News

After nearly a year of renovation work, Little Rock’s Amphitheater is back in business.

Formerly known as the Riverfest Amphitheater, and now the First Security Amphitheater, the venue hosts many events throughout the year, including next week’s Riverfest and the summer series Movies in the Park. 

DeAnna Korte, Executive Director of Riverfest, says the repair effort was a collaboration.

A federal judge has granted a request to temporarily block enforcement of a new Arkansas law that bans most abortions 12 weeks into a pregnancy.

U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright granted a motion Friday for a preliminary injunction against the ban, set to take effect in August.

The state's Republican-led Legislature enacted the ban in March by overriding a veto from Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe.

Arkansas House Speaker Davy Carter says he won't seek the Republican nomination for governor next year. Carter announced Friday he won't be joining the gubernatorial race. 

Carter said last month he might seek the Republican nomination. Carter was elected House speaker last year after Republicans won control of the state Legislature in the November election. The 38-year-old has served in the state Legislature since 2009.

A hearing is scheduled in a federal lawsuit challenging a new Arkansas law that bans most abortions 12 weeks into a pregnancy.

Friday's hearing is expected to focus on a request to temporarily block enforcement of the ban that is set to take effect in August.

The hearing comes in a lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and the Center for Reproductive Rights brought on behalf of two Little Rock abortion providers.

The Sequoyah National Research Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is receiving a $20,000 grant for an exhibit on stereotypes of Native Americans.

The Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council is awarding the grant to the research center to process and exhibit the Herschfelder-Molin Stereotypes Collection.

The collection shows American Indians during the history of the United States being depicted stereotypically as the "noble savage," the "Indian princess" and the "drunken Indian."

Filmmakers from around the country are gathering in Little Rock this week to attend the Little Rock Film Festival. The success of the festival, now in its seventh year has grown into a bellwether of the film scene around the state.

As KUAR’s Chris Hickey explains, local filmmakers have entered a new era, eschewing the Hollywood model and embracing a localized, independent and regional approach as more talented storytellers choose to stay in Arkansas and develop the resources they need.

A nonprofit group has withdrawn its proposal to convert the Hale Bath House into a cultural arts center in downtown Hot Springs.

The Muses Creative Artistry Project says it pulled its plan because it was unable to raise enough money for the project. The Muses President Deleen Davidson says the organization is disappointed that the capital campaign didn't raise enough money.

The Hale Bath House was built in the 1890s and closed in 1978.

Arkansas has taken over the financially struggling Mineral Springs School District, dissolving the southwest Arkansas district's school board.

Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell on Thursday announced the state had taken over the district, which had been classified as fiscally distressed in December. The state Education Department says the district faces a severe budget deficit and doesn't have sufficient cash flow to finish the fiscal year.

Acting district Superintendent Bill Blackwood will stay on board until Kimbrell appoints a new superintendent.

A new study says natural gas drilling, or fracking, hasn't contaminated drinking water wells in Arkansas but researchers say the geology there is more of a natural barrier to pollution than in other areas where drilling takes place.

Duke University professor Avner Vengosh says the team "didn't see any contamination" in an area of heavy drilling in north-central Arkansas. Members of the U.S. Geological Survey were also part of the study examining 127 drinking water wells for evidence of pollution from methane gas or chemicals.

Congressman Tim Griffin of Arkansas will be among lawmakers with key questions Friday for the top Internal Revenue Service official who resigned this week amid a scandal over heightened scrutiny of conservative groups.

Former acting Commissioner Steven Miller is to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee. Griffin, a Republican from Little Rock, is a member of the committee.