Latest Arkansas Headlines

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

Arkansas Judge Tosses Licensing Process for Medical Pot Growers

Mar 23 2018 // An Arkansas judge on March 21 struck down the state’s decision to issue its first licenses to grow medical marijuana, ruling that the process for awarding the permits and the rankings of applicants were...

Opioid Crisis Leads Arkansas Cities, Counties to Sue Drug Makers

Mar 23 2018 // A coalition of cities and counties around Arkansas announced it had sued dozens of makers and distributors of opioids, arguing that the companies should bear the cost of drug abuse in the state.The Association of Arkansas...

Amended Arkansas Open Container Law Approved

Mar 22 2018 // An Arkansas bill amending language in the state’s open container statute to comply with federal law has been passed by lawmakers and signed by the governor.Just last year the state passed an open container law making...

Arkansas Cities Are Focus of Study on Limiting Pedestrian Deaths

Mar 21 2018 // A federally funded study focusing on two Arkansas cities will serve as an outline for statewide efforts to reduce pedestrian deaths.Two metropolitan planning organizations in Jonesboro and Little Rock are sharing a...

Citing Discrimination, Black Police Officers Sue Little Rock, Arkansas

Mar 15 2018 // Four black police officers are suing the city of Little Rock alleging age and racial discrimination, underscoring a growing divide between the city’s police chief and an organization for black officers.The federal...

Pharmacy Benefit Manager Regulation Bill Passed in Arkansas

Mar 15 2018 // The Arkansas House and Senate have passed a proposal to regulate pharmacy benefit managers, as lawmakers began a special session focused primarily on addressing a cut in reimbursements rates pharmacists have seen.SB2, the...

14 Arkansas Counties Declared Disaster Areas After Storms, Floods

Mar 12 2018 // The Arkansas governor has issued disaster declarations for 14 counties following severe storms, flooding and tornadoes that began late last month. Gov. Asa Hutchinson on March 9 declared the disasters citing damage to...

NTSB: Drugs, Phone Use May Have Caused 2015 Arkansas Rail Yard Death

Mar 8 2018 // The National Transportation Safety Board says it found several safety issues during its investigation of a 2015 rail yard death at a Pine Bluff packaging plant. The agency says it found illicit drug use by employees,...

Monsanto’s Suit over Arkansas’ Dicamba Ban Dismissed

Mar 5 2018 // An Arkansas judge has dismissed a Monsanto Co. lawsuit aiming to stop the state from blocking the use of a controversial farm chemical the company makes, dealing a blow to its attempts to increase sales of genetically...

Weather Service Confirms 2 Weekend Tornadoes in Arkansas

Feb 27 2018 // The National Weather Service says two tornadoes struck northeast Arkansas during the weekend, including one that killed a man before moving into southeast Missouri. The weather service says an EF-2 tornado with winds of up...

Church Mutual Subsidiary OK’d to Do Business in Arkansas

Feb 27 2018 // CM Select Insurance Co. of Merrill, Wisconsin, has been approved to do business in Arkansas, the state insurance department reported.CM Select is a subsidiary of Church Mutual Insurance Co. (CMIC), which specializes in...

Arkansas Governor Says Special Session on Pharmacy Rates Possible

Feb 21 2018 // Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he’ll call a special legislative session to address reimbursement rates for pharmacies and to amend the state’s open container law if there is consensus among lawmakers on the...

Monsanto Loses Bid to Stop Arkansas Ban on Herbicide Dicamba

Feb 20 2018 // An Arkansas judge has dismissed a Monsanto Co. lawsuit aiming to stop Arkansas from blocking the use of a controversial farm chemical the company makes, dealing a blow to its attempts to increase sales of genetically...

Agency Warns of Possible Hepatitis Exposure at Arkansas Restaurant

Feb 16 2018 // State health officials say people who visited a Taco Bell restaurant in northeast Arkansas may have been exposed to hepatitis A after an employee tested positive for the virus. The health department says the affected...

Tort Reform Upstages Effort to Put Road Funding Measure on Arkansas Ballot

Feb 8 2018 // The Arkansas Highway Commission has voted to drop an effort to put a road funding plan on the November ballot and instead will try again with a proposal it will advocate to lawmakers next year.Commissioners cited the...

Arkansas Hires 5 Law Firms to Help with Opioid Abuse Probe

Jan 26 2018 // Arkansas’ attorney general has retained five law firms to help investigate drug companies and prepare for potential legal action over their role in the state’s opioid abuse problem.Attorney General Leslie...

Buildings Damaged, Power Cut by Strong Winds in Arkansas

Jan 23 2018 // Thousands of people are without electricity in Arkansas after strong storms moved through the state. Entergy Arkansas says crews are working to restore electricity to the 7,000 homes and businesses that lost power in the...

Former Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Horne Passes

Jan 23 2018 // Former Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allan W. “Dick” Horne has passed away, according to the Arkansas Insurance Department.Horne led the department for three years, from 1968 through 1970. In a statement,...

Number of Licensed Agents, Agencies on the Rise in Arkansas

Jan 22 2018 // Arkansas had a 21 percent increase in the number of licensed insurance agents last year and a 4 percent rise in the number of licensed agencies, the state insurance department reported.According to Arkansas Insurance...

Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Named Consumer Committee Chair at NAIC

Jan 18 2018 // 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 2018. The mission of the...