Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate
ReporterTess Vrbin is a reporter for the nonprofit news organization Arkansas Advocate. She previously worked for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette where she reported on low-income housing and tenants' rights, and won awards for her coverage of 2021 flooding and tornado damage in rural Arkansas. She previously covered local government for The Commercial Dispatch in Mississippi and state government for the Columbia Daily Tribune in Missouri. A Midwesterner by birth, she graduated from the University of Missouri's journalism school in 2019.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers. The Advocate retains full editorial independence.
Email: tvrbin@arkansasadvocate.com
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Camden’s hospital would scale back its labor and delivery unit if it applies for and receives rural emergency hospital designation -
Insurance premiums for Arkansans on private health care plans in the state marketplace are expected to increase by an average of 22.2% in 2026. -
Russell expects ‘a heavily contested but ultimately very fruitful primary season’ -
Conway parents seek to challenge their school district’s postings of the Christian doctrine after a judge blocked the law requiring the display -
Human trafficking prevention and intervention have been priorities for Arkansas elected officials -
Board will hear Searcy County election officials’ challenge to decertification Wednesday -
Chris Jones filed Federal Election Commission paperwork to challenge the six-term Republican congressman -
Act 624 clashes with federal commerce clause, requirements for veterans’ health care, U.S. District Judge Brian Miller rules -
Four complaints against Act 624 of 2025 have been combined into one lawsuit -
Both sides argue for rational-basis review of the SAFE Act but expect different outcomes
