sarah huckabee sanders
Arkansas governor orders updated plan to guide water policy, investment
This story was updated on Aug. 22, 2023. Arkansas environmental officials will spend the next year updating the state’s plan meant to direct policy on a range of water policy issues, from flood management to drinking water quality and farm irrigation. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Monday executive order calls for the fourth iteration of the […]
Opioid settlement funds provide 15K Narcan kits to Arkansas law enforcement
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Law enforcement agencies from throughout Arkansas are collecting naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdose, at the Camp Robinson military base Thursday and Friday. More than 15,000 kits of naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, were available Thursday morning. Vehicles from municipal police and county sheriffs’ departments lined up outside […]
With Arkansas LEARNS in effect, should the Supreme Court rule on emergency clause case?
The Arkansas Supreme Court now must choose whether to decide once-and-for-all if the state Legislature’s process for voting on emergency clauses is constitutional. That is one of several questions that have been put before the high court in the appeal of a case that delayed implementation of the LEARNS Act. The Phillips County residents and […]
Interim Arkansas Parks Secretary Shea Lewis picked to continue leading agency
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday made interim state Parks Secretary Shea Lewis her permanent pick to lead the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. Lewis, who is also the director of state parks, was tapped to lead the agency temporarily in June following the resignation of Sanders’ first Parks Secretary Mike Mills. Lewis […]
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders taps interim Arkansas health secretary to lead the department
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday appointed Renee Mallory, the interim secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health, to lead the department permanently. Mallory is a registered nurse who has been at the Health Department since 1988, and her roles have included chief of staff and deputy director, according to the press release announcing her […]
Commerce Department chief of staff tapped to be Arkansas’ next finance secretary
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday named Jim Hudson, who has been serving as chief of staff at the Arkansas Department of Commerce, her next finance secretary. Hudson will replace former Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration Larry Walther, who last week was appointed interim state treasurer following the death of Treasurer […]
Early childhood development specialist picked for Arkansas State Board of Education
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday made her second appointment to the Arkansas State Board of Education — an early childhood expert from Little Rock. Sanders tapped her longtime friend and fellow Central High grad Leigh Keener to the board. Keener taught in the Little Rock School District and now runs an early childhood education […]
Arkansas lawmakers say surplus shows need for tax cuts, but ’23 special session unlikely
Arkansas legislative leaders agree the state’s $1.2 billion surplus means taxes should be cut further, but diverge on whether to wait until next year to act. The General Assembly could convene in a special session this year to further reduce state income taxes, as it did following a surplus in 2022. But a consensus on […]
Arkansas Finance Secretary Larry Walther appointed interim state treasurer
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday appointed Larry Walther, the secretary of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, to succeed the late Mark Lowery as state treasurer. Lowery, a Republican elected treasurer last year, died last week following a pair of strokes. Walther will serve until 2025, and Arkansans will elect a new […]
Southeast Arkansas county will receive state relief funds after severe storm damage in June
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a Southeast Arkansas county a disaster area on Tuesday and promised relief funds to the area in light of severe storms in June. Arkansas has seen a wide range of severe storm damage this year, including in Ashley County on June 18, when 30 to 40 mph winds downed power […]
Arkansas Treasurer Mark Lowery dies day after retirement announcement at 66
This story was updated on Thursday, July 27, 2023, with additional information about plans for Mark Lowery to lie in state. Arkansas Treasurer Mark Lowery died Wednesday morning, a day after his office announced that he would retire in September due to a pair of strokes that left him unable to continue working. He was […]
Arkansas governor appoints special justice to LEARNS Act case
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Cory Cox as a special justice in the LEARNS Act case to replace Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Cody Hiland, who recused himself last week. Cox was a chief of staff for former Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and a former law partner of Hiland. The Arkansas Supreme Court is considering Attorney […]