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.
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Chief Justice Karen Baker does not have the authority to fire certain employees, five justices said, calling her actions ‘retaliatory.' -
Some of Democrats’ proposals would roll back GOP-sponsored laws passed in 2023. -
The agency overseeing Arkansas prisons expects to spend $5.2 million in overtime pay for correctional officers in the next six months. -
A last-minute grant from the Democratic National Committee helped the party secure its first net gain of legislative seats in 20 years. -
The governor’s maternal health strategic committee recommended Life360 HOME expansion earlier this year. -
A bipartisan group of senators opposes the new rule. -
Dumas School District stayed afloat due to layoffs and closing a school building, leading to public frustration -
Underpayments from PBMs hurt rural independent pharmacies, owners say. -
A former Jefferson County DHS employee points to flaws within the agency. -
High demand for attendance led the debate’s host organization to change venues.
