Sydney Beiting, slated for an office on the 2026-2027 Ohio FFA State Officer Team, talks with Cole Bauman of the Ohio Ag Net.
Midwest
‘Devil in the Ozarks’ who escaped prison likely still in Arkansas area: officials
It has been 72 hours since a former Arkansas police chief serving decades in prison for murder and rape escaped from prison on Sunday afternoon.
Former Gateway Police Department Chief Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit on Sunday afternoon in Calico Rock, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC).
“We have a pretty good idea of the route that he took and some of those circumstances… and what, if any, lapses happened,” ADC Communications Director Rand Champion said during a Wednesday news conference.
“Based on the information that we have and the experience of our teams, they feel fairly confident that he is still fairly close to this region,” Champion said, noting that “all it takes is one vehicle” for Hardin to use to travel elsewhere, though officials have established a perimeter around the area of Stone County.
MANHUNT UNDERWAY AFTER DISGRACED FORMER POLICE CHIEF CONVICTED OF MURDER, RAPE ESCAPES ARKANSAS PRISON
A photo that the Stone County Sheriff’s Office posted to social media shows Grant Hardin wearing an ADC-style uniform during his escape through a sally port, though Rand Champion said the uniform he was wearing was not an official uniform. (Stone County Sheriff’s Office)
“As of this time, they are still very confident that he is in the area,” Champion said.
Champion said the public should assume Hardin is “a very dangerous individual,” and there is a risk he may commit more crimes while he is on the run.
It took less than 30 minutes for prison officials to notice that Hardin had disappeared from prison. Photos that the Stone County Sheriff’s Office posted to social media show Hardin wearing an ADC-style uniform during his escape through a sally port, though Champion said the uniform he was wearing was not an official uniform.
4 ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY AIDING ESCAPED INMATES IN NEW ORLEANS
“It had to have either been homemade or brought in somehow,” Champion said of the uniform.
Officials with the Arkansas Department of Corrections are searching for an inmate, who is a former police chief, that they said escaped from its North Central Unit on Sunday. (Arkansas Department of Corrections )
Hardin, who became known as the “Devil in the Ozarks,” was sentenced to 30 years for murder plus additional time for rape. He pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of James Appleton, 59, a city water employee who was found shot in the face inside his work truck, KNWA reported.
While Hardin was being booked into the state prison, officials submitted his DNA sample into a database. His DNA ended up linking him to the rape cold case of a teacher in 1997, the outlet reported.
MASSIVE JAIL BREAK IN NEW ORLEANS ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ WITHOUT STAFF INVOLVEMENT, SAYS EX-FBI FUGITIVE HUNTER
The victim, a teacher at Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers, said she was raped by a man with a gun at the school.
“It was proven to be Mr. Hardin beyond all scientific certainty,” Nathan Smith, the prosecuting attorney for Benton County at the time, told the outlet.
Rand Champion said investigators believe Grant Hardin is still in the Arkansas area. (KFSM)
Authorities confirmed Hardin’s DNA matched the DNA linked to the rape suspect. Harrison was ambushed while preparing a lesson plan for the week. The case had been cold for nearly two decades.
Hardin ended up pleading guilty to the rape in 2019.
“Grant Hardin, in my view and in my personal experience, is one of the most dangerous people that I ever seen for the reason that he does not at first appear that way,” Smith previously said. “He is a man capable of a seemingly random, horrific murder as well as a random, horrific rape.”
Hardin is described as a 6′ white male, weighing approximately 259 pounds.
Fox News’ Stepheny Price and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Continue Reading
A celebration of life is being held in Moorhead on Friday for Liz Anne Conmy, who was killed alongside her partner in a plane crash in Brooklyn Park on Saturday.
The celebration of life will take place at RiverHaven Events Center from 4:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.
Those paying their respects are asked not to wear black in accordance with Conmy’s wishes, who said that one shouldn’t wear black to a funeral because it should be a celebration, and are asked to wear something colorful instead.
North Dakota State Representative Conmy and her partner, Dr. Joseph Cass, a retired Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon, were killed when the Beechcraft F33A they were in crashed near Crystal airport.
At this time, an investigation into what caused the crash is still ongoing.
SEE North Dakota lawmaker 1 of 2 killed in plane crash near Crystal Airport
Commy, a mother of four with ties to Minnesota State University and the University of St. Thomas, was known for her dedication to environmental and educational issues.
Friends say the couple had a passion for flying and traveled together all over the country, including in Minnesota, where Cass had a lake house.
SEE Friends, colleagues remember North Dakota lawmaker and partner killed in plane crash
Conmy’s political colleagues say she was preparing to run for a second term in the North Dakota House of Representatives.
Ohio
A talk with incoming Ohio FFA State Officer Sydney Beiting – Ohio Ag Net | Ohio’s Country Journal
Check Also
At the 2026 Ohio FFA Convention on April 30, four FFA members were recognized for …
How to use augmented reality to design your home
Design your house with the help of augmented reality.
Problem Solved, USA TODAY
South Dakota is on track to meet or exceed its revenue estimates by the end of the fiscal year, the Legislature’s lead budget expert said Thursday.
The state is about $10 million ahead of its year-to-date target, said Jeff Mehlhaff, chief fiscal analyst for the Legislative Research Council’s. The state fiscal year ends June 30.
“We’re doing well on the three big revenue sources,” Mehlhaff told lawmakers Joint Appropriations Committee Thursday, referencing sales tax, contractor’s excise taxes and lottery revenue.
The figures Mehlhaff shared are through March. He expects to receive April revenue totals next week.
The contractor’s excise tax is the state’s third-largest source of revenue, and it’s “very close to target,” Mehlhaff said. The state estimated that it would collect 2.4% more revenue this fiscal year than it did the year before. As of the end of March, year-to-date collections were up 2.1%.
Lottery revenue, the second-largest source, is within $43,000 of the state’s year-end target, Mehlhaff said.
Sales taxes represent the state’s largest revenue source. Sales tax collections are about $6 million ahead of the state’s target
“We have three months left, so we could get even further ahead,” Mehlhaff said.
Smaller revenue sources are within range of the state’s target estimates.
The committee will get year-end totals at its next meeting on July 20, and hear revenue targets for fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
-
North Dakota45 seconds agoCelebration of life held for North Dakota lawmaker killed in Brooklyn Park plane crash
-
Ohio7 minutes agoA talk with incoming Ohio FFA State Officer Sydney Beiting – Ohio Ag Net | Ohio’s Country Journal
-
Oklahoma13 minutes agoOklahoma EMT killed in Goodwill house fire
-
Oregon19 minutes agoPain at the pump: Gas prices jump nearly 20 cents in Oregon & Washington since last week
-
Pennsylvania25 minutes agoPennsylvania unemployment rate remains at 4.2% for March: Report
-
Rhode Island31 minutes agoReal Housewives of Rhode Island midseason preview gets even juicier
-
South-Carolina37 minutes ago1 injured in motorcycle crash near Carolina Forest
-
South Dakota43 minutes agoSouth Dakota’s budget is ahead of revenue targets