April 2022

LITTLE ROCK - National Work Zone Awareness Week (WZAW) is April 11-15 and the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) is pleading for drivers to slow down in work zones. This national safety campaign is observed each spring, the traditional start of construction season, to encourage safe driving through highway work zones.

50 years ago, the citizens of sovereign Republics known as the Counties of Baxter, Marion, Newton, & Searcy within the sovereign Republic of the State of Arkansas advocated the release of land along the banks of what is known as the Buffalo River. It was done in the hopes of stopping the creation of dams along the river and impacting private property owners not just along the river bottom, but many who owned property that would evidentially be covered in the body of water created by this river blockage. The result was the creation of the Buffalo River National Park (BRNP) with the promises of job creation and national recognition of the pristine area with the main objective of protecting the Buffalo River and providing a pristine outdoor experience with nature in its natural setting. The area would be under federal protection and what could possibility be wrong with that. 50 years later, everything is wrong with this decision.

We are delighted to welcome our 14th association and 16th state to be represented in the Column Partner Program — the Arkansas Press Association. The Column team will be working with the APA on a redesign of their statewide public notice website, making critical improvements to the accessibility of their site as well as adding improved search and alert functionality for the public.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R- AR) announced he will vote against the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. He released the following statement:

Little Rock – The Arkansas Financial Education Commission, created by Act 1025 of 2021 and chaired by Treasurer of State Dennis Milligan, kicks off its first partnership to promote financial awareness among Arkansans next week. The collaboration in partnership with the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) will host a series of financial education webinars geared toward educating the public on basic financial matters.

Little Rock – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today toured the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock and announced a $250,000 allocation for essential transportation related to opioid deaths across Arkansas. According to the Arkansas State Crime Lab, there were at least 493 drug overdose deaths in 2021; 281 of those were caused by fentanyl and 43 autopsies are still pending. In 2020, there were 329 drug overdose related deaths with 148 caused by fentanyl and in 2019 there were 263 drug overdose related deaths with 80 caused by fentanyl. The allocation will help the State Crime Lab transport victims of opioid overdose to the crime lab for an autopsy and determine the exact cause of death.

Today, I would like to talk about the national increase in violent crime, and what we are doing to combat that here in Arkansas. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world felt like it came to a halt while we dealt with the issues of public health.