Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that if she's reelected, her next term would largely build on the policies she's put in motion, with education, another tax cut and public safety still at the center.

Why it matters: Sanders is framing a potential second term less around new promises than proving her first-term agenda works.

Driving the news: In an interview with Axios before her "Capital for a Day" stop in Siloam Springs last week, Sanders said the harder work now is implementation.

• "Passing the legislation is the easy part," Sanders said in a line she would repeat at a gathering later. "The implementation is the really important piece."

State of play: Sanders is running for a second term against Democratic state Sen. Fred Love and Libertarian Colt Shelby in the Nov. 3 general election.

What she said: Sanders said education would remain "a huge priority," pointing to her landmark education law Arkansas LEARNS and saying the state needs to "really continue on the accountability piece."

She also said she wants another tax cut.

• "Our economy is extremely strong, and I think we're in a good position to do that again early next year," she said.
• Two days after the conversation, the state announced it closed fiscal 2026 with a $655 million surplus.

On prisons: Sanders said she still believes Franklin County is the best site for a new facility, despite legislative and local resistance.

• "The demand isn't going away," she said.
• Arkansas is expanding capacity in existing facilities while also focusing on a recidivism reduction pilot program, she noted.
• "The goal isn't to lock people up and … throw away the key," she said. "The goal is — when it can be done — rehabilitate."

County jails cannot provide the programming inmates need, Sanders said.

• "You can't do [rehabilitation services] in a county jail, and you certainly can't run 75 different programs," she said.
• Northwest Arkansas' growth means the region will eventually need more prison capacity, Sanders said.

On voting rights: Asked about conservative women who have suggested giving up the right to vote or moving to one vote per household, Sanders rejected the idea.

• "I think that women fought hard to have the right to vote," she said. "I'm not giving up mine, and I don't think other women should give up their rights to them."

What we're watching: Whether Sanders' record in education law and tax cuts will overcome some of her first-term controversies like Podiumgate and the now-stalled Franklin County prison project.

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Tonight the Fayetteville City Council plans to vote on:

💰 Issuing up to $191.2 million in sales-tax-backed bonds for voter-approved projects, including water and wastewater work, parks, animal services, transportation, fire projects and other city improvements.

🔎 An ordinance from Council Member Sarah Moore that would bar the city from entering nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements that restrict disclosure of public business beyond what state or federal law allows.

🏘️ Rezoning about 36 acres northwest of North Deane Solomon Road and West Vanike Drive to allow more housing density. Planning staff and the Planning Commission recommend approval, though some residents oppose it.

🚧 A $3.6 million contract with APAC-Central for Millsap Road and College Avenue intersection improvements and an extension of North Hemlock Avenue.

📍 If you go: 5:30pm at Fayetteville City Hall or view online.

👶 Fayetteville will provide six weeks of paid parental leave to city employees after a birth, adoption or foster placement, effective immediately for workers with at least one year of service. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

• The city did not offer a dedicated paid parental leave benefit before this policy.

💡 Applications are open for Arkansas' summer energy assistance program, which helps eligible low-income households pay electric bills through local community organizations. (KNWA)

🏦 Arvest Bank of Fayetteville will open a commercial loan production office in Frisco, Texas, later this year, marking its first physical expansion into Texas. (Arvest Bank)

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Americans are spending less time hanging out than they were 20 years ago — and the trend cuts across every generation, according to new American Time Use Survey data.

Why it matters: It's a fundamental shift in the way we live our lives that has implications for everything from what we believe to how long we live.

By the numbers: Average time spent socializing per day has fallen from 45 to 35 minutes over the last 20 years.

• The decline is steepest among young people: 15- to 24-year-olds went from spending an hour a day hanging out with others to 35 minutes.

Between the lines: Sociologists and psychologists point to several trends driving this phenomenon, which Substack writer Derek Thompson dubbed "The Anti-Social Century" in the Atlantic last year.

• We're all on our smartphones, often interacting through screens instead of face to face — even though social media is no substitute for spending time together in person. Teens, in particular, spend an average of 4.8 hours a day on apps like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, according to Gallup.
• The shift to remote work — and life — during the pandemic has persisted, keeping more of us homebound.

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