Opinion

Let’s keep investing in Jonesboro’s bright future

Nearly three decades ago, my life began at St. Bernard’s Medical Center, and I have been living in Jonesboro ever since. I have been blessed with two children, also born…

A second chance

This time, says Jerry Morgan of the Jonesboro Advertising and Promotion Commission, it is going to happen. It is the construction of a multi-sports complex in Jonesboro, the largest city…

Lessons from a conman

Notorious conman Victor Lustig was inspired for his next great con while passing through France in 1925. Lustig read a local Parisian newspaper article that noted the ever-increasing cost burden…

Most everyone understands homebuying and building got more complicated than usual over the past couple of years as labor, supply and inventory shortages became commonplace. In many ways, those shortages…

Riff Raff: The dumb cycle

The television ad for an Arkansas GOP candidate for a federal office blasts, “Babies, Borders, Bullets.” The complex is oversimplified because, you know, don’t think; be enraged. Be alarmed. And…

It’s time for our communities to make a power play

Over $8 million is headed to Arkansas in 2022 under the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program to build a national electric vehicle (EV) charging network. Now the scramble…

Those days are gone

In the days when the Arkansas General Assembly met in regular sessions only every other year, I was obligated by the news outlets that employed me to ask local legislators…

45 is the new 50 (for colorectal cancer screening)

I’ve got a date this summer. It’s not a date about which I’m terribly excited. In fact, I’m not looking forward to it at all, but I know it’s my…

Arkansas poised to lead on the future of mobility

Electric vehicle adoption is not a question of “If it will occur”, but “How fast it will occur?”, which is becoming blatantly apparent from product buzz on both the public…

Prepare for the unexpected

Across America, but particularly in Northwest Arkansas, we are in an unprecedented boom period of growth and expansion. Everything looks good. The Northwest Arkansas metro unemployment rate is only 1.5%….

Riff Raff: A welcome pivot

Self-recognizing a hubris-induced mistake and turning to humility-driven corrective collaboration often results in a better outcome. So it is with the Fort Smith Board of Directors and their collective pivot…

Strategizing farm succession

For various reasons, fewer and fewer family farms are passing on to the next generation. Recent economic, weather and political events have certainly set forth a bumpy road for those…

Governor’s budget won’t move state forward

Arkansas deserves a budget – and elected leaders – who value this state and all her people. We have to ask ourselves, does the budget Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed at…

Prioritize and embrace ethical data privacy practices

Jan. 28 marked National Data Privacy Day. With companies like Google previously announcing the end of cookies and Facebook continuously under a microscope for its data practices, data privacy is…

Two little words

I’m often accused by my friends of using 10 words when two will do. OK, I’m guilty. So in an effort to mend my loquacious ways, I’ll focus for the…

‘Future-flex’ your business

The 2022 State of Talent Optimization Report is out, and the results are shouting. The Great Resignation (aka, The Big Quit) has dominated headlines. Workers are tired and frustrated, now…

Delta Leadership Institute is cultivating success

Every year, a new class of leaders from the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt come together to hone their leadership skills as fellows of the Delta Leadership Institute…

Be Pro Be Proud addressing workforce challenges

Arkansas businesses across the industry spectrum have long-faced a well-known workforce problem: an increasing percentage of their highly technical-skilled employees are at or nearing retirement age and an adequate pipeline…

Let them read the books

I spent a lot of time growing up in the school library. For reasons smacking of irony, that was where they sent girls who “talked too much” in class. So…

When it comes to medical bills, no one likes surprises

I’m not really much on surprises, although I do like the kind when you find some cash in a jacket that you haven’t worn in months. Opinions on surprises such…