Arkansas

Other days | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

1 year ago

March 10, 2025

Press Room

100 years ago

March 10, 1925

D.G. Armstrong, superintendent of North Little Rock schools, was unanimously elected president of the Arkansas Polytechnic College at Russellville at a meeting of the Board of Trustee’s yesterday in Russellville. He has accepted and will assume his duties July 1. Mr. Armstrong’s second term as superintendent of the North Little Rock schools will expire June 30. Two weeks ago, he was re-elected for a third term but has resigned to accept the college offer.

50 years ago

March 10, 1975

The relatively innocent-sounding subject of punch-card voting has stirred a classic battle of the lobbyists in the halls of the state Capitol. The Arkansas League of Woman Voters has planted itself squarely in the path of a bill the would allow counties to use a punch-card voting system instead of paper ballots or voting machines. Of the 75 Arkansas counties, 63 use paper ballots and 12 use machines.

25 years ago

March 10, 2000

PINE BLUFF — Officials continued their investigation Thursday into what caused eight employees working on a chemical weapons incinerator complex at the Pine Bluff Arsenal to become ill Wednesday afternoon. The Raytheon Demilitarization Co. employees were installing a waterline in a six-foot-deep trench leading to a container handling facility, which is under construction. Shortly after noon Wednesday, they reported feeling nauseous, tightness in the chest and difficulty breathing, arsenal officials said. Six of the employees were treated by medical personnel at a first-aid station near the site. Two employees were sent to the Health Care Plus medical clinic in Pine Bluff because of “elevated blood pressure,” officials said, but were treated and given approval to return to work. Chemical agents stored at the arsenal did not cause the illnesses, officials said.

10 years ago

March 10, 2015

A broad effort in the Legislature to end the practice of “re-homing” adopted children in Arkansas will have the support of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a spokesman said Monday. On Monday, a state senator filed legislation similar to bills filed by two other lawmakers that aim to end a practice brought to light last week by the Arkansas Times. The Times’ story detailed how Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, and his wife, Marsha, “re-homed” two adopted daughters, which resulted in the rape of one of the girls by her new caretaker. On Monday, a spokesman for Hutchinson, J.R. Davis, said that the governor met last week with the two state representatives who filed the legislation, and that the governor plans to work with lawmakers and officials from the Department of Human Services and to be involved as the bills go through the legislative process.

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Arkansas

Arkansas Governor joins national A.I. workforce initiative

Published

8 hours ago

June 25, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas Governor joins national A.I. workforce initiative

LITTLE ROCK, AR (KATV) — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has joined a new national artificial intelligence initiative that launched Thursday, June 25.

RAISE US, started by former Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana and Gina Raimondo, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce is a nonpartisan national organization that will partner with governors, employers, workers and training organizations to help the workforce transition to an AI economy.

“As artificial intelligence transforms America’s economy, we have one clear message: technology should empower people, not replace them. By leveraging our Arkansas LAUNCH initiative, and with the resources and expertise provided by RAISE US, Arkansas will turn that mission into reality. We want the Natural State to be a leader on education, workforce training, and up-skilling, and this new partnership gives us the tools we need to build a model for the entire nation.”

The organization will design and pilot incentives to retrain workers, new approaches to support job transitions, and training models tied to employer demand.

RAISE US launches with more than two dozen American companies and philanthropies and initial state partnerships in Connecticut, Maryland and Utah.

“America has a technology strategy for leading the global AI competition. It does not yet have a people strategy — and we cannot lead without one,” Raimondo, who will serve as CEO of RAISE US, said.

“If we build the best AI systems in the world and leave millions of Americans behind, we won’t have won anything; we’ll have automated our own decline. I believe AI will create new jobs and industries over time, but the transition could be disruptive, and it’s already underway. We shouldn’t fearmonger, but we can’t pretend our training and worker support systems are ready either. It’s time for innovative and practical solutions. This moment demands ambition, urgency, and creativity. We’ve assembled the country’s top companies, best economists, and bipartisan governors at a scale rarely seen — all to advance new ideas and incentives, pilot them with governors and business, and scale what works.”

Governor Sanders is partnering with RAISE US to support Arkansas LAUNCH, an AI-powered career navigation platform that connects students and jobseekers to personalized learning and employer-linked career pathways.

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