On KARK-TV’s “Capitol View,” Steve Brawner and Roby Brock discuss …
– The upcoming primary elections
– Whether legislators will fund Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ prison in the fiscal session
– And what will happen in the November elections. (Steve says Democrats narrowly win back the U.S. House, while Libertarians hit 3% in the governor’s race.)
By Steve Brawner, © 2025 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
You probably don’t need another huge global problem to worry about. At least Shannon Speir is doing something about this one.
Speir recently helped lead a study of how microplastics travel through streams, and how storms affect that process. She’s a Ph.D. and assistant professor of water quality in the University of Arkansas’ Topsoil and Environmental Sciences Department.
Plastics pollution may or may not be on your radar screen when there are so many other big, potentially terrible things happening. But it’s a very real problem nonetheless.
The world is producing hundreds of millions of tons of plastic each year, and it doesn’t biodegrade. Instead, it slowly disintegrates over many years into microplastics and smaller nanoplastics. These get into the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.
As a result, these tiny plastics particles exist throughout our bodies. They get into our bloodstreams. They travel through a pregnant woman’s umbilical cord into her unborn baby. One recent study led by the University of New Mexico found that the microplastics found in deceased people’s brain tissue had increased by 50% from 2016 to 2024, and that people who had been diagnosed with dementia had more plastic than people who hadn’t. Continue reading
By Steve Brawner, © 2025 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
For Americans over age 45, our childhoods were defined in part by the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. We grew up knowing the next war could destroy the world, and it could happen with the press of a button.
Now Blytheville is becoming the central place to remember that era as the home of the National Cold War Center.
The center still has a long way to go from being constructed, but it’s making progress. Dr. Christian Ostermann, the new executive director, said it has raised $7 million of the initial goal of $75 million. It soon will start a major fundraising campaign. Continue reading
By Steve Brawner , © 2025 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
The 2025 Arkansas General Assembly returned from its recess at 10 a.m. May 5 to adjourn “sine die.” Pronounced “sigh-nee die,” that’s Latin for “without a day” planned to return.
Lawmakers had not been in Little Rock since April 16. As is typical, they had planned to return for one day in case they needed to tie up loose ends.
There were very few. Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge banged her gavel and declared the Senate adjourned at 10:18. Speaker of the House Brian Evans, R-Cabot, did the same in the House at 10:26.
The session was noteworthy both for what legislators passed and for the one major piece they left undone.
Lawmakers proposed 2,652 bills, of which Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law 1,026. Continue reading
By Steve Brawner, © 2024 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
I guess one of the Electoral College’s upsides is that if you live in a solidly red state like Arkansas or in a blue state, you don’t have to stress too much about your vote.
The corresponding downside is, neither will the campaigns.
Arkansas’ six Electoral College votes aren’t in play because they will certainly go to former President Donald Trump. A September poll by Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College confirmed what everyone already knew. Trump was leading Vice President Kamala Harris, 55%-40%, while 3% favored other candidates and only 2% were undecided.
The survey was conducted Sept. 5-6, two months before the election. Trump elicits such strong emotions that it’s unlikely his or Harris’ numbers will move much. If they do, it would probably be in Trump’s favor. No Democrat has polled above 40% in a statewide race in Arkansas since 2014. The Biden-Harris ticket four years ago only received 35%. Maybe she’ll gain a few points from some voters’ “Trump fatigue.”
The Electoral College combined with the country’s division into red and blue states means we no longer really have national presidential elections. Arkansas being a solidly red state makes it politically irrelevant. Trump will take the state for granted while Harris will write it off. In fact, the entire election will come down to seven states: Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona. Continue reading