Local Events
Tuesday, Feb. 4th - Indivisible NWA in-person meetups to visit Senator Cotton and Senator Boozman’s local offices to encourage both senators to stop the nomination process for Russell Vought (pronounced “VOTE”) for OMB Director
Tuesday, Feb. 4th from 5 - 6:30 p.m. - KUAF Community Coffee Tour in the Rotary Room at the Bentonville Public Library; KUAF invites all community members to join them for an evening of conversation, coffee, and community engagement. This event is an excellent opportunity for residents to connect directly with the KUAF team, share their perspectives, and discuss what matters most in their area. Let them know you’re coming HERE.
Sunday, Feb. 9th from 10:30 - 12:30 pm. - Emerge Arkansas Annual Galentine’s Brunch in Fayetteville; Grab your besties and come celebrate amazing women at the Annual Galentine's Brunch! They’ll have food, fun, and mimosas, and they are raising funds to support the next class of Emerge Arkansas women ready to lead. Buy your tickets HERE.
Monday, Feb. 10th from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. - Democratic Party of Benton County Monthly Meeting <NEW LOCATION THIS MONTH> at the Rogers Lowell Chamber building in Rogers (317 W. Walnut St.)
Community Involvement Opportunities
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF)
Sign up to receive action alerts (via email and/or text) to receive alerts from AACF to take action on important bills and laws impacting kids and families. You will also receive weekly overviews of the state General Assembly during the session.
Arkansas Citizens First Congress
Arkansas Citizens First Congress believes in the power of grassroots organizations to expand opportunities and improve the quality of life for everyone in Arkansas. The CFC values a representative government that is transparent, accountable, responsive, and inclusive.
You can follow the list of Arkansas Legislative bills the org is tracking HERE (save the link in your browser) - which are focused on educational, economic and electoral justice.
Arkansas United
The Arkansas United team has been overwhelmed with requests of help and aid tied to immigration over the last couple of weeks. They’ve asked if people are interested in helping, that they pursue any of the most crucial priorities listed below:
Municipal Government Awareness
Bella Vista
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. (2483 Forest Hills Blvd) - work session
Bentonville
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. (305 SW A St.)
Items of Note:
The City of Bentonville is holding a public hearing and update on the status of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The meeting will involve opportunities for community members to suggest priorities for the coming program year, to provide feedback on current program performance, and to learn about the proposed amendment to the 2023 Consolidated Plan. The event will be held on Wed., Feb. 12th in the Council Chambers at City Hall, located at 305 SW A Street, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Read Heather McCombs recap from The Bentonville Bulletin about the last Bentonville City Council meeting, “Future Land Use Map Update, Community Development Block Grant Funds”
Cave Springs
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. (134 N. Main St.)
Centerton
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. (210 Municipal Dr.)
Gravette
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. (202 Main St. NE) - Committee of the Whole
Items of Note:
Watch the mayor’s update from last week’s city council meeting HERE
Lowell
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. (216 N. Lincoln St.)
Pea Ridge
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. (911 Weston St.) - Committee of the Whole
Items of Note:
Pea Ridge Primary has received their bikes for the All Kids Bike program, and they need help assembling them. The bikes are simple to put together. Show up for an hour or stay till it's done starting at 6:30 p.m. on Tues., Feb. 4th at 1411 Weston St.
Rogers
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. (301 W. Chestnut)
Items of Note:
Rogers approved accepting more than $8.7 million of federal grant funds from the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, which included more than $1.7 million originally allocated to the city of Lowell. Last December Lowell’s city council voted to not accept the funding, citing concerns for property rights on conservation easements. Read more from Gael Langdon’s reporting in the NWA Dem Gazz HERE.
Siloam Springs
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. (400 N. Broadway)
Springdale
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. (201 Spring St.)
Items of Note:
From Tom Sissom in the NWA Dem Gazz, “City Council member Amelia Taldo has been publicly cautioned and fined $500 by the Arkansas Ethics Commission by seconding and voting for a measure rezoning property owned by her father. According to the Ethics Commission's final order in the case, the commission found Taldo violated a section of state law which says, ‘No public servant shall use or attempt to use his or her official position to secure special privileges or exemptions for himself or herself or his or her spouse, child, parents, or other persons standing in the first degree of relationship, or for those with whom he or she has a substantial financial relationship that are not available to others except as my be otherwise provided by law.’“. Read more HERE.
County Government Awareness
Ozark Regional Transit (ORT)
Effective today, ORT has rolled out key route updates in Bentonville and Rogers to improve efficiency, streamline connections, and better serve our riders. These changes come after years of planning and coordination to ensure our transit system meets the needs of the community. The finalized route maps and schedules can be found HERE.
Benton County Quorum Court
From Thomas Saccente’s reporting in the NWA Dem Gazz last week, “Benton County is ready to start work on a project to improve its response to natural disasters with a $100,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation. The Quorum Court voted 15-0 to create a new fund for the grant Thursday. The county will use the grant to assess its response to the Memorial Day weekend storm and develop recommendations for how it can improve and plan for future disasters…. The project will be spearheaded by a selection committee comprising county officials; representatives from Rogers, Bentonville and Little Flock; community leaders, including those impacted by the storm; funders of the Benton County Relief Fund; and experts in emergency management, public health and community development.”
Upcoming County Government meetings at the Admin Building in downtown Bentonville:
Planning Board Meeting - Feb. 5 at 6 p.m.
Finance Committee Meeting - Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.
Development Review Committee - Feb. 12 at 10 a.m.
State Government Awareness
95th General Legislative Assembly
Recaps from last week’s legislative activity - <CEJ commentary - It’s not going great, but at least the “Gulf of America” bill is DOA 🙄 >
Week 3 Session Recap from For AR People HERE
From Tess Vrbin with the Arkansas Advocate, “Arkansas Senate approves bill to prohibit discrimination despite concerns it would impede minorities - Some senators who voted against a similar bill in 2023 voted for SB 3”
From the watchdogs at On AR Watch, “Senate cowards cave on SB3 - The push to ditch public affirmative action is back, and it’s uglier than ever.”
From Women’s Foundation of Arkansas (WFA) director, Anna Beth Gorman, “SB 3 reduces opportunities for women” - ACTION ITEM!!! Send an email to your house representative about SB3 this week. You can use the email WFA has developed HERE.
From Mary Hennigan with the Arkansas Advocate, “Proposed tort reform advances out of Arkansas legislative committee”
From Roby Brock at Talk Business & Politics, “Anti-affirmative action, tort reform bills move forward in legislature”
Bills of note in committees this week:
House Committee on Education - Tuesday (2/4) at 10 a.m.
👍 HB1144 - Rep. Wooten (R - Beebe) - Bill would require a private school that accepts a LEARNS Act voucher to be responsible for the same reporting requirements as public schools and public charter schools in Arkansas. This would add an accountability measure to private schools receiving public funds.
🚨 👎️ HB1180 - from multiple representatives and senators - This is the “Baby Olivia Act”; This bill would require public schools and open-enrollment public charter schools to teach, beginning in 5th grade, human growth and development as it relates to pregnancy and human development inside the womb, to include a three-minute-minimum, high-definition ultrasound video and the “Meet Baby Olivia” animated video, developed by Live Action. ACTION ITEM!!! Before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, email and leave messages for committee member(s) Brit McKenzie (R - Rogers), Hope Duke (R - Gravette), Denise Garner (D - Fayetteville), Austin McCollum (R - NE Benton County), and/or Diana Gonzales Worthen (D - Springdale)
House Committee on Revenue & Taxation - Tuesday (2/4) at 10 a.m.
👍 HB1063 - Rep.’s J. Mayberry (R - Hensley) and Sen. Crowell (R - Magnolia) - bill would expand the disability certification criteria for the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Program (tax-advantaged savings accounts for people with disabilities) by increasing the qualifying age at which the onset of blindness or other disability occurs from 26 to 46. If enacted, it would not go into effect until 2026.
Recently filed bills to be aware of for future activity:
HB1219 - Rep. Richardson (R - Bentonville) - bill requires all law enforcement officers to wear body cameras
👎️ HB1222 - Rep. Ray (R - Maumelle) - bill requires the Arkansas Attorney General to review ballot titles for ballot initiatives. <CEJ commentary: This is yet another bill to add excessive rules to the ballot initiative process - they continue to want to prevent voters from being involved in the process to change/make laws in Arkansas>
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders:
Read Antoinette Grajeda’s reporting in the Arkansas Advocate about, “Arkansas again seeks Medicaid work requirement waiver - State first implemented one in 2018 but was shut down by federal judge”. My Ly of the Dem Gazz interviewed Arkansas Advocates for Children and Family about the work requirement proposal after the governor’s announcement. Read her reporting, “Arkansas makes access to food stamps ‘unnecessarily hard,’ advocates say”. Rich Shumate added his thoughts to the proposal in his opinion piece in the Arkansas Advocate this morning, “Medicaid work requirement reboot moves Arkansas in wrong direction”.
Arkansas State Supreme Court:
For continued reporting on the administrative squabbling between the Arkansas State Supreme Court justices, read Tess Vrbin, “Arkansas Supreme Court chief justice says dispute over her authority could lead to litigation - Baker again says she hopes to pick new Administrative Office of the Courts director”
Election Information
Read Alex Golden’s interview with recently elected Springdale State Representative Diana Gonzales Worthen in Axios NWA, “Arkansas' first Latina legislator brings education background to table”.
Political Training Opportunities
Dirtroad Cohorts Application Period for Spring 2025 is open
Dirtroad Cohorts are small community-based learning academies that run for four months. They run parallel Cohorts for staffers/organizers and down-ballot candidates. Cohorts are facilitated by Dirtroad staff, with supplemental training from nearly a dozen other experts in the field. Their in-depth model focuses on the humanity in this work while blending electoral and grassroots organizing skills.
The deadline to apply for the spring 2025 cohort is Thursday, Feb. 27th at 7 p.m.. Learn more about the program and apply HERE.
Arkansas Civic Action Network
The Arkansas Civic Action Network is a brand new 501c3 founded by Arkansans looking to increase civic engagement across the state. They have a zoom series that started last month to help train Arkansans on civic action related to the state legislature. You can still join and participate in the back half of zoom trainings by signing up HERE.
Upcoming sessions:
Effective Advocacy - Feb. 11 from 6 - 8 p.m.
Rulemaking and Policy Development - Feb. 25 from 6 - 8 p.m.
Direct Democracy - Mar. 11 from 6 - 8 p.m.
The Judiciary - Mar. 25 from 6 - 8 p.m.
National Democratic Training Committee
Free online training opportunities:
Planning Your Fundraising Strategy - Tues., Feb. 4 at noon
Field Tactics 101 - Thurs., Feb. 6 at noon
What is Get Out the Vote? - Mon., Feb. 10 at noon
How to Develop Your GOTV Universe - Wed., Feb. 12 at noon
In the Ear
Ozarks at Large’s Kyle Kellams interviews Ross DeVol, the CEO and Chairman of the Board at Heartland Forward, about their recently released “Most Dynamic Metros 2025 Report”, and Sophia Nourani learns more about the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute’s Civic Arkansas listening session on the U of A campus
Watch or listen to Indivisible’s Call to Action discussion from Sunday night. The call will review action items you can take NOW to encourage Congress to act on the funding freeze.
District 3 episode #287 - On this episode they focus on and discuss all the activity La Migra (ICE) has had locally and across the country and what that means for our immigrant community. A heartfelt episode where the show members are raw about their feelings and frustrations.
Odds & Ends
From Antoinette Grajeda at the Arkansas Advocate, “Arkansas immigrant advocacy group focuses on guiding people through ‘unprecedented moment’ - Accurate information critical, executive director says”
The Bulwark has a new newsletter, “Huddled Masses” from Adrian Carrasquillo. Read his Jan. 29th column, “Trump Turns Schools Into an Immigration Battleground - Kids are being pulled from school, there is fear of agents coming, and quiet prep is taking place to avoid drawing the gaze of the Trump administration.”
Watch out for “reporting” that’s really just AI… read Sam Hoisington’s editor’s column in the Bentonville Bulletin, “About That ‘Daily Bentonville’ Newsletter…” and after you read it, remember to support our local reporting community!
Former Democratic candidate for Arkansas Lt. Governor, Kelly Krout, was featured in Forbes late last month, “How Women Can Enter Politics And Drive Societal Change Through Local Government”
And finally, I’m a huge NBA fan and in Katie Heindl’s latest Substack, she muses on tariffs and player autonomy, “Autonomy's limits, autonomy's illusion - The conditions of power, from trade wars to the NBA's trade deadline.” As you can see, I’m still processing the Luka/AD trade news.