Arkansas

Fans of vintage tech, classic games gather in Little Rock for Arkansas Retro Expo | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Published

2 years ago

July 14, 2024

Fans of vintage tech, classic games gather in Little Rock for Arkansas Retro Expo | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The Arkansas Retro Expo brought together game and vintage tech enthusiasts and vendors on Saturday for the second time in its short history.

Brandon Woltse — known as Arkansas Picker by his YouTube subscribers — said he set out to organize the convention’s 2023 inaugural event in Hot Springs after seeing the need for such an event and deciding to fill it.

“Last year, I started going to conventions, and I saw there wasn’t one like this in Arkansas,” Woltse said.

Woltse said the convention started as a failed swap-meet in Bentonville that fell through due to complications finding a venue. The following attempt became the Arkansas Retro Expo, which drew a crowd of around 500 attendees last year with some vendors clearing over $1,000 in sales. This year, Woltse said the crowd was over 600.

“Almost everybody that vended with me cleared over $1,000,” Woltse said. “As a vendor you want to make sure that you clear at least a thousand in sales.”

Woltse said he plans on returning to the Hot Springs convention center for the Arkansas Retro Expo 2025.

The expo on Saturday featured numerous vendors selling a diverse selection of video game memorabilia and tech, as well as valuable merchandise from a variety of gaming franchises. Crowds of people wound their way through a network of pop-up stores to browse the collections organized around a densely packed hotel event space.

Heather Linderman — owner of Pixel Parts, an online video game memorabilia store — was selling unique art pieces that featured game controllers disassembled and presented in shadow box picture frames. Linderman said she creates the pieces with design backgrounds that she makes herself.

Kayla Whillock, a swim instructor and part-time internet streamer, participates in conventions like the Retro Expo all over the country. Whillock said she had just arrived in Arkansas after attending a convention in San Francisco.

Whillock was selling merchandise and playing cards from the trading card game Pokémon. One card she picked up from the table was marked for $70. She said it could fetch a price of over $1,000 if she had the card’s quality verified by a specialized grading agency.

Whillock was also selling a 26-year-old pack of Pokémon bubble gum from 1999 depicting the character Brock and signed by one of the character’s voice actors. She was asking $100 for the item and said that fans in the ’90s would chew the gum and collect the wrappers which featured Pokémon characters.

Other vendors like Bill Bollig of Tuft Lucks was selling handmade rugs that featured logos and characters from popular franchises. “It started out as a hobby, but I realized I could probably sell these,” Bollig said.

Bollig said that the expo was a perfect place to make his business’ debut.

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Arkansas

Texas bee swarm hospitalizes 3; Arkansas doctors explain warning signs of severe reactions

Published

2 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Press Room

Texas bee swarm hospitalizes 3; Arkansas doctors explain warning signs of severe reactions

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — A bee swarm attack in Texas sent three people, including a firefighter, to the hospital this week, while Arkansas medical experts said most bee stings are not dangerous but can become life-threatening in certain cases.

Authorities in San Antonio said the three victims were hospitalized after being swarmed and stung by aggressive bees. Officials have not released details on what triggered the attack or the species involved.

Doctors in Arkansas said the biggest risk from a bee sting is not the sting itself, but a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.

“The concern when you have a bee sting is if you develop a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis,” said Dr. Garrett Lewis, chief medical officer at St. Vincent Infirmary.

Lewis said warning signs include throat swelling, difficulty breathing and feeling faint, which require immediate medical attention.

“If you’re experiencing any throat swelling or severe shortness of breath, you need to seek medical care immediately,” Lewis said.

He added that people who are stung multiple times may also be at risk even without a known allergy, because each sting introduces additional venom into the body.

In the event of a swarm, Lewis said the priority should be escaping the area as quickly as possible and removing any stingers once safe.

“Seek water, seek indoor,” Lewis said. “Once you’re away from the swarm, you want to make sure that you are removing any stingers that might still be in your skin.”

Lewis also said symptoms such as dizziness, nausea and widespread hives can indicate a serious reaction.

While the Texas incident resulted in hospitalizations, a recent swarm outside a Little Rock business ended without injuries after bees briefly gathered on a tree limb before being safely removed by a beekeeper.

Lewis said the best prevention is awareness of surroundings and understanding when medical care is needed after a sting.

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Arkansas

Arkansas DFA Agents seize illegal products in Corning

Published

13 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas DFA Agents seize illegal products in Corning

CORNING, Ark. (KATV) — Regulatory Enforcement Agents with the Department of Finance and Administration, along with local police, seized a significant amount of illegal THC products from Pacific Green in Corning on Tuesday.

According to the DFA, more than a dozen agents joined the City of Corning Police in the day-long operation that resulted in two arrests.

DFA agents seized more than 25 pounds of illegal products consisting of flower, vapes, and edibles.

Owner Ben Bennett and employee Sharia Shipman were arrested and both charged with the following:

Delivery of a Schedule VI controlled substance (Class D Felony)
Possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance with the purpose to deliver (Class B Felony)
Controlled substances – Offenses relating to records, maintaining premises (Class C Felony)
Possession of drug paraphernalia (Class D Felony)
Unauthorized use of another person’s property to facilitate certain crimes (Class C Felony)

Bennett’s bond was set at $150,000, while Shipman’s bond was set at $100,000.

“In addition to selling illegal products, investigators confirmed violations involving underage access at this location,” said David Potter, Director of the Regulatory Enforcement Division. “This retailer, which was located within 1,000 feet of a school, presented significant public health and safety concerns. We are proud to partner with the Corning Police Department in addressing these violations. We seized a substantial quantity of illegal products, including flower, vapes, edibles, and other items, during the operation. We appreciate the cooperation of local law enforcement and information received from the community that led to yesterday’s operation and stopped this blatant disregard of the law.”

Note: All suspects accused of a crime are presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a court of law.

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Arkansas

Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

Published

23 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

Arkansans can now present their driver’s licenses and state identification cards on mobile devices using Apple Wallet, state finance officials announced Wednesday.

The Department of Finance and Administration said Arkansans can use Apple Wallet to present their license or ID in person, online and in apps at select organizations, including at more than 250 Transportation Security

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