by - January 12, 2012 3:22 pm
While the cold did not bring snow flurries, Thursday (Jan. 12) did bring a flurry of candidate announcements. Sebastian County Clerk Sharon Brooks, Fort Smith City Director George Catsavis and…
by - January 11, 2012 3:25 pm
The Van Buren Public School District was named one of 15 Arkansas school districts to receive funding as the first schools in Gov. Mike Beebe’s “STEM Works” initiative. Beebe and…
by - January 11, 2012 9:42 am
October was a busy retail month in Fort Smith and Sebastian County, with city tax sales tax collections up more than 10% and countywide collections up more than 5% compared…
by - January 10, 2012 12:14 pm
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will close 259 domestic offices, facilities and labs across the country in the coming months, with 16 of the planned closings in Arkansas. The Farm…
by - January 10, 2012 9:00 am
Arkansas lawmakers will convene in February for a legislative session that will focus only on budget matters. On Monday, pre-filing officially began for the fiscal session that begins Feb. 13….
by - January 10, 2012 8:53 am
The first official GOP Congressional debate in the Fourth District was short on fireworks, but long on reasons to return the seat to Republican hands. Tom Cotton, Beth Anne Rankin…
by - January 9, 2012 5:22 pm
This might be the final full year for U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, in the U.S. House, but he appears eager to continue a fight against U.S. Postal Service plans…
by - January 9, 2012 3:20 pm
Sebastian County Judge David Hudson announced Monday (Jan. 9) he will seek another term as the county’s top executive officer. Hudson, a Republican who has held the post since 1999,…
by - January 9, 2012 1:20 pm
Announced plant closings, deaths, election drama, new political lines and a muddled economy were the top stories for the Fort Smith region during 2011, based on a review of the…
by - January 6, 2012 1:41 pm
Sebastian County Assessor Becky Yandell announced Friday (Jan. 6) she will seek re-election. Yandell, a Realtor for more than 20 years, touted her technological improvements to the office in her…
by - January 6, 2012 12:12 pm
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, vowed to uphold the Constitution of the United States against enemies foreign and domestic when he took an oath in 2011 as a freshman member…
by - January 4, 2012 7:53 pm
Members of the Joint Agriculture, Economic Development and Forestry Committee quizzed state finance officials and Arkansas Forestry Commission chief John Shannon about the agency’s budget shortfall and potential funding solutions….
by - January 4, 2012 2:12 pm
A strong month of income tax collections and improving sales taxes led the state of Arkansas to a solid position at the six-month mark of the fiscal year. Officials from…
by - January 4, 2012 8:12 am
Beebe administration officials offered a new argument today that financial mismanagement of federal grant money had more to do with budget woes and layoffs than previously thought at the embattled…
by - January 3, 2012 8:50 pm
“It’s time to move on.” Those were City Director Kevin Settle’s words about the Van Buren true up controversy on Tuesday night (Jan. 3). Settle’s fellow directors agreed with him,…
by - January 2, 2012 11:56 am
Gov. Mike Beebe (D) used his weekly radio address to spell out several budget proposals, including hope that a Medicaid crisis may be delayed for another year. Speaking about the…
by - December 30, 2011 4:14 pm
A second legal opinion on a 2009 water payment dispute between Fort Smith and Van Buren concurred with the opinion given by Fort Smith attorney Jerry Canfield: Fort Smith does…
by - December 29, 2011 6:00 pm
There was nearly as much good news as bad news in 2011. For every job announcement, there seemed to be a layoff announcement. For any improvement in a key part…
by - December 29, 2011 10:17 am
If embattled Sebastian County Circuit Clerk Ken Blevins survives a GOP primary contest, he’ll face one of his employees on the November 2012 ballot. Chief Deputy Circuit Clerk Kathy Guthrie,…
by - December 22, 2011 2:17 pm
Gov. Mike Beebe (D) used his weekly radio address to wade back into the heated state debate over a federal health care exchange. Earlier this month, Beebe’s Insurance Commissioner Jay…
