David Monteith

One of Central Arkansas' top tourist destinations, the Clinton Presidential Center, plans to reopen for the first time in over a year, giving officials hope that tourism in the region could get a much needed boost.

Rebecca Tennille, spokeswoman for the Clinton Center, says the presidential library will reopen with reduced hours on July 1. The center, which usually attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors per year, has been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even so, Tennille says the center has not been idle during that time.

In Arkansas, six variants of the coronavirus that cause Covid-19 have been identified as those labeled as "of concern" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention elevated the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus from variant of interest to variant of concern.

Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, with Arkansas Department of Health, says the state currently doesn't have the capacity to test all samples for variants, but sends potential variants out of state to be tested. 

A meeting of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA) is being hosted in Arkansas this week.

Leaders in agriculture from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Virgin Islands are taking part in the gathering, led by Arkansas' Secretary of Agriculture, Wes Ward.

The leadership of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is deciding what changes made because of the COVID-19 pandemic might become permanent as restrictions continue to be lifted.

CEO Christina Littlejohn says the organization is focusing on two goals: rebuilding the audience for performances and programming at the Robinson Center, and being accessible for students and patrons who can’t attend in person.

Homes and workplaces are expected to see a positive impact as a result of new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the guidelines released Monday, fully vaccinated people can now safely gather indoors in small groups without masks or physical distancing.

The combination of the pandemic and the arrival of cold weather is worsening the difficulties faced by the homeless in Little Rock. According to organizations serving the homeless in the state's capital city, the number of people seeking help has increased since the onset of the pandemic.

Pastor William Holloway, CEO of the Little Rock Compassion Center, said the emergency shelter for the homeless has averaged 175 people per night in recent weeks—more than 25 per people than normal for this time of year.

A research project by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is hoping to understand why more farmers in the south don't produce organic crops. Professor Michael Popp from the Fayetteville campus designed a survey to collect information about types of crops and obstacles to organic farming in the region.

A record number of Pulaski County voters cast ballots during the early voting period for the General Election, which ended Monday. Pulaski County Election Commissioner Joshua Price says 110,284 residents voted at the polls— a 39% increase over 2016—and over 25,000 submitted absentee ballots.

The integrity of the voting process both on a national and local scale is a concern for many during this election. On Tuesday the Clinton School of Public Service held a virtual public program with two election security experts.

This year’s voting process has already experienced more turmoil than most previous elections. In response, the Democratic Party of Arkansas (DPA) announced Friday that it  created a voter protection hotline. 

Arkansans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits will now be able to do more of their grocery shopping online. Arkansas’s Department of Human Services (DHS) announced the new program last week.

DHS spokeswoman Marci Manley said this will allow SNAP recipients to avoid shopping indoors, where the risk of contracting the coronavirus is higher.

As Halloween approaches, many are wondering how to celebrate this holiday while taking precautions not to spread the coronavirus. Some professional haunted houses, like Terrorplex in Little Rock, have decided to close their doors for the year. Owner Michael Higgins, who has Type 2 diabetes, said it wasn't worth the risk.

Some doctors and hospitals have adopted new practices to encourage women in Arkansas to get breast cancer screenings. Dr. Ronda S. Henry-Tillman, a breast cancer surgeon at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, says fewer women are getting checked since Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued a directive on April 3 banning elective medical procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day. The holiday, which occurs the fourth Tuesday of every September, is designed to encourage an increase in voter participation, but efforts to get people registered have been happening for weeks in Arkansas. Pulaski County Circuit and County Clerk Terri Hollingsworth says there are already 12,000 more registered voters than at this time four years ago. She credits new collaborations for the increase.

Arkansans with symptoms of COVID-19 may be able to get test results more quickly. This week, the Arkansas Department of Health expects a shipment of almost 13,000 individual antigen tests usable with the BD Veritor System machines purchased in July.

The department's Deputy Director of Administration, Don Adams says the antigen tests can deliver results in less than 30 minutes.

Recording the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Black Arkansans is the goal of a new project by the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock.

On Tuesday the museum will begin collecting video, audio and written commentary to document the experience of Black people in the state. Christina Shutt, the museum's director, says the staff began collecting newspaper articles and other artifacts when the pandemic began, but wanted to expand their efforts.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan to reopen schools for in-person instruction on August 24 continues to draw criticism from some parents and community members. Thursday, a group of close to 40 demonstrators drew 95 chalk outlines of bodies on the street outside the governor's mansion in Little Rock.

Veronica McClane, parent of a Little Rock School District 2nd grader, says the display was meant to show the potential consequences of reopening.

Arkansans could lose billions in federal funding as a result of changes to the 2020 census. Earlier this week, the U.S. Census Bureau announced the deadline for states to accept responses is now September 30, a full month earlier than previously planned.

Brad Cameron, spokesman for Arkansas Counts, says more than four out of every 10 households in the state have not yet submitted responses to the census.

Election officials are preparing for an expected increase in the number of voters casting absentee ballots in November. Pulaski County Circuit and County Clerk Terri Hollingsworth is hosting an on-line training Tuesday night for those interested in learning how to help others register to vote or cast an absentee ballot.

"We usually send out about 8,000 or 9,000 absentee ballots. That's what we sent out in 2016 and right now, we're already at the point where we have 4,261 people who have requested to vote absentee."

Visitors to any of the Arkansas state parks now have the option to add stamps to a park passport. The new program was announced last week. Grady Spann, the director of Arkansas State Parks, says other park systems around the county have similar programs.

"The national parks do have a passport program, as do other state's park systems around the nation. And so, this is Arkansas’s version of that same concept to encourage people to visit all 52 of our parks."