The legislature created the Arkansas Trauma System 10 years ago, with passage of Act 393 of 2009.

Typically when a bill is passed in the state legislature, if it does not have an emergency clause, it will take effect 90 days after we adjourn.  But there are occasions when a specific date is written into the bill.  This year, we passed several bills that will take effect January 1, 2020. …

An Arkansan you probably don’t know about was responsible for a lot of the turkey that made it to the Thanksgiving table a hundred-twenty years ago.

Arkansas has made a strong commitment to making sure that children learn to read at an early age, and the federal government has recognized our efforts with a grant of $38 million to improve literacy.

This week we want to remind you of an important deadline approaching all Arkansans.

The chance to renew the state’s half-cent sales tax to pay for highway upkeep will be the most important issue on the ballot next year, and today I’d like to talk about why I supported the legislation that will allow us to vote on Issue One.

I have been in Asia this week, and as I wrap up our visit to Japan, I’d like to talk about the significance of our relationship with the country known as the Land of the Rising Sun.

Arkansas is home to over 219,000 Veterans. They live and work in every community throughout our state.

Adequately funding public schools is one of the most complex, time-consuming and important duties of the legislature.

What does it mean to work hard? Well, we’d work hard for something we believe in. We’d work hard for something we’ve thought and planned for, that will lead us to happiness, success or a well-being. This is my personal definition of hard work: Working intelligently and vigorously at a given …

On Monday morning, House members were informed of the passing of one of our fellow representatives.

The past ten days have been filled with significant economic development news for Arkansas, and I’d like to share some of that today.

The Higher Education Coordinating Board heard a disappointing report about the continuing decline in the number of Arkansas high school graduates who go on to college.

The FLU season is here. On top of having flu shot, there is one natural simple but effective way that I like to share with you to prevent catching cold/flu or helping with it. My wife got a flu shot each year, but she still caught Flu three years ago and never get one ever since. I tried thi…

The state’s child welfare agency has improved its performance over the past three years and continues to make progress, according to its most recent annual report.

The Buffalo National River is 153 miles of Arkansas wilderness and great memories, and today I’d like to share some thoughts about why we must be diligent in protecting it.

Childhood obesity is a serious problem across the country. Surveys indicate 1 in 5 children are now obese.

Pardon me to use the strong word “HATE” instead of dislike. In this case, it’s important to get people’s attention.

The moment we were born, there is the moment we all have to leave this world unless someday someone comes up with something that will prolong our human lives forever. Most, if not all, people don’t like to talk about death and don’t want to die soon either. We have to admit and accept the fa…

Earlier this month the state Crime Lab opened a new facility in Lowell, in northwest Arkansas.

On average, an Arkansan with a bachelor’s degree will earn $700,000 more in a 30 year career than those who drop out of college.  The gap climbs to $1.5 million for those with a doctorate.

When I took office in 2015, our child-welfare and foster-care system was in urgent need of improvement, and today I’d like to discuss the tremendous progress we’ve made on behalf of the children of Arkansas.

The annual report cards for Arkansas public schools has been released by the state Education Department, and they show improvement over last year.

Arkansas’s timber industry contributes $6.4 billion to our economy, and today I’d like to talk about the many benefits of the forests to our state and also the effect of the ongoing trade war.

A 2017 study titled “Indicators of School Crime and Safety,” published by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of Education, reported that 20% of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied at school during the previous school year.

There are millions and millions of things that people can be nice to one another and they are free of charge. One good example is to greet people with a friendly smile with people we know or people we don’t know. How about work together as a team to accomplish our goal. Many simple things ca…

Standing by himself, he tugged at his clothing trying somehow to just disappear. Abandoned and alone, fear choked out faith and depression robbed him of reason. He had fled a defeated foe and was hiding from an imagined fate. He was running from the Queen. The prophet of old was hiding in a cave.

Governor Hutchinson brings this week’s address from Mumbai while on his economic trade mission to India and the United Arab Emirates. 

This is an interesting title and topic, and you might be wondering what I am going to write about... well, I am talking about a small town like WALDRON of Scott County.  90 to 95% of people know each other more or less in small towns. People are very friendly and nice to one another. Yes, th…

Last flu season, 113 influenza related deaths were reported in Arkansas. According to the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), 71% of the adults who died were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccine history.

The state Board of Correction has voted to pursue an agreement with Bradley and Drew Counties in southeast Arkansas to set up a private prison.

In 2016 in Arkansas, a total of 2,226 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and 400 women died from the disease.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, and today I’d like to talk about the progress we’ve made and about the opportunities the scholarships have provided for many of our young people.

Whenever I hear the song, “What a wonderful world!” on the radio by Louis Armstrong, my heart just bursts. The song’s lyrics has a very powerful meaning. No one can deny that the song is a classic and is sung by a legendary singer. However, when I think about what is happening around the wor…

Tourism in Arkansas grew at a healthy rate last year, whether it’s measured in total spending or how many people visited the state or how many jobs are supported by the travel industry.

The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, made his third official visit to Arkansas this week, and today I’m going to discuss the Shared Stewardship agreement we signed during his visit.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences received a grant of $4.6 million to boost its program to encourage primary care physicians to practice in rural areas.

In the United States, someone dies by suicide every 11.1 minutes. In Arkansas, someone dies by suicide, on average, every 14 hours.

Almost three years ago a task force of Arkansas legislators submitted its final report on how to control the growing costs of the state Medicaid program.

During the 2019 Regular Session, the General Assembly passed several pieces of legislation concerning our elections.

Today I’d like to talk about the importance of participating in the U.S. Census and about the ways we are already preparing for Census Day, which is April 1, 2020.

How important is it to have a good first impression on people when we first meet? My score will be about 50% to finish line. Let’s say you go for a job interview, you must groom yourself to build some confidence to give a good first impression. Otherwise, your resume will probably be meaning…

Last year 426 Arkansas residents died from a drug overdose, according to death certificates filed with the state Health Department. That is an increase in fatal drug overdoses from 2017, when 417 people in Arkansas died from drugs.

As a parent, we have a tremendous responsibility and obligation to raise our children because we as human beings are the toughest compared to any animal kingdom in the world to raise kids. But when we do have children, we have to do what’s right and what’s the best for them because they’re o…

Arkansas recently set a new record low for unemployment. The unemployment rate for July was 3.4 %, breaking the previous record of 3.5% last month. There are 19,200 more jobs in our state than this time last year.

Today I want to talk about what we are doing in Arkansas to expand access to mental health services and for those in need of drug-addiction counseling.

During any given day in the school year, there are 350,000 children riding a bus on Arkansas roadways.

More doctors are getting their education in Arkansas than ever before. The openings in recent years of the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith and the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine in Jonesboro add to the well-established College of Medicine at the University of Ark…

With the opening of the 2019-2020 school year, there are 26 open enrollment charter schools in Arkansas.

Waldron Nursing Center Residents are still very busy with all of the scheduled activities of Sunday afternoon singing with Winfield Baptist group, dominoes in the day room, these games have become quiet popular with several of our residents who like to play in between scheduled events and in…