A few times a year, Flap Jones, host of Little Rock Public Radio’s Not Necessarily Nashville, will take a week off and I get the joy of filling in, playing some of my favorite music. That’s what I did last night. There were also several important things to talk about.
AUDIO: Not Necessarily Nashville, June 13, 2026, 7 p.m. on Little Rock Public Radio’s KUAR-FM 89.1.
Recording the June 13, 2026 episode of Not Necessarily Nashville at my home in North Little Rock.
Willie Nelson released a new album on May 29 called “Dream Chaser,” so I played the title track. I also opened the show by playing a song from Willie’s 1996 album “Spirit,” which was released a few days before he stopped by Glenwood, Arkansas radio station KWXI/KWXE. I wrote about the 30th anniversary of that event for a story in The Glenwood Herald, and talked about that on the show.
I also played some Lucinda Williams two weeks ahead of her performance at the Arkansas Folklife Festival in North Little Rock on Saturday, June 27 at 8:30 p.m. on The People’s Stage. Blues legend Bobby Rush is the headliner the previous night. You can find a full schedule for the three-day festival at this link.
James McMurtry returns to Little Rock at the end of the month for two nights at the White Water Tavern on June 30 and July 1. Tickets for both shows are sold out, but the White Water often makes a few tickets available in the hours before shows, so anyone looking for tickets might want to contact the venue.
Not Necessarily Nashville playlist, June 13, 2026
Willie Nelson — “Too Sick to Pray” (Spirit)
Lucinda Williams (featuring Mavis Staples) — “So Much Trouble in the World” (World’s Gone Wrong)
New Grass Revival — “Do What You Gotta Do” (Friday Night in America)
Sam Bush — “Eight More Miles to Louisville” (King of My World)
James McMurtry — “South Texas Lawman” (The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy)
Rodney Crowell — “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” (Acoustic Classics)
Joe Ely — “Cornbread Moon” — (Honky Tonk Masquerade)
Gary Stewart — “She’s Got a Drinking Problem” (The Essential Gary Stewart)
Merle Haggard — “I Won’t Give Up My Train” (My Love Affair With Trains)
Al Green — “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (single)
Willie Nelson – “Dream Chaser” (Dream Chaser)
Commander Cody — “Looking at the World Through a Windshield” (We’ve Got a Live One Here!)
The first time I filled in hosting Not Necessarily Nashville for Flap was in 1990. At that time, she and I were both doing programs on Little Rock community radio station KABF-FM 89.1. She moved her show over to KUAR-FM 89.1 in 2009, shortly after I moved back to Arkansas to take a news job at the station. I’ve been her fill-in ever since. Occasionally we’ve hosted the show together or joined one another on the air during KUAR pledge drives.
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.
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.
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.
The tombstone for Glen Campbell and his wife Kimberly at the family’s cemetery in Billstown. Photos: Michael Hibblen
Wednesday, April 22, would have been Glen Campbell’s 90th birthday. The music legend was born in the unincorporated Pike County community of Billstown and is buried in his family’s cemetery there. But he’s more widely known as a native of the nearby town of Delight where he attended school.
He brought national attention to the town by concluding episodes of his television program “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour,” which ran from 1969 to 1972 on CBS, by saying,“If you’re ever in Delight, Arkansas, come see me.” While he dropped out of school in tenth grade to pursue a music career and left Arkansas, relatives of Campbell still live in the area.
Campbell had a five-decade recording career, first as a session musician, then as a solo artist with a string of hit songs. He released 64 studio albums, selling over 45 million records worldwide. He won multiple Grammy Awards in the country and pop categories, along with other awards and honors. Campbell also acted in several movies, including the 1969 screen adaptation of “True Grit” in which he co-starred with John Wayne.
Glen Travis Campbell was born on April 22, 1936 to John Wesley Campbell and Carrie Dell Campbell. He was the seventh son of 12 children. His father was a sharecropper in Billstown and the family struggled financially while primarily growing cotton. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas notes that many of Glen Campbell’s relatives were musicians and that he developed an early interest in singing and playing. He received his first guitar at the age of 4, began performing in public by age 6, brought his guitar to school while in kindergarten and occasionally played on local radio stations.
He moved with his parents to Houston, Texas, then joined an uncle’s band in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he began performing in nightclubs. He eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1960 where, as people familiar with Campbell’s career know, his incredible guitar playing led to him being an in-demand studio musician backing a diverse group of world-renowned singers. As part of a loose collective of session musicians who became known as “The Wrecking Crew,” he played guitar on many of the biggest hits of the 1960s, ranging from Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night” to the Monkee’s “I’m a Believer.”
Campbell finally found success as a singer in 1967 with “Gentle on my Mind,” followed by the even bigger hits “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Wichita Lineman.”
In the subsequent decades he had ups and downs in his personal life, became fodder for the tabloids, but always managed to reemerge to enthusiastic fans. He openly discussed his struggles with alcohol and cocaine, saying he gave up drinking and drugs in 1987. But in 2003 he had a relapse and spent 10 days in an Arizona jail after pleading guilty to charges of aggravated drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
In 2011, Campbell disclosed he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, but rather than immediately pull back from public eye, he embarked on “The Goodbye Tour.” He performed around the world, including shows in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Forrest City and Jonesboro. A film crew followed him on that tour and captured the progression of his illness. The documentary “I’ll Be Me” was released in 2014 with the opening scene showing Campbell and his wife Kimberly watching old home movies, but he didn’t recognize himself.
Like his candor years earlier on drug and alcohol abuse, the film is credited with helping to reduce the stigma and shame of a condition that a sizable percentage of people will experience.
Glen Campbell died at a long-term care facility in Nashville, Tenn. on August 8, 2017 at the age of 81. He was laid to rest the following day during a private ceremony in Billstown, returning to the community where his life began.
Visiting Campbell’s grave
Last year I was listening to a podcast on the Beach Boys, which referenced Campbell’s work with the band and that he filled in for Brian Wilson on a tour for about four months after Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown in December 1964. Campbell, who had recorded on several Beach Boys songs, was quickly brought in to play bass guitar and sing high harmonies. It dawned on me that several times a month I drive relatively close to Billstown, but had never gone through.
On an early Sunday morning, Feb. 2, 2025, after dropping off my daughter in Texarkana, I put the cemetery address of 821 Billstown Road into my phone. It counted down the miles until I started passing tombstones and saw a wooden post with a hanging sign that said “Campbell’s Cemetery.”
I parked and first read a historical marker placed by the state which told the story of Campbell’s life. I then started walking among the many gravestones, most with Campbell as the surname, looking for Glen Campbell. I soon found the one for him and his wife Kimberly, who is still alive, and was looking at the little trinkets that I assume have been left by fans. Then I was a little startled to hear a recording of Campbell singing “Amazing Grace.” Looking around, I saw a speaker in a tree and realized it was likely triggered by a motion sensor. But it was perfect to hear on a solemn Sunday morning while paying my respects to someone whose music has deeply impacted my life.
A speaker in a tree that plays Campbell’s recording of “Amazing Grace” when activated by a motion sensor.
The sign for Campbell’s Cemetery at 821 Billston Road near Delight, Arkansas.
I shared this story with my friend Mark Keith, co-publisher of the Hope-Prescott News, owner of the Little River Journal and former owner of the Glenwood Herald, and he told me about his visit to the Campbell Cemetery. Being a musician himself and a radio veteran in the area, he said had previously gotten to know several of Glen Campbell’s relatives, including cousin Steve Campbell.
While driving through Billstown several years ago during the pandemic, he realized he hadn’t seen Campbell’s grave and decided to stop. While he knew about the motion sensor that starts “Amazing Grace,” he too was caught off guard when the song began playing. Then he noticed a long white Chevrolet truck was passing the cemetery.
“So it goes down the road and he stops and backs up. And I thought, oh good lord, I’ve upset the Billstown mafia. Well, Steve Campbell gets out, and I’ve known Steve for many, many years. He plays music, has a group, is a very good singer and a very nice guy,” Keith said.
They visited for a little bit, he said, while maintaining social distancing.
“So I was really tickled to see him and I thought that was a great little story to tell everybody about going to Billstown and running into a real live Campbell there.”
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’m excited that an interview I recorded with Willie Nelson 20 years ago is included in a new book. Willie Nelson on Willie Nelson: Interviews and Encounters, which was edited by Paul Maher Jr., is a compilation of transcripts of 31 interviews he has given over the decades about a broad range of topics. The book was released on Sept. 16 by Chicago Review Press.
Michael Hibblen interviewing Willie Nelson in Plantation, Florida on May 26, 2005. Photo: Candace West/Miami Herald
An editor’s note prefacing the chapter that featured my interview said, “One of the many causes supported by Willie Nelson is to combat global warming and crude oil dependence on foreign nations. Here he details to reporter Michael Hibblen his choice to use biodiesel fuel and the formation of BioWillie, his own biofuel company.”
I was working for the Miami Herald when I met Willie on May 26, 2005 as he was refueling three leased tour buses with biodiesel before a show that night with Bob Dylan.
“It’s fuel that can be grown by farmers, and I’ve been involved with the farmers for a long time. I see it as a way for those guys to have a better life — and at the same time it’s good for the environment. It also reduces our dependency on energy from around the world where we could become more self-sufficient,” Willie said.
The cover of “Willie Nelson on Willie Nelson,” which was released by Chicago Review Press.
At the time, he owned a biodiesel station called Willie’s Place, which was located along Interstate 35 in Texas between Dallas and Waco, about 15 miles from his boyhood hometown of Abbott. Behind the station was a six-acre facility capable of producing 3 million gallons of biodiesel fuel a year.
“It’s a truck stop that’s been there for a long time. My friend Carl Cornelius — the joke is that I won it in a poker game, and now I’m trying to lose it back. But it’s a great spot to promote biodiesel because we have a pump there, and we got some BioWillie there, and a big sign, and we’re doing a lot of business with XM Radio.”
A 750-seat theater and radio studios were eventually built there, but after a loan default, Willie’s Place went into foreclosure six years after our interview. It would become a standard truck stop known as Petro Carl’s Corner. The theater and radio studios, along with gold records and other memorabilia, are now gone.
After the interview, Willie performed that night with Bob Dylan at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. It was part of a tour that featured them playing at old ballparks around the country, which Willie told me was Bob’s idea. As I mentioned, they would be playing later that year at Ray Winder Field in my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. It would close the following year and was eventually torn down. Likewise, Fort Lauderdale Stadium would be demolished in 2019.
AUDIO: Interviewing Willie Nelson on May 26, 2005 about his use of biodiesel while refueling his tour buses in Plantation, Florida. We also discussed the tour he was on with Bob Dylan, playing mostly in old minor league ballparks.
The text that was republished in the book came from this page on my website, while additional photos are also featured. Audio of the interview was broadcast on South Florida NPR station WLRN-FM 91.3, which had a news partnership sharing content with the Miami 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.
I’m looking forward to seeing Jim Lauderdale play tonight in Little Rock. I’ve been listening to his songs for years, but still don’t feel like I have a true appreciation of his music. I’ve heard he’s great live, so I’m excited to know I’ll be see him performing at Stickyz on Sunday, Oct. 19. Leading up to the show, I played a couple of Lauderdale’s bluegrass songs — including one from his latest album — while filling in last weekend hosting Not Necessarily Nashville on Little Rock Public Radio’s KUAR-FM 89.1. Below is the full playlist for the show.
It’s always a joy filling in for Flap Jones a few times a year. The first time I hosted her program was 35 years ago — that’s how far back she and I go. At that time her show was on KABF-FM 88.3, where I also hosted a program. Flap has enlightened me about so much good country music over the years, and she has many longtime regular listeners. I know the bar is very high whenever I’m sitting in hosting the show.
AUDIO: Not Necessarily Nashville, Oct. 11, 2025 at 7 p.m. on KUAR-FM 89.1.
I also played a reflective song from Joe Ely, who announced last month he has been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease, two conditions that significantly affect cognitive and physical functions. He and his wife Sharon are being very open about the diagnosis, with a post on Facebook saying they’re sharing the journey, “not to dwell in hardship, but to bring understanding, awareness and hope through the healing power of music.”
Not Necessarily Nashville playlist Oct. 11, 2025:
Willie Nelson (featuring Loretta Lynn) — “Somewhere Between” (To All The Girls…) Jim Lauderdale (featuring the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys) — “Little Bitty Diamonds” Jim Lauderdale — “All Roads Lead Back To You” (The Bluegrass Diaries) Kathy Mattea — “Life As We Knew It” (Untasted Honey) Waylon Jennings — “I Hate To Go Searchin’ Them Bars Again” (Songbird)
The Byrds — “I Am A Pilgrim” (The Byrds)
The Reivers — “Please Don’t Worry” (Second Story)
Patterson Hood — “Pinicco” (Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams)
Alison Krauss — “Poison Love” (Windy City)
Billy Joe Shaver — “Ramblin’ Fever” (Tulare Dust – A Songwriters’ Tribute to Merle Haggard)
Joe Ely — “You Can Bet I’m Gone” (Satisfied at Last)
Iris DeMent — “Let the Mystery Be” (Infamous Angel)
Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris — “Cash on the Barrelhead” (Grievous Angel)
Texas Tornados — “(Hey Baby) Que Paso” (Los Texas Tornados)
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.
Preserving the 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 ABOUT THE PRESERVATION OF THE DEPOT.
My Book
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.
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.
