George Jared

Crittenden County Circuit Court Judge Tonya Alexander denied a petition Thursday (June 23) by Damien Echols to have advanced DNA testing done on ligatures that were recovered in the 1993 murders of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis.

M-Vac is now primarily used to collect DNA in criminal cases. A man who pleaded to an Alford Plea in the murders of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Damien Echols, has petitioned the state of Arkansas to use M-Vac testing on the ligatures collected in the case.

The Arkansas Department of Education’s (ADE) Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Arkansas State University and its sponsored initiative, the Arkansas Out of School Network, have awarded $1.8 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) ESSER III funds to 30 summer and extended-year learning programs across the state through the Summer Learning Supplemental Grant.

NEA Baptist Health System broke ground Wednesday (June 1) on an 18,000-square-foot, multi-service clinic at the confluence of Red Wolf Boulevard and Apache Drive. The facility is being built in partnership with Haag Brown Medical Holdings.

Prosecutor Keith Chrestman has filed a motion in Crittenden County Circuit Court asking a judge to not allow advanced DNA testing to move forward in the infamous West Memphis Three case. Among the arguments made in the filing is that the advanced, M-Vac DNA testing method would permanently alter the evidence and even if other DNA was discovered it wouldn’t conclusively prove who did it.

A longtime state lawmaker from Northeast Arkansas has decided he will not seek another term in the State House of Representatives. State Rep. Joe Jett, R-Success, announced Monday (Jan. 17) he will retire following the end of his current term, which is his fifth.

When Big River Steel first started operations near Osceola in Mississippi County in 2014, it was one of the largest industrial projects ever in the state of Arkansas.

Riceland Foods announced Wednesday (Dec. 8) it will add 80 new jobs and expand its operations in Stuttgart and Jonesboro with a $13.2 million investment. The majority of the expansion will be at the Stuttgart location, including two new packaging lines.

Infection rates and deaths for COVID-19 are on the rise and state government officials are imploring unvaccinated citizens to get a vaccine. Gov. Asa Hutchinson said during a press conference at the State Capitol on Tuesday (Nov. 23) the number of cases since last week is up about 900 and those hospitalized have increased by 69.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson received his Pfizer booster shot Tuesday (Sept. 28) moments before he held his weekly COVID-19 pandemic press conference. The governor, his wife and Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero got their boosters shot on live television to encourage others to get vaccinated, the governor said.

St. Bernards Behavioral Health will begin a partnership with Craighead County on Oct. 1 to operate the county’s 16-bed regional Crisis Stabilization Unit.

Spirit Fitness, a company that builds residential and commercial fitness equipment, has announced plans to expand the company’s operation in Jonesboro with the addition of a new facility in Jonesboro’s Craighead Technology Park. When complete, Spirit’s $10 million investment will create approximately 40-50 new jobs.