This story ran on the Talk Business & Politics website on April 13, 2026 and is the culmination of several local articles I wrote for Arkansas newspapers owned by Newsroom Ventures LLC.
Third graders at Centerpoint Elementary School in Amity, Ark., like other students in the state, will be required to demonstrate a basic reading proficiency to advance to the fourth grade as part of the LEARNS Act. Photo: Michael Hibblen
Three years into the implementation of the LEARNS Act, Arkansas educators are bracing for a new reading proficiency requirement that takes effect this year and will determine which third graders can be promoted to the fourth grade.
Standardized tests will be administered in the coming weeks at all public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to provide a high-stakes assessment that will inevitably involve some students having to repeat third grade.
Watson Chapel Superintendent Keith McGee says it’s the culmination of a hectic school year that has involved teachers and administrators assessing students’ abilities and providing interventions to those who aren’t reading as proficiently as they need to be.
“We’re just making sure that what we call the core instruction is at grade level and monitoring their progress, monitoring that daily instruction, and by making sure that we track kids’ daily work and their progress,” McGee said.
Through that data, he says the district, which covers parts of Jefferson County in southeast Arkansas, knows “a high percentage” of its third graders will pass the reading portion of the Arkansas Teaching & Learning Assessment System (ATLAS) test, while some will not. For those who are struggling, teachers have been reaching out to parents, while also working to convey the importance of passing the test to third graders.
“Our kids know that there’s a sense of urgency of their score, their grade level,” McGee said, “not where it’s an anxiety, but just an awareness that we’re going to get through this together, so that kids know that we’ve got to take this test seriously.”
Requiring a basic reading ability is vital at this stage for students, Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva said in an interview with Talk Business & Politics Editor-in-Chief Roby Brock.
“If students aren’t able to be proficient readers by fourth grade and you start getting deeper into content and explicit instruction on how to read isn’t as prevalent, then school’s not fun. We don’t want kids to just go to school and not have fun because you’re struggling to read,” Oliva said.
While it can be difficult socially for students to be held back as their peers advance to a higher grade, the state Department of Education identifies third grade reading proficiency as a “pivotal predictor of future academic success,” including whether they will graduate from high school.
Oliva says the LEARNS Act now provides strategies for teachers and parents to implement an Individual Reading Plan (IRP) to try and avoid having to repeat third grade.
“If we see a student is not making grade level, well, what we’re able to do this year is maybe they need some short-term high impact tutoring, maybe they need to be in a summer program,” Oliva said. “So now we come together with a plan. You’re not automatically retained. What you’re required to do is have a plan on how we’re going to fill those gaps — and retention may be part of that plan — but it’s not the absolute.”
If the new reading requirement had been in place last year, test results show only 36% percent of Arkansas students would have been promoted to the fourth grade. But educators hope the new assessments and interventions will ensure that won’t be the result this year.
At Centerpoint Elementary School in Amity, which serves students from parts of Pike, Garland, Clark and Hot Spring counties in southwest Arkansas, Principal Erica Doster says reading is still being taught the same way as before the LEARNS Act was enacted. But she says new processes during this school year allowed teachers to do a better job of tracking which students were at risk of falling behind and provided time to offer extra tutoring when needed.
“What we did change is the way that we document those interventions and keep up with the monitoring of their progress throughout the year,” Doster said. “I feel pretty confident that we will not have very many kids — if any — that we have to retain.”
Doster says the school has been sending letters to parents notifying them if their children are at risk of being held back and what steps teachers are taking to try and prevent that. Strategies are also given to parents on how they can support reading at home.
“We have been keeping a close eye on a lot of kids, making sure that we’re providing the interventions that they need in order to be successful,” Doster said. “We have an idea of who is at risk, but of course we don’t know for sure until they take that end of the year summative test,” she said.
The state allows districts to administer the ATLAS test any time between Monday (April 13) and May 22. Students will need to score at Level 2 or higher in reading to advance to fourth grade unless they qualify for a “good cause exemption.” That includes students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, those with less than three years of formal English instruction, students who have previously been retained and those who have experienced an isolated traumatic event that directly impacted their assessment.
Doster has mixed feelings about the prospect of having to retain some third graders.
“It could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing,” she said. “I think what the LEARNS Act is requiring of schools, just to make sure there’s some accountability on providing those interventions and that extra help along the way to prevent that is what I feel like the purpose is. And so I do feel like that’s a good thing.”
Hazen School Superintendent Andy Barrett says he recently met with the staff of the elementary school in his district and was told no third graders appear to be on track to be retained because of the new reading requirement. Despite some hesitation from educators and parents about the potential for students to be held back, he says the change is needed.
“There’s been a lot of criticism of this requirement, but nobody can argue that reading isn’t a foundational skill we have to have across the board in education,” Barrett said. “And I think that obviously from where we stand in our state right now, we’re not doing a very good job.”
Arkansas consistently ranks near the bottom in national education studies. Barrett said he’s confident the process and options put in place by the state will be beneficial for school districts.
“If you have done all of the things that the state asks you to do, especially with the remediation and interventions throughout the year, and then some sort of growth,” Barrett said, there will be an improved outcome. “We’ve got to figure it out. It’s going to be a learning curve for most of the schools, including us, trying to figure out when and how to do things to get [students] to that level.”
Reforming education was a priority for Gov. Sarah Sanders when she came into office three years ago. The most controversial component of the LEARNS Act has been using public funds to create Education Freedom Accounts (EFA), which can be used to pay for private, parochial or home schools.
The Arkansas Legislature approved the plan in 2023 and will need to increase funding for the EFA program during a fiscal session that began on April 8. Sanders’ budget proposal would set aside up to $379 million for the program.
Veteran news reporter, editor and manager spanning more than 30 years at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas and hosting a podcast of the same name.
I reported this story for Talk Business & Politics and The England Democrat. I’m looking forward to covering future Arkansas political events involving candidates of all backgrounds.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Hallie Shoffner speaks to supporters Monday night in England, Ark. Photo: Michael Hibblen.
In her first official campaign event since winning last week’s Arkansas Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, Hallie Shoffner spoke to several dozen people Monday night (March 9) in the city of England, asking for financial support to counter negative attack ads against her.
In a meeting room at the England Fitness Center amid the sound of a nearby pickleball game being played, she thanked those who have given to her campaign, including many who wrote checks that night. To date, she said she has raised $1.3 million, but noted incumbent Republican Sen. Tom Cotton has outraised her campaign 10-to-1.
A quarterly campaign finance report submitted to the Federal Election Commission last month showed Cotton, who is vying for a third term, had $9.6 million cash on hand at the end of last year. $918,000 of that came from political action committees, the report said.
Shoffner asked the group who had seen recent ads running on television and online that interpose images of Shoffner with nationally-known Democrats while a voice says “Hallie Shoffner has the values of radical, liberal elites, not Arkansas families.” Text messages sent to the cell phones of some Arkansas voters described her as a “radical lunatic.”
“That kind of advertising works and that’s why we have to compete against it,” Shoffner said.
In an interview, Shoffner suggested the attacks show Cotton’s campaign is “scared — and they should be,” she said. “Tom Cotton is one of the most unpopular politicians in Arkansas and in DC — both — and they’re very concerned because we’re running a campaign that is all about the people.”
She told the group, which calls itself the England Area Democrats in Lonoke County, that the average donation to her campaign has been $50, “which means this is truly a grass roots campaign. We have thousands of donors, and most of them come from right here in the state.”
Shoffner added, “People know very well where Tom Cotton gets his money, which is corporate PACs, and most of that is from outside of the state. This is about Arkansas and believing we can be one of the most prosperous and healthy states in the country. And that’s the kind of vision I want to bring to the Senate.”
Cotton reported raising $590,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025, with $210,000 of that coming from political action committees. His campaign manager, state Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, has said donations came from all 75 counties in the state.
Shoffner asked each person in the room Monday to go out and find five people to talk to about her campaign and to ask each of them to make a donation. Then each of those people should also find five additional people to spread the word and give to her campaign, she said.
“We don’t want to get to November and wish we had done more, which is why I’m asking for your help,” Shoffner said. “We don’t have to outraise him, we simply have to outwork him. That’s not going to be hard — he doesn’t really go to work, and I’m a farmer — I can definitely outwork him. But we do have to bring in as much money as possible so that we can go on the air.”
Shoffner said this will be a shoe-leather campaign with her visiting as many communities and shaking as many hands as possible between now and the November election. But money will be necessary to effectively compete.
“This kind of feels like a fight now, as people may know,” Shoffner said. “If you’ve gotten certain text messages or seen certain ads, I’m really fighting. I am fighting on behalf of the state of Arkansas.”
Shoffner, a sixth-generation farmer from Newport, said her message about the damage being done to agriculture by President Donald Trump’s tariffs is resonating with people who had never previously voted in a Democratic primary. She shared the story of being at a friend’s campaign event Sunday in Waldenburg and talking with farmers who are facing similar dire situations as what forced her family farm to close.
Cotton posted on social media on March 4, the day after the primary election, that he had met that day with leaders of the Arkansas Farm Bureau to discuss agricultural interests and headwinds being faced by the industry.
“I’m honored to represent farmers across Arkansas and will keep fighting on their behalf,” Cotton wrote.
He has also backed the attacks on Iran by U.S. and Israeli forces, writing on X Tuesday, “I commend President Trump’s decision to mitigate the threat Iran has posted to the United States for 47 years.”
Shoffner said Monday she feels momentum heading into the general election.
“The numbers on primary night were very strong. We turned out more Democratic voters than we have in a long time and I’m really pleased with that,” Shoffner said. “I believe people are feeling the pain and I think that they believe they deserve representatives who will do better for them, who really represent them and I’m honored that they have put their faith in me in this race.”
Shoffner called Cotton a “resident of Virginia” who is out of touch with the challenges facing Arkansans. She said voters are tired of the rhetoric of the left and right and want a senator who will stand up for everyday Arkansans rather than corporate, political interests.
Shoffner is also challenging Cotton to participate in a debate with her. In his first reelection campaign for Senate in 2020, the Democratic Party did not field a candidate to challenge Cotton and the incumbent skipped a debate with Libertarian Party candidate Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. which was organized by Arkansas PBS. All other congressional incumbents and their opponents took part in that year’s debates.
Monday’s event was Shoffner’s second time to campaign in England. She had previously spoken to the group shortly before formally announcing her candidacy in July, “so we have come full circle,” she told its members.
Little Rock attorney Bob Edwards, who attended England High school and later served as president of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, said he helped create the England Area Democrats in 2024 to fill a void in political activity there. Edwards said he’s encouraged by the excitement being generated by Shoffner’s campaign.
“I don’t think either party really understands farming,” he said. “Its been the backbone of this state’s economy since its inception. I don’t care if you’re a Republican or Democrat, we need somebody that understands that and Hallie understands that.”
Veteran news reporter, editor and manager spanning more than 30 years at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas and hosting a podcast of the same name.
The U.S. House of Representatives began its traditional August recess one day earlier than planned this week. Amid divisions among Republicans over the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned on Wednesday. When members reconvene on Sept. 2, a key priority will be reaching a government funding agreement by the end of the month to avert a government shutdown or the need for a short-term continuing resolution.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Washington Correspondent Alex Thomas joined me on Arkansas PBS to discuss the key roles played by two members of the state’s congressional delegation. Rep. Steve Womack (R-Rogers) is chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, and Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) is chair of the Senate Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Congress will need to get through 12 bills before the Sept. 30 deadline. Thomas said Womack told him last week he wants both chambers to pass the appropriation measures in that time rather than a continuing resolution, which would maintain current government funding levels.
We also discussed Thomas’ recent reporting on legislation by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Hot Springs) to reform the National Environmental Policy Act, Rep. French Hill’s (R-Little Rock) bills to regulate digital assets like cryptocurrency, and agricultural provisions included in the recently-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act which would normally be part of a Farm Bill.
In the second segment of “Arkansas Week,” I was joined by the leaders of two projects under construction in Little Rock to create villages for people experiencing homelessness. Both will feature tiny homes and offer support services, but with different long-term goals for residents.
Errin Stanger is founder and CEO of Providence Park, which is being built in partnership with Pulaski County and will offer a permanent place to live for those who have been struggling with chronic homelessness. Residents will be expected to pay rent, though there will be work opportunities there. The other project is the Little Rock Micro Home Village, which is being overseen by Kevin Howard, director of the city’s Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs. It will provide transitional housing, with 80 units for individuals and families, along with a 32-bed emergency shelter.
Veteran news reporter, editor and manager spanning more than 30 years at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas and hosting a podcast of the same name.
Former President Carter on Feb. 24, 2013. Photo: Commonwealth Club of California/Flickr
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter died Sunday, Dec. 29, the Associated Press reports. He was 100, making him the longest-living president in history. Carter had entered hospice care a year earlier.
I briefly interviewed Carter 25 years ago at an event in South Florida while working as a reporter for Miami station WIOD, NewsRadio 610. He was appearing at Books and Books in Coral Gables in January 1999. That was at the same time as a U.S. Senate trial of President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice regarding a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinski. I asked Carter his thoughts on the trial, as well as changes in politics since his time in office.
AUDIO: Interviewing former President Jimmy Carter in January 1999 in Coral Gables, Florida.
Much was been written about Carter since his death. While he only served one term, Carter received high praise for how he lived his life. I was very appreciative that he gave me a few minutes going into the event, providing thoughtful comments to my questions.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
MICHAEL HIBBLEN: What are your thoughts on modern day presidential politics and the investigations of the president and so forth?
FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER: Well, I don’t think there’s any way to control what the investigations have done. The Congress passed the law, President Clinton signed the law into effect. The Attorney General called for a special prosecutor, a three-judge panel appointed Kenneth Starr when a vacancy occurred, but I think there’s no doubt that the special prosecutor law has been abused by Kenneth Starr. I don’t think that there’s any doubt that after this furor is over, which I hope will be fairly soon, that the law is going to be changed to put some constraints on the time spent and the money spent on investigations.
HIBBLEN: Do you think politics has become more nasty since your days in office?
CARTER: Oh yeah, there’s no doubt about that. It’s become very nasty compared to when I was in office. When I ran against Gerald Ford, who was an incumbent president, and when I ran later against Ronald Regan, he was a governor, former governor, I never referred to them as anything except my distinguished opponent or my worthy opponent. If I had run a negative campaign spot on TV, it would have been suicidal for me. I mean, the people would have condemned me. Nowadays, the common thing is not to win by what you claim that you are going to do if you get in office, but to win by totally destroying the character of your opponent, whether they deserve to be destroyed or not. The problem is the finance laws which permit unlimited use of soft money, as you probably know. The soft money cannot be used by law to promote a candidate. It can be used to tear down an opponent, and that’s one of the root causes of the negative atmosphere that exists not only in Washington but in statehouses like Atlanta and in Tallahassee.
HIBBLEN: So, you feel a lot of changes should come to politics?
CARTER: The change that needs to be done is to change the campaign finance laws. Yeah, because now we have the equivalent of legal bribery. It is legal, but somebody that wants a special favor from the Congress or from the White House, from the governor’s mansion or whatever, gives unlimited amounts of money through various means, and they don’t give it for nothing. They expect some special treatment or they expect their voice to be heard, at least, you know, when the candidate who they have helped finance gets in office. So, that’s what needs to be changed.
Veteran news reporter, editor and manager spanning more than 30 years at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas and hosting a podcast of the same name.
I speak with the three journalists who would be asking questions of candidates in the 1st district congressional debate before the broadcast began on Oct. 8, 2024. Photo: Arkansas PBS
Each election cycle, Arkansas PBS hosts a series of debates with candidates running for Congress, and when applicable, state constitutional offices. This year we featured the races for the state’s four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. With a special election being held for treasurer, all three candidates also took part in a forum discussion on our program “Arkansas Week.”
Now in my role as Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, this was the first time I helped organize the debates, learning the extensive steps that begin months ahead of time to ensure a fair format, participation by all candidates, and the that technical logistics of making the live broadcasts happen run smoothly. In previous election years, beginning in 2010 while working at Little Rock’s KUAR-FM 89.1, I served in the panels of journalists who would question candidates. Having that background proved to be beneficial for me. Even more important was seeing how my colleagues, who have been organizing decades for decades, did their jobs.
The debates, moderated by Steve Barnes, generated news stories around the state as these were the only matchups among the candidates. The debates took place over the span of a week one month before Election Day in one of our three studios. They were broadcast and streamed live at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. each day, and we reaired one each evening that week. All four were rebroadcast in a marathon the following weekend. The debates also aired on Little Rock Public Radio, while KASU-FM 91.9 in Jonesboro broadcast the 1st district debate.
1ST DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
Incumbent Republican Rep. Rick Crawford, Democrat Rodney Govens and Libertarian Steve Parsons were questioned during the Oct. 8 debate by KAIT-TV 8 news anchor Diana Davis, Talk Business & Politics reporter George Jared and KASU-FM 91.9 News Director Brandon Tabor.
2ND DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
Incumbent Republican Rep. French Hill and Democrat Marcus Jones were questioned during the Oct. 7 debate by reporters Steve Brawner, Arkansas Business Editor Hunter Fields and KARK-TV 4’s Caitrin Assaf.
3RD DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
Incumbent Republican Rep. Steve Womack, Democrat Caitlin Draper and Libertarian Bobby Wilson were questioned during the Oct. 8 debate by reporters Steve Brawner, Talk Business & Politics reporter George Jared and Yuna Lee, an anchor with 40/29 News in Fayetteville.
4TH DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
Incumbent Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman and Democrat Risie Howard were questioned during the Oct. 10 debate by Brandon Evans with 40/29 News in Fayetteville, Little Rock Public Radio Politics and Government Reporter Josie Lenora and Pine Bluff Commercial Editor Byron Tate.
Following each debate was a press conference, which all candidates were invited to participate in. We included the press conferences in the live streams of each debate. Arkansas PBS is located on the edge of the University of Central Arkansas campus, and one instructor saw the learning opportunity for his students. Journalism professor David Keith, who was teaching a class on political reporting, had his students watch the debates, then attend the press conferences, with many asking questions of the candidates.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman speaks during the Oct. 10, 2024 press conference. Journalism professor David Keith and his students took up about half of the seats in the room where it was held after the 4th district debate. Photo: Michael Hibblen
FORUM FOR TREASURER CANDIDATES ON ‘ARKANSAS WEEK’
The appearance by the candidates for Arkansas treasurer on “Arkansas Week” was the only time the three sat down together for any kind of public forum. Democrat John Pagan, a former state legislator, Libertarian Michael Pakko and Republican John Thurston, who is currently Secretary of State, joined host Steve Barnes on Oct. 11. The special election was necessitated by the death of previously elected treasurer Mark Lowery.
Veteran news reporter, editor and manager spanning more than 30 years at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas and hosting a podcast of the same name.
After more than a year of work, artist Kevin Kresse says he expects to finish a mural on the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Arkansas building in North Little Rock by the end of this weekend. He has been a familiar sight for drivers passing by on Main Street during late afternoon and evening hours once the sun sinks behind the large brick structure.
Kevin Kresse looks at his Boys and Girls Club mural in North Little Rock on Friday, June 15, 2024. All photos: Michael Hibblen
Kresse works alone, often hoisted in the air by a piece of heavy equipment while painting images and words of inspiration with a brush. The project began in May 2023, with breaks of a few months each when the weather got too hot last summer and too cold last winter.
“God knows how many hours I have in it though — I would be afraid to find out,” he said. “I like it, I’m proud of it. I played basketball here as a kid, grew up like seven blocks away. It feels good to leave something in the community I grew up in.”
Before Kresse began the project, the building alongside a bridge that crosses the Union Pacific rail yard was stark and bare. With the entrance and parking lot on the opposite side from Main Street, for those passing by on the busy thoroughfare, the building looked void of life. But now it features dramatic images of people in front of skies of clouds and stars.
On the east side of the building, two kids are shown sitting with books in their laps — one fully engrossed by what she’s reading, the other with his head back, eyes closed and a big smile. Between them, both emerge from a point in a swirl, flying through the air in capes with their fists outstretched. The boy is wearing a graduation cap and gown, while the girl is wearing scrubs and a stethoscope. Underneath them, while I was visiting with Kevin, he was another layer of color to the words “Knowledge IS POWER” with three exclamation points for emphasis.
Kevin Kresse adds another layer of paint to the words “Knowledge IS POWER!!!”
Part of the east side of the Boys and Girls Club building.
Separated by a Boys and Girls Club logo, a young woman is shown bouncing a volleyball that looks like the moon in a nighttime sky. On the north side of the building, a young woman is swimming, arms blurred in motion, hair spread out, with a look of bliss on her face. Below her is the Arkansas River along with the Broadway and Main Street bridges and just a hint of each city’s skylines along with the words “Dream BIG.”
Next to her on the most visible corner of the building, with the words “Be a Mentor,” is an image of Little Rock art dealer and collector Garbo Hearne of Hearne Fine Art, blowing what looks like glitter. “She was sweet enough to model for me,” Kresse said.
The goal for the mural is to convey the many activities that benefit kids inside, he says, while encouraging them to “basically dream bigger about everything. So take it and pump it up and make it a little bit more fun with magical realism.”
In addition to sports and a pool, homework tutoring and leadership training are also offered. The mural being painted coincides with the 54-year-old building undergoing repairs and upgrades.
The north side of the building features a likeness of Garbo Hearnes, along with a young woman swimming.
This is just the latest project for Kresse, who has adorned his hometown with many works of art. He painted a “Dogtown Proud” mural alongside Main Street in the Argenta District, which is a reference to the days when Little Rock reportedly would dump stray dogs in its neighboring city. He also has a Mother Earth sculpture and fountain with stone benches on 5th Street.
As part of Little Rock’s 7th Street mural under two railroad overpasses, he painted an amazing likeness of radio veteran and longtime KABF-FM 88.3 Program Director John Cain. And most notably, Kresse was selected by the state to make a statue of Johnny Cash that will represent Arkansas in the U.S. Capitol. An unveiling ceremony for that is expected to occur in September.
Veteran news reporter, editor and manager spanning more than 30 years at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas and hosting a podcast of the same name.
This is the online home of news veteran Michael Hibblen. I've worked as a reporter, editor and manager for newspapers, radio and TV stations around the country, with this website telling the story of my career. Also featured on this site are outside interests I've researched, primarily about radio and railroads. The views expressed here are my own and might not reflect those of my employers. Today I work for Newsroom Ventures as an editor and reporter for its six newspapers.
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.
