Little Rock Public Radio

Here's the latest local and regional news from the Little Rock Public Radio Newsroom for Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

- Incumbent Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders won her re-election bid, defeating challengers Fred Love and Colt Shelby

- Republicans swept races for Arkansas’s statewide offices in the midterms

- Incumbent Frank Scott Jr. has won a third term as the Mayor of Little Rock

- Democratic candidates secured several new seats in the Arkansas state legislature, while three races remain too close to call; two of those races lean Democrat

- Unofficial results from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office show independent candidate Larry Behnke winning the race for Lonoke County Sheriff against Republican challenger Aaron Spencer

- Several new members of the Little Rock City Board of Directors have been elected, with the race for Ward 7 heading for a runoff

Listen to live newscasts from Little Rock Public Radio each weekday during NPR's Morning Edition from 6 to 9 a.m., during All Things Considered from 4 to 6 p.m., and online at littlerockpublicradio.org.

Here's the latest local and regional news from the Little Rock Public Radio Newsroom for Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

- Students weigh in on key issues as they cast their first ballots in the midterms.

- Republican state leaders hosted a 'Get out the vote' rally at state GOP headquarters in Little Rock Monday night

- A group of 50 books previously blocked on the North Little Rock School District’s digital library are now available to students again

- Open enrollment begins for 2027 insurance plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

- The Little Rock School Board votes to list a vacant elementary school building for sale.

- A federal grant aims to bolster animal health programs and agricultural research at Arkansas State University

Listen to live newscasts from Little Rock Public Radio each weekday during NPR's Morning Edition from 6 to 9 a.m., during All Things Considered from 4 to 6 p.m., and online at littlerockpublicradio.org.

Here's the latest local and regional news from the Little Rock Public Radio Newsroom for Monday, November 2, 2026.

- Pulaski County officials say they have recovered nearly $2 million dollars lost to suspected fraud

- Federal court data show 32 agricultural operations in Arkansas have filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection so far this year

- North Little Rock police are investigating after a woman was found dead inside a car Saturday night

- One person was killed, and others injured in a shooting early Sunday morning in Little Rock

- The director of a substance abuse recovery center in Walnut Ridge was arrested on Friday after police say he attempted to buy illicit substances from an undercover agent

- The City of Little Rock has completed a solar project it says will save around $1 million a year in electricity costs

Listen to live newscasts from Little Rock Public Radio each weekday during NPR's Morning Edition from 6 to 9 a.m., during All Things Considered from 4 to 6 p.m., and online at littlerockpublicradio.org.

Here's the latest local and regional news from the Little Rock Public Radio Newsroom for Thursday, October 29, 2026.

-Law enforcement search for an escaped jail detainee in Brinkley

-Pulaski County elections officials voted 2-1 to deny the Department of Justice's request to send 'poll monitors' to the county on election day

- Law enforcement officials are searching for a man who escaped from an east Arkansas jail on Thursday

- The Little Rock School District is getting a new grant to improve student mental health

-An ethics complaint is dropped against a former candidate for secretary of state

- Lawmakers declined to give the state Department of Education $1 million dollars more in spending authority to test new drone technology aimed at increasing school safety

-The Board of Trustees of Hot Springs-based National Park College voted to enter into a merger agreement in a meeting on Wednesday

- A national anti-abortion group has once again named Arkansas the most pro-life state in the nation

Listen to live newscasts from Little Rock Public Radio each weekday during NPR's All Things Considered from 4 to 6 p.m., and online at littlerockpublicradio.org.

FUN

It’s Halloween weekend, the annual celebration of ghosts, ghoulies, long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night. Places around the area are holding events, and of course, there will be the usual house-to-house trick-or-treating Saturday or Sunday. So be careful out there.

Meanwhile, nine Little Rock museums and cultural centers offer free trick-or-treating, games and activities to the annual Big Boo!seum Bash, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday. The list includes the Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St.; Museum of Discovery, 500 President Clinton Ave.; Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, 602 President Clinton Ave.; Clinton Presidential Center (Clinton School of Public Service Building), 1200 President Clinton Ave.; Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St.; MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St.; Firehouse Museum of Arkansas, 1201 Commerce St.; Old State House Museum, 300 W. Markham St.; and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 501 W. Ninth St. Costumes are encouraged. littlerock.com/events/big-boo-seum-bash-2026/.

And GloWild, featuring dazzling displays and larger-than-life lanterns, illuminates the The Little Rock Zoo, 1 Zoo Drive, Little Rock, starting at 5 p.m. today and continuing through Jan. 3. (501) 379-1859; littlerockzoo.com.

MUSIC

The North Little Rock Community Concert Band concludes its 2026 season with a program titled “Remembrances,” 3 p.m. Sunday at the Patrick Henry Hays Center, 401 W. Pershing Blvd., North Little Rock.(501) 920-2539; nlrcommunityband.com.

THEATER

The national touring company of “Beetlejuice,” the musical based on the 1988 Tim Burton film, brings the musical to Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway just in time for Halloween — 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday. CelebrityAttractions.com or Ticketmaster.com.

Also in time for Halloween, the final weekend of the Stage 13’s creepy, kooky and altogether ooky production of “The Addams Family” musical, 7:30 p.m. today-Saturday at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock. stage13.org.

Argenta Contemporary Theatre, 405 Main St., North Little Rock, concludes its run of “Misery,” William Goldman’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, 7 p.m. today and Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. argentacontemporarytheatre.org.

And Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, continues its run of the musical “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” through Nov. 14. Buffet opens 90 minutes before curtain. — 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 12:45 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. (501) 562-3131; murrysdp.com.

ART AND EXHIBITS

New this week:

“The Big. The Bold. The Bizarre,” more than 90 oversized and unconventional objects from the Clinton Presidential Library collection, the Clinton family’s personal collection and the libraries of presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, George H.W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, opens Saturday at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Among the objects on display: a White House replica “Kitty Kondo” for the Clintons’ presidential pet, Socks; a cerulean glass bowl by artist Dale Chihuly; a patriotic Swarovski crystal-encrusted tomato-shaped purse and Halloween masks depicting President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. It’s up through Feb. 14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. clintonpresidentialcenter.org.

Continuing: 

“Art Empowers,” an auction benefiting World Services for the Blind and The National Federation of the Blind of Arkansas, continues through Dec. 4 at Cantrell Gallery, 8202 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. Among the items available: artworks by Salvador Dali, David Armstrong, Georges Dussau, Howard Finster, Ginna Ford and William McNamara. 32auctions.com/ArtEmpowers

“I am asking you to endure it,” digital and mixed-media works by Hannah Perkins, on display through Nov. 6 at the Argenta Library Gallery, 420 Main St., North Little Rock. It’s up during regular library hours — 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. (501) 687-1061; nlrlibrary.org.

“Memento of Mortality,” pen drawings on paper, mounted on cardboard and cut by hand by North Little Rock artist Paul Perkins, on display through Nov. 28 at the William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock. Library hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday-Saturday. (501) 758-1720; nlrlibrary.org.

“The Age of Anxiety: German Expressionism in Art and Film,” a melding of early 20th century German Expressionist art and period films, is up through Jan. 10 at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 372-4000; arkmfa.org.

“Painting the Arkansas Parks,” a traveling exhibition of paintings based on sketches at state parks in each of Arkansas’ five major geographic regions, is on display through January in Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists at Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St., Little Rock.

“In Hot Water: Betting on the Spa City,” an exploration of the rise and fall of gambling in Hot Springs, is on display through 2027 at the Old State House Museum, 300 W. Markham St., Little Rock, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. arkansasheritage.com/events/

“Barbie and Friends,” a display of “the dolls, styles, and cultural moments that have inspired generations,” including the first Black Barbie and Black Ken, is up through Feb. 28 at ESSE Museum & Store, 1510 Main St., Little Rock. (501) 916-9022.

Made-in-Arkansas objects, including paintings and sculptures, is on display in the “Collecting Arkansas Made” exhibit at Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St., Little Rock. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 324-9351.

“Icons in Transformation,” three-dimensional paintings inspired by traditional Russian icons by Ludmila Pawlowska, is on display through Nov. 8 in The Oasis at St. Margaret’s at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 20900 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. Gallery hours are 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, 1-5 p.m. Saturday. theoasisatstmargarets.com.

“Play in Arkansas,” examining how people have created joy through play and how the history of play can contribute to understanding of both past and present, is on display through Dec. 15 at the University of Arkansas Little Rock Downtown, 333 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The exhibit includes handmade and mass-produced toys, dolls and game paraphernalia, as well as a memories section, where individuals can share their personal reflections on childhood play. Hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

“Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad,” color photographs by Jeanine Michna-Bales and narratives that tell the story of the Underground Railroad and the enslaved people who risked their lives along its many routes, is on display through Jan. 7 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 376-4602.

“Material Nature: Gifts From the John and Robyn Horn Collection” is on display through April 25 in the Robyn and John Horn Gallery in the Windgate Art School at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 372-4000; arkmfa.com.

“Kuimeaux’s World,” drawings and paintings by late Little Rock native Dwight “Kuimeaux” Drennan, is on display through spring 2027 at Little Rock’s Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 324-9351.

“Manufacturing Victory in Arkansas: Supplying the Battlefront and Changing the Homefront During World War II,” “highlight(ing) the role and contributions of ordnance plants in Arkansas during the war,” remains on display through Dec. 31, 2027, at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 376-4602.

This year, the amount of land used to grow rice in Arkansas fell under 1 million acres for the first time in decades – its lowest point in about half a century. To those in the industry, like Robert Stobaugh, this speaks to the persistent challenges rice farmers are facing.

Stobaugh runs Stobaugh Brothers Farms in Central Arkansas with his family.

Despite tough times, he and other rice farmers are passionate about their work — they don’t want to do anything else. Ultimately, they just want their situation to improve at a time when rice is selling for cheap but is expensive to produce.

Sitting in his big rig, Stobaugh discussed his financial troubles. He used to farm 1,500 acres of rice, but this year, many of those fields had soybeans instead.

“It declined by a third this year. We only have 1,100 [acres]. And it’s simple economics. We could not afford to lose any more money than that,” Stobaugh said. “We knew we were planting, at best, at best, a breakeven crop in March and April.”

Jarrod Hardke is a row crop expert with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. According to him, one of the biggest issues faced by rice farmers like Stobaugh is high gas prices egged on by the war in Iran. Rice, he says, is a particularly fuel-intensive crop.

“Very early in the year, it was still, ‘Well, we still might plant a million acres.’ [It was] still possible — maybe not likely — but it still seemed possible,” Hardke said. “And then we reached March, and let’s just put it as world events happened. And suddenly fuel and fertilizer prices start screaming upward which have a profound impact on agriculture in general, especially rice.”

Another headwind for American farmers is overseas competition. Over the last two decades, Americans have consumed more aromatic rice varieties, like basmati or jasmine. These typically come from foreign markets, Hardke said.

American rice farmers are playing a different game than their foreign counterparts. Rice production in other countries is heavily subsidized. Some governments guarantee prices for farmers and shoulder a significant portion of production costs. These policies can undercut American rice, and increased imports mean a greater supply of the grain in the U.S. which can drive prices down.

Rice was selling for very little earlier this year — below breakeven levels. Producers, like Stobaugh, were planting knowing they would likely lose money.

Farmers are price-takers, not price-makers, as the saying goes. They don’t set prices for the rice they grow.

Take a pair of cowboy boots, for example. If production costs go up, the boot-maker can pass some of that cost on to consumers by charging more. Farmers have far less ability to do that. Here’s how Alvaro Durand-Morat, a rice economist at the University of Arkansas, puts it.

“That is why markets exist, to discover prices, among other things. So prices are discovered in the market based on the demand that there is for rice at any given point in time given by the supply,” he said. “If I had to put it in a sentence, I would say that the price of rice in the U.S. is defined by, by market forces.”

USDA prices and commodities markets provide a snapshot of this push and pull between rice suppliers and buyers, Durand-Morat said. But those prices aren’t set in stone.

Farmers have also been contending with extremely hot temperatures, which can lead to lower quality rice. 2026 was Arkansas’ 10th-hottest summer on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The dip below 1 million rice farming acres is a significant threshold for the crop. Hardke called it a “glass floor.”

“We actually ended up in Arkansas with a few more rice acres than what we anticipated going into the year,” Hardke said. “Were it not for a slightly favorable turn kind of late in the planning window this spring there was question and concern if we would be over 800,000 acres at one point.

If this trend continues, Hardke said, Arkansas is at risk of losing some rice farming infrastructure for good.

“If we don’t see some return in rice acres fairly quickly, you have to start having concern and wonder for infrastructure throughout the Delta and eastern Arkansas that supports the rice industry specifically,” he said. “It’s near impossible to get it back.”

According to a USDA report, the rice harvest in Arkansas was 98% complete on October 11. It’s still a bit early to know the quality of the harvest and how producers fared financially.

Kelly Robbins, executive director of the Arkansas Rice Federation, is optimistic the crop will bounce back. Or, at least, that the state will find better ways to weather the storm.

“Hopefully this is a blip, but in the meantime, we're going to continue to work to make our elected officials and policy makers aware of the current situation.” Robbins said. “[We will] continue to ask for their help and policies and ask for their assistance and some economic assistance that we need in the short term.”

But farmers are feeling the crunch right now. High input costs, an increasingly difficult global market, and low crop prices are causing farms to fold, Stobaugh says.

“There are some people who have given up,” Stobaugh said. “And you can look at the statistics — and it's out there. Farm suicides are way up there. Farm bankruptcies [are] way up there. But everybody's still eating.”

Those struggling with their mental health can call or text the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for support.

Catfish farmers and aquaculture experts were at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Tuesday speaking with U.S. Sen. John Boozman and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

They heard some of the issues facing the state’s catfish farmers — like competition from foreign imports and predatory birds.

The U.S. doesn’t export catfish; it all stays in the country. America does, however, import catfish. The problem for domestic producers is that the imported fish is often cheaper, stifling the market, says Brad Graham, a catfish farmer and the Arkansas Catfish Promotion Board Chairman.

“There’s like a ceiling to the price in the market almost… and that threat [of imports] is always there. ‘Well, if y’all get too high, we’re just going to buy imports.’” Graham said.

“Some restaurants, you know, they buy U.S. farm-raised catfish and that’s what they serve on Friday and Saturday nights. But during the week, they serve imports because that’s where they make their dollar,” he continued.

Imported fish is often of lower quality, according to the farmers present at the event. While there is no USDA certification label for catfish, many domestic farmers seek Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Certification for their product.

There are USDA rules for catfish imports, but it’s possible importers may be more lax on best practices.

Despite a stiff market, Dick Baxter, another fish farmer, has hope.

“It’s not all doom and gloom in our industry … with y’alls support we’re still here,” he said. “But, you know, there’s potential for this thing to grow a little bit, I really think there really is. But what we have to have is we have to have a stable market. And that stable market is going to come from knowing that we can move our product. And people want it. People want to eat fried U.S. catfish.”

It isn’t just humans who like the taste of farmed catfish; birds also enjoy it. Some farmers spend a lot of their time fending off predatory birds. This is how Steve Kueter, a catfish farmer and member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, described it.

“You’ve got to be a strong minded person to be in this industry. And these birds [are] out here seven days a week. Mentally, these birds will get in your head, and they just will consume you,” he said.

This year, the USDA's Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish, or ELAP, program began covering bird-related losses for fish farmers. Those present at UAPB were supportive of the move enabled by the Trump administration’s 2025 budget reconciliation bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Fish-eating birds like pelicans, great blue herons and great egrets are attracted to the ponds on farms. But the industry’s white whale is the dreaded cormorant. This bird alone has caused over $47 million in industry-wide losses.

“I like birds… I don’t love cormorants so much, but I mean I do like birds,” Baxter said. “Without us doing something we will not be in business.”

Those present supported renewed population control efforts for predatory birds like cormorants. Methods to control these predators range from permits to kill birds to controlling their populations in nesting areas, like the Great Lakes Region.

Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Arkansas Game and Fish Commissioner Steve Kueter.

A USDA-funded program is offering Producer Grants of up to $20,000 for individual farmers and $25,000 for groups.

The grants are administered through the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, or SARE, program. This is one of several types of grants that are offered by the program. The Producer Grant is meant to help farmers and ranchers conduct hands-on research and find innovative solutions for problems they face.

“The program was designed to provide funds, congressionally mandated funds, to researchers, farmers, other producers [and] NGOs to do work on sustainable agriculture,” Jim Jordan, the head of the Southern SARE program, said.

Jordan said sustainable agriculture is like a three-legged stool. It must protect land, air and water resources and quality; have a positive impact on rural communities; and be economically profitable.

There are four regional SARE programs, one that serves the northeast, north central, southern and western parts of the U.S. The southern program is based at the University of Georgia, where Jordan works.

Ian Daniel, a livestock expert at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, said the goal of the grant is for farmers to share what efforts worked and didn’t work to find industry-wide solutions.

“What this organization wants to see is somebody that has an idea that has not been funded in the past. An idea that, if you test it and you have great results, then it can be a problem solver for many other farmers going forward,” Daniel said.

To Daniel, this is an opportunity for farmers who work with small ruminants, or little, hoofed herbivores, to find solutions to problems they face. Small ruminant farming is an area of interest for him.

To Jordan, the more applicants, the merrier.

“The more projects we get in, the better chance of finding really good ones,” Jordan said. “We certainly encourage farmers particularly to apply to the program and to give us their ideas about what needs to be done on the farm.”

Along with the Producer Grants, the program is also offering On-Farm Research Grants for agriculture professionals looking to work directly with farmers. More information about both grants, including tips on how to apply, are available at the program’s website.

Proposals for the Producer Grants are due on November 6 at 1 p.m., and selected proposals will be announced in February.

Here's the latest local and regional news from the Little Rock Public Radio Newsroom for Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

- The Pulaski County Quorum Court voted Tuesday to override outgoing county judge Barry Hyde's veto of a data center regulation ordinance

- Federal election monitors will not be allowed in Washington County polling places on Election Day next week; the Pulaski County commission will vote on the issue on Thursday

- Advocates for youth mental health met with Arkansas lawmakers Monday to give recommendations for improving the state’s care of at-risk youth

- Little Rock-based publisher WEHCO Media Inc. announced Tuesday it will lay off about 30% of its workforce at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and 25% at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

- Little Rock’s Clinton Presidential Center will close down beginning next year for a $200-million renovation

- Farmers in Arkansas can apply for up to $25,000 through a federal grant program

Listen to live newscasts from Little Rock Public Radio each weekday during NPR's All Things Considered from 4 to 6 p.m., and online at littlerockpublicradio.org.

The first day to vote early was October 19. About seven days out, over 277,000 people have voted —15% of total registered voters in Arkansas — according to data from the secretary of state.

The first day of early voting was the single biggest voting day with over 58,000 people casting ballots. Pulaski County is seeing the largest early vote turn out with over 48,000 voters countywide. Calhoun County in south Arkansas has the fewest early votes, with just over 300 total.

There is still a week left to vote early. If you are registered to vote, you can look up applicable polling places on the online portal VoterView.

Last midterm, just over half a million votes were cast early, with almost 400,000 cast the day of the election.

The last day to turn in an absentee ballot application by mail is October 27. The last day to turn in the application in person is this Friday. You need to list a reason to vote by mail.

Election Day is November 3. Polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Be sure to bring your ID to vote.