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AETN’s Arkansas Week: Judge Halts Arkansas Medicaid Work Requirement

A ruling by a federal judge has halted Arkansas’s work requirement for some recipients of the state’s Medicaid expansion program. That was the top story this week, which led the roundtable discussion on AETN’s Arkansas Week. I joined reporters Benji Hardy of the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network and independent journalist Steve Brawner to talk about that with host Steve Barnes. The ruling came down just as lawmakers are considering funding for Medicaid and this is expected to complicate the debate.

We also discussed school voucher proposals, the withdrawal of a bill concerning waste from a hog farm in north Arkansas, a term limits proposal that appears on track to go before voters, and as Steve was starting to wrap up the show, I had to toss in my favorite bill of this legislative session, which is now headed to the governor’s desk. Every state has two statues in the U.S. Capitol and legislation approved by the House this week would replace Arkansas’s with singer Johnny Cash and civil rights leader Daisy Bates.

Named a Fellow to CPB, Arizona State University Cronkite School of Journalism Initiative

I’m very proud and excited to share that I’m one of 53 public broadcasting newsroom leaders selected to take part in an intensive 100-day training program paid for entirely by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative is being held at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

It will be a great opportunity to hone my skills. I’ll fly out to Arizona as part of the second group in August, spending a week there, then work remotely each day with a coach before returning to ASU for a wrap up in January. From the description: “It is 8 total days of customized intensive training at Cronkite and 3 months working 1:1 with a personal coach (industry leader). The goal is to take strong journalists and make them great leaders who can guide public media into the future.” You can read more on this CPB press release.

On AETN’s Arkansas Week: Governor’s Tax Cut Proposal, Highway Plan & Medical Marijuana Nears Implementation

It took two votes, but the Arkansas Senate approved Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s tax proposal which now moves to the House where it’s expected to face a bigger challenge. Meanwhile there was a lot of anticipation about the governor’s highway plan, which has been a key issue that has kept even some Republicans from backing the tax cut. We also gave an update on the implementation of state’s medical marijuana program. I joined fellow journalists Wes Brown and Andrew DeMillo for the roundtable discussion following two state lawmakers who offered their thoughts.