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On AETN’s Arkansas Week: Child Welfare Report, End of Dog Racing at Southland and Trump Impeachment

While the impeachment of President Trump dominates national news, the roundtable discussion on AETN’s Arkansas Week opened with us discussing a new report regarding the state’s child welfare system. A few years ago officials described the system as being in crisis and began major reforms. On Wednesday I covered leaders of the state Department of Human Services discussing a report that suggests major improvements have been made, though much more work still needs to be done. The state says over the past three years the number of kids in foster care is down, as is the average caseload for frontline workers.

We also talked about the announcement Thursday that after 63 years of greyhound racing at Southland in West Memphis, the races will be phased out over the next three years. It comes after Arkansas voters last year approved a constitutional amendment allowing Southland and Oaklawn in Hot Springs to become full-fledged casinos. Finally, we talked about the different reactions from members of the state’s congressional delegation to the ongoing impeachment of President Trump.

Interview with Union Pacific CEO During Visit to Little Rock

Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz on Monday announcing a donation by the railroad to a Little Rock museum. Photo: Michael Hibblen

This is a time of change at the nation’s largest railroad. The key thing I’ve been hearing about and not completely understanding is something called Precision Scheduled Railroading. The change is prompting widespread job cuts and the closing of many facilities, including the hump at the Pine Bluff, Arkansas yard. What is Precision Scheduled Railroading? I put that question to the head of Union Pacific on Monday.

Company President and CEO Lance Fritz was in Little Rock to join Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson for a pair of news events. After one press conference, I introduced myself to Fritz and recorded a brief interview, which you can hear or read a transcript of on the link. You can also find links to stories about the events in the state that Fritz look part in.

KUAR Wins Best Radio Station Award

KUAR Station Manager Nathan Vandiver, anchor/ reporter Daniel Breen, anchor/ reporter Sarah Kellogg, Arts & Letters host J. Bradley Minnick, News Director Michael Hibblen and Development Director Vanessa McKuin.

As news director, I’m proud to say KUAR won the Arkansas Times‘ 2019 readers survey for Best Radio Station. We picked up the award at a ceremony on Thursday, June 27 at the Albert Pike Masonic Center in Little Rock.

We’ve won or been the runner up plenty of times over the years and it’s always gratifying. Readers of the monthly magazine are surveyed on over a hundred categories. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which operates KUAR and KLRE, touted our win in this post.