Arkansas

Arkansas law enforcement urging parents to be “on their guard” after recent Amber Alert

Published

2 years ago

August 3, 2024

Arkansas law enforcement urging parents to be “on their guard” after recent Amber Alert

MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. (KY3) – Law enforcement in the Ozarks are urging parents to know what their children are doing on their phones, and who they might be speaking to.

“At the end of the day, parents do need to monitor their kid’s phones, apps, and internet usage,” Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery explained.

For law enforcement all over the Ozarks, it’s a crime that has seen a rise over the last few years. The stalking of minors online.

“We have seen an uptick, and of course, I would say that it goes in spurts,” Sheriff Montgomery stated.

For the sheriff, his department deals with multiple cases a year. Just this last week, an Amber Alert was issued for 13-year-old Kayden Pace from Phillips County, Ark. Investigators with the Arkansas State Police believe Pace was running away with a 25-year-old subject she met online.

Thankfully, she was found a few hours later, and the man was arrested, but the situation could have turned out much worse.

The sheriff said while more and more kids are accessing social media at a younger age, he also believes that some parents may not be up to date with newer technology.

“With the technology changing, and new apps coming out, it creates a challenge for parents to monitor their children,” Montgomery said.

In a news release, Arkansas State Police encouraged both parents and teenagers to know who they’re chatting with online.

“In a recent situation, we had a 25-year-old male acting as a 17-year-old boy and he was talking to multiple groups in our community,” Arkansas State Police Human Trafficking Coordinator Matt Foster stated.

What predators like this one do is make a personal connection with the child. When something negative happens in the child’s life, that’s when they make their move.

“Whenever there is a bad day at home, it turns into ‘I can help you. I can take you away from that,” Foster explained.

Both the sheriff and state police suggest sitting down with your child and going over what is ok and what isn’t, as it might be what keeps them safe in a fishy situation.

“I would encourage parents to sit down with their kids and have an honest dialogue, and let them know that we’re here to keep them safe,” Montgomery said.

Arkansas State Police and the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office have more resources for parents on internet safety available on their websites.

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Arkansas

Arkansas Governor joins national A.I. workforce initiative

Published

6 hours ago

June 25, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas Governor joins national A.I. workforce initiative

LITTLE ROCK, AR (KATV) — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has joined a new national artificial intelligence initiative that launched Thursday, June 25.

RAISE US, started by former Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana and Gina Raimondo, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce is a nonpartisan national organization that will partner with governors, employers, workers and training organizations to help the workforce transition to an AI economy.

“As artificial intelligence transforms America’s economy, we have one clear message: technology should empower people, not replace them. By leveraging our Arkansas LAUNCH initiative, and with the resources and expertise provided by RAISE US, Arkansas will turn that mission into reality. We want the Natural State to be a leader on education, workforce training, and up-skilling, and this new partnership gives us the tools we need to build a model for the entire nation.”

The organization will design and pilot incentives to retrain workers, new approaches to support job transitions, and training models tied to employer demand.

RAISE US launches with more than two dozen American companies and philanthropies and initial state partnerships in Connecticut, Maryland and Utah.

“America has a technology strategy for leading the global AI competition. It does not yet have a people strategy — and we cannot lead without one,” Raimondo, who will serve as CEO of RAISE US, said.

“If we build the best AI systems in the world and leave millions of Americans behind, we won’t have won anything; we’ll have automated our own decline. I believe AI will create new jobs and industries over time, but the transition could be disruptive, and it’s already underway. We shouldn’t fearmonger, but we can’t pretend our training and worker support systems are ready either. It’s time for innovative and practical solutions. This moment demands ambition, urgency, and creativity. We’ve assembled the country’s top companies, best economists, and bipartisan governors at a scale rarely seen — all to advance new ideas and incentives, pilot them with governors and business, and scale what works.”

Governor Sanders is partnering with RAISE US to support Arkansas LAUNCH, an AI-powered career navigation platform that connects students and jobseekers to personalized learning and employer-linked career pathways.

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