Author: George Jared

George Jared

Podcast conference coming in September

Entrepreneur Ti King wanted to organize a festival to recognize, educate and grow the podcast community in Arkansas. He wanted to model it after RTX Austin, a gaming and internet…

Jonesboro sales tax collections up 5.5%

Jonesboro continues to collect sales and use tax at record rates each month, but those collections are underperforming the budgeted expectations for the year to date. The city tallied $2.160…

Cover crop and no till or limited till practices to be researched

Researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture are conducting research examining soil health practices and their impacts on crop risk insurance premiums and other financial factors often…

Several long-term road projects slated in Northeast Arkansas

Progress is slowly being made on a number of road construction projects throughout Northeast Arkansas, and several new ones are slated to begin, Arkansas Highway Commission Chairman Alec Farmer told…

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford releases a novel based on his Cold War experiences

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, spent four years as an Army bomb tech and he’s one of the many soldiers that served during the Cold War between the United States…

Rice farmers advised to be on the look out for sheath blight

Perpetual rains this summer have kept the Arkansas Delta away from the drought conditions that plagued farmers last year. The extra moisture does cause some other problems, however. Specialists with…

Jonesboro Sports Complex officials gauging community feedback

Progress on the proposed $50 million Jonesboro Sports Complex has been slower than anticipated, but Steering Committee Chairman Kevin Hodges thinks construction could begin before the end of the year….

First cut in Arkansas pasturelands underperforms projections

Volatile fertilizer prices impacted all manner of farm operations in 2022, and the effects have continued into 2023 even as prices have eased. Pasture grasses, typically used to feed livestock…

Delta Arts Festival continues to grow, add artists

Since Joey Thomas was a child he has loved to write. The Grubbs native liked to write poems, short stories and when he became a musician he even dabbled in…

Jonesboro unexpectedly to host USA Track and Field Junior Olympic Championships through 2025

About a month ago, the city of Jonesboro was offered an unexpected opportunity. USA Track and Field Region 9 was slated to have its Junior Olympic Championships at a facility…

Gary Harpole reflects on three decades of Jonesboro growth

When Gary Harpole was first elected to the Jonesboro City Council in 1992, there were many unique problems facing the city but none bigger than chronic traffic problems, he told…

Rep. Dwight Tosh discusses legislative wins in 2023 session

The recent legislative session was dominated by social and political issues that ranged from transgender rights to the banning of certain books in libraries across the state. The most significant…

Rice crop rebounds in 2023; cotton acres down

Despite myriad forces facing rice farmers in 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) now projects that about 1.311 million acres of the crop have been…

Jonesboro sales tax collections up nearly 7% at midyear point

During the first six months of 2023, sales and use tax collections have remained better than all-time highs collected for the first half of any year and budget projections are…

Corn acres up nationally; soybean acres decline

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Acreage Report sent corn and soybean prices in opposite directions, economists said. At 94 million acres, this year’s corn crop is the third largest since 1944….

Graycen Bigger hired as FNBC’s strategic partnerships assistant vice president

Graycen Bigger has been hired by FNBC as its new strategic partnerships assistant vice president where she will work closely in support of the bank’s CDFI-designation. In this newly created…

EPA to issue new Waters of the United States definition by September

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers plan to issue a revised definition of Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, by Sept. 1, the EPA said…

Farmers catching a break as summer heats up in the Delta

Drought, disease, inconvenient rains, and weed infestations have plagued farmers in Northeast Arkansas during the last half decade. In 2023, those farmers might be catching a little break, Craighead County…

Jonesboro receives $1.188 million to upgrade its JET bus fleet

Jonesboro Mayor Harold Copenhaver announced Tuesday (June 27) that the city has received a second round of federal grant funding for low-emission buses for JET (Jonesboro Economical Transportation), the city’s…

ASU College of Agriculture receives donation to teach agri investing

The College of Agriculture at Arkansas State University has received a gift of nearly $103,000 from Lynn native and A-State alumnus Dr. J.B. Penn. The funds will be used to…

AMFA adds 10 new members to board

LR Airport Commission reviewing designs for new terminal

AACF again calls for Medicaid extension for new mothers

Life Time plans to build 100,000-square-foot athletic club in Rogers