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Northwest Arkansas Alerts

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Northwest Arkansas, written by local reporters.

Axios Northwest Arkansas

Axios Northwest Arkansas Thought Bubble

The Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners voted not to permit a proposed amendment on the November ballot that would allow voters to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana.

Yes, but: This fight might not be over. Supporters of the measure can file a lawsuit, which would be directly heard by the Arkansas Supreme Court, KNWA reported.

What happened: Responsible Growth Arkansas, a group focused on reforming drug-related laws, gathered enough signatures from voters to get the issue — which would allow licensed dispensaries to sell marijuana to people ages 21 and up — on the ballot. 

The group submitted 192,828 signatures, more than twice the required amount.

What they're saying: Commissioners said the measure did not clearly specify whether there would be a certain THC limit on edibles, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

Arkansas election board rejects marijuana ballot initiative

The Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners voted not to permit a proposed amendment on the November ballot to legalize recreational marijuana.

Illustration of the bowl of a bong being stuffed with a cork. 

Legalized marijuana

The Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners voted not to permit a proposed amendment on the November ballot that would allow voters to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana.Yes, but: This fight might not be over. Supporters of the measure can file a lawsuit, which would be directly heard by the Arkansas Supreme Court, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="KNWA reported" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/push-to-put-recreational-marijuana-in-arkansas-on-november-ballot-hits-roadblock/" data-vars-content-id="1445b6fb-6298-4aba-a902-bf6b57256b3a" data-vars-headline="Arkansas election board rejects marijuana ballot initiative" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/push-to-put-recreational-marijuana-in-arkansas-on-november-ballot-hits-roadblock/" target="_blank">KNWA reported</a>.

Politics

College students are unpacking this week, and the University of Arkansas expects to have more students and the largest-ever freshman class this fall, spokesperson John Thomas told Axios.

By the numbers: Official enrollment numbers are not available yet, but it looks like the school could top 30,000 students, including about 7,000 first-year students.

The university had 29,068 students in the fall of 2021, including undergraduate and grad students.

Yes, and: "We're also on track to set a significant new record for the number of Arkansans in the freshman class this fall, which is all great news for our campus and state," Thomas wrote in an email.

The breakdown of in-state and out-of-state students won't be available until the eleventh day of classes.

The intrigue: The university must get creative with housing for those who want to live on campus. About 900 will live in nearby, off-campus apartments, including The Locale Fayetteville, The Vue, The Marshall at Arkansas and Ozark Villas. 

Those students sign contracts with University Housing as if they were living in a dorm, Thomas said.

Apartments come furnished and are on the Razorback Transit bus route.

On-campus housing can accommodate 6,274 students, according to University Housing's website. 

Of note: U of A does not have any new dorms in the works, Thomas said.

University of Arkansas enrollment on track to set record

The school expects to have more students and the largest-ever freshman class this fall.

Northwest Arkansas

College <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="students are unpacking" data-vars-click-url="https://news.uark.edu/articles/60567/move-in-2022-campus-readies-to-welcome-incoming-students" data-vars-content-id="50d4e7f6-9900-4965-82ab-07e73f76f25f" data-vars-headline="University of Arkansas enrollment on track to set record" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://news.uark.edu/articles/60567/move-in-2022-campus-readies-to-welcome-incoming-students" target="_blank">students are unpacking</a> this week, and the University of Arkansas expects to have more students and the largest-ever freshman class this fall, spokesperson John Thomas told Axios.By the numbers: Official enrollment numbers are not available yet, but it looks like the school could top 30,000 students, including about 7,000 first-year students.

News

Arkansas is ranked No. 43 in the country, per an annual report by the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion that analyzes children's wellbeing.

What they're saying: "More than 1 in 5 Arkansas children — that's 152,000 ... continue to face greater obstacles created by poverty," Rich Huddleston, executive director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said Thursday during a call with reporters. 

"And research clearly shows that poverty has a negative impact on child health, brain development, school performance and their future earning potential and job prospects and as a state it weakens our future workforce and economy," Huddleston continued.

Huddleston added that Arkansas faces a pandemic-induced children's mental health crisis and can expect to see increases in child poverty and greater demands on the state's child welfare system for abused and neglected kids as a result of its new abortion ban.

How it works: The report takes into account 16 factors across four categories. The breakdown is:

Economic wellbeing: Children in poverty, teens not in school and not working, children whose parents lack secure employment and those living in households with a high housing cost burden.

Education: 3- and 4-year-olds not in school, fourth graders not proficient in reading. eighth graders not proficient in math and high school students not graduating on time.

Health: Low birth weight babies, children without health insurance, obesity rate and death rate.

Family and community: Children in single-parent families, children in families in which the household head lacks a high school diploma, children in high-poverty areas and teen birth rate.

State of play: Arkansas ranked No. 40 last year. 

Although the state improved in 11 of 16 factors, including all those in economic wellbeing, family and community, it slid according to four factors, and other states made significant improvements.

What's next: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is recommending that lawmakers make the following policy changes: 

Extend postpartum coverage for new mothers on Medicaid from 60 days post-delivery to one year.

Provide presumptive Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women, allowing them to be approved for coverage quickly based on income level.

Allow children and babies in the lowest-income families to keep their ARKids First health insurance for a full year of continuous coverage, rather than kicking them off insurance when their family incomes fluctuate month-to-month.

Make it easier to obtain SNAP benefits and enroll in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.

Require scientifically based sex education in schools, and make it easier for Arkansans, including teens, to obtain long-acting contraception. 

Overhaul policies in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, including increasing the benefits.

Arkansas kids' wellbeing ranks low

"More than 1 in 5 Arkansas children — that's 152,000 ... continue to face greater obstacles created by poverty."

Illustration of a child sitting next to toy blocks arranged in a downward sloping bar chart

Arkansas is ranked No. 43 in the country, per an annual report by the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion that analyzes children&#x27;s wellbeing.What they&#x27;re saying: &quot;More than 1 in 5 Arkansas children — that&#x27;s 152,000 ... continue to face greater obstacles created by poverty,&quot; Rich Huddleston, executive director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said Thursday during a call with reporters.

The filing deadline for municipal races passed on Wednesday, and there's a lengthy list of local candidates to consider before November's election.

Why it matters: These are the people in your backyard who make a lot of decisions for and about your city — like how your tax dollars are spent and what's built in your neighborhood.

What's happening: All four of NWA's largest cities have contested city council races. (The small towns do, too. Find your Benton County and Washington County cities.)

Ward 2, Position 1 — incumbent Mark Kinion and Sarah Moore

Ward 3, Position 1 — incumbent Sloan Scroggin and Scott Berna

Ward 1, Position 1 — Allyson de la Houssaye and Beckie Seba

Ward 2, Position 1 — Cynthia Acree and Ragan Hensley

Ward 3, Position 1 — incumbent Aubrey Patterson and Tyler Masters

Ward 4, Position 1 — incumbent Octavio Sanchez and Tom Hoehn

Ward 3, Position 1 — incumbent Brian Powell, Rick Culver, Mike Stevens and Alice Gachuzo-Colin

Ward 4, Position 1 — incumbent Amelia Taldo-Williams and Spencer Ordonez

Ward 3, Position 1 — incumbent Clay Kendall, Trey Weaver, Vonnice Boone and Rachel Crawford

Ward 4, Position 1 — incumbent Barney Hayes and Richard Labit

Yes, and: Five of the seven Bentonville School Board seats are up for grabs, and all five races are contested. See the candidates.

Five of the nine Board of Trustee positions at NorthWest Arkansas Community Colleges have contested races. See the candidates.

Cities with mayoral openings that are up in the air include: 

Bella Vista — Three-way race including Randy Murray and council members John Flynn and Steven Bourke.

Cave Springs — incumbent Randall Noblett and Mike Maloney

Centerton — a whopping five candidates including incumbent Bill Edwards, Michael Commet, Wendy Henson, Lance Johnson and Mike Blakeman

Farmington — incumbent Ernie Penn, council member Diane Bryant and Jerrod Fraley

Goshen — Shawn Mayfield and Russell Stroud

Gravette — incumbent Kurt Maddox and Dale Ayres Sr.

Highfill — Chris Holland and Jeremy Rogers

Lowell — incumbent Chris Moore and Rodney Judy

Tontitown — Joey Pianalto and Angela Russell

West Fork — S. Heith Caudle, Ray Foster and Steve Winkler

Midterm races in NWA to watch

Several city and school positions will be on the ballot in November.

Illustration of a pattern of voting booths.

The filing deadline for municipal races passed on Wednesday, and there&#x27;s a lengthy list of local candidates to consider before November&#x27;s election.Why it matters: These are the people in your backyard who make a lot of decisions for and about your city — like how your tax dollars are spent and what&#x27;s built in your neighborhood.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday that he's asking the federal government for money to expand programs geared toward maternal and infant health.

State of play: Arkansas has the highest known rate of maternal mortality (pregnancy-related deaths) in the U.S., about double the national average of states with available data, according to the CDC.

Although the teen birth rate has steadily declined, the state still had the second-highest teen birth rate in 2020 with 27.8 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19, the CDC reported.

Arkansas has the fourth-highest infant mortality rate, and the percentage of babies born at a low weight is on the rise.

What's happening: The state requested a waiver from the Biden administration to expand maternal health care services at rural hospitals through ARHOME, Arkansas' Medicaid program.

Hutchinson announced the following initiatives during a news conference Tuesday:

1. Expanding Department of Human Services' home visitation program for high-risk pregnancies and new mothers. 

The cost will be $18.9 million, including $5.5 million from the state.

DHS expects this to take effect in January 2023.

2. Expanding Medicaid for pregnant people to cover all health services, including behavioral health, instead of services that solely relate to pregnancy.

The cost will be $1.2 million, including $350,000 from the state.

Yes, and: Hutchinson is asking the state legislature to support $1.7 million to extend foster parent pay to nontraditional guardians, such as relatives or provisional caretakers, and to increase monthly pay for traditional foster parents. 

In total, this will cost $10.2 million a year.

He also plans to put $350,000 toward increasing training for the 450 home visitors who check on at-risk children as part of a health department program.

Between the lines: "We know there will be an increased number of at-risk pregnancies in the coming year, and that is likely because we are reducing abortion in the state of Arkansas," Hutchinson said.

The big picture: States with restrictive abortion laws in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade generally have higher maternal mortality rates, less access to maternal care and worse outcomes for infants, Axios' Caitlin Owens writes.

Experts say those states' adoption and foster care programs are not prepared for a baby boom.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces maternal health initiatives

His plans include expanding Medicaid for pregnant people.

Screenshot of Gov. Asa Hutchinson's press conference.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday that he&#x27;s asking the federal government for money to expand programs geared toward maternal and infant health.State of play: Arkansas has the highest known rate of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="maternal mortality" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-nw-arkansas-388d0322-0a6d-45d7-ab36-6a49ef1f47cb.html?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_nw_arkansas&amp;stream=top" data-vars-content-id="fea3c8df-6708-4cdd-b586-d0ed4811ec1f" data-vars-headline="Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces maternal health initiatives" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-nw-arkansas-388d0322-0a6d-45d7-ab36-6a49ef1f47cb.html?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_nw_arkansas&amp;stream=top" target="_self">maternal mortality</a> (pregnancy-related deaths) in the U.S., about double the national average of states with available data, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="according to the CDC" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/maternal-mortality/MMR-2018-2020-State-Data.pdf" data-vars-content-id="fea3c8df-6708-4cdd-b586-d0ed4811ec1f" data-vars-headline="Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces maternal health initiatives" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/maternal-mortality/MMR-2018-2020-State-Data.pdf" target="_blank">according to the CDC</a>.

Alex Golden

Featured stories

Midterm races in NWA to watch

University of Arkansas enrollment on track to set record

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces maternal health initiatives

Arkansas kids' wellbeing ranks low

Arkansas election board rejects marijuana ballot initiative