for again having ballfields in the city will need to be involved in making it happen. He detailed the extent of vandalism to facilities there, with the concession stand, bathrooms, bleachers and one of the dugouts burned in arson attacks. Lights above the field have also been shot out. Today all that remains of the buildings are their concrete foundations. A scoreboard and advertisements remain along the outfield fence.
“The people that are talking, they’re gonna have to do it because the school board’s not interested in that. They’re gonna basically relinquish the property if things were to go right and we’re gonna have to get active here, get a committee together and go back to the school board with a plan,” Plyler said.
He then opened the meeting for public comments, with Baker saying, “A lot of money is leaving our town for other communities that have ballparks. A lot of people are willing and ready to help when it can happen.”
She hopes to form a nonprofit organization that can pursue grant funding to cover the expense of buying needed supplies. One entity Baker said she has talked with is Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s charitable foundation Blue and You. It promotes health, fitness and wellness, and the proposed nonprofit would be required to show a need for the facility. There are other philanthropic entities that also support such endeavors.
But work repairing the ballfields would need to be completed by volunteers, she said. While there are several overgrown ballfields, which could eventually allow for baseball and softball fields, the effort would initially focus on making the main field again usable. The other fields are across the street. If tournaments are to eventually be held there, it was suggested two fields would be needed.
The baseball fields were originally owned by the Glenwood School District, which was merged in 1995 with the Amity School District, creating what is now the Centerpoint School District.
The proposed nonprofit would own the property, but the city would need to maintain it. Councilman Alan Moore suggested the city could try to find an older retired person who would be paid as a subcontractor to oversee the property. That person would also keep an eye out for any kind of vandalism like what has happened there in the past.
“It would cost the city very little to get back to where we started,” Moore said, adding that having ballfields would be extremely beneficial for the city’s young people.
There was then discussion about how the city would fund the maintenance. A hospitality sales tax on food sold at restaurants was one idea. If a proposal to allow the sale of alcohol in Pike County is approved by voters, that could also be a source. At this point backers of the initiative are gathering signatures and it has not been approved for the November ballot.
Mayor Plyler said it seems like two committees may be warranted, with one focused on the baseball fields and another on local taxes.
A memorandum of understanding would eventually need to be agreed upon by the Centerpoint School District, the city and the potential nonprofit. There are also liability concerns that would need to be resolved.
The community meeting on Monday, June 8 is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The ballfields are located near City Park and the intersection of Park Street and Lakeshore Street.
This story was published in the May 29, 2026 issue of The Glenwood Herald.
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.
by Michael Hibblen | May 28, 2026 | Arkansas News
Dondie’s White River Princess on May 12 after much of the repair work had been completed to the restaurant. Photo: Michael Hibblen
Seven months after a fire caused extensive damage to Dondie’s White River Princess in Des Arc, the landmark seafood restaurant will be reopening to the public on Friday, May 29 at 5 p.m. During the previous weekend, on Saturday, May 23, a first serving of food was for firefighters and other emergency personnel, “to show our appreciation for their fast response and hard work put into saving all they could at Dondie’s,” a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page said.
The restaurant was closed when the fire broke out on the night of Oct. 16. Co-owner Ben Scott says it was ignited by hot towels that had just been dried and spontaneously combusted after employees left. Scott, his wife Courtney, and his parents Roger and Belinda Scott have jointly owned the restaurant for more than two years, which sits alongside the White River, is two stories tall and was designed to look like a large riverboat. He says they immediately knew they wanted to make repairs and reopen, but didn’t know if that would be possible.
“There was definitely a mix of emotions,” Ben Scott said. “We didn’t know with insurance and how all that was going to play out, if [reopening] was going to be possible. So that’s kind of how we were able to reopen and it all worked out, but we had a lot of uncertainty there for a couple months.”
While he doesn’t have an exact cost, Scott says repairs were more than $500,000, with insurance covering the work.
“I wouldn’t really call it fighting with insurance, it’s just a process. They never really ever acted like they weren’t going to pay because it was a payable claim. It’s just a matter of trying to figure out how much was damaged and what it would cost for reconstruction. So it was a process and definitely there were some times we were unsure,” Scott said. “But we definitely had a lot of support and encouragement and prayers, and honestly, it’s everything you’d expect from a small town that loves its businesses.”
The restaurant was first opened by its namesake Dondie Guess in 1989. After a few years, he sold Dondie’s to Mike Scarter, who owned and operated it for more than three decades. In early 2024, Scarter sold the restaurant to the Scott family.
“He got older and had gotten in bad health and just decided it was time to sell,” Scott said. “I had spoken with him probably five or 10 years ago about potentially, if something ever happened and he got to a point that he wanted to do something, that I was interested.”
Roger and Belinda Scott had owned several other restaurants in Des Arc for about 25 years. Ben Scott says having grown up in the industry, it was natural for him to eventually want to co-own a restaurant. Roger Scott has also served as Des Arc’s mayor since 2023.
Patrons of Dondie’s won’t notice many changes when it reopens. There are some new nautical-themed items on display, lighting has been modified in places and the kitchen has been modernized. A new sign features the restaurant’s slogan “Dock. Dine. Unwind. Every meal is a shore thing.” Scott said the menu hasn’t been modified.
“It’ll pretty much look the same as what everybody remembers it as,” he said. “We’re excited to serve everybody and we want everybody to have a good experience.”
Scott said there might be a few new workers, but most of the staff will be the same people who were working there before the fire. While those employees were without work in December, Dondie’s organized a fundraiser selling tee-shirts for $20 each, with all proceeds going to the employees.
He knows a lot of people are eagerly anticipating the reopening and is asking for patience from customers.
“We’re kind of out of the swing of things for seven months and I think we’re going to be really busy,” Scott said. “Wait times may be high, but just please be patient with us. We’re excited to open, we’re excited to serve everybody and we want everybody to have a good experience.”
One of those excited to see Dondie’s reopen is Rex Nelson, a senior editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette who frequently writes about food, restaurants and culture. He describes Dondie’s not just as a local gathering spot, but a regional gathering spot with customers who are willing to make a drive.
“It’s just one of those places that you’re going to see everybody from a certain era, either on a Friday night or a Saturday night or a Sunday after church at Dondie’s,” Nelson said in an interview. “Whether it’s a Dondie’s or a Craig’s Barbecue at DeValls Bluff, the thing about those Delta restaurants is that Delta folks will drive an hour for a good meal.”
Nelson’s mother and grandparents lived in Des Arc and as a child, he spent much of his summers in the city, though that was years before Dondie’s opened.
“Dondie’s kind of in a way hearkens back to an older, lower White River culture that we’re quickly losing. I hope that it’s here for many vears to come and I’m heartened that they decided to build back after the fire.” Nelson said. “It is certainly in the tradition of the great catfish places you used to find all up and down the White River, and it’s got one of the best views of the river anywhere.”
I reported this story for the May 26 issue of The Grand Prairie Herald. Our intern Eli Dean of Harding University helped me write the story.
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.
by Michael Hibblen | May 12, 2026 | Arkansas News, Arts, Music
Sculptor Kevin Kresse speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the atg Pavilion at Argenta Plaza in North Little Rock. Photo: Michael Hibblen
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday in North Little Rock for a pavilion in Argenta Plaza that will eventually house statues and busts of influential musicians who emerged from Arkansas. Artist Kevin Kresse, best known for crafting an eight-foot-tall bronze statue of Johnny Cash for the U.S. Capitol, is making the sculptures of 20 musicians who span a broad range of genres, along with Stax Records executive Al Bell.
The first group will be unveiled in September, Kresse said, and will include a replica of the Cash statue using the same mold. Others will be Levon Helm, Sister Rosetta Tharp, Al Green, Glen Campbell, Louis Jordan and Florence Price. Subsequent unveiling ceremonies will take place each year until all 21 statues or busts are on display. In addition to the busts being placed in the pavilion, a second casting will be made of each which will be placed in the hometowns of the musicians.
“It’s something that I’ve been dreaming about for so long that it’s almost surreal that this day is here,” Kresse said in an interview before the ceremony. “It’s the beginning of what I see as a longer adventure with this being the beginning of it. But I see this spreading out around the entire state eventually, hopefully moving on to educational components for kids and everything too.”
Attending the event were private financial donors, state and local tourism officials, representatives of the communities the musicians are from and some of the musicians’ family members. The pavilion is being named after Applied Technology Group, which is headquartered a few blocks away and is owned by Scott and Ruth Landers. The $3 million project is a partnership between North Little Rock Tourism and the nonprofit Argenta Arts Foundation.
“This project will move the needle on tourism not just in the Argenta Arts District, but throughout the state, as well,” said John Goudin, who is the project’s campaign chair. To the financial backers, he said “they’ve never blinked from day one on this project, so thank you all so much.”
Also at the ceremony were Glen Campbell’s youngest sister Sandi Campbell Brink and cousin Steve Campbell, who still lives in Pike County. Glen Campbell was born in the community of Billstown, near Delight, which is also where he was laid to rest in his family’s cemetery after his death in 2017.
Steve Campbell said the second cast of the statue will be placed in a room at the Delight Branch Library. In the meantime, he said in an interview that he’s painting the room and preparing materials that will be placed in there.
“The heritage of music in Arkansas is totally unbelievable. When you start looking at the people that came out of Arkansas and made it so well, it influenced the entire world of music. So Glen being part of it, it thrills us to the core. But all of the others, as well, that there are parts of it, where just the whole nucleus stretches out to the entire state.”
Kresse says the idea of creating a series of statues came to him in 2018 while driving back from the city of Marvell where he had unveiled a bust of Levon Helm, drummer for The Band. He said he had a list in his head of artists he wanted to honor, then began working with radio host Stephen Koch of “Arkansongs” and musician Greg Spradlin. Koch and Spradlin had been working on getting highways named for some of the musicians. But the project was put on hold when Kresse was commissioned for the Cash statue in the U.S. Capitol. Once that was unveiled on Sept. 24, 2024, he then began talking again with Goudin.
The goal, Kresse said Monday, was “for everyone in Arkansas to see the huge cultural impact that the music has had on the whole world and for them to get a real sense of pride of that.”
Also at the ceremony was Jimmy Cunningham, director of tourism development for the Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission. Compared to the neighboring states of Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, he said Arkansas is late in promoting its musical heritage.
“Arkansas’ got such an incredible, incredible music history, with so many greats, so many giants, and so many contributions, but we haven’t curated our narrative. And so, you know, if nobody else tells the story, how is it gonna get out? We gotta do it ourselves,” Cunningham said.
“I’m excited about it because I think Arkansas needs to celebrate its music. It needs to tell the world how important that music is, and this is one way to do it.”
Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism Secretary Shea Lewis said the pavilion will become a key stop along the Arkansas Music Trail, giving travelers a place to connect to the state’s musician legacy while also boosting economic tourism.
“When visitors come here to see the 21 different busts,” he said, “they’ll stay and explore our restaurants, shops, and the riverfront that North Little Rock has to offer. It’s the power of tourism. It drives our foot traffic, supports small businesses, it strengthens our overall communities, as well as quality of life. It’s what makes Arkansas special, our creativity, our culture, the warm, welcome people that they feel when they arrive.”
Below is the complete list of artists being honored and the cities where second castings of statues and busts will be placed:
- Al Bell — North Little Rock
- Big Bill Broonzy — Pine Bluff
- Glen Campbell — Delight
- Johnny Cash –- Dyess
- Jimmy Driftwood — Mountain View
- Lefty Frizzell — El Dorado
- Al Green — Forrest City
- Ronnie Hawkins — Fayetteville
- Levon Helm — Marvell
- Scott Joplin — Texarkana
- Louis Jordan — Brinkley
- Albert King — Osceola
- Florence Price — Little Rock
- Charlie Rich — Colt
- Granny Almeda Riddle — Heber Springs
- Pharoah Sanders — North Little Rock
- William Grant Still — Little Rock
- Sister Rosetta Tharpe — Cotton Plant
- Conway Twitty — Helena
- Sonny Boy Williamson — Helena
- Howlin’ Wolf — West Memphis
This story was published by Talk Business & Politics on May 11 and will run in upcoming issues of The Pine Bluff Commercial and The Glenwood Herald.
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.
by Michael Hibblen | Apr 30, 2026 | Arkansas News, Arkansas Politics
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was joined by legislative leaders on Wednesday to sign identical budget bills. Photo: Michael Hibblen
At the conclusion of a three-week fiscal session of the Arkansas Legislature, Gov. Sarah Sanders on Wednesday (April 29) signed the Revenue Stabilization Act into law.
The $6.7 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins in July includes an increase in funding for Educational Freedom Accounts, authorizes millions in economic incentives to attract a major manufacturer to West Memphis and funds a pay increase for Arkansas State Troopers.
The governor was surrounded by Republican state lawmakers for the bill signing ceremony.
“A fiscal session is always a mad dash, but we came together, we did the work and we delivered for the people of Arkansas,” Sanders said.
The budget meets the goals she laid out in her State of the State address at the start of the session, Sanders said, “and because of that, we will now be able to cut taxes for the fourth time in three years next week.” That’s when legislators will return to the Capitol for a special session focused on reducing state taxes.
“When we cut Arkansas’ income tax, we will have lowered our overall rate since I took office by 25% and returned more than $1.5 billion to the people of Arkansas. We will also lower our corporate tax rate … by 0.2% and continue to make Arkansas the best state in America to do business,” Sanders said.
Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, acknowledged to state agency directors and cabinet secretaries in the room that the final approved budget would be tight for all of them. But he said that was necessary to put the state in a financial position to responsibly pass additional tax cuts.
“What we’re asking them to do is more with less and continue to serve the people of Arkansas. I want to thank every state employee who’s out there doing their part to make sure that we continue to provide great services,” Hester said.
House Speaker Brian Evans, R-Cabot, stressed the importance of education-related votes during the fiscal session.
“Education that is for all children, regardless of their age, their gender, their background, their wealth index, or physical, or mental capabilities,” Evans said. “We are investing in the children of Arkansas.”
Additional EFA funding
When Sanders was questioned about expanding funding to cover the growing cost of sending kids to private schools or for home schooling, she said public schools are also benefitting from the budget approved by the legislature.
“We’re putting about $300 million into Education Freedom Accounts. At the same time, we’re putting $3.3 billion into public education — 10 times as much — the largest investment we’ve ever made in public education in the state of Arkansas. And you want to know what the best part is? It’s actually working,” Sanders said.
“Our kids are doing better, our teachers have higher satisfaction than they have ever had, our state is winning because we’re investing where it matters, and it’s gonna make a difference, not just in the immediate, right now. We’re seeing our test scores go up. We’re seeing our schools do better.”
She suggested the benefits to education will be felt for decades to come and said Arkansas is a blueprint that other states are following.
West Memphis Superproject
The budget authorizes up to $300 million to be transferred from surplus funds to help convince a major manufacturer to build a superproject in West Memphis. Details are being kept confidential, but it has been suggested the project could initially create up to 4,000 jobs, then another 2,000 after completion.
“I’m hopeful that we will be able to get this project,” Sanders said. “It will be a massive economic investment in a region of our state that will benefit greatly.”
Sanders said she couldn’t get into specifics about the other states vying for the project, but suggested “Arkansas is in a very good position.”
The money would be split into $150 million for an incentives package, then another $150 million for infrastructure improvements, like roads and highways. There have been assurances this is not a data center.
Senate and House leadership
During his remarks, Senator Hester congratulated Sen. Breanne Davis (R-Russellville) for winning a majority of the votes in the Senate earlier in the day to become president pro tempore designate for next year’s general session. But that’s not the final vote.
Sen. Ron Caldwell, R-Wynne, told colleagues he too is interested in the leadership position. After the November election and before the Senate is convened next year, a decision is expected during an organizational meeting.
Meanwhile in the House, Speaker Evans, who did not face a challenge, was again elected to the top leadership position in that chamber.
This story was reported for Talk Business & Politics and the six newspapers published by Newsroom Ventures. I’ll discuss the fiscal session and what’s planned for next week’s special session on the “Talk Business & Politics” program airing Sunday, May 3 at 9:30 a.m. on KLRT-Fox 16 in Little Rock, KNWA-Fox 24 in Fayetteville and on Monday, May 4 at 6:05 p.m. on Little Rock Public Radio’s KUAR-FM 89.1.
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.
