By Andrew DeMillo | Editor-in-Chief

The Top 3

 Board of Corrections Chairman Jamie Barker (center) and board member Nathan Lee (left) listen to department staff during a Sept. 21, 2026 board meeting. (Photo by Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate)

Board of Corrections Chairman Jamie Barker (center) and board member Nathan Lee (left) listen to department staff during a Sept. 21, 2026 board meeting. (Photo by Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate)

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

By Ainsley Platt

The Arkansas Department of Corrections will shift its focus away from creating a policy restricting access to physical books in an effort to prevent illegal drugs from entering prisons, officials told the state corrections board Monday. 

 Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman chats with Col. Matthew Mason, commander of the Pine Bluff Arsenal, before a news conference at the U.S. Army facility on Sept. 21, 2026. (Photo by Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman chats with Col. Matthew Mason, commander of the Pine Bluff Arsenal, before a news conference at the U.S. Army facility on Sept. 21, 2026. (Photo by Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

By Tess Vrbin

WHITE HALL — A South Korean company announced Monday it will build its first United States facility that produces artillery ammunition at Arkansas’ Pine Bluff Arsenal, creating about 400 jobs with an average wage of $50 per hour over seven years.

 A mother and her son hold hands on a swing set. (Photo by Troy Bennett/Maine Morning Star)

(Photo by Troy Bennett/Maine Morning Star)

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

By Antoinette Grajeda

Action is needed to address the uninsured rate for Arkansas children, which remains at its highest level in a decade, according to an Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families report released Wednesday. 

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