Championship Coach Charlie Strong to return home as Batesville High’s ‘Hometown Hero’

BATESVILLE, Ark. — Long before he was roaming sidelines in big-time college football and leading programs to championship titles, Charlie Strong was a Batesville Pioneer standard-bearer. On Friday, Nov. 6, the championship coach is coming back to where it all began. The Batesville School District will honor Strong as...

A-State’s new chancellor Dr. Calvin White Jr. has a full agenda

Dr. Calvin White Jr. is a historian by training but he’s very focused on the future. A native of Stuttgart, this son of the Delta now serves as the new chancellor of Arkansas State University’s flagship campus in Jonesboro. He brings nearly 20 years of successive academic leadership experience and scholarly distinction to A-State.

Mountain Home NJROTC cadets visit National Cold War Center

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Mountain Home High School NJROTC cadets traveled to Blytheville on Oct. 21, for a tour of the National Cold War Center, where they learned more about the history of the U.S. military and the role Arkansas played during the Cold War. The trip gave...

Highland schools closed through at least Wednesday

Paisley Rea Crowned 2027 Miss Arkansas State University

Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Paisley Rea, a junior communication sciences and disorders major from Benton, Arkansas, was crowned the 2027 Miss Arkansas State University Wednesday night during the annual scholarship pageant at the Fowler Center on the Arkansas State University campus. Rea earned the title...

8 Arkansas districts get grants to tie vendor pay to student results

Eight school districts in Arkansas have been awarded grants to help them implement outcomes-based contracts to improve student outcomes. School districts from Jonesboro to Harrison to West Fork received $10,000 grants to design and implement an OBC for the 2027-28 school year. Meghan Busbey is the senior director of programs at Forward Arkansas. She says one example of an outcomes-based contract is a tutoring provider for a school district.

Batesville High School to honor Charlie Strong as Hometown Hero on Friday

BATESVILLE — Batesville High School graduate and longtime college and NFL coach Charlie Strong will return to his hometown Friday for recognition as a Hometown Hero during the Pioneers’ football game against Valley View. Strong, a 1978 Batesville High graduate, began his football career as a Pioneer. He...

Wynne, Nettleton to battle for home playoff game Friday

WYNNE — The Wynne Yellowjackets will be playing for a home playoff game Friday when they travel to Nettleton to take on the Nettleton Raiders. Right now, Harding Academy, Wynne and Nettleton are tied for first place in the 5A East going into Friday’s final games of the season.

Harding Academy rallies past Wynne, three-way tie atop 5A East

WYNNE — Harding Academy’s “Eat the Captain” pressure defense dominated the second half, and the Wildcats spoiled Senior Night for the Wynne Yellowjackets with a 22-14 5A East Conference victory at Yellowjacket Stadium Friday night. Wynne jumped out on top in the opening quarter on a...

Newport High School dismissing early due to power outage

NEWPORT, Ark. (KAIT) - Newport School District announced the high school will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. Monday because of a power outage. Entergy Arkansas reported 996 customers in Newport were without power. Restoration is estimated to be done by 12:30 p.m. Because of the outage, the high school will dismiss...

New rookie program brings firefighter training closer to home

Future firefighters in Independence County and surrounding areas can now complete rookie training closer to home through a new program launched at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville’s White River Fire Training Center. The Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce joined UACCB, the Arkansas Fire Training Academy, and...

High schoolers step up at elementary Olympiad

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - From engineering coolers that keep ice cubes frozen to analyzing mystery powders in simulated crime labs, about 60 elementary students across the Jonesboro School District put their scientific curiosity to the test Oct. 31. The district hosted its second elementary science Olympiad, gathering fourth through sixth...

Wimpy Selected for Inaugural Oxford AI Governance Program for Social Scientists

Jonesboro, AR – Contributed –Artificial intelligence (AI) is already arriving in election offices and rural governments across the country, and almost no framework exists for governing it. That’s the case Dr. Cameron Wimpy made in his successful application to a new AI governance program at the University of...

Highland School District closed Friday

HIGHLAND, Ark. (KAIT) - Highland School District campuses will be closed tomorrow, Oct. 30, due to inspections of HVAC systems. In a Facebook post, Highland School District said earlier this week that moisture was discovered in a number of classroom HVAC closets within a section of Cherokee Elementary School. Additional inspections and air quality testing will be done.

Wynne, Harding Academy set for potential 5A East championship showdown

WYNNE — The Wynne yellowjackets are still on top of the 5A East after a 28-20 win over Paragould last week at Paragould. Wynne Yellowjackets coach Randy Coleman said the Jackets have two big games left on the schedule. The first is tonight against Harding Academy. “You know really...

New parking lot open at Wynne Primary School

WYNNE — Wynne Primary School has opened a new parking lot for staff parking and to improve student drop-off and pick-up flow. Families dropping off or picking up kindergarten, first-grade or second-grade students should remain in the outside lane, which leads through the north gate and to the new north parking lot on Lemons Street.

Going the Extra Mile: Lindsey York and Jessica Beshears honored for dedication to area students

Two local educators have been recognized this month by Citizens Bank and their respective school districts for their exceptional dedication to students both inside and outside the classroom. Lindsey York, an elementary physical education teacher in the Midland School District, and Jessica Beshears, a third-grade teacher at Batesville’s Eagle Mountain...

Friday Football Fever Week 11: Munford claims Region 8-5A title with Game of the Week win and more

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) -The final weekend of October means the playoffs are right around the corner in high school football, and the stakes are high for teams across the Mid-South. That was on display in our Game of the Week, a battle for the Region 8-5A championship at Crump Stadium...

Nearly 40 Memphis high schoolers join the U.S. Army

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There are several reasons to choose the military, and this year, nearly 250 people across the Mid-South made that decision. “When I joined, it was because I had a why, and my why was to have a house, to get my education, finish my career, and I have a wife and my […]