Johnny Story talks with Nikki Phillips about the District 44 runoff election.

Johnny Story talks with Bill Teeter about the District 44 runoff election set for June 30th.

River Valley Radio's Misty Hale talked with Dr. Luke Lovins after the June 9 Russellville School Board meeting about the board's 3-3 deadlock on appointing a member to fill its open board seat.

Johnny Story interviews Mark Martin from Entergy about the power outage in East Russellville on June 9.

Nikki Phillips told Johnny Story Monday that she intends to bow out of the runoff election set for June 30 against Bill Teeter.

“If you win, you fill just the last part of the year, and I think that that would be a disservice to Bill.”

Phillips said Teeter worked hard in the race and that she wants him to have the opportunity to begin learning the job during the interim period.

“At the end of the day, if he does good, we all do good,” Phillips said. “It is best overall for District 44 if I just let him have this and get him in there and prepared.”

We are awaiting a response from the Arkansas Secretary of State's Office on whether that means the runoff will be cancelled or continue forward regardless.

Johnny Story interviewed each of the candidates running for the District 44 House of Representatives seat in the upcoming special election. He sat down with Brent Boland, Wes Freeman, Nikki Phillips and Bill Teeter over the course of several weeks. Here are those interviews.

Russellville and Pope County could soon team up on the city’s planned recycling facility on South Knoxville Avenue. ♻️

City leaders will consider an agreement Thursday that would split future operating costs for the facility, along with a grant tied to recycling signs and educational materials.

Also on the agenda: a Texas Roadhouse development agreement, drainage projects, parks purchases and tennis court resurfacing.

Finance Committee meets at 5:30 p.m., followed by City Council at 6 p.m.

The conversation over downtown Russellville parking continued Wednesday night, this time with merchants, property owners and city officials talking through what a possible two-hour parking plan would actually take to make work.

Misty Hale talks with Yanci Walker, a pharmacist at C&D Drug Store who has helped organize and build consensus around the issue.

In this episode, Misty Hale talks with Ashley Mooney, child nutrition specialist for the Russellville School District, about the district’s summer meal program and how it helps families keep kids fed while school is out.

Mooney explains who qualifies, how the pickup sites work, why families need to register in advance, what kinds of meals children will receive and why parents should not feel guilty about using the program if it helps their household. The conversation also covers mobile meal sites, food allergies, keeping meals safe in the Arkansas heat and the broader need for summer food support across the River Valley.

The Dover City Council raised water rates at its May meeting, but the increase was less than its normal annual increase. We talk with Mayor Roger Lee about that and an upcoming council vacancy.