Arkansas
Arkansas was not always ‘the Natural State’, here were the state’s other nicknames
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Arkansas is known as “the Natural State” but that hasn’t always been the case.
In the state’s earlier days, Arkansas had unofficial nicknames but did not get an official one until the 20th century.
Here were some of the early unofficial nicknames:
- The “Bear State”: The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said pre-settlement estimates showed there were more than 50,000 bears in the state. Most of the bears were Louisiana black bears, one of 16 species native to the United States. By the 1930s, the bears in the state were almost hunted out completely.
- The “Toothpick State”: Early Arkansans kept large sheath or belt knives on their person. Some were double-edged knives called “dirks”. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas said in 1837 one state representative dispatched of another with a knife “[cementing]the new state’s renown as a violent place.
- “Rackensack”: No one knows exactly where this nickname came from but CALS said by the end of the 1840s, it was used as an exaggerated definition for the rural and hilly western parts of Arkansas.
The “Wonder State”
In 1923, Arkansas officially got a nickname when the legislative assembly recognized the Arkansas Advancement Association’s activities. The AAA was a group of businessmen looking to attract economic investment to the state and improve its image.
Former governor Charles H. Brough was an advocate for AAA and traveled around the south earlier in the decade praising the natural resources the state had to offer.
A resolution from January 1923 said, “It is an admitted fact that the State of Arkansas excels all others in natural resources, its store of mineral wealth being practically inexhaustible, its vast forests supplying pine and hardwoods in quantities sufficient to place the state in the forefront, and its agricultural and horticultural prowess recognized not only in the United States; but in foreign countries.”
The resolution claimed the “Bear State” nickname was a misnomer and led to a false impression while the “Wonder State” is accurate and deserves special recognition.
“Though official, the nickname did little to change popular perceptions of Arkansas as an underdeveloped, even backward, state,” the Encyclopedia of Arkansas said.
“Land of Opportunity”
Since the nickname did little to improve the state’s image, a second group of businessmen called the “Committee of 100” looked to come up with a new nickname.
Looking to improve economic development in Arkansas, the group decided on the “Land of Opportunity”.
Although not official at the time, the nickname was added to license plates in the 1940s and was printed on various promotional materials, according to CALS.
In 1953, the Arkansas General Assembly passed a resolution by dropping the “Wonder State” and replacing it with the “Land of Opportunity.”
The “Natural State”
In the back half of the 20th century, tourism in the state started to grow. In the 1980s, the Arkansas parks system adopted the “Natural State” nickname to help highlight the state’s natural landscape, the Encyclopedia of Arkansas said.
State Representative Dennis Young introduced a legislation in 1995 wanting to change the nickname to the “Natural State” as it proved to be more popular than the previous one.
Young cited the “unsurpassed scenery, clear lakes, free-flowing streams, magnificent rivers, meandering bayous, delta bottomlands, forested mountains and abundant fish and wildlife” Arkansas has to offer.
His bill became Act 1352 later that year and the nickname has stuck ever since.
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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