LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — After nearly four decades of early morning alarms and forecasts, longtime Arkansas TV meteorologist Melinda Mayo is retiring, closing a career that made her a familiar face to generations of viewers and a steady voice during dangerous weather.

Before she became a household name, the Pine Bluff native worked behind the scenes as an overnight photographer and producer.

Bob Steel was the first to spot her potential and hired her straight out of college. He said she could do it all. “If you want her to do a story, she could do that. If you wanted her to shoot, she could do that. If you wanted to edit, she could do that. If you wanted her to write, she could do that she was extremely talented. Still is,” Steel said.

That versatility helped her land an on-camera role.

Chief Meteorologist Barry Brandt first met Mayo early in her career when they both worked at another Little Rock TV station. Brandt said, “You could just see she was working her way up through and there was nothing Melinda couldn’t do on the air.”

As she worked as a reporter and anchor, she was also studying meteorology.

In 1996, Mayo joined KATV News. Two years later, she officially became the first female certified broadcast meteorologist in Arkansas.

“I knew right from the beginning that she was going to get it. I just knew it and there was no problem. She just fit right into it,” said Ned Perme, Former KATV Chief Meteorologist.

“She’s gone from this effervescent young college student who is eager to please, to do anything, to a legend,” Steele said.

Brandt called Mayo a trailblazer, pointing to both her on-air skill and her scientific background. “She’s just a trailblazer. Obviously she’s so good on the air, but to have that science background that served her so well and it served Arkansas so well for so many years,” he said.

Viewers relied on Mayo’s calm presence through snowstorms, heat waves and tornadoes.

Steel said her steady approach mattered when it counted most. “She’s probably saved lives in her career, you know, and stayed calm in the storm. I mean, she is, she’s gonna be missed,” he said.

Colleagues also credited Mayo with mentoring others, particularly women entering the business. “She really did hold the hands of new reporters and new anchors along the way and who knows where we’d be if we didn’t have a strong female like Melinda to look up to,” Alyson Courtney, former Daybreak anchor, said.

Mayo also made time for viewers in everyday moments. “We’d be out in the field if somebody came up to her. She took time out to talk to him and speak to him. She didn’t run, get in the car and hide like she was, you know, some big superstar,” Marcus McDonald, former KATV Chief Photographer, said.

Mayo’s work also took her beyond the forecast, including interviews and live coverage from major events. She has interviewed Arkansas native Johnny Cash, covered the Clinton Presidential Library grand opening, and reported from the Country Music Awards in Nashville in 2016.

Her Daybreak adventures included trips to the beach, Branson and high school pep rallies across the state.

Chris Kane, former Daybreak anchor, said Mayo was the colleague he could count on for anything. “Whether its jumping off a pontoon boat during Daybreak, going on a rollercoaster at Silver Dollar City, Melinda was always my go to, hey, I need someone to do this with me, will you do it? And she’d always say yes which made it so much more fun,” Kane said.

He also said Mayo set the tone in the studio each morning. “You’re groggy and you’re still trying to wake up… you pour a cup of coffee and you see Melinda Mayo and you knew it was going to be a good day,” Kane said.

“She’s impacted so many people that she doesn’t even know how many people she’s impacted, but we hear it all the time,” Courtney said.

The longest-running on-air morning show host in Arkansas, is now turning off those morning alarms for good, but her legacy will continue to carry on.

Thank you, Melinda!

Pine Bluff, Ark. (KATV) — A legal battle between two of Jefferson County’s top leaders is continuing, after the Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld a contempt ruling against County Judge Gerald Robinson.

The dispute centers around payment claims from the sheriff’s office, which Lafayette Woods Jr. says were unfairly denied.

“We were singled out, we were targeted, simply because he’s got an issue with me. I think I’ve been identified as his political adversary I guess,” Woods said.

What’s unfolded has turned into a years-long conflict between the county judge and sheriff, with Woods claiming the issue has become personal.

“It’s personal, it’s personal. Some people cannot in leadership positions, can’t separate personal from business,” he said.

Woods says the problems began when routine payment claims were denied over what he calls minor or unusual reasons.

“We started having issues with claims being denied simply because the billing address and the ship to address were different addresses. That’s never happened. That’s never been a reason for denial,” he said.

The sheriff first filed a lawsuit in 2022, arguing the denials were arbitrary and unfairly targeted his office. In 2023, a circuit court agreed, but Woods says the denials continued.

“When you have that, it’s a bad form of government,” he said.

In 2024, Woods filed a contempt petition. A judge later agreed, finding Robinson in contempt and ordering him to pay $6,700 in attorney fees.

Robinson appealed, but the Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.

“We’ve tried to talk and talk it out and meet about it and compromise. When all those things have failed, we leaned on the decision for the courts and I am pleased, thoroughly pleased with the decision they’ve made,” Woods said.

We reached out to Robinson for comment but were directed to his attorney. He is now asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to take the case and overturn the decision, arguing there is no proof of willful wrongdoing.

For now, the ruling stands, and the dispute between the two county leaders continues.

For the next month, Walmart and Sam’s Club shoppers in Arkansas and across the country will have the opportunity to support local hunger relief efforts at the register.

Through May 3, shoppers will be able to round up or donate while checking out as part of the 13th annual “Fight Hunger. Spark Change” campaign, a national partnership between Feeding America and Walmart that supports local Feeding America food banks around the country.

In Arkansas, donations will go to the Arkansas Foodbank, the local Feeding America food bank, which describes itself as the state’s largest hunger relief organization. The organization serves much of central, south and east Arkansas and distributes food from its warehouse to a network of local pantries, schools and shelters.

“We are so excited to partner with the Arkansas Foodbank,” Walmart Vision Center Development Coach Rhonda Johnson said Monday at a news conference at the Walmart on Bowman Road in west Little Rock.

“Every dollar matters,” Johnson said. “Make sure that you donate when you come into our Walmart and Sam’s Clubs.”

Arkansas Foodbank CEO Brian Burton said at the news conference that last year’s campaign yielded more than $188,000 for the food bank.

“The food bank doesn’t do this work alone,” Burton added. “Our 100,000-square-foot warehouse on 65th Street would quickly become a ‘food museum’ if it wasn’t for almost 400 pantry partners, scattered across these 33 counties, that actually move the food, that actually serve the people and carry them through life’s ups and downs.”

Shoppers can also contribute to “Fight Hunger. Spark Change” by donating online or purchasing food items made by companies that are participating in the fundraiser, including Dole, Frito-Lay, Hershey and Kellogg’s. Every participating item purchased at a Walmart or Sam’s Club translates into an additional donation for local hunger relief efforts.

“Funds raised through the campaign help Arkansas Foodbank prioritize nutritious food, including fresh produce, dairy and protein — foods families want and need,” according to a news release. “The support also strengthens local food pantries and meal programs, ensuring neighbors can access food in ways that are dignified and welcoming.”

Lascelles Lyn-Cook Jr., who heads community outreach at Hunter United Methodist Church in Little Rock, said at the news conference that his church’s food pantry has benefited greatly from its retail rescue partnership — through which Walmart diverts unsold food items — with the Bowman store.

“When I first took over with the food pantry, we were able to provide maybe 25 to 35 boxes of food, but now we go at least 160 because of the additional food that we get weekly from Walmart,” Lyn-Cook said.

The food pantry is monthly, Lyn-Cook said, and the 160 boxes feed roughly 500 to 600 people.

A federal report in January ranked Arkansas the hungriest state in the country for the third consecutive year.

The report, which relied on survey responses, estimated that 19.4% of households in Arkansas were food insecure, significantly higher than the 13.3% national average.

“We’ve been through some really hard few months here, with the government shutdown and a tumultuous economy and a lot of uncertainty,” Burton said. “But this is something we can control and we can shape and make better.”