Arkansas

‘America’s best secretary of state’ is ready to be land commissioner – Arkansas Times

Published

12 months ago

April 30, 2025

‘America’s best secretary of state’ is ready to be land commissioner – Arkansas Times

Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester has had exactly three jobs since graduating from law school in May 2022. He was a law clerk for six months starting in August 2022 and deputy chief attorney for the governor’s office for two years starting in January 2023.

In January of this year, Gov. Sarah Sanders appointed Jester as secretary of state after fellow Republican John Thurston moved down the hall after being elected state treasurer.

Jester’s short track record remains unproven. But he isn’t letting his lack of experience or the poor optics of job-hopping stop him from targeting a new gig. On Wednesday, he announced a 2026 run for land commissioner.

Jester’s announcement was standard Arkansas Republican dreck. He called Arkansas “the best state in the country,” said Arkansas will “keep our tax dollars in state” (which isn’t something the land commissioner has any control over) and that he will “investigate Chinese influence near state lands” (despite the land commissioner having no such authority or law enforcement power).

Despite Jester’s lack of experience, both generally and as a constitutional officer, Sanders offered her “full endorsement” of Jester’s land commissioner run.

“Cole Jester did a fantastic job as my legal counsel, and he has been America’s best secretary of state,” Sanders said.

Seriously? Jester has not accomplished anything of note during his brief tenure as secretary of state, and his public appearances have amounted to little more than regurgitated, false soundbites about election fraud.

In February, just over a month after taking office, Jester held an embarrassing press conference at the Capitol to announce his support for a package of legislation purporting to address fraud in the citizen-led ballot measure process. During that conference — and in the months since — Jester said the initiative process was rife with fraud. When pressed for evidence of these claims, however, he has only pointed to people signing petitions more than once (a common occurrence that is routinely caught by existing verification measures and are not proof of fraud) and unverified anecdotes told by random Republicans during legislative committee hearings.

Jester is the third Republican to throw his hat into the ring for the 2026 land commissioner race. Christian Olson of Little Rock, former chairman of Opportunity Arkansas and former policy advisor to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, announced his candidacy in November. Arkansas Travelers’ executive Lance Restum of Maumelle — the one person in the race less qualified than Jester to run for constitutional office — announced his campaign in January.

Following a change in the law in the recent session, the 2026 preferential primary election will be in March. Candidate filing ends on November 12.

Should Jester win the land commissioner office, he will be following a well-worn, bipartisan Arkansas tradition of making a career out of hopping from one constitutional office to another. Thurston, Jester’s predecessor in the secretary of state office, was state commissioner of lands from 2010 to 2018, then served as secretary of state from 2019 until assuming the treasurer’s office in 2025. Democrat Charlie Daniels spent 16 years as land commissioner, eight as secretary of state and four as auditor from 1985 to 2015.

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Arkansas

#24 Arkansas Explodes for Eight Runs in Eighth to Race past Missouri State in Midweek Rematch

Published

6 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

#24 Arkansas Explodes for Eight Runs in Eighth to Race past Missouri State in Midweek Rematch

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 24 Arkansas (27-15) used an eight-run eighth inning, punctuated by home runs from Ryder Helfrick and TJ Pompey, to race past Missouri State (26-12) in a 12-4 win Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

With their win in the rematch against the Bears, the Razorbacks improved to 9-2 in midweek games, including a 7-1 mark in midweek matchups at home, this season. Arkansas will conclude its midweek slate next week with a double midweek series against Northwestern State from April 28-29 inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium.

Entering the bottom of the eighth tied at four, the Hogs exploded for eight runs on seven hits, including four extra-base hits, to blow the game open. Carter Rutenbar’s go-ahead two-run single through the right side put Arkansas up 6-4 and set the table for Camden Kozeal’s RBI double, Helfrick’s three-run blast and Pompey’s two-run shot later in the frame.

When the bottom of the eighth was all said and done, the Razorbacks had opened a commanding 12-4 lead after they were shut out through the game’s first five innings. Kozeal finished the night 3-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBI to lead Arkansas offensively and raise his season slash line to .305/.394/.604 with 11 homers and a team-high 48 RBI.

Helfrick, meanwhile, swatted his team-leading 14th home run in Tuesday night’s win against the Bears. The Razorbacks’ superstar catcher is now slashing .293/.430/.626 with 14 homers and 40 RBI through his 41 games played this season.

In addition to Kozeal, Nolan Souza (3-for-5), Reese Robinett (2-for-5, 2B) and Kuhio Aloy (2-for-4, RB) logged multi-hit games. Along with Helfrick and Kozeal, Rutenbar (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and Pompey (1-for-1, HR, RBI) tallied multiple RBI.

On the mound, Tate McGuire made his third start of the season for Arkansas and worked 3.2 innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts. In relief, Colin Fisher (3.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 SO), Steele Eaves (0.1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO), Parker Coil (0.2 IP) and Cooper Dossett (1.0 IP, 2 SO) combined for 5.1 innings of two-run ball (one earned) with eight strikeouts to seal the win.

Up next, the Hogs will hit the road for an SEC weekend series from April 23-25 in Columbia, Mo. First pitch in the series opener between Arkansas and Missouri (20-21) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, on SEC Network.

For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).

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Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

Published

18 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

A legislative panel rejected a proposal Tuesday that would have eliminated former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri’s job as an adviser to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

A top lawmaker also suggested that Profiri may return to his job overseeing the state prison system, two years after he was fired by the state Board of Corrections as part of a dispute with Sanders.

The proposal rejected by the Joint Budget Committee’s personnel subcommittee would have written into the appropriation for Sanders’ office language eliminating Profiri’s position from the Republican governor’s staff. Subcommittee members voted 9-6 against the amendment, with Rep. Lane Jean not casting a vote.

Republican Sen. Terry Rice introduced the proposal last week, a little over six months after Profiri didn’t appear at a hearing on the now-stalled Franklin County prison project before a committee that Rice co-chairs.

Rice called this a “major trust-breaker.”

“The Board of Corrections members asked Mr. Profiri to share his intended plans as secretary, and they would work with him. He ignored multiple attempts,” Rice said. “I was told during that meeting, he was in the Capitol, had been seen in the hall at the same time. He didn’t even reply and chose to snub legislators’ questions.”

Profiri was fired by the Arkansas Board of Corrections as the leader of the state’s prison agency in 2024, following months of increasing tensions between the constitutionally-independent board and Sanders over opening new beds when the Department of Corrections already struggled to find sufficient staffing. Those tensions eventually resulted in lawsuits, which are still unresolved, and Profiri’s firing.

After he was fired, the Republican governor hired Profiri as a senior advisor, making him the highest paid staffer in her office. Profiri is paid $183,699.98 a year, according to the Arkansas transparency portal.

Jean, a Republican from Magnolia who co-chairs the Joint Budget Committee, asked Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson and Board of Corrections member Lee Watson “what the timeline was” for Sanders to rehire Profiri as corrections secretary, pointing to the new makeup of the board.

“I don’t think there’s any objection to the board, or certainly a majority of the board, to hire him (again). What are we waiting on?” Jean asked.

“What I can say is Secretary (Lindsay) Wallace, she is the secretary, and she will continue as secretary until the governor decides she’s not secretary,” Hudson said. “In the interim, (Profiri) continues to do his job as an adviser to the governor.”

The ongoing lawsuit between the Board of Corrections and Sanders centers on who has the authority to fire the corrections secretary. A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled last year that the board does. Sanders appealed the ruling.

The board’s new Sanders-appointed majority voted to accept a settlement agreement accepting her position that she is the one with firing authority earlier this month, though the lower court order remains in force until the Arkansas Supreme Court rules on the matter.

Sam Dubke, Sanders’ spokesperson, referred the Advocate to Hudson’s remarks when asked for comment on whether Profiri would be rehired as corrections secretary.

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Arkansas

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

Published

1 day ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

TULSA, Okla –The Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, on April 19, 2026 at ONEOK Field and The Sporting Tribune’s Robert Sloter was there to capture the following TST Images.

Luke Fox #15 of the Tulsa Drillers throws a pitch during a game against the Arkansas Travelers at ONEOK Field on April 19, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.