Bull Shoals councilman resigns while under state ethics investigation as city’s troubles deepen

Councilman Randal Bolen resigned May 5 while under an active Arkansas Ethics Commission investigation over a March 26 council meeting where he named five citizens by name and urged voters to reject them at the ballot box for filing Freedom of Information Act requests. Mayor Bill Stahlman remains under a separate ethics investigation tied to…

ByChris FultonMay 8, 20260Comments

Education Feature Government News

Judge issues ruling in FOIA suit against School Board

Baxter County Circuit Court Judge John Putman ruled against the Mountain Home School District and its Board of Education on Tuesday in the FOIA lawsuit filed by resident Melissa Klinger in May, declaring that the board violated open-meeting laws through text message exchanges. The ruling follows the school board's July 2 response to the lawsuit,…

ByChris FultonJuly 25, 20240Comments

Feature Government

Citizen-initiated government transparency act proposal submitted to Arkansas Attorney General

The proposed act is a companion to a constitutional amendment draft submitted last week; both would broaden access public meetings and government records Arkansas government transparency advocates proposed a ballot measure on Monday that would define a public meeting and create a special body to help citizens denied access to public records. Arkansas Citizens for…

ByMHO Newsroom StaffDecember 6, 20230Comments

Feature Government News

Gov. Sanders’ attempt to hide records with FOIA reforms joins father’s legacy of government secrecy

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has blinked. Following a long and messy second day that saw dozens of Arkansans testify before the State Agencies Committee in the Senate, Sanders called for both the House and the Senate to limit FOIA reforms to only touch security, backing down from her attempt to shield the executive branch…

ByChris FultonSeptember 13, 20230Comments

Government News

Tidal wave of opposition swamps Arkansas governor’s FOIA battleship

UPDATE: Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester late Monday night introduced a new version of the bill to add exemptions to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. It can be read here. Proposed new exemptions to Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act drew strong opposition across the political spectrum over the weekend, forcing legislative leaders to scramble…

ByMHO Newsroom StaffSeptember 13, 20230Comments

Government News

Arkansas FOIA Task Force unanimously rejects Sanders’ FOIA changes

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Task Force voted unanimously Monday to reject Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ attempted "reforms" of the state’s sunshine laws. The task force, which was created by Act 932 of the Arkansas General Assembly in 2017, was formed to advise lawmakers on proposals that would affect the state's Freedom of Information…

ByChris FultonSeptember 12, 20230Comments

Feature Government News

Sanders calls for special session over FOIA reforms, Flippo to sponsor

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has called for a special session with the State legislature that may take the sunshine out of Arkansas’s sunshine law. During a 10 a.m. press conference in Little Rock, Sanders stated changes to the state's FOIA law were needed to protect her family and bring the state in line with…

ByChris FultonSeptember 8, 20230Comments

Government News

Attorney General Griffin announces creation of FOIA review working group

Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement announcing the creation of his Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Review Working Group and its members: “The last time FOIA was modernized, the iPhone hadn’t been invented yet. Since then, the use of digital records and new communications technology has increased exponentially, making it possible…

ByChris FultonJune 15, 20230Comments

Education Elections Feature Government News

Chester claims school board did not illegally discuss business in video, later retracts

Mountain Home Public School Board Member Bob Chester has become the first school board member to release a public statement following the exposure of the school board’s secret group chat and FOIA violation. In a roughly 30 minute long video posted to YouTube Wednesday night, Chester denied that the school board had discussed policy in…

ByChris FultonApril 28, 20230Comments

Education Elections Feature Government News

Superintendent Long admits to secret school board chat group, texts regularly deleted

Mountain Home School District Superintendent Jake Long has confessed to operating a secret group chat between himself and members of the Mountain Home School Board following the Observer’s discovery of the group chat during an investigation into text message communications uncovered by a local resident's watch dog group. The group chat, which was created by…

ByChris FultonApril 26, 20230Comments