ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES OF ARKANSAS LITTLE ROCK REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS SCHOOL OF LAW
PEBBLE FAGAN & FRIENDS LYON COLLEGE
ARKANSAS DEMOCRATIC BLACK CAUCUS
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS
WAYNE EDWARDS AUTO PARTS AND SERVICE
NANCY FOMBY - HENDRIX RANEY HALL GROUP HONOREE LATRIECE WATKINS
NORTH LITTLE ROCK MAYORS OFFICE
DECEMBER 2025
‘HENRY & NOLAN’: An ESSE Purse Museum exhibition showcasing the work of Arkansas photographers Rita Henry and Nancy Nolan also includes a look into the cameras, chemicals and tools used to make it. “Henry & Nolan” runs through Feb. 1.
FEATURE
26 PINNERS AND LOSERS
We kept tabs these past dozen months to compile this list of the best and worst headline grabbers of 2025.
This year's Natural State news cycles gave us a creative jailbreak and a Franklin County prison rebellion; two fatal bear attacks but only one bear prosecution; penis pump accolades, a raw milk revolution and some shameful quakery. Some of these happenings were too weighty not to include in the official record. Some were too weird to ignore. And some, we just pulled out of our butt(on)s.
ON THE COVER: Pinning down Arkansas's best and worst of 2025. Photography by Sara Reeves. Button design and art direction by Mandy Keener.
9 THE FRONT
From the Farm: Killing time. Q&A: With Joseph Whitfield, newly minted mayor of Helena-West Helena. Big Pic: Bah humbugs from our Grinchiest politicians.
15 THE TO-DO LIST
Arkansas vs. Fresno State at Simmons Bank Arena, “The Book of Mormon” at Robinson Center, Radiolab at Ron Robinson Theater, Phil Cook at Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and more.
22 NEWS & POLITICS BOOM OR BUST?
Despite the buzz, Arkansas’s lithium boom remains far from guaranteed.
By Elizabeth L. Cline
EMPTY SEATS
The courts thwart Gov. Sanders’ efforts to delay the filling of two legislative vacancies. By Matt Campbell
52 CULTURE
Behold, the best Arkansas albums of the year! Rwake, Adam Faucett, Banzai Florist, Willi Carlisle, Jupiter's Flytrap and Nick Shoulders helped us drown out the noise in 2025.
56 CANNABIZ
Peruse the list of 2025 Big Bud Classic winners, and wax poetic about the charms of Black Cherry Punch, Glitter Bomb flower and indulging the munchies with Grandpa by Mary Jane Doe.
64 FOOD & DRINK
Chicken Bacon Ranch pizza, but make it vegan? Thanks to a collab by Utopia Deli and Certified Pies, you can.
By Elizabeth L. Cline
74
THE OBSERVER
Gamify the season with our festive Bingo card.
BREAKING BARRIERS. BUILDING FUTURES.
We’ve long been a leader in making college affordable. Now, we’re working to ensure that commitment lasts for generations to come. That’s the promise behind the Enduring Opportunity Scholarship Program.
By removing financial barriers and ensuring students can make the most of their college experience, we’re empowering students to dream bigger and go further.
Expect More for Arkansas. Expect More from UA Little Rock.
Join us in shaping a future where potential defines what’s possible.
Uniquely curated antiques,
SHOP
PUBLISHER Alan Leveritt
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Austin Gelder
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mandy Keener
MANAGING EDITOR Benjamin Hardy
PRINT EDITOR Daniel Grear
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Matt Campbell
AGRI AND ENVIRONMENT REPORTER Phillip Powell
REPORTER Milo Strain
RACIAL EQUITY REPORTER Arielle Robinson
VIBE CHECKER Stephanie Smittle
EDITOR EMERITUS Max Brantley
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Mara Leveritt
PHOTOGRAPHER Brian Chilson
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Bob Edwards
ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR Mike Spain
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Katie Hassell
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING/ SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS PUBLISHER Brooke Wallace
CHAIR MAN Lindsey Millar NACHO EDITOR Rhett Brinkley
PRODUCTION MANAGER Ira Hocut (1954-2009) CONTROLLER Weldon Wilson (1967-2025)
ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each month by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, Suite 150, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201, phone (501) 3752985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, 201 EAST MARKHAM STREET, SUITE 150, Little Rock, AR, 72201. Subscription prices are $60 for one year. For subscriber service call (501) 375-2985. Current single-copy price is $5, free in Pulaski County. Single issues are available by mail at $5.00 each, postage paid. Payment must accompany all orders. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without the written consent of the publishers is prohibited. Manuscripts and artwork will not be returned or acknowledged unless sufficient return postage and a self-addressed stamped envelope are included. All materials are handled with due care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for care and safe return of unsolicited materials. All letters sent to ARKANSAS TIMES will be treated as intended for publication and are subject to ARKANSAS TIMES’ unrestricted right to edit or to comment editorially.
DEATH IS A PART OF LIFE ON A FARM, BUT KILLING AN ANIMAL YOU’VE RAISED IS NEVER EASY.
BY ALAN LEVERITT
Arkansas Times publisher Alan Leveritt has lived on his great-grandparents’ farm in North Pulaski County for more than 40 years. This is the latest in a series of columns about day-today life on the land where he raises heirloom tomatoes and other crops for local restaurants and the Hillcrest Farmers Market.
Ihave a hard time sleeping the night before I take animals in for slaughter or kill them myself. I have raised quail, sheep, hogs, rabbits and a cow or two, and one would think I would be past what I describe as a feeling of remorse. Come morning, when I lay eyes on the animals, I can’t shake the sense of empathy for them, which I can tell you is not a comfortable feeling.
Early the other morning, I took my first batch of 17 young rabbits to the slaughterhouse in Vilonia. After about five weeks, the mama rabbits wean their offspring and I move them into holding pens, where they stay for another seven weeks until they are about 5 or 6 pounds. Yes, they are incredibly cute, but then so are baby pigs and calves.
At the slaughterhouse I met Josh, a very cheerful and knowledgeable butcher who assured me they would feel nothing when he broke their necks. A couple of hours later, he called to say the carcasses were cooling and I could pick them up late that afternoon, frozen and shrink-wrapped.
Animals are key to a small farm. In winter they are one of the few things that can provide income — money that is needed for the preparation of the next spring’s crops. In addition, I save the rabbit manure, which goes on the asparagus beds and, along with aged cow manure, into every planting hole for tomatoes, cantaloupes, strawberries, sweet potatoes, peppers, watermelons and, this
coming spring, blackberries. With a couple of minor exceptions, I farm organically, and that is difficult without animals.
Still, at the level of my small farm, everything, especially the killing, is personal. When I was married, we raised Hampshire sheep. My wife, Kaytee, was in charge of the animals, and I was in charge of the plants,
DEATH AND LIFE ARE SO CONNECTED. PEOPLE FORGET THAT.
though I pitched in when it was time to worm or load sheep.
Each sheep had a color-coded collar, and she knew the personality of every animal. At one point our herd numbered 66. When the day came to take sheep in for slaughter, we would back the trailer up to a small corral and lure them in with food. I would grab each animal under the chin and pull its neck back, which would sort of paralyze it momentarily, allowing me to drag it into the trailer. Kaytee would take its collar off and kiss it on the forehead. I know that sounds crazy, but they were fine, healthy sheep who lived in a beautiful place and had one bad day. She was why.
The proper attitude when raising livestock is to not let the killing bother you. I think that is easier when working on an industrial scale, though it also depends on disposition. Recently I was talking to a backyard farmer who raises rabbits, chickens and quail for his family and hasn’t bought meat at the grocery store in a year. For him, the killing is a natural part of living, which I completely understand.
But when I was a teenager, I started raising quail in our Lakewood back yard and wound up quickly with several hundred. I needed to start selling, so one day I went through the neighborhood taking orders for dressed quail and sold well over a hundred — a dozen at a time. I had not thought through the next step, which was to pull the heads off of my birds, cut off their wings and feet, and skin them. I spent that afternoon killing the quail and dropping their headless, flapping bodies into a bloody plastic sack. I dressed and delivered them and then called Mr. Ransom at Ransom Gamebird Farm on Trammel Road and sold the full remainder of my flock — alive — to him. I just wasn’t ready for that.
As I write this, I will be at the Hillcrest Farmers Market tomorrow selling rabbit for the first time. Hillcrest cooks are fairly adventurous, so I am pretty optimistic. I am still asked for lamb, though it’s been years since the last sheep left the farm. In two weeks, I will take in 14 more rabbits for slaughter and another 21 just before Christmas.
It does get easier, but the sense of remorse and empathy doesn’t go away entirely. Death and life are so connected. People forget that. A farmer sees that connection up close with a live animal in the morning and a cooling carcass at the end of the day. It’s an insight that is not always pleasant, but it is real, cleareyed and valuable.
‘I
WANT TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE’
A Q&A WITH HELENA-WEST HELENA’S NEWLY APPOINTED MAYOR, JOSEPH WHITFIELD.
At just 32 years old, Joseph Whitfield, Helena-West Helena’s new mayor, has much life to offer the Delta city. Known for its lively blues music scene and an annual blues festival that brings out people from all over the world — the King Biscuit Blues Festival — Helena-West Helena has a rich musical history, despite not receiving as much attention as places like Memphis.
Though Helena-West Helena has seen some troubles in the modern day — like a declining population and the ousting of Mayor Christopher Franklin after a slew of controversies — Whitfield recognizes the magic that remains in his hometown and aims to build something new.
After studying at Colby College in Maine and the Relay Graduate School of Education in New York City, Whitfield returned home to Helena-West Helena, where he served as a teacher and assistant principal at his alma mater, KIPP Delta Collegiate. He is also the executive director of the Phillips County Chamber of Commerce.
Gov. Sarah Sanders appointed Whitfield as mayor in early October after a judge removed the former mayor from office following several scandals. Whitfield is eligible to run for reelection next year.
WHAT MUSIC HAS BEEN INSPIRING YOU LATELY?
Gospel.
FAVORITE PLACE TO TRAVEL?
One of my favorite places that I travel to right now is literally the back roads throughout the county. I am really big into cycling right now.
A BOOK THAT YOU’VE ENJOYED LATELY?
“Your City Is Sick” by Jeff Siegler.
What was your reaction when you learned that the governor had appointed you as mayor? I had a lot of reactions or emotions. I was excited in one sense, because it is exciting to think about being in a position like that, but then that emotion also quickly shared space with anxiety. I say anxiety, because growing up here, Helena has been historically disenfranchised for at least the last few decades. I’m 32 and I’ve never seen its heyday when it was optimally running with businesses, and the population was over 50-60,000 people.
What are your largest priorities when it comes to being mayor?
When I started at the Chamber of Commerce last year, I did a strategic plan survey. I wanted to know what’s keeping people in the area, what’s making them move, how are they feeling about this place they call home, everything that you could think of and what they wanted.
The top five [results] were what we said we will focus on, and [of] those top five items, number five was beautification. People want to look outside and take pride in what they see. Number four was public safety. People want to feel safe in the place they call home. Number three was downtown dining and retail. People want to be able to shop and spend their money at home — they don’t want to have to drive an hour to Memphis, two hours to Little Rock. Number two was better schools, so a better K-12 experience. And then number one was more job opportunities. I think something else that wasn’t on that list that kind of needs to be addressed is, we have a debt that we need to make sure we pay down and balance the books. That is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, priority because all of those other items start to
take off if you have a good financial record.
Helena-West Helena has seen its share of recent infrastructural and financial challenges. In just the past couple of years, the city was ordered to update its outdated water system and questioned by state legislators about unauthorized withdrawals from the city’s bank account, being $604,000 over budget and $2 million in debt in 2023. How can you help counteract these issues? I’ve had two city council meetings so far, and what I’ve learned has been that we need better systems and protocols. We need better oversight on things that you described. Helena is a small town and I think, like a lot of other small towns, politics might not be as illustrious because it’s not a big city, but it can be just as busy because your name is a lot, who you know is a lot, who you work with is a lot. And so what we have to undo here is this system of nepotism. We have to undo this system where I scratch your back, you scratch mine, and to a certain degree, can you ever really completely get rid of all of that? I don’t know, but what I have learned from experience and leadership is that the tone starts at the top, and it trickles down. So for me, being the mayor … I don’t want to be surrounded by yes people that will just go along with me. I want to be challenged. I want to be held accountable.
In what areas do you believe Helena-West Helena has shown its greatest potential for thriving as a city? The Mississippi River is right in our back yard, and I think for a lot of us, we’re like, “Oh, that’s just a river, that’s just the River Park,” because you’re around something so much you get a little desensitized to it. But no, I try to wake people up and say, “No, that is the river. That is the River Park,” and you can’t pay for that. There are so many cities and towns that wish they could have something like that in their backyard. So we have that going for us. We have St. Francis National Forest there, Crowley’s Ridge as well, so part of what I want to start to rebrand us as is an outdoor recreation playground where we should be having bike races, we should be having tons of natural scenic outlooks, walking paths, playgrounds that encourage healthy lifestyles. Our health statistics here aren’t great, and we stand to gain a lot from investing in outdoor recreation.
The second thing is we have an industrial park and what we are also poised for is big industry to come in here, whether it is a data center, a manufacturing plant, an environmental plant. We have [one of] the largest blues fests, and that festival pulls an international audience. I think we can tap into that and somewhat transform our downtown into like a smaller version of Beale [Street], a smaller version of Bourbon [Street]. And it doesn’t need to be the same, where we want to shut out traffic necessarily — because we have banks downtown, we have one school — but our little flavor of it could definitely be something that could be sustained year-round, instead of just once a year.
—Arielle Robinson
WRECK THE HALLS
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE ARKANSAS TIMES.
As we enter a season when so many wretched Arkansas politicians glibly tout the virtues of Christmas while ignoring the plight of the poor and marginalized, we thought it’d be fun to dream up the kind of holiday cards they’d send if they were willing to say the quiet part out loud.
These festive mementos were drawn and hand-lettered by Arkansas Times staffer and calligrapher extraordinaire Sarah Richardson. Find more of her work @sarahscript on Instagram.
LET THE FEAST BEGIN!
‘HENRY
& NOLAN: A RETROSPECTIVE OF HISTORY, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND THE ARKANSAS WOMEN BEHIND THE CAMERA’
THROUGH SUNDAY 2/1. ESSE PURSE MUSEUM. $8-$10.
As any farmer with wisdom and experience will tell you, automation has its virtues, but it does not come without a cost. The same might be said of photography. In the age of Facetune and Prequel and Lightroom, what’s the cost we pay, if any, for making the darkroom a dinosaur? I’m not sure that loss can be measured or calculated so much as it can be felt, particularly when viewing images whose light and likeness were wrestled from a tub of chemicals under a red light — works like those included in “Henry & Nolan,” the latest exhibit at ESSE Purse Museum, which pairs the archives of acclaimed Little Rock photographers Rita Henry and Nancy Nolan. In it, curator Steven Otis has assembled not only some of Henry and Nolan’s most compelling and ethereal imagery (itself a document of Little Rock life, with cameos from Ted Danson, Graham Gordy and others), but also the raw materials and laboratory tools used to make it: cameras, sure, but also trays of fixer, developer, toner, slide trays, gelatin filters. The resulting collection is a highlight reel of decades of work from the two women’s studios, presented thematically and thoughtfully, and well worth getting lost in for an hour or two. ESSE Purse Museum’s hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sun.; don’t miss the super-cute accompanying vintage camera clutches and crossbody bags in the museum gift shop, which also carries what might be the most irresistible collection of sunglasses in town. SS
BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE, DANIEL GREAR, RHETT BRINKLEY AND OMAYA JONES
‘EMMET OTTER’S
JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS’
SATURDAY 12/20. CALS RON ROBINSON THEATER. 12:30 P.M. $5.
Well before the Muppets took Manhattan, Kermit found himself with a little seasonal side gig narrating a Christmas special about a family of river otters — “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas,” Jim Henson’s melody-jeweled and charm-packed answer to O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi.” Though some re-releases omit Kermit’s interstitials, the river creatures who populate Frogtown Hollow — scoundrels in the Riverbottom Gang and all — have proven lovable enough without the benefit of Mr. The Frog’s celebrity cameo, thanks to Paul Williams’ brilliant songs, stellar voice-acting and a hard-won approach to filming puppetry from Henson’s team circa 1977. “‘Emmet Otter’ was the first time we had gotten into those kind of elaborate sets where we had floors in the interiors,” Henson said, “and we would take a wide-angle shot with characters coming up through holes in the floor. … ‘The Muppet Show’ was always platformed-up, but in ‘Emmet Otter’ ... we’d go right into a scene. We’d have the whole set in three dimensions.” I don’t think I’ve ever watched it without getting teary-eyed, and I hope it moves you likewise. Get tickets at ronrobinsontheater.simpletix.com, where you’ll also find several other holiday movies screening at Ron Robinson in December. SS
Overrated: sitting on Santa’s lap. Underrated: getting buzzed on eggnog samples at a local museum, perusing the pottery and portraits in the “Collecting Arkansas Made” exhibit, then strolling the grounds with warm pecans in hand, freshly roasted in the museum’s carefully preserved historic Brownlee Kitchen. That’s the vibe at the annual and beloved Nog-Off, a friendly local eggnog competition at Historic Arkansas Museum with prizes awarded for the best nog (People’s Choice Award), the best unconventional nog (Not Your Great, Great, Great Grandfather’s Eggnog Award) and the best nonalcoholic eggnog (Egg, No Nog Award). All categories, historically, have done much to prove that while mixing egg yolks, booze and dairy sounds disastrous on paper, it is, in practice, delightful enough to make one wonder whether its confinement to a solitary month per calendar year is an act of wise prudence or a custom worth relegating to the archives. SS
THURSDAY 12/11. ARKANSAS MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. 7:30 P.M. $30-$35.
The stereotypical image of a solo pianist, as we’ve been taught to see it, is often that of a classical virtuoso — Liberace, Rachmaninoff, Schroeder from “Peanuts,” etc. North Carolina-based musician Phil Cook is an entirely different creature, a sought-after collaborator who’s worked with indie royalty like Bon Iver, The War on Drugs and The Mountain Goats. Cook’s solitary wanderings on the piano are spry, meditative, fresh and accessible, never bound by the trappings of formal, auditorium-sanctioned music. His 2025 album, “Appalachia Borealis,” sounds like if one of the most talented yet humble artists you’ve ever met ambled into your home, opened the windows to invite birdsong, and then, apropos of nothing, proceeded to coax 11 spontaneous songs brimming with brilliant and whimsical simplicity out of the piano collecting dust in the corner of your living room. Get tickets at arkmfa.org. DG
ARKANSAS VS. FRESNO STATE
SATURDAY 12/6. SIMMONS BANK ARENA. 3 P.M.
What do Razorback fans in Central Arkansas do following a shambolic football season that led to the September firing of head coach Sam Pittman? Go check out John Calipari’s highly touted 2025 squad for the Hogs’ annual December game in North Little Rock, of course. In Calipari’s first season at Arkansas, the Razorbacks struggled early in conference play, then rebounded to make the NCAA Tournament. After a surprise run to the Sweet 16, the Razorbacks entered the 2025-26 season ranked No. 14 nationally. Calipari, known for his ability to recruit and prepare freshmen for the NBA, has the No. 3 ranked recruiting class according to ESPN, led by five-star guards Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas. Arkansas also landed Isaiah Sealy, the state’s No. 1 high school recruit out of Springdale. These freshmen join senior Trevon Brazile, frontcourt transfers Malique Ewin and Nick Pringle, and key returners Karter Knox, DJ Wagner (pictured at right) and Billy Richmond III. The group’s potential was evident in late October, after the Hogs erased a 15-point deficit to defeat Memphis by 24 points in an exhibition game in the Bluff City. And despite a rough second half in East Lansing versus Tom Izzo’s No. 22-ranked Michigan State Spartans in early November, the Razorbacks went on an 8-0 run to tie the game with a minute and 41 seconds left, eventually losing by three. The ceiling is high, and the Arkansas Times sports desk needs to calm down before sending out any more ill-advised text predictions about how far this team can go. Get tickets at ticketmaster.com. RB
However mesmerizing the touring cast members of this nine-time-Tony-winning musical are, and however pretty they sing, one thing is certain: Somebody in that Little Rock audience is gonna walk out. “The Book of Mormon” is the 11th-longestrunning show in Broadway history, but the passage of time and the accrual of acclaim make it easy to forget how simultaneously edgy and extolled the satire was at the time of its 2011 premiere, its creators (Trey Parker and Matt Stone of “South Park” and Robert Lopez of Disney’s “Frozen”) taking gleeful aim at everything from organized religion to Broadway musicals themselves and making frolicksome punchlines out of decidedly unfrolicksome territory — poverty, rape, AIDS. It’s maybe especially hard to imagine how differently the musical’s lampoons might land in audience members’ ears in 2025, a time when politicians are playing truth-or-dare with our collective capacity for shock — and when the Parker-Stone duo’s game of “can’t-you-take-a-joke” button-pushing reads a little less like clever meta-commentary on the white savior complex and more like a co-sign on racist tropes about Africa. (The New York Times reported in 2021 that “The Book of Mormon,” along with “Hamilton” and “The Lion King,” had been revised to “rethink and restage depictions of race.”) Whether or not “The Book of Mormon” is your cup of tea, comedically or otherwise, can perhaps best be predicted by your answer to the question “Have I, now or ever, guffawed at an episode of ‘South Park’?” If you chuckled at this season’s depictions of a semianimated (and nude) President Trump settling into bed with his ol’ ball-and-chain (Satan), you’ll probably enjoy the joyful edgelording in “Joseph Smith American Moses.” Get tickets at ticketmaster.com. SS
Declared an “undervalued American classic” by The New York Times, Billy Wilder’s 1960 film “The Apartment” has risen from the ashes of a mixed initial reception to become a Christmas and New Year’s staple among serious filmgoers, tying for the 54th greatest movie of all time in Sight & Sound’s 2022 critics poll. Set during the holiday season, “The Apartment” stars Jack Lemon as C.C. “Bud” Baxter, a lowly office worker at an insurance company whose desire to climb the corporate ladder results in him allowing executives to rent his Upper West Side apartment for their extramarital affairs. At least until Baxter becomes smitten with Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), an elevator operator who’s precariously entangled in an on-again, off-again tryst with one of his bosses. Get tickets at riverdale10.com. OJ
THE
SIGNAL FEAT. RADIOLAB
THURSDAY 12/11. RON ROBINSON THEATER. 6 P.M. $20.
Once, just after dawn in the rural landscape of east Texas — between Texarkana and Sulphur Springs, where gas stations and radio stations alike are few and far between — I became so engrossed in an episode of Radiolab called “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” that I missed an exit and nearly ran out of gas. Don’t let this befall you, but too, don’t let it befall you to miss an in-person visit to Little Rock from the stellar podcast, which has a knack for holding your attention hostage with compelling tales you never even knew you didn’t know and now can’t imagine not knowing. The program, titled “Viscera,” focuses on “the urgent science and human stories behind antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” the event details state. “From emergency-room care to agricultural practices and back to how microbes affect our bodies, Radiolab hosts Latif Nasser and Dr. Avir Mitra lead an evening of storytelling, sound design, and expert conversation joined by local researchers and community voices.” There’s a live auction and a post-program reception for VIP ticketholders ($100), plus it’s a chance to support the important work of public radio stations KUAR 91.3 FM and KLRE 90.5 FM at a time when funding for public radio is imperiled. Get tickets at ualrpublicradio.org/radiolab/signal. SS
BIG LITTLE ROCK HOLIDAY PARADE
SATURDAY 12/6. DOWNTOWN LITTLE ROCK. 3 P.M. FREE.
The sweetest and tenderest part of the publicity campaign around this year’s city Christmas parade might be its commitment to the social Christmas contract, outlined in detail in the fine print near the bottom of the parade’s registration form. All registrants who wish to have a float in the Christmas caravan must check a box certifying their consent to the “No unauthorized Santas allowed” policy, thereby agreeing that their float designs will adhere to the preservation of “a magical and cohesive experience for all attendees, especially children.” The parade’s return in 2024 after a pandemic pause ushered in a rebrand, and what was once the Big Jingle Jubilee became the Big Little Rock Holiday Parade, surely causing elves across the ranks of the workshop hierarchy to revamp their wardrobes. About the outfits: This year’s theme is “Candy Cane Lane.” Adorn yourselves accordingly. The peppermint party kicks off at 3 p.m. at the intersection of Broadway and West Markham streets and goes-a-caroling east along Markham Street. It’s bookended by festivities at the Statehouse Convention Center from 2-5:30 p.m., and capped off with a nearly 90-year-old tradition: the Arkansas State Capitol Lighting Ceremony, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. with the lights to go up on the dome at 6:15 p.m. It’s worth noting that this isn’t the only reindeer game in town. Check out Southwest Little Rock’s “So Southwest” Christmas Parade at 1 p.m.— also Dec. 6 — along Geyer Springs Road, or the North Little Rock Elks Club Christmas Parade at 2 p.m. Dec. 14 in the Argenta Arts District. SS
Little Rock’s Christmas Station
GARVAN WOODL AND GARDENS
Holiday Lights
BOOM OR BUST?: Gov. Sarah Sanders delivered remarks at the 2025 Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit in Little Rock, which drew hundreds of guests bullish on the state’s potential as a new industry hotspot.
BETTING ON BRINE
ARKANSAS’S LEADERS THINK LITHIUM IS THE NEXT BIG THING, BUT THE INDUSTRY’S SUCCESS IS FAR FROM CERTAIN. EVEN IF A BOOM DEVELOPS, WILL IT BENEFIT ALL OF US — OR JUST THE WEALTHY FEW?
BY ELIZABETH L. CLINE
In October, more than 900 executives, policymakers and investors flocked to Little Rock from as far away as Norway and South Korea for the Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit and a glimpse at the newest hot spot in America’s lithium rush.
Lithium, a white powdery mineral, is critical to everything from electric vehicles and renewable energy storage to cellphone batteries and defense technology. Demand is expected to explode sevenfold by the end of the decade, driven by electric vehicles and federal mandates to harvest lithium domestically. If lithium succeeds in Arkansas, it could mean high-skilled jobs, rural revitalization and a toehold in a globally significant clean energy industry.
All eyes are on the state due to its rich lithium reserves, low cost of doing business,and enthusiastic support from state lawmakers, who’ve cut taxes, invested in workforce development and eased the permitting process. What’s more, the new technology it’s betting on — direct lithium extraction, or DLE — builds on an existing brine industry in South Arkansas and promises to produce lithium more efficiently, all with a lighter environ-
mental footprint than pit mining operations elsewhere.
Despite the excitement, Arkansas’s lithium boom remains far from guaranteed. A new analysis from Resources for the Future, a think tank in Washington, D.C., warns that the industry’s success hinges on a precarious mixture of the technology scaling just right and the market rebounding. Lithium prices have cratered by nearly 80% since 2022, and technology delays could quickly push projects into the red, leaving the state facing yet another boom-and-bust cycle and causing environmental disruption with little gain.
That’s where lawmakers come in. The state has done plenty to attract investors but far less to protect the public interest or ensure the gains are shared beyond the usual suspects of landowners and energy companies. Now is the time to change that.
WHY EVERYONE IS BETTING ON ARKANSAS
The Smackover Formation, a geologic region that stretches underground from the Florida Panhandle to Texas, generated massive oil wealth in South Arkansas in the early
20th century. After the oil boom ended, companies continued to extract saltwater from the Smackover for dissolved minerals with industrial uses, such as bromine. That same brine is also rich in lithium. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that as much as 19 million tons of high-grade lithium lurk within the state’s brine reserves, enough to meet worldwide demand.
PROMISING,
BUT
NO SURE BET:
Resources for the Future, a D.C. think tank, has mapped out multiple scenarios for the revenue that could be generated by Arkansas’s lithium industry in the coming years.
Securing domestic sources of critical minerals, of which lithium is one, has been a national priority since 2021. Under President Biden, the push to secure sources was billed as a way to create jobs and tackle climate change. Under Trump, the work continues as a means to decouple from China — a theme that came up repeatedly at the recent Arkansas summit. Producing lithium in the United States is expensive compared to South America and China, where most production and processing takes place, and lithium is a global commodity, impacted by market forces.
There are hundreds of lithium projects in development around the country, but Arkansas has momentum for reasons both admirable and worrisome. The state has invested millions in workforce development and moved quickly to set severance and royalty rates, giving businesses the stability they need to move forward.
But lawmakers are equally focused on corporate giveaways that make less sense. They’ve granted energy companies broad sales tax exemptions, atop further cuts to Arkansas’s corporate tax rate. At the summit, Arkansas leaders boasted about fast-tracking permitting. U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman even promised to curb environmental reviews at the federal level through his proposed SPEED Act, a potentially reckless idea for The Natural State.
By pulling brine out of the ground, separating out the lithium and reinjecting the leftovers back into the earth, DLE is potentially less environmentally damaging than mining. But it still requires an industrial build-out. These projects will require miles of new pipelines, clear-cutting forests for roads, wells and processing plants, and enormous
freshwater and electricity demands. Some projects overlap with wetlands and protected habitats. Because the technology itself is so new, the potential environmental risks are not well understood.
THE HYPE VS. THE REALITY
Despite Arkansas’s eagerness to attract industry, the future of lithium production in the state remains on a razor’s edge. The Resources for the Future analysis, published the week of the summit, underscores the potential and the risk, analyzing the profitability of three South Arkansas projects: ExxonMobil’s Saltwerx, Standard Lithium’s Lanxess project and the Reynolds Unit developed by Southwest Arkansas (SWA), a joint venture between Standard Lithium and Norway’s Equinor.
The findings show that under baseline assumptions, the state and investors will see profits for two decades. But the business model also faces major threats.
“If everything works out well, this is a very solid industry, and it will be very profitable over the next 20 years,” Dr. Beia Spiller, energy economist and co-author on the report, told the Arkansas Times. “The second things start to break down, this is when we get into trouble in terms of actually having a vibrant industry that’s profitable in the long run.”
In the researchers’ baseline scenario, production starts in 2028 as planned, lithium prices roughly double, state tax and royalty rates are locked in at current rates, and there are no major delays or cost overruns. The state would stand to earn $18 million a year in new tax revenue (admittedly, a small sliver of Arkansas’s $6.5 billion budget). For the
three Smackover counties (Union, Lafayette and Columbia), however, the impact would be larger: about $10 million a year in new revenue, a meaningful 15% boost to local budgets over two decades.
The state is also betting on multiplier effects: a higher tax base, broad-based investment and better wages. But we already know that while construction will bring a hiring surge, permanent new jobs may only reach the low hundreds. It’s not jobs that lithium promises Arkansas; it’s money and growth.
But the industry and the public could also lose money, or earn surprisingly little, in other projections.
The nearly 80% drop in lithium prices since 2022 is due to a surge of production in China. (Some critics believe China intentionally flooded the market to drive out U.S. competitors.) Industry projections are that prices will likely rebound thanks to a tenfold jump in demand between now and 2050, but it’s unclear how much prices will climb.
“We don’t really know if prices are going to materialize,” Spiller said.
The bigger threat is from the uncertainties surrounding DLE technology, which remains untested at commercial scale. As projects move from the pilot phase to full-scale production, hiccups of a few years could spell major financial trouble. The lithium concentration of the brine pulled from underground varies from spot to spot, and changes in chemical makeup from one well to the next could slow processing.
Delays and cost overruns are common for large industrial projects, Spiller said, but the lithium business model doesn’t leave much room for error. In the most pessimistic scenario outlined by Resources for the Future, the state earns little and the counties earn nothing. And at some point, companies may pull the plug and leave the state.
“The worst case scenario is that extraction is happening, and it doesn’t go profitably, and then there’s nothing left for the people there,” Spiller said.
The Resources for the Future analysis shows that landowners are the only ones who
FLY OR DRIVE
would win in every single scenario mapped out by the analysts. Landowners may stand to reap rewards even in an industry crash, as they’re paid an annual $65-per-acre fee when brine isn’t being pumped. They also stand to gain far more than other taxpayers.
WHAT ARKANSAS CAN CONTROL
What, if anything, can be done to help the industry thrive? The federal government has the largest role to play. Thacker Pass, for instance, a large lithium development project in Nevada, received a $2.26 billion federal loan commitment under Biden, and the U.S. Department of Energy under Trump has taken an equity stake in the project.
Spiller said that Arkansas would be a better recipient for such lavish federal incentives. “Hopefully the federal government will realize how important Arkansas is for lithium and what a supportive environment it is,” she said.
(Federal policymakers are beginning to pay attention to Arkansas: In January, the Department of Energy awarded a $225 million grant to Standard Lithium and Equinor for construction of their South Arkansas project. But at the same time, the Trump administration has slashed billions of dollars in support for clean energy projects across the U.S., undercutting the nascent domestic lithium industry.)
Arkansas has bent over backwards to get energy companies to come here, but it’s not thinking about how to protect itself from a potential bust. More giveaways from state government is not the solution. Arkansas, like much of the South, is already a cheap place to do business, with low wages and relatively cheap land and energy. On top of
that, earlier this year, the Legislature quietly passed sales and use tax exemptions for the lithium industry and set a low severance tax rate as a percentage of volume, continuing a rate previously set for the brine industry.
The state could rethink its tax approach. Every penny matters. Given that lithium is a high-risk sector, charging even a modest tax on the billions that companies plan to spend on pipes, machinery and equipment would ensure the public is making money on the ramp up, not only if the companies strike it rich. Utah has set its severance tax rate at a percentage of lithium revenue, so public proceeds will increase as the industry becomes more profitable.
We could also rethink what we do with the profits. California’s laws have set aside some lithium proceeds for cleaning up the Salton Sea, an area polluted by agriculture.
If the lithium bet fails, the potential fallout for the state could be large: wasted workforce training, more rural stagnation and pointless environmental damage. DLE, albeit greener than the alternative, still requires large-scale clear cutting, ecosystem disruption and high volumes of water and energy. Columbia, Union and Lafayette counties have failed to turn the oil and brine booms of the past into lasting prosperity; they rank among the poorest counties in the country.
Lithium is a bet many in the state seem willing to take, but everyone in Arkansas, not just landowners and energy executives, has a stake in how this plays out. Lithium is a global industry with local consequences. It’s not just the state’s southern counties that stand to gain or lose; it’s all of us. Now is the time to pay attention, demand transparency and shape what happens next. ADVANCED TECH: Lithium is essential to the batteries needed to power the global switch to green energy, but most of the world's supply chain — such as this processing plant in Western Australia — is found outside the U.S.
DELAY OF GAME
THE ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT PUTS A STOP TO GOV. SARAH SANDERS’ SNEAKY POLITICKING OVER THE DATES OF TWO SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL LEGISLATIVE VACANCIES.
BY MATT CAMPBELL
After months of legal wrangling, Gov. Sarah Sanders announced on Nov. 16 that the special elections to fill vacancies in two state legislative seats will take place on March 3.
The new date marked a victory for constituents who sued the governor and Secretary of State Cole Jester over their attempts to delay the elections until months after the 2026 fiscal legislative session, which would have left the two districts – Senate District 26 in western Arkansas and House District 70 in North Little Rock – without representation.
And it marked a loss for Sanders, who had previously said it would be “impracticable or unduly burdensome” to hold the elections before June 9. Her change of heart came three days after the Arkansas Supreme Court denied her request for a stay in the two cases, forcing Sanders to either comply with a pair of lower court orders that she reschedule the elections or risk being held in contempt.
The new date could have major consequences for one of Sanders’ top legislative priorities — building a new, 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County. The proposed prison site is in Senate District 26, where locals largely oppose the project. That seat’s former occupant, Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch), repeatedly helped block funding for the proposed prison in the 2025 legislative session.
The 2026 fiscal session will begin in April. Prison opponents suspect Sanders wanted to avoid holding an election to fill Stubblefield’s seat until after the session because it will almost certainly include discussions and votes related to the proposed prison. It would have been more convenient for the governor if the people of Senate District 26 simply didn’t have a representative during the upcoming budget session.
EMPTY SEAT: Before his death on Sept. 2, Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield of Branch (back row, center) was a key vote against the governor’s plans to build a new 3,000bed prison in his district.
Here’s a quick recap of how we got here:
The Senate District 26 seat, which covers parts of Franklin, Logan, Sebastian and Johnson counties, has been unfilled since Stubblefield died on Sept. 2. Despite a state law requiring a special election to fill a Senate seat within 150 days of a vacancy, Sanders originally scheduled the special general election for November 2026, which would have been 427 days after the seat was left vacant.
After a bipartisan outcry, she moved the date to early June, 280 days after the vacancy occurred. Sanders pointed to a part of the law that allows an exception if it would be “impracticable or unduly burdensome” to have the election in the 150-day timeframe, but she gave no further explanation.
Colt Shelby, a farmer in Franklin County registered to vote in Senate District 26, filed a lawsuit against the governor and secretary of state on Oct. 6 arguing that Sanders had exceeded her legal authority.
On Oct. 22, Circuit Judge Patricia James ruled in Shelby’s favor, saying the Senate District 26 election must be set “as soon as practicable” after the 150th day following the vacancy.
Meanwhile, another legislative vacancy opened up on Oct. 1 after Rep. Carlton Wing (R-North Little Rock) resigned his seat in House District 70 to take a new job as head of Arkansas PBS.
As she had done with the Senate District 26 seat, Sanders scheduled the House District 70 special election for June 9 and again provided no explanation for why she believed an earlier date wasn’t feasible.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas and four individual plaintiffs who live in the district sued Sanders and Jester on Oct. 21. They argued that Sanders had the authority to choose any date within 150 days of the vacancy — but if she did not pick one within that
timeframe, the governor was required to set the election on the next practicable date after the 150-day mark. The plaintiffs argued that that would be March 3, the previously scheduled date for Arkansas’s primary and judicial elections.
Circuit Judge Shawn Johnson agreed. In an order handed down on Oct. 31, Johnson said the governor must reschedule the House District 70 election for March 3.
Sanders appealed the two circuit court orders to the state Supreme Court in early November. But on Nov. 12, the court denied the governor’s request for a stay in both cases, along with denying her motions to consolidate the two appeals and expedite the briefing schedule. That gave Sanders little choice but to comply with the lower court orders while her appeal plays out in the Supreme Court.
According to the governor’s revised declarations, special primary elections in both districts will take place on Jan. 6. The special primary runoff will be Feb. 3, if one is needed. The special general elections are set for March 3, and the results will be certified by March 13, after which the two winners could be seated in their respective chambers.
Sanders’ declarations resetting the election dates were combative in tone, casting the governor as the victim of rogue judges who Sanders accused of “intentionally ignoring statutory requirements” and “substitut[ing] judicially invented election policy for the General Assembly’s lawfully enacted statutes.”
“This court order violates the rights of overseas Arkansas citizens, including our military, who will not receive timely notice and opportunity to vote,” the proclamation says, noting the governor was resetting the dates “with objection, and only to comply with the circuit court’s unlawful order.”
VOUCHERS, VIGILANTES AND VICIOUS BEARS
PINNING DOWN ARKANSAS’S BEST AND WORST OF 2025.
BY ARKANSAS TIMES STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN BY SARA REEVES AND MANDY KEENER
If you pinned your hopes on 2025, we’re guessing you’re pretty disappointed.
There were plenty of political catastrophes to take in — too many to count, really. The new Trump administration made good on its plans to terrorize immigrants, supercharge ICE and turn the Justice Department into the president’s personal goon squad. Trump’s tariffs burned through whatever remaining goodwill the United States still enjoyed on the global stage and obliterated Arkansas farmers’ fortunes to boot. Republicans in D.C. slashed health care spending to fund Trump’s tax cuts, prompting Democrats to shut down the government for a record-setting 43 days. Secretary Linda McMahon, the World Wrestling Entertainment executive tapped by Trump to chokeslam the entire U.S. Department of Education, brought her tour of destruction to a Little Rock elementary school, where she joined Sen. Tom Cotton to snarl at second-graders.
The world watched in horror in 2025 as Israel continued pummeling and starving Palestinians in Gaza; a paper-thin ceasefire finally took hold in October. Rightwing provocateur Charlie Kirk was murdered in Utah, and for the next few weeks the whole country seemed to be on the brink. All the while, the specter of what might be in those elusive Epstein files dangled above the year like a creepy cobweb.
Stepping back from the global and existential, though, Arkansas had a snoozer of a year, politically speaking. Republicans’ big priority in the 2025 legislative session seemed to be shutting down that pesky ballot measure process guaranteed by the state constitution. Scared by the near-miss of 2024’s Ar-
kansas Abortion Amendment, they passed a slew of new laws making it harder than ever to circulate petitions.
But an unexpected crack in the GOP supermajority also emerged around Gov. Sarah Sanders’ mega-prison project in Franklin County. A cohort of bumptious rural Republican lawmakers rebelled, the governor’s spending bill failed, and the prison remains stalled out.
Wealth transfer from rural to urban and poor to rich in the form of taxpayer-funded school vouchers took full effect, as planned. The program, established by the Arkansas LEARNS Act, is now open to all students, and the bill is running into the hundreds of millions, mostly for the benefit of existing private school and homeschool families. But didn’t we know this was how it was going to play out? As Hot Springs Republican Rep. Bruce Cozart told us back in the 2023 session, when these vouchers were still just a sparkle in Gov. Sanders’ eye, “The rich want vouchers. That’s who this legislation is for. The rich. They want it and they are going to get it. I am sorry, but that’s just the truth.”
Culturally, 2025 left much to be desired. Culinary advances included Taco Bell’s Baja Blast Pie, a gelatinous puddle of Mountain Dew-flavored filling in an alarming hue. Arkansans can buy raw milk more easily now. Taste the freedom! We’ll be skipping ahead to 2026 without ever knowing for sure what a Labubu is.
But wait. Did any of these things really happen? Artificial intelligence, soon to be powered by an Arkansas data center near you, can fool us all. If 2025 was just a simulation, all the better.
WORST REMAKE
An unexpected outcome of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s appointment as ambassador to Israel was the creation of one of the worst songs we’ve ever had the displeasure to endure. In October, Huckabee grabbed his bass and took the stage at a benefit concert in Jerusalem with “Sweet Home Yerushalayim,” a spoof of Lynyrd Skynard’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” We try to avoid trafficking in hyperbole, but it is truly horrendous, both musically and in terms of its politics during a widely recognized genocide in Gaza. “Torah scrolls keep on turnin’,” the first verse begins.
BEST TRICK TO VISIT THE PARENTS ON THE STATE’S DIME
Ambassador Huckabee is perhaps 2025’s most prominent (and absurd) Israel-Arkansas connection, but unfortunately he’s not the only one. There was also the week-long trip his daughter, Gov. Sarah Sanders, took to Israel and the United Arab Emirates. She headed overseas in August to promote new weapons investments — the South Arkansas city of Camden is increasingly a hub for missile production — and visit her daddy in the process, all on the public dime. And then there was the news that a small but growing slice of Arkansas treasury and retirement funds are being loaned to the Israeli state to help finance its wars. As of July, Arkansas had purchased $55 million in Israeli bonds, and two boards overseeing pension funds for public employees and teachers committed to buy up to $100 million more within the next few years.
WORST ATTENDANCE RECORD
Did you know Little Rock city directors can skip meetings for a year and a half and still collect their $28,000 annual paycheck? We know this thanks to Ward 2 Director Ken Richardson, who hasn’t shown up for a board meeting since May 2024. Richardson was battling health challenges when he went radio silent. Patience wore thin among constituents and some fellow board mem bers by the fall of 2025, but Richardson may soon be back in action. He put in a request in October to be able to attend board meetings virtually.
BEST WAY TO DISAPPOINT YOUR MOM
Eight years after being accused of stealing a Polar is Model 500 ATV and a church van from the Glen Rose Baptist Church, Tyler McWaters of Trask wood (Hot Spring County) struck again, robbing a Glen Rose Dollar General with a rifle, stealing merchandise and fleeing on a tractor. After exchanging fire with law enforcement and receiving medical attention on site for non-life-threatening injuries, McWaters pleaded guilty to two felonies related to theft of property and a misdemeanor for unauthorized use of a vehicle. Approached by authorities about the thefts, court records state, McWaters’ mother asked, “What did my son do now?”
WORST WHITEWASH
The Trump administration’s attempts to whitewash American history by scrubbing diversity, equity and inclusion from federal agencies and operations came for the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site this year. A close look at the museum’s website revealed the word “equality” had been erased, and extensive cuts were made to a page about the Memory Project, an annual assignment where high school students complete unique community projects centered on civil rights struggles of the past. The White House backpedaled on some of the redactions, but some remain.
fore glitchy footage of troopers ramming their patrol cars into fleeing vehicles begins.
BEST EXAMPLE OF THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE
On the third day of the school year, officers with the Little Rock Police Department doused students with pepper spray at Little Rock Central High. The goal was to break up a fight, but pepper spray also hit inno cent bystanders. Several students required medical treatment. Challenged by Little Rock School Board members, LRPD Assistant Chief Andre Dyer said police officers have to prioritize their own safety, apparently even when 15-year-olds are involved. “The one thing that I think everyone up here needs to understand is that as many officers go to work every day, we expect those officers to go home and we don’t want them to go home injured,” he said.
WORST CAMEO
When the White House opened the press pool to new media this year, we never would have guessed it would lead to the Arkansas Times getting name-dropped. A reporter for the right-wing libertarian financial blog Zero Hedge asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to intelligence agencies and referenced an Arkansas Times story about Mark Middle ton, a former aide to Bill Clinton whose 2022 suicide set off conspiracy theory alarm bells. Middleton, who had appeared in flight logs for Epstein’s plane, was found dead at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, hanging from a tree by an extension cord and with a shotgun wound to the chest.
BEST GET-OUT-OF-JAILFREE CARD
Rested up from a truncated stay in Club Fed, disgraced Hutchinson family scion and felonious former Repub lican state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson is again a free man. Trump’s presidential pardon erased the bribery and fraud convictions from his record. Hutchinson donned a red MAGA hat, found work at a mysterious think tank and seems to be doing just fine. He’s also hired new attorneys in hopes of erasing hundreds of thousands of dollars in alimony and child support debt still owed to his ex-wife and now-grown children.
BEST BOOST
Urologists at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences swelled with pride this year when their hospital was named the “first center of excellence in Arkansas for inflatable penile prosthesis.” These clever pump-action contraptions can be got in a quick outpatient procedure, and recipients are back in action in less than two months. Yeah, baby!
WORST DOUBLE STANDARD
The late, not-great Charlie Kirk was famous for taking full advantage of his free-speech rights, offending women, Black people, Muslims and anyone else prying at the sweaty knuckles of white patriarchy’s faltering grip. In the wake of his death, though, Kirk’s detrac tors were not granted the same freedom. Teachers and state employees were among the Arkansans who lost their jobs for declining to pretend to be sad after Kirk, a Second Amendment champion, was fatally shot. The governor and other Arkansas Republican officials piled on to torment and eventually oust Little Rock law pro fessor Felicia Branch, a Black woman who took to social media to call out Kirk’s racism and proclaim that she would “not pull back from CELEBRATING that an evil man died by the method he chose to embrace.”
WORST SHOW AND TELL
Much like a real-estate developer surveying a home they intend to demolish, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon toured a Little Rock elementary school with Gov. Sanders and Sen. Tom Cotton in August. McMa hon, who is currently dismantling the federal education department, had a cutesy photo op with students as Sanders and Cotton stood scowling nearby.
WORST THOUGHT
Arkansas Republicans continue to lose their shit when young people reject the gender binary, and it’s pretty fun to watch sometimes. A cuckoo bill by anti-transgen der extremist Rep. Mary Bentley (R-Perryville) would ostensibly have made it against the law for adults to be cool about it when kids realize their sex assigned at birth is maybe off a bit. The Vulnerable Youth Protec tion Act would have allowed lawsuits against adults who supported/went along with a young person’s name or pronoun changes and clothing or hairstyle swaps. We thought it was odd watching Bentley, whose cropped hair leans butch, make the case that letting people under 18 get edgy hairdos might be legally actionable. While this bill thankfully failed, other anti-trans legis lation made it to the governor’s desk, including a cruel new “bathroom bill.”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
After months of prep, planning and some resourceful costume design, triple-threat Grant Hardin — murderer, rapist and former cop — waltzed out of the gates of a state prison in Calico Rock on May 25 wearing a homemade disguise. Authorities launched a massive manhunt, urging locals to keep their doors locked and report any suspicious activity. They found him in the woods on June 6, less than two miles away from the prison.
BEST SURPRISE PARTY
Voting rights advocates gathered at Trio’s
WORST SNUB
Doesn’t it chafe when you get turned down for a better offer? At least the 800 people who came to a Little Rock town hall in
BEST LESSON
eStem Public Charter Schools shuttered a nearly new high school on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus this year, providing more evidence that the school choice fad is a big resource suck. The plan for eStem’s high school/college mashup, where students could take college courses and perhaps continue to college on the same campus, seemed interesting when it opened in 2017. But the COVID pandemic temporarily cleared out public classrooms, and some of those students never returned, seeking out virtual, private or homeschool options instead. Now, Arkansas LEARNS vouchers let families tap public funds for homeschool expenses and private tuition, meaning charter schools aren’t the shiniest new options anymore. It all seems pretty wasteful. Maybe it’s time to simply invest in the traditional public schools that exist for the betterment of all students?
WORST BEAR BEHAVIOR
Within the course of a month this fall, not one but two men in Arkansas were killed by bears. The pair of seemingly unrelated incidents — the first in Franklin County, the second in Newton County — appear to be the first bear attacks in Arkansas since 2006 and the first fatal attacks in the state since
WORST HUMAN BEHAVIOR DIRECTED TOWARD A BEAR
Authorities shot and killed both of the bears they believed to be responsible for the fatal attacks. Unfortunately, DNA testing later revealed that, in the case of the Newton County incident, they got the wrong bear. R.I.P.
WORST LOSS FOR THE CARDLESS STONER
For the last few years, vape shops and gas stations around The Natural State have been hawking hemp-derived products with names like Trips Ahoy, Area 52 and Zombi Death Drops. These goodies — which were not mar ijuana in the legal sense, but still contained psychoactive cannabinoids — existed in a legal gray area. A federal court ruling in late June cleared the way for the state to enforce a ban on hemp-derived psychoactives, which means your days of scoring a bag of Stoney Patch Kids from the same place you get your fuel and questionable burritos are over.
WORST SCAR
On Aug. 25, more than 15 law enforcement agencies swarmed the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville after a 911 dispatcher fielded a call about an active shooter on campus. What sounded like gunfire could be heard in the background. The campus went into lockdown, and students piled chairs and desks against classroom doors. It took responders roughly 2 ½ hours to determine there was no threat. The university was one of more than a dozen campuses across the U.S. hit by similar hoaxes during the same two weeks.
BEST SWING
Brea Green, the outstanding (and lone) member of the Little Rock Southwest High School golf team, reaped the benefits of her hard work on the links by earning a full-ride scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, making her the first-ever Southwest student to score such an honor. Before graduating in May, Green was also the only member of Southwest High’s swimming team.
“respectful of family beliefs.” Whose families are we talking about here?
BEST CLAPBACK
If you’re on X/Twitter, you know California Gov. Gavin Newsom owns Arkansas Gov. Sanders on the reg. Scoff at coastal elites if you like, but Newsom’s big Democrat energy lets him call out Sanders’ copious lies on a national platform. Like that time in June when Sanders suggested Cali was a crime-riddled pit of violence, and Newsom accurately responded with facts: “Your homicide rate is literally DOUBLE California’s.”
BEST EARWORM
Little Rock-born band Evanescence may have released their smash hit “Bring Me To Life” more than two decades ago, but the iconic rap-rock track is still alive and well in the cultural consciousness. Its latest spike in relevance comes from a May appearance on a season 2 episode of Nathan Fielder’s bizarro docu-comedy show “The Rehearsal,” in which Fielder makes the case that pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was listening to “Bring Me To Life” when he famously pulled off a casualty-free emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in 2009.
prison in Franklin County, an exercise that’s drawn derision from all sides. Nine Republican senators voted against a $750 million spending bill for the project, de feating it five separate times and sending Sanders back to the drawing board to fund her Y’allcatraz dream.
Those wells predictably produced only paltry amounts of water.
the land where the prison would be built — sued the governor and won, as did voters in a recently vacant North Little Rock legislative district facing a similar Sanders-imposed delay. Elections for both seats are now set for March.
BEST DOCUMENTARY ABOUT A DOCUMENTARIAN
Brent Renaud of Little Rock was 50 years old and among the most respected American documentary filmmakers of his generation when he was shot and killed by Russian soldiers while covering the invasion of Ukraine in March 2022. In October of this year, HBO released “Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud,” a beautiful and unflinching documentary about Renaud’s dedication to finding and interviewing people from around the globe who had lost it all.
WORST HIKE
In late July, Clinton and Cristen Brink were fatally stabbed while hiking with their two young daughters at Devil’s Den State Park in Washington County. Within days, the Arkan sas State Police arrested James Andrew Mc Gann, a 28-year-old elementary teacher from Springdale, who’s since been charged with two counts of capital murder. The arrest took place while McGann was getting a haircut at a Springdale salon, and he appears to be still wearing a barber cape in his mugshot. Held without bail at the Washington County jail, McGann is currently awaiting trial.
BEST PAY-ITFORWARD
Thanks to an April segment on CBS’s “BegKnows America,” we’re now hip to the wholesome story of Kevin Nazemi, an Ira nian immigrant whose indefatigable dream as an 11-year-old in 1993 was to interview President Bill Clinton. His persistent calls to the White House put him in touch with Michigan native Dave Anderson, a junior Clinton staffer who happens to now be a Lit tle Rock-based contributor to the Times the interview, an experience he credits with opening “up my mind and eyes to what is possible.” Now a successful entrepreneur, Nazemi repaid Anderson for his act of kind ness by starting college funds for his two children.
WORST CHANGE TO A SETLIST
In January, the Arkansas Choral Directors Association quietly announced via email that there would be a last-minute song swap for its annual all-state auditions and clinic. The reason for the sudden replacement of a composition called “Release”? Accord ing to composer Saunder Choi, it’s the fact that Amir Rabiyah, the song’s lyricist, is a trans person, which is stated in the song’s program notes. Choi said in a Facebook post that he’d been told “a member of the state Legislature threatened to sue ArkCDA if it
announced he would run for Lonoke County sheriff. Whether Spen cer will be eligible to hold the office in January 2027 will depend on whether he’s convicted of murder in January 2026.
WORST TINKERING WITH THE MACHINERY OF DEATH
BEST CHANCE TO LEARN THE TRUTH
In September — more than 31 years after they were convicted of murdering three 8-year-old boys and more than 14 years after they were freed — the West Memphis Three finally got a court to order advanced DNA testing of evidence from their trial. The men are hopeful that the testing, which uses methods that did not exist in 1993, will finally clear their names and reveal the actual killer or killers of Chris topher Byers, Michael Moore and Steven Branch.
Some Arkansas lawmakers desperately want the state to be able to kill people, but with pharmaceutical companies understandably leery about their drugs being used for executions, finding ways to do it has become increasingly difficult. To get around this, Rep. Jeff Wardlaw (R-Hermitage) proposed — and the Legislature passed — a law allowing executions by suffocating inmates with nitrogen gas. Eyewitness accounts in other states reveal nitrogen asphyxiation is a torturous way to go.
BEST KICKSTART
Northwest Arkansas is home to the largest Marshallese population outside of the Marshall Islands. Previously the only United Nations member without a national soccer team, the Marshall Islands fielded a team in their first international soccer tournament in Springdale this summer.
BEST DISPLAY OF PERSISTENCE
Aaron Reddin and his long-running homeless advocacy group, The Van, have finally found a space for a new emergency winter shelter. The facility is set to open this winter in a renovated warehouse in North Little Rock, where there will be room for 200 people seeking a warm place to sleep. During the warmer months, the building will be used as a thrift store and farmers market to help pay for the space and give job opportunities to homeless folks.
BEST FAILURE TO THRIVE
Chests puffed out after overturning the half-century precedent of Roe v. Wade, anti-abortion lawmakers approved the construction of a “Monument to Unborn Children” in 2023, a living wall on the Capitol grounds that will feature over a thousand plants. The roughly $1 million price tag was to be paid with private donations. But as of early November, fundraisers reported a mere $25,985 of the grand sum had been amassed.
WORST STINK
The owner of David’s Burgers withdrew his application with the North Little Rock Planning Commission to put a slaughterhouse in the city’s Dark Hollow neighborhood. Residents of the neighborhood showed out at a contentious town hall in February, a month after a petition opposing the plans went up on a website called “Your Slaughterhouse Stinks.”
federal government doesn’t step in soon. Trump’s tariffs, low prices, global competition and an outdated safety net are pushing Arkansas farmers into the economic abyss. It turns out that our model of growing soybeans, rice, cotton and corn for export is a dicey proposition during a global trade war of your country’s own making.
WORST ALTERNATIVE TO A ‘HANG IN THERE’ KITTEN POSTER
A new state law that mandates the Ten Commandments be displayed in all state buildings, including in every public school classroom, deserved an immediate legal challenge, and it got one. Parents, clergy and the Arkansas arm of the American Civil Liberties Union took aim at the law requiring that the King James version of the biblical text — Moses-isms like “manservants,” “maidservants” and all — be posted in large font “on a poster or framed copy of at least eleven inches by fourteen inches.” The lawsuit is still playing out, but a federal judge has ruled that the displays must come down in six school districts named as defendants in a lawsuit by parents aggrieved by Arkansas’s latest mashup of church and state.
WORST VALENTINE’S DAY
Former Hot Spring County Sheriff and Malvern Republican Scott Finkbeiner spent his Feb. 14 in an El Dorado courtroom, pleading guilty to misleading the FBI in a case involving solicited sex, methamphetamine and abuse of a state criminal database. He was sentenced this summer to 24 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervision.
WORST END-OFSCHOOL PARTY
In June, Little Rock police ticketed and temporarily detained dozens of high schoolers for loitering. The students had convened at Mabelvale Elementary School for an annual tradition known as “junior takeover,” when rising seniors celebrate their upcoming final year. Social media erupted over photos and video of some of the students being handcuffed. Police reports revealed 47 of the 52 young people cited that day were Black, while video footage suggested the arresting officers were all white.
BEST CHANCE AT GETTING DIARRHEA
Arkansas legislators hopped on the Make America Healthy Again bus in 2025 with a bill to deregulate retail sales of unpasteurized milk. Driving the “Raw Milk Revolution” was Logan Duvall, owner of the Me & McGee Market in North Little Rock, who had been forced to throw out his stock of raw milk by the Arkansas Department of Health after inspectors found he was duplicitously selling it as “for pet consumption only.” McGee had the last laugh: After the Legislature changed the law this spring, you can now find your favorite raw dairy product sold proudly at local markets, bacteria and all.
WORST PEEK UNDER THE ROBES
Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Justice Rhonda Wood may have lost the race for chief justice last year, but she didn’t let that stop her from taking charge. In January, after newly seated Chief Justice Karen Baker fired 10 longtime employees, Wood and four other justices voted to undo those firings. This came only weeks after the same five justices undid decades of precedent to rule that the state’s Freedom of Information Act required Justice Courtney Hudson to publicly release emails. Nearly a year later, relationships on the state’s high court remain strained.
push for Arkansas to extend post-pregnancy Medicaid coverage like every other state except Wisconsin has already done is laudable. But we’re going to have to deduct some cool points for his resolution to change “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” in official state documents. (The measure failed.)
BEST COACH OF THE BEST TEAM YOU’VE HEARD NOTHING ABOU T
Aaron Butler, head wrestling coach at Little Rock Central High School, is building a wrestling powerhouse in Central Arkansas, and he already has a ton of hardware to prove it. Since his girls team won the school’s first state wrestling championship in March, he’s been named All-Arkansas Preps Coach of the Year across all sports and the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Girls Head Coach of the Year. Central’s girl wrestlers are currently ranked among the top 50 teams in the country.
WORST POWER DRAIN
In October, state leaders welcomed our newest corporate overlord, tech giant Google, to West Memphis. Google is here to build a $4 billion, 1,100-acre data center to power the company’s artificial intelligence products. Sure, the neighbors’ utility bills will be going up to pay for the upgrades to the grid needed to get the data center cooking, but state leaders promise phat returns. Guess we’ll see. Another gargantuan data center (or perhaps multiple projects) is in the works for Central Arkansas, too.
BEST UNLIKELY CONSERVATIONIST
Farm lobbyists have long wanted to roll back the state’s temporary moratorium on hog farming in the Buffalo River watershed. This year, the Arkansas Farm Bureau almost succeeded, thanks to a bill sponsored by the industry’s favorite lawmakers, Rep. DeAnn Vaught (R-Horatio) and Sen. Blake Johnson (R-Corning). But opposition came from the governor, who wants to grow outdoor recre ation in Arkansas; in the end, Republicans agreed on a compromise that preserved the Buffalo moratorium, though it weakened public notice requirements for farm permits elsewhere in the state.
WORST LAYOFFS
In the chaotic first few months of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, as Elon Musk and his lieutenants at DOGE were firing federal workers left and right, Buffalo Nation al River ranger Stacy Ramsey became the face of the cuts in Arkansas. Ramsey had worked with the park for five years but switched to a new position within the last two years, mean ing her job was considered “probationary.” That was good enough for the DOGE crew to fire her and three other Buffalo employees. In May, the four had their jobs reinstated after a federal court order.
Two waves of storms in March and April brewed deadly tornadoes and floods that wreaked havoc in multiple parts of the state, with parts of North and Northeast Arkansas getting the worst of it. After the twisters had passed, Gov. Sanders requested federal disaster aid, as per usual — but the Trump administration took the unorthodox step of denying it. After Sanders pleaded with her former boss, Trump eventually approved some aid, though less than the state had hoped for — a part of his plans to shift responsibilities for disaster relief from FEMA to states and cities. Months later, tornado-damaged towns like Cave City are still struggling with cleanup bills.
BEST VOTER SUPPRESSION SPEED-RUN
State Sen. Kim Hammer (R-Benton) wants to be the next secretary of state, and he angled to make his dream job easier by pushing legislation to prevent Arkansans from ever again being able to steer amendments and initiated acts to the ballot. Hammer sponsored or co-sponsored 25 bills to limit Arkansans’ rights to engage in direct democracy, with 22 of those bills becoming law. Given the short timeframe, it was an impressive run from a truly detestable legislator.
WORST WINDBREAKER
Republican state legislators seized on Trump’s November victory to pursue his irrational dream to put an end to clean, renewable wind power. We still can’t quite figure out why people hate the idea of a nonpolluting energy source that never runs out? Republicans in the Legislature adopted prohibitively restrictive regulations on commercial wind turbines, and gadfly wind energy opponents convinced some local leaders to adopt total bans in some counties.
BEST TAXPAYER-SUBSIDIZED GENDER REVEAL PARTY
On a Saturday night in September, the dome of the Arkansas State Capitol lit up with a blue glow. Nope, not aliens, just Secretary of State Cole Jester letting one of his staff attorneys — Hannah Banks, Jester’s fellow Ouachita Baptist University alum — use the landmark for a gender reveal party. Can you bedazzle the Capitol to commemorate your own personal milestones? Maybe, but probably not. Lighting requests, spokeswoman Samantha Boyd said, “are done on a case-by-case basis.”
WORST PAVING OF PARADISE
Surely Joni Mitchell’s spidey senses were tingling in May when the Little Rock Board of Directors considered a controversial measure proposing the demolition of two homes in Hillcrest to make room for more parking at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Catholic Church, which owns the two properties. Opposing the measure were the director representing the neighborhood, Kathy Webb, along with Ward 4 Director Capi Peck, Ward 6 Director Andrea Lewis, and a group of community members, including some members of the church. Bad news, Joni. A 6-3 vote cleared the way for the demolitions.
WORST ATTACK ON UNDERWATER DINOSAURS
WORST LABORATORY OF DEMOCRACY
In July, congressional Republicans passed Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which shovels trillions of dollars toward tax cuts for the well-to-do by cutting health care, green energy projects, SNAP benefits and more. One of the ugliest pieces is a Medicaid work requirement that could throw millions of Americans off their insurance. It’s a nationwide version of a similar policy that Arkansas pioneered under then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2018, which led to 18,000 people losing Medicaid coverage in just a few months. At least Republicans were kind enough to delay the cuts till January 2027 — two months after the midterms, that is.
It was a tough roe to hoe for Matthew “Cole” Harken of Conway, Andrew Jennings of Searcy, Dakota Wilson of Russellville and Steven Lawrence of Jacksonville, who in March pleaded guilty to federal charges for illegally harvesting the eggs of 29 paddlefish from the Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge. Paddlefish are among the biggest freshwater fish on the continent, growing up to 7 feet long and 200 pounds. Their caviar goes for around $35 an ounce, but to harvest it, you’ve got to slice the fish wide open. The quartet’s fines totaled $14,190.
WORST VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
When former Razorback head honcho Bobby Petrino was hired to run the offense at Arkansas following the Hogs’ miserable 2023 campaign, many fans thought he was being positioned to replace the once-jovial, old-cold-beer-drinking Head Coach Sam Pittman. Razorback fans bought into the “Bobby’s Back” redemption arc, but at the time of this writing, Petrino has gone 0-5 since taking over following Pittman’s dismissal in September. Maybe neither coach is to blame for the team’s eight consecutive losses? Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek told the Little Rock Touchdown Club in September that the football program is “not set up to win a national championship.” Ouch.
performance. Apparently, kids learn better without a machine in their pocket feeding them an all-day morphine drip of gossip, games and short-form video slop personally optimized for maximal distraction. Strange.
WORST-KEPT
Roger Stone — Trump operative, Nixonian ratfucker and all-around sleazeball — has it in for a certain senator from Dardanelle, and suggests he’s got some real dirt on him. “I may have no choice, but to recruit a Republican primary opponent for Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas,” Stone tweeted in July. “Hard hitting ads, revealing the secret truth about him would bring him down.” What does Roger Stone know that we don’t? Hmm?
WORST TEAMWORK
BEST TELL
Maybe it was a good thing that the state education department let parents show their hand on a survey assessing why they were applying for a school voucher this spring. Included among the multiple-choice answers was this: “To access a different racial mix of students for my child.” Immediate uproar spurred the education department to pull that answer option before close of business on March 3, the day applications opened up.
This spring, the Trump administration revived a defunct program that deputizes local law enforcement agencies to act as helpers for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a part of the White House’s multi-pronged effort to terrorize immigrants. The Arkansas State Police were among the first in line to sign up, meaning some state troopers now have the “power and authority to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien” in the U.S. At least Arkansas hasn’t built a dystopian migrant detention center, a la Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” — but one may be in the works. In September, news broke that ICE and state officials quietly paid a visit to the proposed site of the state’s stalled prison project in Franklin County.
WORST EUPHEMISM
Arkansas’s “Educational Freedom Accounts,” or EFAs for short, might sound like a new product from Charles Schwab, but they’re really just plain old vouchers. The taxpayer-funded $7,000-perkid gift cards for private school and homeschool families became available to every K-12 student in the state in 2025. By August, the state had about 50,000 applications, representing far more kids than could be covered even by the $277 million the Legislature had set aside. Billed as a way to help families escape failing public schools, these EFAs aren’t doing anything of the sort. A state report published in October showed the vast majority of students who claimed voucher dollars last year were already in private schools or homeschools, or were just entering kindergarten.
WORST TAKE TWO
Anticipation for the Sir Loin’s Inn revival caused a major spike on Arkansas Times’ social media pages, with nostalgic fans of the legendary North Little Rock steakhouse showing much support for the project. But Sir Loin’s Inn II, located in the former model home that housed Aydelotte’s off JFK Boulevard, lasted less than eight months before the new owners pulled the plug. Reviews were mixed. Some blamed the location as a cursed spot for restaurants. We wonder if perhaps the original Sir Loin’s Inn was lightning in a bottle, and nothing short of time travel and waiters in red knickers could bring it back.
BEST LAST CALL FOR THE HOGS (MAYBE)
The UA’s last scheduled football game at War Memorial Stadium was the Razorbacks’ first against Arkansas State, a matchup decades in the making. The ensuing 56-14 rout of the Red Wolves in front of a sold-out crowd dispelled the notion that a competitive rivalry was afoot, but proved that plenty of fans still want to call the Hogs in Little Rock. That includes the governor, who advocated that the schools play each other annually at War Memorial. Arkansas Times columnist Beau Wilcox called B.S: “Arkansas State got what it had wanted for years,” he wrote. “For three hours, Arkansas carried on a thorough lecture about why it should not happen again.”
Here are some amazing organizations that are able to make an impact thanks to your help. Explore fundraising opportunities, learn about their missions and get involved.
MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY
Steven Schnell, Executive Director
Established: March 11, 1927
Mission: The Museum of Discovery’s mission is to ignite and fuel a passion for science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) through dynamic, interactive experiences.
About: As Arkansas’s premiere science center, the museum engages learners of all ages through hands-on exhibits and educational programming. Committed to closing the gap in access to STEAM learning, it provides outreach, museum visits and camps made possible through generous grant funding and donor support. The museum empowers Arkansas’s future innovators through equitable, curiosity-driven learning.
Giving Opportunities: 1. Add a donation of $10, $25 or $50 to your next membership purchase: that will help the museum bring the same experiences to children from every corner of the state! 2. $500$1,000 funds Animal Care Facility enrichment structures, equipment or a year’s supply of specialty diets. 3. $5,000 sponsors a week of Girls in STEM camp for 25 girls’ learning and mentorship.
Contact Info: museumofdiscovery.org, 500 President Clinton Ave. Ste. 150, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-396-7050
GIRL SCOUTS
Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas Mary Grace Herrington, President and CEO
Established: Girl Scouts of the USA, 1912; Girl Scouts in Arkansas, 1927
Mission: Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.
Fundraisers:
Play like a Girl Scout, party like an adult at Camp 479 and Camp 501!
Camp 479
April 10, 2026, Springdale
Camp 501
September 18, 2026, North Little Rock
To purchase a table or tickets, contact funddevelopment@girlscoutsdiamonds.org.
Giving Opportunities: Before girls can grow up and change the world, they have to believe they can. Girl Scouts across Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas are discovering their strengths, building confidence and realizing what’s possible for their future. They rely on champions like you to invest in their dreams and show them what’s possible.
Invest in girls. Change the World.
Donate online: girlscoutsdiamonds.org/donate
Give your time: girlscoutsdiamonds.org/volunteer
Join: girlscoutsdiamonds.org/join
TREATMENT HOMES INC
Consevella James, LCSW, Founder & CEO
Established: 1983
Mission: Treatment Homes provides a therapeutic family environment for foster children and youth with complex emotional needs with the following priorities:
• To promote public awareness of Treatment Homes Inc. and Therapeutic Foster Care Services.
• To recruit train and support foster parents.
• To develop the first Kinship Care Program in the state.
• To improve technology to meet the needs of our clients.
Fundraisers: Annual Gingerbread Extravaganza Register for contest at treatmenthomes.org.
Giving Opportunities:
Sponsor a foster child
Sponsor a therapeutic foster family
Commit to a monthly donation
Contact Info: treatmenthomes.org
FINISHING STRONG IS OUR FOUNDATION
As the year ends, we celebrate every Arkansan who gave, volunteered, and dreamed with us. Because when we build together, our communities grow stronger for generations to come. Add to your charitable fund at Arkansas Community Foundation or contact us to get one started.
organized giving, and grow as a more informed philanthropist. You can give by cash or check, donate online or by contributing securities, real estate or other assets. For those wishing to leave a legacy or support a favorite cause in perpetuity, an endowment is a powerful way to ensure lasting impact. Our team is here to help you find the giving strategy that fits your goals.
To get started, contact Ashley Coldiron or Jody Dilday at 501-372-1116 or visit arcf.org.
– Thurmeisha White, Youth Villages employee
The Thirteenth Night Before Christmas LIVE
UA Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale
Established: 1927
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has launched a transformational new scholarship program with the support of a $7.5 million gift from the Windgate Foundation to advance its mission of providing access to an affordable, high-quality college education for all Arkansans.
The Windgate Foundation’s gift includes $5 million to establish a permanent endowed scholarship fund, creating a sustainable source of financial support for future students, and $2.5 million in immediate-use funds to support affordability initiatives over the next several years while the endowment grows.
The Enduring Opportunity Scholarship Program reinforces UA Little Rock’s longstanding commitment to affordability and access in higher education. It builds on earlier initiatives such as the Half-Off Scholarship and Trojan Guarantee. The Windgate Foundation’s support not only ensures long-term sustainability for UA Little Rock’s student success initiatives, but it also propels the university forward in a historic way.
To make a lasting commitment to student opportunity, you can learn more about giving opportunities by visiting the Enduring Opportunity Scholarship Program. Scan here to learn more and donate.
YOUTH VILLAGES
Patrick W. Lawler, Chief Executive Officer
Established: 1986
Mission: Youth Villages is dedicated to helping children and young people discover their strengths, feel supported and build brighter futures. When families face emotional or behavioral challenges, we provide guidance, stability and care that keep youth connected to their loved ones and their community. Our work focuses on healing, hope and giving children the chance to feel safe, seen and encouraged. In Arkansas, we walk alongside young people and families as they learn, grow and move toward a stronger tomorrow.
Programs: With generous support, Youth Villages helps meet meaningful needs for children and teens in our care. Donations provide therapy and family counseling, life-skills training, school supplies, holiday gifts and daily essentials.
Giving Opportunities: Your one-time or ongoing financial gift helps children and young people receive the support and opportunities they deserve. You can also volunteer, mentor or explore fostering to help change the life of a child in your community.
Ways to Give: Youth Villages Arkansas youthvillages.org/Arkansas (800) 253-5225 youthvillages.org/give
“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
ARKANSAS SHERIFFS’ YOUTH RANCHES
Nancy Fulton, LCSW, CEO
Established: January 1976
Mission: The ASYR’s mission is to address, remedy and prevent child abuse and neglect by creating safe, healthy and permanent homes for children.
Fundraisers: For 30 years, ASYR has hosted the Arkansas Children’s Award Dinner to honor Arkansans who create better opportunities for children. Learn more: asyr.org
As an organization that is 100% privately funded, and a 100% free service to children in crisis, ASYR relies on donations from the community to care for Arkansas’s most vulnerable children. ASYR receives dozens of calls each week looking for beds for children. To accommodate these children and do its part to fight the Arkansas foster care crisis, ASYR is expanding and building a new home. This will increases ASYR’s capacity to provide homes for more children each year, as well as our annual expenses. Learn more and support: YouthRanches. com
Giving Opportunities: On Giving Tuesday, Dec. 2, Citizens Bank will match up to the first $5,000 donated to the Ranch, and other Ranch supporters will be matching gifts throughout the day. Visit YouthRanches.com/GivingTuesday to learn more about matching opportunities.
Raising children is expensive, especially when you raise as many as we do at the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches. But you can’t put a price tag on changing a child’s life. The ASYR has helped raise more than 2,300 boys and girls from every corner of the state. Consider investing in Arkansas’s future by supporting our most vulnerable children. Together we can provide opportunities for children to thrive!
Join for admission to the Museum AND all Museum of Discovery events, admission to sister museums across the country, discounts on summer camps, birthday parties, explore store and more!
PROVIDING LOVING HOMES FOR ARKANSAS BOYS AND GIRLS
We
SERVICES
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THE REP
Will Trice, Executive Director
Steve H. Broadnax III, Artistic Director
Established: 1976
Mission: The Rep creates vibrant, engaging and accessible theatrical experiences to make the lives of all Central Arkansans more full, more connected and more joyful.
Our programming includes a season of freshly created, professional productions, performed in downtown Little Rock and enjoyed regardless of one’s ability to pay. We tell stories that provide entertainment and escape, that help us process the world around us, and that foster a sense of mutual understanding.
We also provide community and education programs to improve mental health and emotional development, to celebrate and develop local artistry, and to drive conversations through shared stories and experiences.
Fundraisers:
“Ovation!” 2026:
April 30 “Opening Night: 1976” Preview Party May 2 “50 Years of The Rep” VIP Gala
Giving Opportunities:
50th Anniversary Campaign: Celebrate our milestone with a special contribution to sustainability and capital funds.
Season, production or program sponsorship: Community philanthropy with one-of-a-kind corporate branding and entertainment perks.
Become a Patron: Support our annual programming alongside fellow culture lovers and community leaders.
Arkansas Repertory Theatre 601 Main St. Little Rock, AR 72201 501-378-0405 info@therep.org TheRep.org
ALZHEIMER'S ARKANSAS
Stephenie Cooke, Executive Director
Established: January 1984
Mission: We create a compassionate, welcoming and restorative community for family caregivers across the state who are caring for those with dementia, chronic illness or debilitating disease.
Fundraisers:
Champions Celebration April 24, 2026
Giving Opportunities
Donate online at alzark.org; text alzark40 to 44321 or call us at 501-224-0021.
Gingerbread Extravaganza
Sunday: December 14th from 1-3pm
• Register for contest: treatmenthomes.org
• Email Registration to: gbhouse@treatmenthomes.org
• Deliver decorated gingerbread house to State Capitol from 8:30am - 9:00am on Dec 14, 2025 for display.
• WINNERS ANNOUNCED FROM 2 - 3PM!
CUTTING THROUGH THE NOISE
OUR FAVORITE ARKANSAS-CONNECTED ALBUMS OF 2025.
BY MATT CAMPBELL, BRADLEY CAVINESS, DANIEL FORD, DANIEL GREAR AND JONAH THORNTON
Every year is a good year for music in The Natural State.
But with the long-awaited return of Rwake and Adam Faucett, the debut of Jupiter’s Flytrap and a purposeful farewell from Banzai Florist, this list of our favorite Arkansas-connected albums of 2025 feels extra special. Forget Christmas; the presents are already here.
RWAKE — “THE RETURN OF MAGIK”
“You Swore We’d Always Be Together,” the first track on North Little Rock outfit Rwake’s album “The Return of Magik,” opens with a twinkly cinematic theme that you could imagine playing over a heartstring-pulling Pixar montage. Then, in proper Rwake (pronounced “wake”) fashion, the fantasy fades into a feedback-laden ambient wasteland of sludgy, swamp-witch riffs that would make any metal aficionado gasp. It’s a fitting introduction for a release that so gracefully rolls in and out of extremes.
Incorporating a diversity of screaming styles, spoken word poetry and incantation, “The Return of Magik” — Rwake’s first album in 13 years — arrives with both the brutality of a sledgehammer and the delicacy of a butterfly. Taking influence from black, death, doom and progressive metal, this record from one of Arkansas’s most enduring and incandescent bands is a dynamic 54-minute spell cast across six songs, each as mystical as they are engaging. JT
ADAM FAUCETT — “NEW VARIATIONS OF THE REAPER”
Like the friend you haven’t seen in many years but with whom the rapport returns instantaneously when reunited, Central Arkansas singer-songwriter Adam Faucett’s sixth record, “New Variations of the Reaper,” comes seven years after his last album and effortlessly picks up the conversation where it left off.
That conversation revolves around the interplay of tension and release, highs and lows, repression and catharsis. “Anything for Sleep” begins the album with admirable restraint, evoking a weariness that feels as deep in the psyche as it does in the body. “Carry Me Down The Hill” disguises a tender, heartfelt love song in an elegiac piano ballad. And “Majorie” conjures the ghosts of family legacy in a psychedelic drone.
But Faucett also finds abandon in the increased tempo and volume of songs like “Fire Lane” and “Ouachita Witch” — glorious reminders that he’s playing in a rock ’n’ roll band — and in the moments where he extends his voice into that heartbreaking, high lonesome yawp.
“New Variations of the Reaper” is Faucett’s shortest album. But rather than feeling like something was left out, the album’s economy sizzles with intent. It’s less prone to wander and confident about getting to its destination, making it easy to push the play button again when the last note fades. Longtime fans will need no convincing to add the LP to their library, and new listeners have an excellent entry point to Faucett’s deep catalog of musical treasures. BC
BANZAI FLORIST — “BF 4-EVER”
Banzai Florist — the moniker under which Hot Springs-raised musician Harry Glaeser released an internet-friendly brand of hooky, haphazard and mostly electronic bedroom pop for eight years — came to a close this spring. But not before delivering a surprisingly earnest swan song. With “BF 4-EVER,” Glaeser cements the legacy of Banzai Florist via a collection of carefully produced indie rock-leaning gems. “[In the past], pretty much everything I wrote was a joke,” he told the Arkansas Times in March. “Or was attempting in some way, shape or form to be very light. Banzai to me was always a pop project. It was always about being poppy and having cool, witty and catchy hooks, whereas this was a little more like, ‘I’m really fucking depressed and I don’t really know how else to write in light of that.’”
The album’s stand-out single, “punish,” sees Glaeser simplifying his melodies, taming his tendency to get quirky, and channeling the moody, percussive strums of artists like Hovvdy and Runnner. There are even a few moments I’d call joyful, namely when the guitar crunch and low synth burst in at 1:25 and turn this drony meditation into an anthem. “I’ve been punished long enough / I just want the ringin’ in my ears to go,” he sings, laying it all out on the line. “end times,” a ’70s-inspired stunner, approaches “In Rainbows”-era Radiohead territory with its bone-dry drums and apocalyptic strings. Then there’s the almost-sinister “David Burn,” which begins with slow, chunky chords and Glaeser intoning in a low, monotonous register. “Like David, I burn / And I burn and I burn,” he sings, introducing us to a world of strange pain. The closer, “discipline,” is purely instrumental, a classical piano composition that ends the LP on an appropriately contemplative note. R.I.P., Banzai Florist. DG
Rhea Drug
WILLI CARLISLE — “WINGED VICTORY”
The first words that Arkansas-forged singer-songwriter Willi Carlisle sings on his magnificent fourth album, “Winged Victory,” are not his own. Atop a flurry of bluegrass banjo and harmonica, Carlisle opens with the urgent message of “We Have Fed You All for 1000 Years,” a song written in the early 20th century by an anonymous member of the Industrial Workers of the World union that has been a staple of Carlisle’s live set for years. “We have fed you all for a thousand years / And you hail us still unfed,” Carlisle sings in his sweetly strained tenor. By happenstance, or maybe predestination, I first pressed play on the album and heard these lyrics immediately after reading a section of Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America,” a classic piece of reporting on the stacked deck facing America’s working class, in which Ehrenreich describes the union-suppressing tactics employed by Walmart managers that she witnessed while working a stint at a store in Minnesota.
This particular brand of serendipity — a song over 100 years old, released on an album in 2025, echoing the proletariat concerns of big-box workers in the late 1990s — seems like the kind of storytelling kismet that fuels Carlisle’s songwriting engine. The 11 tracks that comprise “Winged Victory” — songs ranging from wistful waltzes to a capella hymns to bluesy story-songs — are united by Carlisle’s ability to draw on history and folklore to shine a spotlight on people often marginalized by society in general and by traditional music in particular. DF
JUPITER’S FLYTRAP — “EVERYTHING’S SO NICE!”
Over the last couple of years, Central Arkansas band Jupiter’s Flytrap has made a name for themselves with a series of quirky independent singles released online every so often that blurred all kinds of lines between indie rock and pop and flirted with synthpop, jazz and folk music. Their debut album, “Everything’s So Nice!,” is a trippy, confectionary, electro-pop dream that way exceeds the high expectations set by their earlier work.
Following a brief instrumental prelude, the record kicks off with maybe the best one-two pop/rock punch I’ve heard in ages in the songs “Gone Again” and “High 5” before the band gives themselves space to stretch out with the ballad “No Forgiveness.”
Jupiter’s Flytrap’s “try anything” approach is apparent throughout the record. The real achievement is that all of these ideas coalesce into an album that’s complex, cohesive, layered, lush, dynamic and, above all, deliberate. It’s wild to hear a DIY album that’s simultaneously so thoughtfully crafted and spontaneous. BC
“YOU SAID
THEM COLORS
DON’T RUN / BUT BY GOD I’VE WATCHED THEM FADE / KEEP ON WHISTLIN’ RICH MEN’S SONGS ’TIL YOU’RE SEEN ON JUDGMENT DAY.”
— NICK SHOULDERS
NICK SHOULDERS —
“REFUGIA BLUES”
One difficult aspect of writing about music is finding a common language to describe an uncommon musician. Music is, by its very nature, an abstract sensory experience, unique to each listener. Comparing a song or an artist to one that sounds similar acts as a Rosetta Stone, providing the language needed to translate a personal interpretation into a more universal understanding.
For the most part, that works well enough. Unless the artist being discussed is Fayetteville singer-songwriter Nick Shoulders, whose signature blend of vibrato-heavy tenor, whistling and yodeling is so unique that comparisons with other artists always seem superficial at best.
Take Shoulder’s most recent release, “Refugia Blues.” Shoulders kicks off his newest album with “Apocalypse Never,” a haunting, a cappella tune delivered in a style that harkens back to a time before microphones or amplification. The song’s message — that we’ve all been lied to by politicians forever and will eventually have our retribution — is itself a callback to country music’s early days as a genre of resistance against the rich and powerful.
“Refugia Blues” delivers on this message of resistance from start to finish, perhaps most notably on “Dixie Be Damned.” A self-described fan of southern culture who is not a fan of the South, Shoulders takes aim at everyone from politicians to musicians who pander to the political elite, warning, “You said them colors don’t run / But by god I’ve watched them fade / Keep on whistlin’ rich men’s songs ’til you’re seen on judgment day.”
To be clear, “Refugia Blues” is not necessarily a “protest album.” There are arguably songs that aren’t political at all, including a cover of Randy Travis’ “Diggin’ Up Bones.” Yet, with Shoulders’ wry, gender-bending twist on the third verse, even that song feels like a political statement somehow. Ultimately, this awareness that even something that’s nonpolitical on its face can be a tool for probing the status quo is what makes the entire album work as well as it does. MC
SALSA AND BACHATA NIGHTS
Tuesdays 7:45pm-10:30pm Fridays 9pm-2am
Starts with a one-hour dance lesson. No partner or experience required.
EVENT VENUE
Corporate Events Weddings
Birthday Parties
Christmas Parties And More
614 President Clinton Ave, Little Rock /club27lr /club27lr club27lr.com
ROLLING OUT THE GREEN CARPET
BANJO, DISCO TIGER, LA KUSH CAKE AND KUMQUAT ALL HAVE AT LEAST ONE THING IN COMMON BESIDES THC.
Behold the winners of our second annual Big Bud Classic. This year, not only did we hold our judges competition, but also we opened it up to our readers for the People’s Choice. From flower to gummies to vapes and more, these are the creme de la creme of cannabis products in The Natural State. And, of course, our resident stoner-socialite, Mary Jane Doe, rips a few strain reviews in — wait for it — poem form.
BIG BUD CLASSIC WINNERS
BEST FLOWER BY CULTIVATOR (HYBRID)
Winner: LA Kush Cake — BOLD Cultivation
Finalist: Orange Pop — Good Day Farm
BEST FLOWER BY CULTIVATOR (SATIVA)
Winner: Banjo — River Valley Relief
Finalist: Futura Haze — Good Day Farm
BEST FLOWER BY CULTIVATOR (INDICA)
Winner: Halloween Special — River Valley Relief
Finalist: Polar Pop — BOLD Cultivation
BEST FLOWER BY A DISPENSARY (HYBRID)
Winner: Slurricane #7 — Suite 443
Finalist: Truffletini — Delta Cannabis Co.
BEST FLOWER BY A DISPENSARY (INDICA)
Winner: Motor City — The ReLeaf Center
BEST FLOWER BY A DISPENSARY (SATIVA)
Winner: Granny Candy — The ReLeaf Center
BEST FLOWER (OVERALL)
Winner: Slurricane #7 — Suite 443
Finalist: Halloween Special — River Valley Relief
BEST CONCENTRATE (OVERALL)
Winner: Pomelo Punch Live Rosin — River Valley Relief
Finalist: MAC 1 Solventless Bubble Hash - River Valley Relief
BEST CONCENTRATE (LIVE)
Winner: Pomelo Punch Live Rosin — River Valley Relief
Finalist: GG4 Live Rosin — BOLD Cultivation
BEST CONCENTRATE (SUGAR)
Winner: Disco Tiger Terp Sugar — Leafology
Cannabis Company
Finalist: Singapore Sling — Leafology
BEST CONCENTRATE (SOLVENTLESS)
Winner: MAC 1 Solventless Bubble Hash — River Valley Relief
BEST CONCENTRATE (DISTILLATE)
Winner: Shake Smear — Shake Extractions
Judge’s Winners
• Best Bubble Hash - MAC 1
• Best Solventless Vape - Dulce De Uva
• Best Overall & Best Live Rosin Concentrate - Pomelo Punch
• Best Indica - Halloween Special
• Best Sativa - Banjo
People’s Choice Winners
• Best Indica Flower - Halloween Special
• Best Sativa Flower - Banjo
• Best Overall Edible - Green Apple Caramel Chews
• Best (Other) Edibles - Ghee Butter
• Best Gummy - WANA Ozark Sunrise
• Best RSO - ArkanRAW
• Best Sugar - Sour Papaya
• Best Badder - Glitter Bomb
• Best Bubble Hash - MAC 1
• Best Disposable & Best Solventless Vape - Dulce de’ Uva
• Best Resin Vape - ArkanZA
• Best Distillate Vape - Rainbow Sherbert
• Best Packaging Design - Rosin Disposable Vape
AN ODE TO RIVER VALLEY RELIEF
BY MARY JANE DOE
Rarely do I like
Everything I try
But I’ve picked up what River Valley
Puts down to get high.
It started with an enthused recommendation from a friend, “Try this Dosidos, you’re gonna really love this blend.
The terps are high and tasty, a whopping 3.5 percent.
Roll it up and smoke it to relax a little bit.”
I reply, “I’ll go and buy it, if you really do insist.
Normally I don’t do indica, but this sounds zen.”
First thing to catch my eye was the packaging design
The bag is shaped like Arkansas, the place that I call mine.
Off to a good start, I think, then off I go to grind
Up the minty earthy buds, all orangey and divine.
I puff and puff until the stuff has gone and got me high.
I felt so good from Dosidos, all pain free and relaxed
I had to go and check me out another kind of bag!
This time, I went for Blue Dream, a favorite classic strain.
I’m a sucker for the branding, the design team’s got it made.
I ask the ole budtender, does RVR make vapes?
I pick out Sun-Drenched Moscato, he says I’ll like the taste
Only took a couple hits to quickly earn my praise.
So, come on, River Valley, thanks for bringing me relief.
In terms of cultivators, I say you reign supreme.
BEST VAPE (OVERALL)
Winner: GG4 Full Spectrum Cartridge — BOLD Cultivation
Winner: GG4 Full Spectrum Cartridge — BOLD Cultivation
Finalist: ArkanRAW Full Spectrum Cartridge — River Valley Relief
BEST TOPICAL
Winner: Dolbé Dynamic Duo — BOLD Cultivation
Finalist: Body Balm — Shake Extractions
BEST TINCTURE
Winner: Shake Plain Jane — Shake Extractions
PEOPLE'S CHOICE WINNERS
BEST CBD (TOPICAL)
Winner: Body Balm - CBD & ME
Finalists: Pain Relief Roll - Hot Springs Hemp, Calming Body Creme - Apothecanna, Intensive Relief Rub with Emu Oil - Healing Hemp of Arkansas, Roll On - New Age Hemp
BEST CBD (EDIBLE)
Winner: New Age Naturals - New Age Hemp
Finalists: Drops - CBD & Me, Better Days CBD Gummies - Healing Hemp of Arkansas, Elevate Blend - Mellow Fellow
BEST CBD (FOR PETS)
Winner: CBD Pet Tincture - Hippie Hounds
Finalists: Dog Treats - Dog Treat Lady, Full Spectrum Dog Treats - Drippers, Pet TreatsCBD & ME, Hot Spot Stick - Hippie Hounds
Finalists: Dolbe Dynamic Duo - BOLD Cultivation, Mary’s Medicinals Transdermal Patch - Dark Horse Cannabis, 4:1 Body Balm - Shake Extractions, 3:1 Full Spectrum Anti-Inflammatory Lotion - Natural State Medicinals
BEST HEMP PRODUCTS
Winner: Healing Hemp of Arkansas
Finalists: Good Earth Organics, New Age Hemp, Ozark Mountain Hemp, CBD & ME
BEST FLOWER BY A DISPENSARY
Winner: Truffletini — Delta Cannabis Co.
Finalists: Astro Glide — Osage Creek Cultivation, Banjo — Arkansas Natural Products, BTY OG — Good Day Farm, Donny Burger — The Source Apothecary
BEST FLOWER (HYBRID)
Winner: Truffletini — Delta Cannabis Co.
Finalists: Boogie Man — Natural State Medicinals, Sour Papaya — River Valley Relief, Scarlett Johansson — Leafology, White Wedding — The Source Apothecary
BEST FLOWER (INDICA)
Winner: Halloween Special — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Donny Burger — The Source Apothecary, Tribute #13 — Good Day Farm, Marshmallow OG — BOLD Cultivation, Pillow Talk — Leafology
BEST FLOWER (SATIVA)
Winner: Banjo — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Polar Pop — BOLD Cultivation, Chemmy Jones — The Source Apothecary, Citradelic Sunset — Leafology, Super Lemon Haze — Good Day Farm
BEST EDIBLE (OVERALL)
Winner: Green Apple Caramel Chews — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Raspberry Indica Gummies — BOLD Cultivation, Caramel Chews — River Valley Relief, Key Lime Cake Gummies — The Source Apothecary, Wana Brands Gummies — River Valley Relief
BEST EDIBLE (BEVERAGE)
Winner: Hot Cocoa Mix — Leafology Cannabis Company
Oh, Black Cherry Punch You keep me away from the stuff That I want to avoid Like vodka and falling back into the void
You smell like lemon zest And caramel
A boutique in the mall Your leaves are orange and vibrant Like Central Park in fall
I smoked you in the morning Though you’re crossed with indica To get my body grounded So my mind could float above
The noise and clank and clatter that so happens in a mind
A little inhalation and I get to feeling fine.
Thank you for your service And keeping me in line I don’t do the other stuff because You’re by my side.
GLITTER BOMB
BY MARY JANE DOE
To the tune of “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways
Can’t stay at home, can’t stay in school
Old folks say, “I’m the devil’s tool”
Down the street, I’m the weed next door
The high potency you’ve been waiting for
Hello, Grape Gas, hello OKGB,
I’m your g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GLITTER BOMB!
Hello, world, I’ll give you a whirl,
I’m your g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GLITTER BOMB!
Fabuloso and fresh grass, too
Come on baby, smells good to you
Bad nights causin’ hometown blues
Get down stoners, you’re gonna feel good
Hello, Grape Gas, hello OKGB,
I’m your g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GLITTER BOMB!
Hello, world, I’ll give you a whirl, I’m your g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GLITTER BOMB!
Hey you guys, do you get high?
This indica is a perfect hybrid I’ll give ya something to smoke on
Toke this glitter til your pain is gone
Hello, Grape Gas, hello OKGB,
I’m your g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GLITTER BOMB!
Hello, world, I’ll give you a whirl
I’m your g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GLITTER BOMB!
g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GLITTER BOMB
g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GLITTER BOMB
g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GLITTER BOMB!!!!!!
BEST EDIBLE (CHOCOLATE)
Winner: Little Barks, Cookie Butter Crunch — Natural State Medicinals
Finalists: Caramel Pretzel Chocolates — BOLD Cultivation, Dark Chocolate Breakaways — Osage Creek Cultivation, Hash Infused Chocolate — Ouachita Farms, Milk Chocolate Toffee Extreme PunchBar — River Valley Relief
BEST EDIBLE (GUMMY)
Winner: Ozark Sunrise Sativa — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Blueberry Acai — Natural State Medicinals, Blue Limeade — Osage Creek Cultivation
Rise N’ Shine — Good Day Farm, Island Time — The Source Apothecary
BEST EDIBLE (OTHER)
Winner: Ghee Butter — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Infused Powdered Sugar — Leafology, Peach Fruit Chews — Smokiez Edibles, Wana
Brands Gummies — River Valley Relief, Blueberry Pancakes CBG Enriched Gummies — The Source Apothecary, Multi-Dose Gummies — The Source Apothecary
BEST CONCENTRATE (HASH)
Winner: MAC 1 Solventless Bubble Hash — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Flight Solventless Bubble Hash — Osage Creek Cultivation, Blue Pavé — BOLD Cultivation, Peach Crescendo — Revolution Cannabis, La Bomba — High Speed Extracts
BEST CONCENTRATE (LIVE)
Winner: Glitter Bomb Live Badder — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Eleven Roses — Osage Creek Cultivation, Moroccan Peaches — Good Day Farm, Truffle Hound Live Badder — The Source Apothecary, Blueberry Cheese Live Resin Budder — Custom Cannabis Superstore
BEST CONCENTRATE (SUGAR)
Winner: Sour Papaya — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Black Ice — Dark Horse Cannabis, Biscotti — Leafology Cannabis Company, Secret Agent — Osage Creek Cultivation, Lemon Skunk — The Source Apothecary
BEST CONCENTRATE (RSO)
Winner: ArkanRAW — River Valley Relief
Finalists: FECO — Dark Horse Cannabis, RSO 2.0 — Natural State Medicinals, Sooie Sauce, Revolution Cannabis, RSO Full Spec Syringe — Ozark Creek Cultivation
BEST CONCENTRATE (CRUMBLE)
Winner: Jet Fuel — Leafology
Finalists: Blue Pavé — BOLD Cultivation, Sweet Dab O’ Mine —Leafology, Critical — Natural State Medicinals, Pura Vida — BOLD Cultivation
Healing Hemp provides a comfortable environment where individuals can confidently explore and purchase trusted CBD solutions.
The staff at Healing Hemp of Arkansas is well-versed in cannabinoids and the diverse health benefits of their offerings, ensuring they can find a suitable product for every customer.
Chocolate and cashews and almonds and these Chili lime corn chips with arugula, please!
Or maybe some mango, dried and dripped in Tajín
And popcorn, or crackers, or buttered toast
I’d take a chocolate shake or maybe pot roast.
I know all these things together sound strange, But you do as you please when you get to my age.
After all, they call it, “Grandpa’s Stash,”
It’s a little bit of this, and a little bit of that.
BEST VAPE (CO2/RAW)
Winner: Rip Stick Vape, Blue Dream — Dark Horse Cannabis
Finalists: Strawberries and Cream GO Cart Vape — Good Day Farm, Cherry Garcia — Natural State Medicinals, Crescendo #11 — Natural State Medicinals, Purple Sunset — Natural State Medicinals
BEST VAPE (DISPOSABLE)
Winner: Dulce De Uva — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Girl Scout Cookies — Dark Horse Cannabis, Crescendo #11 Luna Stone — Natural State Medicinals, Grape Soda — The Source Apothecary, Leafology
BEST VAPE (SOLVENTLESS)
Winner: Dulce De Uva — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Dark Horse Cannabis, High Speed Extracts, Leafology, The Sweet Spot — Osage Creek Cultivation
BEST VAPE (DISTILLATE)
Winner: Rainbow Sherbert — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Golden Goat — BOLD Cultivation, Maui Wowie — Dark Horse Cannabis, Sour Diesel — Leafology
BEST RESIN VAPE (LIVE/CURED)
Winner: ArkanZA — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Pineapple Pop — Dark Horse Medicinals, Motorcycle Cowboy — Osage Creek Cultivation, Lemon Skunk — The Source Apothecary, Leafology
BEST PACKAGE DESIGN
Winner: Live Rosin Disposable Vape — River Valley Relief
Finalists: Dablicator — Dark Horse Cannabis, Dream Berry Wana Gummies - River Valley Relief, Hi Tide THCV & CBG Enriched GummiesThe Source Apothecarry, Leafology
CERTIFIED VEGAN
A NEW PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UTOPIA DELI AND CERTIFIED PIES IS BLESSING LITTLE ROCK WITH PRIMO VEGAN PIZZA.
BY ELIZABETH L. CLINE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON
‘A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN’: Clockwise from left: Samantha Stewart, Kreg Stewart, Tremell Billings, Harlem Wilson and Trisha Snyder — the teams behind Little Rock businesses Certified Pies and Utopia Deli — recently joined forces to craft vegan pizza with scratch-made toppings.
When Certified Pies co-owners Samantha and Kreg Stewart started getting requests from customers to make their pizzas with plant-based toppings instead of meat, they took note. “People were tagging their friends online. The vegan community stays pretty connected,” Samantha Stewart recalled.
At first, the popular Little Rock-based, Black-owned pizza company offered a few accidentally vegan options: pizzas that could be stripped down or customized. The next step for Certified Pies, which got its start in the Arkitchen ghost kitchen in the early days of the pandemic and opened a brick-and-mortar location in 2023, was to introduce the “vegan bae” pizza, made using protein from big-name store brands. But word got back that the commercial toppings weren’t winning any hearts. “They’re tolerable, but not flavorful,” Samantha Stewart said. That’s when Certified Pies decided to overhaul their vegan menu this past summer, and they knew just who to go to for help.
Enter Utopia Deli, the cult favorite, plantbased vegan Southern comfort food company. Also a Black-owned husband-and-wife operation based in Little Rock, Utopia Deli is run by Tremell Billings and Trisha Snyder and was launched in 2019. Like Certified Pies, their cooking first took off during the pandemic, thanks to memorable dishes like plant-based fried ribs, chowder bowls and boudin balls sold direct-to-consumer. (In 2022, Utopia Deli made the leap to a food truck that mostly resides in the South Chester food truck court, and their menu has expanded to include Korean vegan “pork” tacos and weekly specials, like the Nashville Hot Chick’n served on creamy dairy-free mac ’n’ cheese).
As soon as Certified Pies pitched the idea of a collaboration to Utopia Deli, the decision was obvious: “It was a match made in heaven,” Billings said. “They wanted something local and handmade by people
FENNEL AND FIRE
VEGAN-FRIENDLY CONCOCTIONS:
The Utopia Philly Chez Stek pie (top right) is topped with a smoky shredded mushroom-based “stek” and finely diced bell pepper, onions and Daiya Foods vegan cheese. The Veg’n Chik’n Bacon Ranch pie (bottom right) is served on a base of herbaceous dairy-free ranch and finished with a swirl of sauce on top.
have the same type of recognizability that they do.”
‘WE SAW EACH OTHER FROM ACROSS THE ROOM’
Arkansas may be the heart of meat country, but more people are eating plant-based foods, even if just on occasion. In addition to the sizable contingent of vegan consumers motivated by environmental concerns and animal rights, dairy allergies, religious restrictions and a rise in alpha-gal syndrome are driving more sales to protein alternatives and dairy-free options.
Snyder believes that celebrities like Beyoncé dabbling in veganism is boosting acceptance, as are skyrocketing grocery costs, with families subbing in tofu and vegetables for pricier beef on occasion. “More people are looking for wallet-friendly options,”
she said.
The Black community is the backbone of the vegan food movement in Arkansas and across the country, as a higher percentage of Black Americans are vegan or vegetarian than the general population, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Little Rock alone is home to multiple Black-owned vegan food businesses, like the House of Mental Eatery (H.O.M.E.), a vegan soul food restaurant, and MeMe’s Twisted Potato, which boasts a farm-to-table menu of vegan fast food. “We’re making a huge impact,” Snyder said of the community.
For Samantha Stewart, supporting the collaboration was simple: Provide good food to everyone. “Our goal was just to try to make these offerings available to the community as a whole,” she said. “I think that’s good for everybody.”
Alongside growing acceptance of vegan dining has come an overhaul to the subpar flavors and textures of an earlier era, as young food entrepreneurs like Billings and Snyder innovate with fresh-made creations.
The Certified Pies and Utopia Deli owners seized on this dietary shift — and tapped into a long-standing connection to pull it off. The two couples first met in a shared commercial kitchen back in 2021, where they bonded over being husband-wife teams and a shared love of decadent Southern cooking. “We saw each other from across the room,” Billings said with a laugh. “Then it budded into a full-on friendship with family time, baseball games, all that.”
Both sides were nervous about getting the collaboration right. There were vocal corners of the plant-based community to appease — those with food allergies, strict ethics and various health restrictions. Both couples have buzzy brand reputations to uphold. Above all, they wanted the food to be great.
“My fear was I didn’t want to mess up their product,” Kreg Stewart said of respecting Utopia Deli’s creations. He and Billings spent hours tasting everything — plantbased ground beef, Italian sausage, chicken, steak and bacon, and testing options that would stay flavorful in Certified Pies’ 600-degree ovens.
Billings had plenty of options to choose from. He makes all of Utopia Deli’s proteins from scratch: The chicken is soy-based, the bacon blends soy and pea protein, and the steak is crafted from a Southeast Asian mushroom whose exact identity remains a “trade secret,” Billings said. “We transform it, texturize it, whatever it takes.” It’s a bonus that these toppings don’t have the “fillers and chemicals” of the store-bought options, Snyder added.
After tinkering, the couples landed on two winners to start with: the Utopia Philly Chez Stek pie, topped with a smoky shredded mushroom-based “stek” and finely diced bell pepper, onions and Daiya Foods vegan cheese, and the Veg’n Chik’n Bacon Ranch pie, which is served on a base of herbaceous dairy-free ranch (another secret recipe made “with a lot of love”) and finished with a swirl of sauce on top. (Yes, you can order an extra side of vegan ranch for crust-dipping.)
Certified Pies also takes extra care to cook vegan items separately, changing out gloves and tools for plant-based orders. “We don’t want cross-contamination to happen,” Samantha Stewart said. Snyder added that the Utopia Deli name being attached to the collaboration means something crucial
to Little Rock vegan diners: trust. Any vegan will tell you it’s a common experience to be served a “vegetarian” dish with meat in it, and at Certified Pies customers “know they don’t have to ask two or three times, ‘Are you sure this is vegan?’” Snyder said.
‘EVERYBODY WHO COMES THROUGH LOVES IT’
Plenty of Central Arkansas’s pizza restaurants offer plant-based cheese and toppings, but none go as far as Certified Pies’ new menu, which rivals its standard, dairyand-meat options in flavor and creativity. The Utopia Deli vegan proteins can also be heaped onto loaded fries and stuffed into calzones. “Even our salads can be vegan now, because you could get a chef salad with vegan chicken,” Kreg Stewart said.
The collaboration launched at Certified Pies in July, and word spread through Arkansas’s plant-based circles on social media. For years, a “vegan pizza” at most restaurants was a sad thing to behold; think crust sprinkled with vegetables and red sauce with no cheese. The vegan frozen pizza options also leave something to be desired. Many Arkansans want meatless options, and they don’t want to eat pizzas that “taste like cardboard,” Samantha Stewart said. “They just want good food, too.” That’s a lot easier now.
Billings and Snyder, longtime vegans who work hard to make sure the local community provides options for all kinds of eaters, said that consumers seeking out their food “just want to be included.”
Sales started slowly, but by September, Certified Pies sold a record 86 vegan pizzas in a single month and doubled the amount of protein Utopia Deli was originally mak ing for them. Even diehard meat-eaters are giving it a try, Samantha Stewart said. “We had a customer, literally, they ordered wings and wanted to try the vegan Chik’n Bac’n Ranch, just because of the collaboration.”
Kitchen open until 1:30am
December
5th - Chris DeClerk Band Vinyl Release Show
6th - And Then Came Humans
12th - Black River Pearl
13th - Angie Clements Annual Toys for Tots Party w/ Mayday by Midnight 19th - Boysterus
20th - Jimmy Lynn’s Psychedelic Velocity
Snyder and Billings said they keep tabs on the collaboration mostly through social media, where they see the pizzas posted to their timeline. Their own customers also report back to the food truck with praise. “People are constantly coming to my food truck and telling me that they had it, that it was good,” Snyder said. Billings is busy batching up more protein than ever before, he said, but he’s found his rhythm, and he’s thrilled to expand the audience for what they’re doing. “It’s been pretty awesome.”
“It’s got its own little fire behind it now,” Kreg Stewart said. “Everybody who comes through loves it.”
Cheers to 2026!
THE BIGGEST NYE CELEBRATION IN DOWNTOWN HOT SPRINGS!
Join the Party of the Century — Celebrate 101 years of legendary New Year’s Eve glamour at The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa!
• The Grand NYE Buffet is served in the Venetian Dining Room from 5:30-9:30pm.
• The NYE Festival kicks off at 8pm in the Conference Center with cash bars, dancing, and live music by The Intruders.
• The NYE Gala is held in the Crystal Ballroom, with doors opening at 7pm and a 4-course gourmet dinner served at 7:30pm. The Gala features music from Stardust Big Band, cash bars, access to the Festival and a champagne toast!
• Then, join us on New Year’s Day for a special Brunch Buffet in the Venetian Dining Room from 10am-1pm.
Tickets, reservations, and more info at arlingtonhotel.com/nye-2025 or by calling 501-623-7771.
MARKETPLACE
IT Professionals:
Valuepro Inc seeks multiple IT positions in Little Rock, AR, 72201 & various unanticipated sites throughout the US. SOFTWARE ENGINEERS: Duties: Plan, dsgn, create, analyze, & maintain s/ware systems. Use various s/ware tools like Oracle/ SQL Server/ DB2/Postgres, SQL/ PLSQL, cloud technologies/ AWS/ Azure/ GCP. Reqs: Master’s or equiv in Science, Engg, Info Systems/ Technology, Business Administration, or rltd field is req’d. Bachelor’s deg in the above fields along w/ 5 yrs exp in job offered or rltd occupation is acceptable in lieu of master’s deg. Sal: $118,227.00. BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYSTS: Duties: Analysis, configuration, customization, & documentation. Gather & analyze system reqmts. Involvement in system dsgn & implmtn. Translate computing needs into system specs. Use skills such as SharePoint/ JavaScript/ Angular, & familiarity w/ Agile/ Waterfall methodologies. Reqs: Master’s or equiv in Science, Engg, Info Systems/ Technology, Business Administration, or rltd field w/ 6 months exp in job offered or rltd occupation is req’d. Sal: $92,206.00.
QUALITY ENGINEERS: Duties: Analyze business & s/ ware reqmt specs. Dsgn, dvlp test plans & test cases for manual & automation testing. Execute & dsgn test plans, test cases, scenarios, scripts, & procedures using Java, TestNG, NUnit, Visual Studio, & Eclipse. Test d/bases using SOAP, UI, & SQL. Perform automation using Azure DevOps CI/CD stages & release definitions. Perform data analysis testing to ensure proper s/ware support for users & end products. Participate in establishing QA & testing guiding principles. Reqs: Bach’s or equiv in Science, Engg, Info Systems/ Technology, Business Administration, or rltd field w/ 2 yrs exp in job offered or rltd occupation is req’d. Sal: $77,376.00. For all jobs, any suitable combo of edu, training or exp is acceptable. May travel & relocate to various unanticipated sites throughout the US. Send resume to hr@valueprosite. org. Clearly ref. position. EOE.
THE OBSERVER
BINGO ALL THE WAY
Kids crying on Santa’s lap
Behold, the hallmarks of Christmas! Challenge your friends, avoid your family and outpace seasonal depression by keeping your head in the bingo game. Which of you ho-ho-hos out there will fill your card first? Selfie
Homemade cheeseball
Mall Santa smoking a cigarette
Political arguments at the holiday table Christmas card with AI-generated art
