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Wildfires out west have been in the headlines for weeks, and today I’d like to share some news about state and federal responders from Arkansas who are out there fighting them.
Arkansas cities and counties that have been hit hard by the economic impact of the coronavirus can apply for help after legislators approved the use of $150 million for relief grants.
Today I’d like to share two pieces of news that illustrate how Arkansas has fostered an environment that encourages high-tech entrepreneurs and the educators who mentor and inspire them.
Census workers across Arkansas will be knocking on doors until the end of September in a last-ditch effort to make sure that as many people as possible get counted in the 2020 U.S. Census.
Before this year, the legislature had already laid the groundwork for expansions of broadband capability in education and health care.
Today I’d like to share a story about the business success of a family that also is an economic development success for southeast Arkansas.
This was Labor Day weekend, which means summer is over, and we’re heading into the election season. This election will be unlike any our nation has ever experienced, and today I’d like to talk about some of the things we are doing to ensure that every eligible voter has the opportunity to sa…
County clerks are preparing for a sharp increase in the number of absentee ballots that they expect to be turned in for the Nov. 3 general election.
The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the survival of many small businesses in Arkansas, and today I’d like to share good news about a grant program that will help. It is the Arkansas Historic Preservation and Main Street Arkansas grants.
Arkansas legislators approved a plan to add $300 a week to unemployment benefits, to extend the extra benefits available during the coronavirus pandemic.
Arkansas teachers and students are beginning the most challenging school year in living memory.
Most Arkansas schools are starting back, and I’d like to offer some thoughts as we head into an academic year unlike any in my lifetime.
COVID-19 has highlighted some of the shortcomings of our broadband connectivity, but the pandemic also has created opportunities for us to accelerate our expansion of internet service, which I’d like to talk about today.
The Transportation Department is upgrading its web site to make it easier for Arkansas drivers to follow the progress of highway construction projects.
I have appointed Dr. José Romero as secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health, and today I’d like to share some things about the man who is assuming this job in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 28,000 Arkansas residents work in the forest products industry, cutting trees, producing paper and pulp, manufacturing furniture and shipping wood products across the world.
The state Education Department will spend $10 million to expand Internet access in every school district in Arkansas.
Under our state’s broadband initiative, the number of Arkansans with access to high-speed internet is increasing, and today I’d like to talk about the Arkansas Access Point Project, a new program that will make the world wide web available for thousands more students.
The average debt that a student incurs to earn a bachelor’s degree in Arkansas is almost $2,000 less than the national average.
This week, I met with doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville who have been on the front line of saving lives during this coronavirus pandemic. They were tired and stressed, but their work makes me grateful for their services and sacr…
The logs have been counted and the verdict for last year is in – Arkansas’s timber industry is more important than ever.
Arkansas will hold its annual sales tax holiday on Saturday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 2.
I serve on the Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs Committee.
The leaders of the major political parties in Arkansas are united in their determination to assure everyone can cast their ballot in November safely and securely.
During the upcoming school year, local districts will have flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances created by the outbreak of the coronavirus, thanks to a set of waivers adopted by the state Board of Education during a special meeting.
This year, the Fourth of July was quieter than any in our lifetime. That was most obvious, perhaps, in small towns such as Piggott, where July 4th is the biggest event of the year.
We started reopening the economy in May, and today I’d like to talk about the encouraging numbers that we’re already seeing. More than 45,000 Arkansans are back at work. Our unemployment rate, which has remained below the national rate, dropped from 10.8 percent in April to 9.5 percent in May.
The state will hire 350 more contact tracers to help control the spread of the coronavirus. After the funding is allocated to pay them, it will bring the state’s total to 900.
We set a goal to test every resident and staff member in long-term-care in June, and today I’m pleased to say that nursing homes, and assisted-living and residential-care facilities will be able to resume limited family visits and other activities on July 1 if they have complied with the pub…
As Arkansas began Phase Two of its gradual reopening of businesses and social activities, the governor issued three executive orders related to the coronavirus outbreak.
A federal judge upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection procedures used in Arkansas for carrying out the death penalty.
Arkansas’s Commission on Law-Enforcement Standards and Training is constantly examining ways to improve the already high quality of law enforcement in our state, and today I’d like to talk about the task force I’ve created to further that good work.
State revenues have gone down because of the economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak, but not as much as Arkansas budget officials had feared.
We saw peaceful protests, and unfortunately, some violence and criminal behavior across Arkansas last week. Today, I’d like to talk about our duty to protect free expression and the proper response of law enforcement when there is violence or destruction of property.
More than 10,500 Arkansas businesses have been approved for grants to reimburse them for the expenses of protecting the health of employees and customers.
The Economic Recovery Task Force has submitted its interim report to me, and today I’d like to talk about some of the steps we need to take to boost our economy after COVID-19.
Disruptions in the food supply chain affect more than the quantity of products on the grocery store shelves.
Today I’d like to talk about our COVID-19 testing and a new partnership with the Arkansas Community Health Centers.
May is National Foster Care Awareness Month, and today I’d like to thank our foster families and all the people who work so hard to put our neediest children in homes and other safe settings.
Arkansas is gradually opening up businesses and public activities, under careful monitoring by public health officials to avoid bringing on a second wave of the coronavirus.
The next few weeks will determine whether Arkansas moves forward or backward on the way to re-opening businesses.
This has been a good week in Arkansas. We have made progress in containing COVID-19, so I was able to announce some good news about our path back to normal.
Today I’d like to talk about our plans to shift our economy out of low gear as we look to life after the worst of this health crisis has passed.
When Arkansas makes it past the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, restrictions on businesses and social interactions will be loosened carefully, always with the goal in mind to prevent a second wave of the pandemic.
Today I’d like to a talk about the improvements we’ve made to our unemployment benefits system. I want to assure the thousands of Arkansans who have lost a job because of the COVID-19 pandemic that we are working diligently to get the benefits out the door.
The legislature completed the 2020 fiscal session in record time, approving a balanced budget that funds state government spending of $5.68 billion.
The sudden and severe economic downturn caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus means that the 2020 fiscal session will be the most difficult one for legislators since Arkansas voters first voted to establish fiscal sessions 12 years ago.
Today I’d like to talk about the professionals who are on the front lines at the hospitals and clinics all over Arkansas who are treating our COVID-19 patients and doing the critically important testing work.
Today I want to discuss the steps we have taken together to fight the coronavirus called COVID-19.
Surprise medical billing occurs when you go see a doctor or hospital for a needed medical service and get hit with a denied medical claim because the provider is out of your insurance network. As a result, you receive a large bill in the mail for the services.
