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.
Five years after the Arkansas General Assembly approved replacing the state’s two statues in the U.S. Capitol with civil rights leader Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash, the singer/songwriter’s statue is about to be unveiled. A ceremony is set for Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. in Washington.
A clay model of Kevin Kresse’s statue of Johnny Cash as it appeared on Oct. 20, 2022, while he was working on it in a studio at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Photo: Michael Hibblen
As I start this blog entry, it’s just before dawn on Sunday, Sept. 22, and I’m about to begin a two-day road trip to our nation’s Capitol. After five years of following every step in the process — and getting to know sculptor Kevin Kresse, who was selected to make the eight-foot tall bronze statue — I wouldn’t miss it.
The statue, secure inside a wooden crate, left Arkansas on Sept. 5 to begin its own journey in the back of a tractor-trailer. A send-off ceremony was held outside the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock. Below is a video with highlights that I shot that morning.
On “Arkansas Week,” the program I oversee at Arkansas PBS, we previewed the Washington unveiling ceremony by talking with Kresse and the state’s Statuary Hall Steering Committee Chair Shane Broadway, who has overseen each step in the process, including selecting the artists for each project. We also included clips with daughter Rosanne Cash, who has raved about Kresse’s work in capturing her dad.
Then in the second segment, host Steve Barnes reflected on Bates, whose statue was unveiled earlier in the year, by talking with Janis Kearney. She had known Bates well and eventually became publisher of the Arkansas State Press, which had been run by Bates and her husband L.C. Bates. Mrs. Bates is best known for mentoring the nine Black students who desegregated Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957.
I’ll eventually write an update after the ceremony, while you can find links to my previous reports here. Below is a link from U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to watch the live ceremony. His office had to approve the statue design and other factors before it was finally cast in bronze.
Crews using heavy equipment tear boxcars apart on May 26, 2024, one day after the Union Pacific freight train derailed near Emmet, Arkansas. All photos by Michael Hibblen
A Union Pacific freight train derailed near the southwest Arkansas town of Emmet on May 25, 2024, with the railroad reporting 51 rail cars were involved. The wreckage blocked the busy double-track main line between Little Rock and Texarkana, which is also used by Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, with two passenger trains scheduled each day between Chicago and San Antonio. No injuries were reported.
Reports obtained from the state said 10 of the rail cars involved were loaded with cases of bottled beer, which broke during the derailment and clean up, flowing to a nearby creek where hundreds of fish and other wildlife were killed. State and federal environmental and wildlife officials were soon at the site assessing the impact and efforts to mitigate the spillage. Dozens of autoracks carrying new Dodge pickup trucks made in Mexico were also involved, with the vehicles being heavily damaged or destroyed. No hazardous materials were involved, reports said.
The derailment occurred behind a Foster Farms feed mill along U.S. 67, with most of the wrecked rail cars in a wooded area that required temporary paths to be cleaned to access the cars. If the derailment had happened a mile or so up the tracks, it would have been in a residential neighborhood. I arrived the following morning as a major response was underway with trucks carrying heavy equipment like bulldozers lining both sides of the highway. Also brought in were pieces of prefabricated railroad tracks loaded on trailers.
A worker walks in front of a pile of spilled boxes of Modello.
Talking with some of the workers who were employed by contractors or consultants for the railroad, I was told they had been laboring through the night and were exhausted. Crews would continue clearing wreckage until the tracks could be repaired and reopened. Workers used backhoes to break apart boxcars and move them off the tracks. In the process, especially when cars were being moved or lifted upright, I could see boxes of beer falling out and hear the sound of breaking glass. The contents were cases of Modelo and Corona wrapped in plastic on wooden pallets. A strong smell of beer was in the air.
Union Pacific spokeswoman Meg Siffring said in an email that “beer inside some of the boxcars was discharged into a creek and traveled downstream about a mile. Union Pacific’s Hazmat team is working to contain and remove the beer. The incident has been reported to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Dept. of Environmental Quality as some fish have perished. The cause of the derailment is under investigation.”
Reports from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality said because of recent rain and the soil being saturated, the beer was not absorbed into the ground, with an estimated 10,000 gallons of beer flowing downhill to a ditch that feeds into the Terre Rouge Creek. An inspector from the Office of Emergency Management followed the creek eight-tenths of a mile from the initial derailment location, finding a log in the creek had provided a natural barrier with water behind it being clear and no dead aquatic life being found.
Vacuum trucks were brought in to suck up the contaminated water, collecting about 6,000 gallons. Additional pumps would be added in the coming days to aerate the waterway, but state biologists said they continued finding more dead fish each day, totaling about 400 by May 29. They also discovered dead mussels, crayfish and turtles. Attorneys for Union Pacific requested the state keep any dead fish for legal reasons.
Word that beer was in many of the boxcars spread through the community, with the Hempstead County Sheriff’s Office posting to social media on May 30 that its deputies and Union Pacific Railroad Police “have been stationed at the site to deter any looting of the cargo. You will face trespassing and theft of property charges if you enter the feed mill lot or take anything from the site of the derailment.”
The sheriff’s office also said a recent Facebook post claiming there was “free beer” at the site was not true and asked people to stay away as the railroad and contractors “have heavy machinery and workers trying to clear the site and it is not a safe environment for anyone not involved in the cleanup.”
Crews worked in extreme heat for several days to remove the damaged rail cars and clear the tracks.
Workers methodically removed the pickup tracks from the autoracks and stacked them in neat piles.
A staging area was established for removing and stacking the damaged pickup trucks that were inside autoracks. All were new and showed very dramatic damage like entire roofs being ripped off. The monetary loss of the vehicles was likely very high.
I’m not sure exactly when all the damaged rail cars were removed and the track repaired, allowing the resumption of trains. Weeks later, most of the damaged trucks were still alongside the right-of-way, showing what a long process a cleanup like this can take.
With tracks reopened, a train passes through the site of the derailment on June 16, 2024.
On the web since 2002, this is the online home of broadcasting news veteran Michael Hibblen. I've worked for newspapers, radio and TV stations around the country, with this website telling the story of my career, including audio, photos and videos. Also featured are various interests I've researched, primarily about radio and railroads. Today I'm Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, overseeing production of the program "Arkansas Week" and the streaming of events on the Arkansas Citizens Access Network. The posts on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Arkansas PBS or my former employers.
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, as well as other states in the middle of the U.S. The book features historic photos and tells the story of the Rock Island, which was shut down in March 1980. READ MORE
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.
