Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders designates Batesville as the next Capital for a Day
Video: Batesville 15-year-old wins fourth consecutive Duck Calling World Championship
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – For one day in June the Arkansas state capital will reside in Batesville.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a Capital for a Day proclamation for the event to take place on June 5. On that day, senior Arkansas government officials will be in town to meet with local counterparts.
Batesville teacher wins $25,000 Milken Educator Award in surprise school ceremony
This is the 14th Capital for a Day since Sanders took office.
The proclamation highlights the qualities of Batesville, including its location on the White River and its 19th-century history as a hub for transportation and agriculture. It also outlines its two colleges, Lyon College and Arkansas Community College, as well as its museums, including one dedicated to hometown boy and NASCAR driving legend Mark Martin.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Arkansas governor announces overseas trade mission
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders emerges from the cabin of a Falcon 8X jet on Dec. 12, 2023, that was used as backdrop for an announcement by Dassault Falcon Jet CEO Thierry Betbeze that the French company would invest 'tens of millions' in its Little Rock facility and add 800 jobs (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate) Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will travel to Europe this month for an overseas trade mission that will include stops in France and Switzerland, according to a Thursday press release from her office. Sanders' trip, which is scheduled for June 14-19, will include appearances at a Paris Air Show panel hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association and a fireside chat organized by the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. The governor's first stop is Normandy to honor fallen soldiers, including U.S. Army Private Rodger D. Andrews whose remains were recently identified and will be laid to rest in Arkansas on June 9. She'll continue on to the Paris Air Show to meet with aerospace and defense companies, and then to Switzerland to discuss 'investing in Arkansas with several large corporations,' according to the release. 'International trade missions are a great way to pitch Arkansas to companies that might not otherwise have our state on their radar and have a proven track record of bringing in jobs and investment,' Sanders said in a statement. The governor's visit to the Farnborough International Airshow in England last summer helped secure Taber Extrusions' $60 million, 70 job expansion in Russellville, according to the release. During her trip to the Paris Air Show in 2023, Sanders' discussions helped facilitate Dassault Falcon Jet's $100 million, 800 job expansion in Little Rock and RTX's new $33 million manufacturing facility in East Camden, which was later expanded to a $63 million investment. The governor's 2023 Paris trip also led to what became known as Lecterngate. A series of public information requests submitted that summer by a blogger investigating Sanders' travel expenses revealed a state-issued credit card was used to purchase a $19,000 lectern and carrying case from a Virginia-based company with political ties to Sanders. The discovery prompted lawmakers to request an audit, which found several instances of 'potential noncompliance' with state law. The report was sent to the Arkansas attorney general and Pulaski County's prosecuting attorney, the latter of whom declined to pursue charges. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Arkansas Corrections Board lawsuit against governor stays alive with Supreme Court ruling
Arkansas Supreme Court (Courtesy Photo) A lawsuit over who has the ultimate authority over the state prison system gained renewed life Thursday with the dismissal of a state appeal of a lower court preliminary injunction. The Arkansas Board of Corrections filed a lawsuit in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Dec. 14, 2023 against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the secretary of state and Arkansas Department of Corrections, challenging the constitutionality of Act 185 and 659 of 2023. Act 185 requires the secretary of corrections to serve at the pleasure of the governor rather than the board, while Act 659 alters the reporting structure for the directors of the Division of Correction and Division of Community Correction, requiring them to serve at the pleasure of the secretary rather than the board. The board argued the laws violate Amendment 33 of the Arkansas Constitution, which protects the power of constitutional boards like the board of corrections from 'usurpation by the Governor or the General Assembly, or both,' according to Thursday's ruling. Arkansas judge sides with prison board in dispute with governor, corrections secretary A circuit court judge granted a preliminary injunction in January 2024, which Attorney General Tim Griffin appealed. The Supreme Court's ruling Thursday dismissed the state's motion to send the case back to the circuit court, order the preliminary injunction vacated and the case dismissed as moot. The high court also dismissed a motion to disqualify the corrections board's attorney from further participation in proceedings before the court. In its motion to remand, the state argues the controversy ended when the board fired former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri. The firing was part of a dispute between the board and the executive branch that started in late 2023 over who controls the state's prison system. The board's refusal in November 2023 to approve a request to increase prison capacity by 500 beds prompted harsh public criticism from Griffin and Sanders. The board responded by hiring an outside attorney the following month to represent it in employment matters. Because Profiri was fired prior to the entry of the preliminary injunction, the lower court's finding of irreparable harm was erroneous, the state argued. The board said it wasn't seeking court confirmation of its right to fire Profiri, but relief from the legislation regarding the board's authority under Amendment 33. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Karen Baker said she agreed with the board's assertion that Profiri's termination doesn't resolve the ultimate question of whether the board controls the secretary or division directors, and therefore the dispute is not specific to the individual holding the secretary's office. 'The Board's complaint concerns the Challenged Legislation and the resulting changes to the Board's supervisory authority. This dispute exists notwithstanding the individual who holds the Secretary position and is not personal to Secretary Profiri,' Baker wrote. 'Further, because this case presents an existing legal controversy, it is not moot. Therefore, we deny appellants' motion to remand.' The state also filed a motion to disqualify the legal counsel obtained by the corrections board, arguing the firm was obtained illegally. The board didn't follow state law for securing outside counsel, and the board did not have the 'authority to hire special counsel because the Board is not a constitutional officer,' the attorney general's motion argued. The circuit court denied this motion, explaining that 'the Board is a constitutionally created board, making its members constitutional officers' who therefore had the legal authority to hire special counsel. The attorney general typically represents state agencies, but state law gives constitutional officers the ability to hire outside counsel when they disagree with the attorney general over a constitutional provision. In dismissing this motion, Baker notes the board correctly points out that 'an order denying a motion to disqualify adversary's counsel in a civil proceeding is not an appealable final order.' 'As a general rule, an appeal from an interlocutory decision brings up for review only the decision from which the appeal was taken, here, the granting of an injunction,' Baker wrote. The motion to disqualify the attorney is outside the scope of the Supreme Court's review of the preliminary injunction, she said. The high court majority affirmed the lower court's issuance of an injunction because its 'findings that there would be irreparable harm were not clearly erroneous.' The crux of the lawsuit, Baker wrote, is whether the board retains ultimate authority over the corrections secretary and directors or whether the challenged legislation constitutionally transfers that power to the governor and corrections secretary. 'The evidence presented to the circuit court demonstrates that, in the absence of the injunction, the dispute will be ongoing until the constitutionality of the Challenged Legislation is resolved,' Baker said. 'This, coupled with appellants' failure to even argue their likelihood of success on the merits, leaves us with little choice under our deferential standard of review. 'We hold that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the Board demonstrated that irreparable harm would result in the absence of the requested preliminary injunction, and we affirm,' she added. Arkansas Supreme Court sends AG's FOIA lawsuit against prison board back to circuit court Special Justices Troy Braswell and Bud Cummins joined in the decision. Associate Justice Barbara Webb concurred in part and dissented in part. Associate Justice Shawn Womack dissented. Associate Justices Cody Hiland and Nicholas Bronni, both of whom were appointed by the governor, did not participate. Webb wrote that she agreed with the majority that the matter is not moot because Profiri's termination doesn't resolve the question of whether Acts 185 and 659 of 2023 are unconstitutional. She also agreed that it's not appropriate to disqualify the board's counsel at this time. However, she argues the board 'failed to demonstrate irreparable harm' and the circuit court therefore erred in enjoining the challenged acts. 'The crux of the Board's claim for irreparable harm was Secretary Profiri's alleged acts of insubordination, which were directly attributable to Act 185 requiring the Secretary to serve at the pleasure of the Governor rather than the Board,' Webb wrote. 'This harm is not irreparable…By definition, if a secretary may be terminated and his actions undone, then it cannot be said that any harm resulting therefrom is 'irreparable.'' In his dissenting opinion, Womack argues the court must vacate the preliminary injunction and dismiss the lawsuit because sovereign immunity bars the board's lawsuit against the governor, corrections secretary and Department of Corrections. Sovereign immunity, which Womack cites often in court opinions, is the legal doctrine that the state cannot be sued in its own courts. 'Even if that was not so, the Board would still lose because it failed to show irreparable harm — a necessary element to establish entitlement to a preliminary injunction,' Womack wrote 'Therefore, I also join the other dissenting opinion in this case.' Regarding the issue of the disqualification of the board's 'potentially illegally retained counsel, I again remind citizens of this state of their ability to protect themselves 'against the enforcement of any illegal exactions whatever,'' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announces trade mission to France & Switzerland
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has announced plans to attend France & Switzerland this month with intentions of investing back into the state. Sanders said she will have an overseas trade mission to the Paris Air Show and Switzerland from June 14-19. 'I will begin in Normandy, paying tribute to our fallen soldiers shortly after the 81st anniversary of D-Day, before continuing onto the Paris Air Show to meet with major aerospace and defense companies, and then concluding the trip in Switzerland to discuss investing in Arkansas with several large corporations,' Sanders said. During her trip, Sanders will appear on a panel at the air show hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association and a talk hosted by the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. Dassault Falcon Jet announces major expansion of Little Rock operation, adding 800 jobs After a previous trip to the Paris Air Show, the governor announced new Raytheon jobs coming to East Camden and Dassault Falcon Jet announced an expansion and new jobs in Little Rock. Russellville plant Taber Extrusions announced an expansion after Sanders' trip to the Farnborough Airshow last year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
