Ammunitions manufacturer SIG Sauer cut the ribbon on its expanded Jacksonville, Ark. facility on Tuesday. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, and local government and economic development officials participated in the ceremony for the state-of-the-art facility.

Financial terms of the expansion were not disclosed.

The number of people served by the state’s Arkansas Works program increased by 4,215 from March 1 to April 1.

The state’s Department of Human Services reported Monday that the population April 1 was 240,177, compared to 235,962 on March 1. The difference represents a 1.8% increase from the March 1 total.

The April 1 total was the highest beginning-of-the-month total this year. On Jan. 1, it was 234,400.

Little Rock officially has a new police chief. Keith Humphrey gave his oath of office on Monday at Little Rock City Hall. Humphrey was one of four finalists for the position after former Chief Kenton Buckner left to become the chief of police in Syracuse. Each finalist held a public forum where they gave a presentation and took questions from the audience. Mayor Frank Scott Jr. announced his decision to hire Humphrey in March.

At Monday’s ceremony, Scott called Humphrey a “man of integrity” and that Humphrey will help strengthen the department’s connection to the public.

The annual Fair Housing/ Fair Lending Conference kicks off Tuesday with a movie screening of 13th  followed by a panel discussion at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock. Speakers from the local state and national level are scheduled to speak at the conference.

Ben Carson, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, will be the last keynote speaker on Friday.  Carol Johnson, executive director of the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission which hosts the event, says she's excited to hear what he decides to speak about. 

Former state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, and a husband-and-wife executive team for one of the nation’s largest healthcare nonprofits were charged with 32 new counts in a public corruption scheme that involved embezzlement, bribes and illegal campaign contributions to elected officials in Arkansas and Missouri.