Arkansas
Arkansas orders Chinese company’s subsidiary to divest itself of agricultural land
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas on Tuesday ordered the subsidiary of a Chinese-owned company to divest itself of 160 acres (774,400 square yards) of agricultural land, the first such action under a wave of new laws across the country restricting foreign ownership of farmland.
Attorney General Tim Griffin said Northrup King Seed Co. has two years to divest the property in Craighead County under legislation passed by the majority-Republican Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year.
Northrup is a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, which is owned by China National Chemical Company, or ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned company.
“We will make sure that every company operating in Arkansas is a friend to Arkansas and good to hard-working Arkansans,” Sanders at a news conference with Griffin to announce the move.
Syngenta said it was disappointed in the state’s decision about its land, which the company has owned since 1988. The company said no one from China has ever directed its executives to buy, lease or otherwise engage in land acquisition.
“Our people in Arkansas are Americans led by Americans who care deeply about serving Arkansas farmers. This action hurts Arkansas farmers more than anyone else,” the company said.
Concern has been growing in many states about foreign ownership of farmland. Prior to this year, 14 states had laws prohibiting or restricting foreign ownership and investments in private farmland. But that ballooned to 24 states this year as lawmakers in nearly three-quarters of states considered legislation on the topic, according to The National Agriculture Law Center at the University of Arkansas.
The enforcement action by Arkansas’ attorney general is the first under the wave of new laws, many of which specifically targeted investments from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, said Micah Brown, a staff attorney at the agricultural law center.
“Historically, states that had a law before this year, there wasn’t much enforcement,” said Micah Brown, a staff attorney at the agricultural law center.
Under the Arkansas law, if a company doesn’t divest of the land, the state can take action in court. Griffin did not say whether the state has identified other foreign-owned land that would prompt similar action under the new law.
The state also fined Syngenta $280,000 for not reporting its foreign ownership under a 2021 state law, which gives the company 30 days to pay the fine. Syngenta said Tuesday the company updated its filing with the U.S. Department of Agriculture after an internal review reflecting the change in ownership, and has also filed a copy with the state.
Griffin said he had “full confidence” the company would divest itself of the property and pay the fine, but declined to say whether he has had any conversations with Syngenta.
The surge in state laws targeting land ownership by certain foreigners represents a “a political flashpoint” that Brown says stems from some highly publicized cases of Chinese-connected entities purchasing land near military bases in North Dakota and Texas. The trek of a suspected Chinese spy balloon across the U.S. in February also spurred interest in restrictions in some states.
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Associated Press Writer David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri contributed to this report.
The No. 21 Missouri Tigers enter their final regular season game with the least injury questions than they have had for most other games since the beginning of November.
But, there was a few new additions to the team’s availability report ahead of the Week 14 game against Arkansas. Below is the full availability report for the Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
This post will be updated throughout the week with new availability reports posted Thursday, Friday and 90 minutes before the 3:15 p.m. kick off.
Missouri Initial Availability Report:
Note: Missouri players with injuries previously reported to be season-ending are not listed on this post.
• DB Shamar McNeil – OUT
• LS Brett Le Blanc – OUT
• OL Logan Reichert – OUT
• RB Kewan Lacy – QUESTIONABLE
True freshman running back Kewan Lacy took one carry against Mississippi State in Week 13 before exiting the game with injury. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said in the week leading up to that game that he would expect Lacy to see more opportunities going forward.
Le Blanc handles punting long snapping duties for Missouri, while Trey Flint takes care of field goals and extra points. Expect Flint to slide in for Le Blanc Saturday.
Arkansas Initial Availability Report:
• DL Nico Dalliver – OUT
• DB Jaylon Braxton – OUT
• K Kyle Ramsey – OUT
• DL Anton Juncaj – DOUBTFUL
• RB Braylen Russel – QUESTIONABLE
• DB Anthony Switzer – QUESTIONABLE
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Arkansas Children’s, a private, non-profit paediatric care organisation, has partnered with Press Ganey to improve paediatric patient experience.
Beginning 1 January 2025, this collaboration is aimed at bolstering the paediatric care organisation’s commitment to improving service and care for patients and their families.
Arkansas Children’s executive vice-president and chief operating officer Jamie Wiggins said: “We believe that every interaction with our patients is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.
“By leveraging Press Ganey’s expertise and industry-leading pediatric benchmarks, we will gain valuable insights that will empower our teams to continuously improve and innovate in delivering compassionate care.”
Press Ganey will offer its patient experience and provider star-rating solutions to help Arkansas Children’s monitor feedback and enhance care quality.
The partnership will enable Arkansas Children’s to leverage Press Ganey’s AI-powered text analytics.
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This will help analyse open-ended feedback from online reviews and post-visit surveys, providing an understanding of patient and family perspectives.
The goal is to gain actionable insights that can further improve the patient experience.
Press Ganey provides experience measurement, data analytics and insights to health systems and caters to more than 65% of all freestanding paediatric hospitals.
This partnership will allow Arkansas Children’s to benefit from shared learning and innovation within Press Ganey’s network of institutions.
Press Ganey CEO and chairman Patrick Ryan said: “Families trust Arkansas Children’s to provide the highest quality care for their children.
“This partnership reflects their dedication to listening to families, responding to their needs, and innovating to create a world-class paediatric healthcare experience.”
Arkansas Children’s network includes two paediatric hospitals, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, a research institute, a USDA nutrition centre, and numerous education and outreach programmes.
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PHILLIPS COUNTY, Ark. — A suspect in a Helena-West Helena homicide caused a barricade situation Tuesday as he was being processed in the Phillips County Detention Center.
Authorities said a prisoner who was being processed at the jail was able to get hold of some type of instrument and cause harm to himself.
He barricaded himself in the processing area and pepper spray was used to subdue him.
The prisoner was taken to the local emergency room for treatment. No one else was injured.
Helena-West Helena Police Chief Vincent Bell said he doesn’t know much more about what happened at the jail, but said the inmate is connected to a fatal shooting Tuesday afternoon.
The suspect was being held in connection to an incident where a man was shot dead in the doorway of O’Reilly Auto Parts in West Helena.
The shooting was the result of a disagreement that started in front of a motel, and the victim ran to the front of O’Reilly’s where he was fatally shot.
Chief Bell offered no details on a motive or the name of the victim.
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