Latest Arkansas Headlines

All the headlines from our Arkansas Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Arkansas Restaurant to Pay $300K to Settle Federal Sex Harassment Lawsuit

Feb 7 2020 // Pei Wei Asian Diner LLC, doing business as Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen in Little Rock, Arkansas, will pay $300,000 to former employees as part of a settlement of a sexual harassment and constructive discharge lawsuit.The U.S....

Arkansas’ Benton County to Appeal FEMA Denial of Aid for Tornado Damages

Feb 6 2020 // Benton County plans to appeal the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision to not help pay for the costs to clean up damages from two tornadoes that struck in October, officials said.The county was notified of...

Arkansas Insurance Dept. Recovers more than $3M for Consumers in 2019

Feb 5 2020 // The Arkansas Insurance Department’s Consumer Services Division (CSD) for recovering $3,005,606 for the state’s insurance consumers in 2019, the department said.Recoveries are dollar amounts recovered in excess...

Number of Licensed Insurance Producers, Adjusters Increases

Jan 27 2020 // in ArkansasThe number of licensed insurance producers in Arkansas has risen by 66.1% since early 2015, according to the Arkansas Insurance Department. The department said there are now 145,185 insurance producers and...

Truck, School Bus Collide in Arkansas, Injuring 9

Jan 23 2020 // Nine people were injured, including a child who was airlifted to a hospital, when a school bus and a dump truck collided Tuesday afternoon on a state highway in northeast Arkansas, authorities said.Arkansas State Police...

Arkansas’ Kerr Named Chair of NAIC’s Market Regulation, Consumer Affairs Committee

Jan 22 2020 // Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr has been named chairman of the Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs (D) Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) for 2020.This is the second time...

Insurer to Pay Settlement in Title IX Suit Against Southern Arkansas University

Jan 14 2020 // A former Southern Arkansas University student has settled a lawsuit with the university in Magnolia alleging SAU acted with “deliberate indifference” when she reported being sexually assaulted in 2015.The...

11 Dead After Storms Sweep Southern U.S., Midwest

Jan 13 2020 // Severe storms sweeping across southern portions of the U.S. and up into the Midwest were blamed Saturday in the deaths of at least 11 people, including two first responders, as high winds, tornadoes and unrelenting rain...

Arkansas Panel: State’s Levees Need More Oversight

Jan 9 2020 // An Arkansas panel formed after historic flooding last year has released a report recommending increased oversight of the state’s levees, consolidation of some levee districts and state grants to fund...

Arkansas Report: $28M Worth of Medical Cannabis Sold in First Legal Year

Jan 6 2020 // Arkansas dispensaries sold about $28 million worth of medical marijuana in the first calendar year of legal sales in the state, according to a state agency.More than 4,200 pounds (1905 kilograms) of marijuana was bought in...

Arkansas Sees Increase in Number of Licensed Insurance Producers, Adjusters

Jan 6 2020 // The number of licensed insurance producers in Arkansas has risen by 66.1% since early 2015, according to the Arkansas Insurance Department.The department said there are now 145,185 insurance producers and adjusters...

Judge Puts Hold on Enforcement of Arkansas’ Meat-Labeling Law

Dec 16 2019 // A federal judge has restricted Arkansas from enforcing a law that bans using terms such as “burger” or “sausage” to sell vegetarian and vegan products.U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker granted a...

Feds Sue Arkansas Insurer Over Fired Employee Who Had A Baby

Dec 2 2019 // The federal government is suing a Little Rock, Ark.-based insurance company over the firing of a worker who had just had a baby.The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit last week in Little Rock...

Hub International Acquires Assets of Arkansas’ Stevens-Dell Insurance

Nov 7 2019 // Chicago-based global insurance brokerage Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired the assets of Stevens-Dell & Associates Insurance Inc. (Stevens-Dell Insurance) in Little Rock, Arkansas.Terms of the transaction...

Arkansas Restaurant Faces Charges of Sex Harassment of Teens, Young Adults

Oct 25 2019 // Pei Wei Asian Diner LLC, doing business as Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen in Little Rock Ark., has been charged with subjecting a class of female teens and young adults to sexual harassment and a sexually hostile work environment...

9 Tornadoes Confirmed in North Texas Outbreak; Insured Losses Pegged at $2B

Oct 24 2019 // The National Weather Service says nine tornadoes struck the Dallas area during Sunday’s stretch of severe storms in Texas.Forecasters confirmed the twisters Tuesday after surveying damage throughout North Texas. The...

3 Twisters Confirmed in North Texas; Governor Issues Disaster Declaration

Oct 21 2019 // The National Weather Service has confirmed that three tornadoes ripped through North Texas on Sunday night, two in Dallas County and one in Van Zandt County, arising out of a storm system that caused widespread damage...

Audit: Former Clerk Misappropriated $185K from Arkansas City’s Accounts

Oct 15 2019 // State auditors have determined a former city clerk and administrator in Arkansas wrote unauthorized checks to herself and used other tactics to misappropriate nearly $185,000 in municipal money.The Arkansas...

Arkansas Insurance Dept. Unit Honored for Work Comp Pharmacy Benefits Program

Oct 15 2019 // The State Risk Manager Association recently named the Arkansas Insurance Department’s Public Employee Claims Division (PECD) as the recipient of the 2019 AFIRM Award for its state employee workers’ compensation...

Arkansas Department: Fee Elimination Saves Money for 2020 Health Market Customers

Sep 26 2019 // The Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) says Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace (AHIM) customers will save a combined projected $13.14 million due to elimination of a fee charged to companies in previous plan years.Act...