The Rock Island’s Perry, Arkansas depot in the early 1970s.
A nearly $10,000 grant from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission will be awarded to the City of Perry, Arkansas in a couple of weeks and provide critically-needed funds to finish moving a former Rock Island depot to an adjacent lot. The shortline Little Rock & Western Railway ended up owning the building along with a 79-mile stretch of former Rock Island tracks running from Little Rock to Danville, Arkansas. This was part of the railroad’s Sunbelt Line, which ran the famed Choctaw Rocket passenger trains between Memphis, Tennessee and Amarillo, Texas.
I’ve been working with the Perry County Historical and Genealogical Society to raise money and relocate the 101-year-old depot. The Little Rock & Western had planned to tear down the depot to expand a locomotive servicing shop. But the railroad gave us time to put together a plan with the city offering us an adjacent lot next to the railroad’s property. It’ll still be alongside the same tracks, which will help in maintaining historic integrity. Preserve Arkansas has been providing us with technical guidance with the goal of getting the depot eventually named to the National Register of Historic Places. READ THE LATEST.
I took part in the panel discussion on AETN’s Arkansas Week on Friday, April 26, with the top item being the formal adjournment of this year’s session of the Arkansas Legislature. I also discussed the federal trial I’ve been covering with 18 Arkansas death row inmates suing the state over the use of the drug midazolam as the first drug in lethal injections. Their attorneys argue it doesn’t sufficiently knock out inmates before the second and third drugs are administered, which paralyze the muscles and stop the heart, leading to unconstitutional pain and suffering.
Also joining the round table conversation was Arkansas Times reporter Rebekah Hall talking about Little Rock City Hall. She had been an intern at KUAR five or six years ago while still in high school and I was proud to see how well she did on the TV program.
This is a sad day for Little Rock radio. Tom Wood, a radio legend in this market, was told today by iHeartMedia that his job was one of 70 being eliminated in the latest round of cuts by the bankrupt corporate radio company. His was one of the most familiar and beloved voices in Arkansas. Tom’s dismissal is just the latest example of how far the struggling industry has fallen, not only decimating heritage radio stations, but getting rid of icons like Tom.
He helped create the popular, longtime rock station Magic 105 in 1980, but with the deregulation of radio in the 1990s, Clear Channel bought the frequency and made changes leading to its downfall. Tom stayed with the company and even became the namesake for another station in the cluster called Tom-FM. But that station, following the corporate programming strategy of “we play it all,” was eventually changed to Big 94.9. Then the frequency changed formats again.
I interviewed him in February about his long career, which you can hear on the link. I hope his voice once again returns to the airwaves in Arkansas. READ MORE.
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.
