Talk Business & Politics Staff

Several thousand people, along with most of the state’s leading elected officials, marched in opposition to abortion Sunday at the 38th Annual March for Life at the state Capitol.

The marchers wound behind the Capitol and then gathered at the steps, where they heard short speeches by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and U.S. Reps. French Hill, R-Little Rock, and Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs.

Bank of the Ozarks is laying the foundation for future growth with plans for a new corporate headquarters in west Little Rock.

The Little Rock-based financial institution says it has outgrown three headquarters locations in the past 20 years.

Fort Smith attorney Brad Jesson, who served as Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court and was one of the early political supporters of an unknown Dale Bumpers, has passed away. He was 83, and would have been 84 on Jan. 26.

An executive order that supporters say will stem gun violence in the country was characterized Tuesday by members of the state’s congressional delegation as a power grab.

In a speech at the White House on Tuesday, President Barack Obama (D) said the issue was about protecting people in a violent world.

Arkansas has lost a political legend. Dale Leon Bumpers, a four-term U.S. Senator and two-term governor, has passed away at the age of 90 after a long illness, multiple sources have confirmed.

Arkansas achieved a check mark on six of 10 indicators for its infectious disease priorities, placing it above the middle of the pack, according to a December 2015 report, “Outbreaks 2015: Protecting Americans from Infectious Diseases” by the Trust for America’s Health and by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

A former state senator who pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal mail fraud charge will appear before a federal judge next spring for sentencing.

Batesville-based Bad Boy Mowers is investing $7.8 million in a facility expansion that is expected to add 160 jobs, raising the total employment to around 750.

Company officials said Monday (Dec. 14) the expansion is a 68,000-square-foot property on 10 acres near existing 1 million-square-foot building on 29 acres.

North Little Rock-based Bourbon & Boots, the online retailer featuring Southern artisan merchandise, has entered into an agreement to purchase Tales From The South, a radio show and media company featuring Southern storytelling. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock unveiled a new power generation plant on campus Wednesday that university officials said will reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions significantly in the coming years.

During a ceremony at the campus, university officials and representatives of Little Rock-based energy firm TME demonstrated UALR’s top-of-the-line power plant, capable of powering the campus during outages or scheduled power grid interruptions.

Arkansas hospitals are doing better than some of their counterparts in other states that did not expand their Medicaid populations, a new study by the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement finds.

In 2013, Arkansas legislators voted to expand Arkansas’ Medicaid population through the Arkansas Health Care Independence Program, better known as the private option. The program uses state Medicaid dollars to purchase private insurance for Arkansans with incomes of no more than 138% of the federal poverty line. Many states, meanwhile, chose not to expand their populations.

The accountant for a former state senator who pleaded guilty to mail fraud earlier this year needs more time to determine who has been paid back in the aftermath of the case, the former state senator’s attorney said in a court filing Monday.

Attorney Bill Stanley of Jonesboro, who represents former state Sen. Paul Bookout, D-Jonesboro, asked for a continuance in the case until the work is done. The case is before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller, with the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Wal-Mart Stores posted fiscal third quarter net income of $3.304 billion, below the $3.711 billion in the same period of 2015, but better than what was expected by equity analysts who cover the retailer. And while the closely watched metric of same-store sales moved in the right direction for Wal-Mart, the company is predicting “relatively flat” sales growth for the year.

Little Rock-based Bank of the Ozarks – fresh off last month’s $800 million acquisition of Atlanta’s Community & Southern Holdings – will acquire St. Petersburg, Fla.-based C1 Financial, Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at $402.5 million.

Arkansas’ state government scored a D-, or 35th in the nation, regarding its laws, practices and systems for accountability and transparency, according to a report released Monday by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organization, and Global Integrity, a research organization.

President Barack Obama on Friday (Nov. 6) rejected the Keystone XL pipeline proposal after a lengthy State Department review of the controversial project. The move ignited a barrage of criticism from Arkansas’ Congressional delegation and the oil and gas industry.

“Shipping dirtier crude oil into our country would not increase America’s energy security,” Obama said in a press conference with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry at this side.

A long-term highway bill appears to be headed to conference with all four Arkansas members of the U.S. House of Representatives voting with the majority to approve the bill. The 371-54 vote on HR 22 came Thursday morning after debate late Wednesday involving dozens of amendments for the bill.

The October Arkansas tax revenue report shows a 1% gain in overall collections, but a healthy increase in fiscal year-to-date sales and use tax revenue which is a signal of consumer confidence.

For the first four months of the fiscal year which began in July, state tax collections total $2.012 billion, up 1% compared to the same period in 2014 and 3.4% above what was forecast, according to the revenue report posted Tuesday (Nov. 3) by the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration.

Arkansas’ two U.S. Senators voted against a bipartisan budget agreement that passed the Senate early Friday morning and now heads to the president’s desk. 

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 passed the Senate, 64-35. It passed the House earlier this week, 266-167. President Obama is expected to sign it.

The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) that provides insurance for small business employees is ready to launch Nov. 1 and has already enrolled its first employer, officials announced Wednesday.

At the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace’s Little Rock headquarters, Jim Miles, president of Jonesboro-based insurance broker Covenant Medical Benefits, said his company had enrolled eight employees quickly and easily.

“Simply put, it works,” he said.

The frontrunner in the Republican presidential field will pay a visit to Northeast Arkansas, just days before the presidential filing period begins in Little Rock. 

According to a post on his presidential website, Republican Dr. Ben Carson will be in West Memphis Friday afternoon (Oct. 30) for a campaign stop.

Among those wishing for rainfall, well, get ready. AccuWeather is reporting that Arkansas and several other south central U.S. states could see “catastrophic flooding” beginning as early as Friday and continuing into early next week. The rainy weather prediction has an Arkansas River operator securing barges.

The announcement Tuesday night that U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., will consider running for House Speaker drew the support of one of four Arkansas members of the U.S. House.

Blackhawk helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has delivered two state-of-the-art helicopter units that will provide air medical transportation services to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the California defense contractor announced Monday.