Arkansas
Audit of Arkansas governor's security, travel records from State Police says no laws broken
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Auditors reviewing travel and security records that were restricted from public release under a measure Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed last year did not find any violations of law in how money was spent, according to a report released to lawmakers on Friday.
The review of about $4 million spent by State Police on security and travel for the governor was the second part of an audit lawmakers requested last year that had initially focused on a $19,000 lectern purchased for Sanders’ office that had drawn widespread scrutiny.
Auditors earlier this year said that purchase potentially violated state laws on purchasing and state records, though a local prosecutor declined to pursue criminal charges.
Friday’s audit reviewed expenses related to the governor’s protection between June 1, 2022 and Dec. 31, 2023. The reviewed covered roughly the first year of Sanders’ administration and the last six months of her predecessor, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Sanders last year signed into law a measure that shielded much of the information about her security and travel from public view, after initially proposing more far-reaching changes to the state’s open records law. Under the new law, State Police is required to submit quarterly reports on its expenses protecting the governor — though those reports don’t detail costs of individual trips.
The audit said the first two quarterly reports had understated expenses by $58,973 because it used outdated hourly cost rates for its airplane and helicopter. State Police has since updated how those are calculated, the report said.
“So the bottom line is there wasn’t anything wrong with this?” Republican Sen Kim Hammer asked, aside from the expenses initially being understated.
“Yes, sir, that’s it,” Field Audit Supervisor David Gasaway responded.
Sanders’ office did not comment on the audit’s findings, and State Police said it would defend any governor and their family in accordance with state law.
“We constantly reevaluate and update our methods and procedures based on numerous factors, including the number of protectees and threat level that vary with each administration and from day to day,” Col. Mike Hagar, the director of state police and public safety secretary, said in a statement.
The travel and security report was released with much less fanfare than the audit surrounding the lectern, which had drawn national attention from late night host Jimmy Kimmel to the New York Times. Only a couple of members of the panel asked questions after a brief presentation of the report.
The lectern for Sanders, who served as former President Donald Trump’s press secretary, was initially purchased with a state credit card. The Republican Party of Arkansas later reimbursed the state for the purchase, and Sanders’ office has called the use of a state credit card for the lectern an accounting error.
Republican Sen. Jimmy Hickey, who had requested the audits, said he believed the review was necessary to address concerns about the changes to the open-records law.
“I believe that legislative audit committee, in approving that request, it was something they needed to do to provide that transparency and that oversight to the citizens out there,” Hickey said.
Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, who led the Razorbacks to the 1994 national title, will be immortalized with a statue outside Bud Walton Arena, the school said Wednesday.
Richardson was on the court at halftime of No. 20 Arkansas’ 105-85 win over Texas in the team’s regular-season home finale Wednesday night when athletic director Hunter Yurachek surprised him and told him the school had commissioned a statue to commemorate his achievements.
Per the school’s announcement, work on the statue is set to begin soon.
“Coach Richardson’s impact on the game of basketball and our state is immeasurable,” Yurachek said in a statement. “He represented Arkansas with a toughness and intense work ethic that endeared him to our fans while changing the lives of numerous athletes, coaches and staff under his direction. His ’40 minutes of Hell’ changed college basketball and led to the 1994 national championship that changed Arkansas and our university forever. Coach Richardson will stand tall outside the arena for the rest of time.”
BUILD THE STATUE. LIVING LEGEND. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/2nJPh1d6zo
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) March 5, 2026
Richardson coined the phrase “40 Minutes of Hell” in reference to the ferocious, full-court defense his Arkansas teams played during his tenure (1985-2002). Between Arkansas and his first Division I job at Tulsa, Richardson amassed 508 wins (389 with the Razorbacks), reached the Final Four three times and secured Arkansas’ only national title.
Richardson also was a member of the Texas Western (now UTEP) teams that preceded the school’s victory over Kentucky in 1966, when five Black players started an NCAA championship game for the first time and won. That game paved the way for Black players to compete at schools that had previously rejected them.
Richardson, one of six SEC coaches to win a national title since 1990, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
After Wednesday’s game, current Arkansas coach John Calipari joked that he’s contractually obligated to clean the statue once it’s finished.
“Which I will do in a pleasant way because I love it,” he said. “He’s been so good to me since I’ve been here.”
Richardson and Arkansas were not on good terms when they divorced in 2002. But the two sides have repaired the relationship over the years. The university renamed the floor at Bud Walton Arena “Nolan Richardson Court” in 2019. Richardson praised Calipari’s hiring in 2024 after he left Kentucky, and he has been around the program since Calipari’s arrival.
“He should have been had a statue, I think,” said Trevon Brazile, who finished with 28 points on his senior night Wednesday. “They won the national championship.”
Added Darius Acuff Jr., who finished with 28 points and 13 assists against the Longhorns: “It’s great to see that for sure. Coach Richardson is a big part of our team. He’s been to a couple of our practices, so it’s always good to see [him]. He’s a legend.”
BONANZA, Ark. (KATV) — According to our partners at 40/29 News, autopsies show that Charity Beallis died by suicide, and her six-year-old twin children died by homicide.
Beallis and the children were found on December 3, 2025, in their home in Bonanza. All three had gunshot wounds.
Records show that Beallis and her husband were in the process of divorcing when the murders happened. 40/29 reports that Beallis’ son has asked that their divorce be considered final, while her husband, Randall Beallis, has asked the court to dismiss the divorce proceedings.
The news release listed the following evidence:
— An examination of the transcripts of the deposition of Mrs. Beallis in the divorce/custody case and the final hearing on the case on 12-2-2025, reveal that she wished to be reconciled to her estranged husband, which did not happen. Mrs. Beallis, after being represented by four different attorneys, represented herself in the contested divorce/custody hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, Mrs. Beallis was ordered to begin joint custody of her children with her estranged husband.
–Mrs. Beallis’ estranged husband was a driver of a Tesla electric vehicle at that time. Tesla has compiled location data on Tesla vehicles, and according to the information provided by Tesla, Mrs. Beallis’ estranged husband’s vehicle was not near the residence in Bonanza on the night in question. Also, the estranged husband’s phones did not “ping” any of the cell towers proximately related to Ms. Beallis’ location.
–Information from the home security alarm company shows the alarm was deactivated by Mrs. Beallis by her phone (she had exclusive access to the security system) at around 10 pm on the night in question. Even though deactivated, the alarm company was able to provide information showing no doors or windows to the home were opened during that time. When law enforcement arrived after 9:30 am on 12-3-2025, there were no doors or windows open, and they had to use a key to enter the home. SCSO rigorously tested the functioning of each door and window and found them to be operating properly.
The court released an order on Wednesday stating that it does not have jurisdiction to rule on those motions regarding the divorce. Beallis’ body has been released to her son, while the children are with Randall Beallis.
Wally Hall
Wally Hall is assistant managing sports editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he is a member and past president of the Football Writers Association of America, member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, past president and current executive committee and board member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and voter for the Heisman Trophy. He has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year 10 times and has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.
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