On the Line

Since he was hired last summer, City Manager Jay Ellington has been hard at work pursuing his vision for a better Texarkana, Arkansas, including an ambitious plan to turn Front Street Festival Plaza into a more welcoming event venue.

In this week's interview, he and host Karl Richter talked about the plaza project, as well as residents' concerns about streets, flooding and the city Animal Care and Adoption Center.

Texarkana Gazette Editor Les Minor is retiring next week after almost 40 years with the paper, including 35 leading its newsroom.

Host Karl Richter sat down with Les to talk about his memories and accomplishments, and what it's like to leave behind the profession to which he has devoted his life.

Les's successor, Gazette General Manager James Bright, joined them to talk about his vision for the paper and what readers can expect after the transition.

Allen West hopes to upset Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and win the Republican Party's nomination for governor.

The retired Army lieutenant colonel, former U.S. House representative and former chair of the Texas GOP spoke to host Karl Richter by telephone Friday, three days before early primary voting began.

You'll hear why he's taking Abbott on, as well as his views on energy policy, immigration, election integrity and more.

LINK

Texarkana Region Primary Election Early Voting Information

LaMoya Burks is the head librarian at Texarkana College's Palmer Memorial Library.

Last week, she was appointed interim executive director of the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association.

The organization's mission is to empower library staff to serve teens and support them — especially those with the greatest needs — on the path to successful and fulfilling lives.

In this week's interview, LaMoya and host Karl Richter talked about her career success, what's different about serving younger library patrons, recent attempts to remove books from library shelves and more.

For this week's episode, Texarkana Gazette reporter Andrew Bell joined host Karl Richter to interview Christa Henry, boys' soccer coach at Texarkana's Pleasant Grove High School.

As you'll hear, there's no limit to her passion for the game. She talked about the career path that led her to Texarkana, her plans to build a championship team and what it's like to be a woman coaching a boys sport.

As executive director and CEO of TexAmericas Center, Scott Norton oversees one of the Texarkana region's most important economic assets.

That proved true last week, when the Gazette broke the news that an ammunition plant employing 400 people will soon begin operations at the Center.

It was the perfect opportunity to catch up with Scott about some recent developments at TexAmericas Center, and what the future holds there.

You may not know Darlene Taylor's name, but there's a good chance you've seen one of the dozens of murals she has painted in the Texarkana area.

She's a self-taught artist whose other interests include designing and sewing vintage-style clothing and historical costumes.

She and host Karl Richter spoke about her journey from grieving widow to successful small business owner — and how she keeps her creative spirit thriving.

Texarkana resident Joe Saul-Sehy's Stacking Benjamins podcast has won awards and gained a loyal audience by providing financial advice with a light, humorous touch.

His new book with co-author Emily Guy Birken is called “Stacked: Your Super Serious Guide to Modern Money Management.” And it's available beginning Dec. 28.

In July, Joe and host Karl Richter spoke about the book, the podcast and what he has learned in his decades of work helping ordinary people achieve financial security.

Here's an encore presentation of that interview. Look for all-new episodes of On the Line in 2022 — and happy new year!

Christy Busby Worsham is leaving the Texarkana Gazette after more than 30 years as a city government reporter and city editor.

For this week's episode, she and host Karl Richter looked back at some of the most memorable people and stories she encountered during her long career.

They also discussed how journalism and Texarkana have changed in the last three decades — and what she will be doing next.

Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke is back on the campaign trail, this time challenging incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

The election is almost a year away. But O'Rourke has already begun traveling around the state, stumping in cities large and small.

It's a strategy that brought him within three percentage points of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 race that first put O'Rourke in the national political spotlight.

He followed that run with a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Earlier this year, he again hit the road in Texas in support of voting rights and registration.

On Saturday, O'Rourke visited Texarkana, drawing a small but seemingly receptive audience to hear his message. After that appearance, he stopped by the studio for a half-hour interview.

Host Karl Richter asked him about a range of issues, including COVID mandates, abortion and gun regulation.