“Baseball bats are hot, the political field is heating up, and a convicted murderer is still missing.”
Good morning, everyone! This is your Arkansas Daily Briefing for Monday, June 2. We’re coming off a gorgeous weekend in Arkansas. Let’s get into it.
We start with baseball — and two Arkansas teams are still making their way toward Omaha.
The UALR Trojans team is shocking the college baseball world. They’re the first No. 4 seed to ever beat LSU in a regional matchup in Baton Rouge. That’s right — they knocked out No. 22 Dallas Baptist and came back to beat No. 3 LSU 10-4 Sunday night.Â
Now, it all comes down to a Monday night winner-takes-all game against LSU for a Super Regional berth. 🔥
Meanwhile in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks did what Razorbacks do — dominated.
Gage Wood had 13 strikeouts as Arkansas punched its ticket to the Super Regional. The Hogs went 3-0 through the regional for the first time since 2019. We hit 10 home runs across the regional and had 20 strikeouts last night.Â
We’ll host the Super Regional this weekend — opponent will be the winner of the Tennessee / Wake Forest game tonight.
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Let’s talk congressional races.
In the 3rd District, Diana Lawrence of Van Buren is running as a Democrat against incumbent Steve Womack. Lawrence, moved to Arkansas from Virginia around six months ago. She previously ran for state office in Wisconsin.Â
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She says she’s frustrated by what she calls Womack’s refusal to hold town halls and his “unquestioning support” of Donald Trump.
Womack has held the seat since 2010 and won his general elections by 2-to-1 margins. His closest race came earlier this year in the Republican primary, when he won 53.9% against State Senator Clint Penzo.
In the 2nd District, Chase McDowell, a 31-year-old consultant originally from Stamps, is mounting a Republican primary challenge against Rep. French Hill. McDowell supports lower taxes, strategic tariffs, and cutting student loan interest rates to 1%. He says Arkansas is being left behind economically and wants to campaign at universities and with younger voters.
McDowell ran for a State House seat in 2020 but lost to Democrat David Fielding.Â
Hill has served in Congress since 2015 and currently chairs the House Financial Services subcommittee on digital assets. He has over $2 million in campaign cash on hand.
It’s now been eight days since convicted murderer Grant Hardin escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock — and he’s still at large.
According to the Arkansas Department of Corrections, tips from Faulkner County, Sebastian County, and even Howell County, Missouri have been investigated — but none have panned out.
Authorities say they are still focused on North Central Arkansas, a rugged area full of caves, creeks, and dense forest. The U.S. Marshals and FBI are now offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to his capture.
Hardin has now been charged with second-degree escape in Izard County. Law enforcement is using drones, helicopters, dogs, and horseback patrols in the search.
Let’s talk about the landfill situation in Tontitown, where residents say they’ve been living with noxious, chemical-smelling air for years.
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment has now completed a fourth round of air testing near the Eco-Vista landfill, owned by Waste Management. That testing took place May 2 through May 11, but the results have not been released yet.
The testing was carried out by CTEH, an environmental consulting firm, and it cost taxpayers $539,966. A draft report is expected within 90 days, after results are validated and reviewed by the Arkansas Department of Health.
So why another round of testing?
Because in previous tests, regulators found concerning levels of benzene, acrolein, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, and naphthalene — all toxic chemicals that can cause serious health issues, including respiratory problems, neurological damage, and cancer.
Even with that data, the state said it couldn’t confirm whether the landfill was the source — so they ordered another round.
Meanwhile, the city of Tontitown is suing over the landfill’s permit, and complaints from nearby residents have been stacking up — more than 200 odor complaints in five years. The town’s mayor even told the Pollution Control Commission last year that the state had “abandoned” her community.
We’ll keep watching closely for that final report — and we’ll break it down when it drops.
Arkansas corn farmers are mostly done planting for the season — the USDA says the crop is 98% in the ground — but this was far from a smooth year.
Back in March, about 265,000 acres had already been planted. Then came flooding and storms in early April, and around 53,000 of those acres had to be replanted.
But here’s the problem: between bad weather and limited windows for fieldwork, a lot of growers just never got the chance. Some had to stick with the patchy stands they had — not ideal, but better than nothing.
Only 2.3 days in late May were even considered suitable for fieldwork, according to USDA data. And that meant every minute counted.
On top of that, fertilizer prices went up again. Urea rose 13% in May, hitting $652 per ton, and other nitrogen-based fertilizers weren’t far behind. That made replanting even more expensive — and harder to justify.
Many ended up skipping replanting altogether — citing cost, timing, and lower yield potential.
So while Arkansas got the crop in the ground — nearly all of it — it came with tradeoffs. Now we wait to see how it holds up this summer.
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Finally, a reminder: Arkansas Free Fishing Weekend kicks off at noon on Friday, June 6, and runs through Sunday night, June 8.
No license or trout stamp is required, and all 29 state park lakes and 12 rivers are open for anglers. All daily limits and regulations still apply.
Highlights include Lake Greeson, Lake Chicot, Bull Shoals, and Lake Charles — each known for bass, stripers, or world-class trout.
For more information, visit ArkansasStateParks.com — and don’t forget to tag your catches with #ARStateParks on social media.
That’s your Arkansas Daily Briefing.
Subscribe and follow for updates all week. And if you see Grant Hardin stay away from.
Stay safe, stay sharp — we’ll be back tomorrow. 🎙️
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