🎙️ Arkansas Daily Briefing – Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Good morning, y’all — it’s Wednesday, June 4. This is the Arkansas Daily Briefing, where we bring you the most important stories shaping the Natural State — fast, factual, and focused.
Let’s get into it.
A conservative think tank has ranked Arkansas first in the country for election integrity. The Heritage Foundation puts out an Election Integrity Scorecard, and Arkansas jumped from eighth to first in the latest national rankings.
The report scores all 50 states based on how closely their election laws align with Heritage’s best-practices framework — a conservative approach focused on preventing fraud and ensuring ballot security. States are rated across 14 categories, including voter ID requirements, accuracy of registration lists, absentee ballot management, and vote-counting processes.
Arkansas earned 91 out of 100 points, with particularly strong ratings for its strict voter ID law, safeguards for mail-in ballots, and regular audits of voter rolls. Secretary of State Cole Jester held a press conference Tuesday to celebrate the ranking, calling it proof that Arkansas runs the most secure elections in the country.
The League of Women Voters of Arkansas pushed back, saying Arkansas has one of the nation’s lowest voter registration rates. But that’s not really what this list is measuring. Heritage says their scorecard is about ensuring public confidence in elections. Registration rates are not factored into Heritage’s scorecard, which focuses on security and integrity, not participation levels.
Newton County has joined a growing list of Arkansas counties banning wind and solar energy development. The Quorum Court voted 5–1 this week to ban new commercial wind or solar projects through the end of the year.
Justice of the Peace Arlis Jones called wind turbines a menace. Jones described visiting his daughter in Washington State and being unable to sleep for three nights due to the constant turbine noise. He described it as sounding like a jet engine.
Newton joins at least four other Arkansas counties in passing the ban — including Madison, Boone, Carroll, and Crittenden. Carroll County’s ban is set for five years, with an exemption carved out for Scout Clean Energy’s Nimbus Wind Project, which is already under construction with 600-foot turbines near Green Forest.
The concern isn’t just about sound. County leaders say these projects are taking advantage of weak zoning laws, particularly in unincorporated areas. “You’ve got absentee landowners leasing land for solar panels, while farmers next door are left footing the consequences,” said Crittenden County Judge Woody Wheeless.
The state has taken steps too. Act 945 now requires wind turbines to be built at least a mile from schools, parks, hospitals, and city limits. But with massive projects already underway in Wynne and Green Forest, some locals say regulation is lagging behind development.
Heavy rains this spring are highlighting a growing concern over levees in Central Arkansas.
In Conway County, local farmers say their 80-year-old levee system is deteriorating fast. Seth Walker runs a farm near the Arkansas River and said the levees are getting harder to raise or lower and one doesn’t work at all.
The county’s levee board says they lack the funding to make repairs. There is a levee tax — but it doesn’t cover all the land that benefits from the system.Â
Without repairs, the risk of flooding is real. The Arkansas River runs just a mile south of Morrilton and five miles from Plumerville.Â
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“If we didn’t have this levee, Plumerville would flood. Morrilton would flood,” said Levee Board Chair Randy Pettingill.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inspects levees every five years and can provide emergency support — but routine maintenance is a county responsibility.Â
Walker said he wants to fix it becomes it becomes a catastrophe.
Attorney General Tim Griffin says he’s not going to make a new appointment to the Arkansas Ethics Commission — because the law telling him how to do it, he says, is unconstitutional.
State law requires that at least one member of the five-person commission be of a minority race. Griffin says that’s racial discrimination, and that he can’t follow the statute without violating his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
He put it in writing this week, saying there are plenty of Arkansans of all backgrounds who are well-qualified, but that race shouldn’t be a factor. And he pointed to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — like the one that struck down affirmative action in college admissions — to back up his case.
The Legislature actually tried to remove this requirement earlier this year, but it failed. Because the law was passed by a voter-led initiative, it takes a two-thirds vote to change — and lawmakers didn’t get there.
Democrats are pushing back, saying Griffin should follow the law unless a court strikes it down. But Griffin says his oath to the constitution comes first. The seat will stay vacant for now.
Arkansas and Alabama are the only two states in the country to receive a “strong” rating in how they prepare teachers to teach math, according to a new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality.
Arkansas got top marks for requiring:
But here’s the catch: test scores aren’t following. Fourth grade math scores in Arkansas remain 7 points below the national average — the largest gap since 2000. And there’s been no meaningful improvement since 2019.
Education Secretary Jacob Oliva says Arkansas may need to replicate what’s worked in reading — using state-approved curriculum, deploying content coaches, and aligning professional development. The LEARNS Act has already funded over 120 literacy coaches in low-performing schools. A similar strategy for math could be next.
If you’re planning to deer hunt on public land in Arkansas this fall, it’s time to get your permit applications in.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission opened up its draw hunt applications this week — and they’ll stay open through July 1. These are for permit-based hunts on some of the most popular wildlife management areas in the state — the places that get crowded fast without limits.
Now, you don’t need a permit for every WMA. There are plenty of spots across the state where a regular hunting license with big-game privileges will do the trick. But these draw hunts are different — they’re meant to keep pressure off the herds and make for a better hunting experience.
It’s five bucks to apply. If you get drawn, that’s it — no extra fee. You can apply for archery, modern gun, alternative firearms — that’s the new name for muzzleloader — and youth hunts. If you’re mobility-impaired, there are special permits available for that too.
Couple quick notes if you're applying:
Now here’s how that party hunt thing works: one person applies first and gets a special code. Then they send that code to the other folks in the group. Everyone applies on their own, but links themselves to the same party using that code. It won’t boost your odds of getting drawn, but if one person gets in, the whole group gets in together.
You’ve got until 11:59 p.m. July 1 to apply. Head to agfc.com to get started, and if you’re serious about getting into a good spot this fall — don’t wait until the last minute.
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On this week’s Free Arkansas podcast, Andy McNeill sat down with Troy Wells, CEO of Baptist Health — and he gave a blunt diagnosis of Arkansas’ healthcare system.
Arkansas has the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rate in the country, and the effects are showing. “Providers are pulling out of areas because they can’t afford to operate,” Wells said.Â
Wells says the state needs to rethink access, funding, and delivery — not just spend more money.
You can catch that full episode now on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
That’s it for today’s Arkansas Daily Briefing. I’m back tomorrow with more.