El Dorado News-Times

President says he’ll raise tariffs to 15 percent after Supreme Court ruling

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday that he wants a global tariff of 15%, up from 10% he had announced a day earlier after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down many of the far-reaching taxes on imports that he had imposed over the last...

Gas leak prompts street closure in downtown El Dorado

A gas leak was reported on North Hill Avenue in downtown El Dorado on Friday morning. The El Dorado Fire Department arrived on scene at 10:49 a.m. at the corner of Main Street and North Hill Avenue for the reported leak and blocked off North Hill...

Mary Jo Crosley’s 100th birthday party

Tuesday was a celebration at Hudson Memorial Nursing Home for Mary Jo Crosley, who turned 100 years old. Once a month, Hudson Memorial hosts birthday parties for all of its residents to recognize their milestones. Mary Jo was born Feb. 19, 1926, in...

Hugh Goodwin Elementary students craft oversized flag

Hugh Goodwin Elementary children are expanding their creativity with local artist Lisa Tarver on what it means to be artistically different for their upcoming project. Tarver is an Arts in Education instructor with the South Arkansas Arts Center,...

Beat the lines

Tuesday was the kick off to early voting in the Union County and will last for the next two weeks leading up to the official primary election day vote. Early voting gives residents a chance to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day, offering more...

City to relocate workshops for public works, water

City workshops that serve street, sanitation and water/ wastewater operations could have a new home come fall. The El Dorado City Council has voted to purchase property just off Industrial Road — 199 Means Drive — to relocate the city shop on Martin...

Early voting starts Tuesday for primary elections

Early voting begins and polls open at 8 a.m. Tuesday for the 2026 Preferential Primary Election in Union County. County election commissioners have said they are working to ensure that vote centers are prepared and the county electorate is armed with...

Nomination process ongoing for First Financial nonprofit award

So far, so good. First Financial Bank is accepting nominations for their annual Nonprofit Excellence Award ceremony that recognizes the work of nonprofits in Union County. Amber Murphy, who is the vice president of marketing for First Financial Bank,...

Visitors at Crater of Diamonds State Park find 6.03-carat yellow diamond

MURFREESBORO, Ark. — A pair of veteran gem-hunters recently made a remarkable find at Crater of Diamonds State Park. Jack Pearadin, 35, of Nashville, Arkansas, and Michael Schumacher, 43, of Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, have visited the park countless...

Thousands of third-graders could be held back under LEARNS rule

John Crawford is sounding an alarm he fears some parents aren’t heeding: Thousands of third-graders in Arkansas could be forced to repeat the grade next school year. A mixed response “tells me that some of my parents don’t understand the...

Area man arrested after hourslong standoff and overnight manhunt

A Ouachita County man is in custody following an hourslong standoff Tuesday and a manhunt that stretched into the following day. David Davenport was arrested around 11 a.m. Wednesday after being spotted crossing a clearing in Calhoun County, according...

Facility was shuttered in late fall due to a lack of funding

The MAD Playscape is expected to reopen by the end of the month amid ongoing discussions about how the facility will be operated, managed and funded in the future. Mayor Paul Choate announced Tuesday that the city plans to invite area families with...

Arts center celebrates regional photography with Viewfinder exhibition

The South Arkansas Arts Center (SAAC) invites the public to a special artist reception on Thursday, February 12, from 5:30–7:00 PM, celebrating its newest exhibitions presented by the SAAC Visual Arts Committee. The reception is free and open to...

Soul Fest to celebrate 25th anniversary

For a quarter of a century, Michael “Mr. Mike” Jackson has been giving El Dorado the blues. South Arkansas Soul Fest, presented by Mr. Mike’s Productions, will celebrate its 25th anniversary on April 18 at the Union County Fairgrounds. Gates open at...

Soft companion makes a big impact for area foster children

Madison Hannah received a surprise visit from the owners of Xander Community and Lavendar Life Company on Wednesday — a company that donates plush bunnies to children in foster care after every purchase. Owners Vic and Vickie Bennet, began their...

Top Arkansas elected officials report gifts including trips to Israel, elsewhere

Israel was the destination of choice for Arkansas’ top politicians with the governor, senate president pro tempore and speaker of the house all making trips to the country last year. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and House Speaker Brian Evans, R-Cabot,...

Krewe of Mary Lou returns for eighth year to support women in recovery

Michael Rice, owner of FayRay’s restaurant, will host the Krewe of Mary Lou Mardi Gras-theme parade Feb. 8 in honor of his late daughter, Mary Lou Rice. Mary Lou lost her life after struggling with heroin addiction, and because of her love for Mardi...

Boozman, Cotton introduce Shepherd to Senate Judiciary Committee

Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton of Arkansas introduced circuit judge John Thomas Shepherd to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. During the introduction, the two voiced their support for his nomination to the U.S. District Court for the...

House passes bill to end the partial government shutdown

WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday passed a roughly $1.2 trillion spending package to end the partial government shutdown, sending the measure to President Donald Trump and setting the stage for a debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding. The...

Punxsutawney Phil predicts 6 more weeks of wintry weather

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of wintry weather Monday, a forecast sure to disappoint many after what’s already been a long, cold season across large parts of the United States. His annual prediction and...

Contour expected to begin service in city March 16

Area residents can now begin booking commercial flights out of South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Fields. Contour Airlines has begun selling tickets in preparation to begin service March 16 as the area’s new Alternative Essential Air Service...

Last week’s winter storm through the eyes of those in Union County

After Winter Storm Fern left Union County blanketed in ice, sleet and a little snow, we asked you to send in your best photos. And you didn’t disappoint. We got to see baby’s first snow, dogs leaping through frozen yards and neighbors bundled up and...

Mad To Me Cafe feeds local students

Mad to Me Cafe fed students in downtown Smackover on Thursday as schools remained closed due to icy roads. Chicken strips, spaghetti and mac and cheese — Mad To Me Cafe served a buffet for students in the Smackover-Norphlet area to ensure they had a...

Revved up for wintry mix

Vintage sewing machines from the 1800s featured in ‘Stitches in Time’ exhibit

Vintage sewing machines, some dating from the mid1800s, will be featured in the “Stitches in Time” exhibit in the Union Museum of History and Art, from February 3 through 27 at 211 N. Main Street, Farmerville. The collection will be on loan from Tara...

Prices ticked up in November as Americans keep spending

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge ticked up in November in the latest sign that prices remain stubbornly elevated, while consumers spent at a healthy pace. Consumer prices rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, the...

What weather apps sometimes miss about dangerous winter storms

Smartphone weather apps that summarize their forecasts with eyepopping numbers and bright icons may be handy during mild weather, but meteorologists say it's better to listen to human expertise during multifaceted, dangerous winter storms like the one...

Gov. Sanders mobilizes 168 Arkansas National Guard members as winter storm approaches

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has mobilized 168 Arkansas National Guardsmen to state active duty, according to a news release Friday morning from Col. Joel Lynch with the Arkansas National Guard. The deployed guard members include 140 who will staff 28...

Keeping pets safe as winter weather approaches

As a wintry mix of rain, snow and ice approaches the area this weekend, local animal advocates at UCAPS are urging all pet owners to keep their furry animals safe. Union County Animal Protection Society (UCAPS) is a non-kill shelter that homes stray...

Trump cancels tariff threat over Greenland

DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he was canceling his planned tariff on U.S. allies in Europe over US control of Greenland after he and the leader of NATO agreed to a ‘framework of a future deal’ on Arctic...

ARDOT prepares for winter storms

Winter storms have been predicted to hit South Arkansas beginning on Friday, with weather bringing the chance of snow, ice and rain to last through Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, Union County has a 70% chance of rain and sleet...

Power Hour Comedy took over the MAD House 101

The Power Hour Comedy Show hit the stage at the MAD House 101 Restaurant and Bar in El Dorado on Friday, giving people the chance to come out for a laugh to remember. The Power Hour Comedy show is an event hosted by Carter Bryant, a comedian of 10...

Conservative group presses Arkansas to stop executions

A conservative anti-death penalty group is calling on Arkansas to forgo executions, citing concerns about a new form of capital punishment that critics describe as cruel. Known as nitrogen hypoxia, the method entails inhaling nitrogen gas. An Alabama...

Trump says he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back U.S. controlling Greenland

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Friday that he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan Congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the...

Self Culture Club plans MLK weekend in El Dorado

Today is the 97th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which comes four days ahead of the national holiday that commemorates his life and legacy. Locally, the Self Culture Club, a social and community-service organization, has planned several...

Coyote Pine, El Dorado’s fire fighting country music band

For the past year, four of El Dorado’s fire fighters have been spending their free time following a musical dream with their country rock band Coyote Pine. Before their upcoming performance at MAD House on Jan. 15, the band sat down with the...

Habitat for the Holidays program provides benefits for environment

With Christmas now in the rearview mirror, the next step is what to do with the tree. For those that have an actual tree and don’t want to throw it away, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission has a solution that can help the local environment. Habitat...

Parkers Chapel 2026 Sweetheart Court

The Parkers Chapel Trojans will host their Sweetheart game against Claiborne Academy at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 22, beginning with the junior girls and followed by both senior teams. The Sweetheart festivities will begin earlier that afternoon at 12:30 p.m....

Texas man discovers diamond after asking Siri for mining tips

A casual question to a virtual assistant led to an exciting discovery for a Texas family at Crater of Diamonds State Park. James Ward, a 41-year-old high school teacher from Cypress, found a 2.09-carat brown diamond on Tuesday, December 30, while...

Christ Church of El Dorado is ready to praise

Dumas Methodist church has now changed their name to Christ Church of El Dorado, and also completed a $1 million debt-free renovation of their new building in the hope of continuing to expand in their purpose of serving God and the community. The new...

Governor, Clark, Hutchinson and Huckabee praise capture of Maduro

The military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was praised by Arkansas’ governor, a military expert and others on Saturday. Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark of Little Rock said it was “a brilliant...

U.S. captures Maduro, wife in a stunning operation and plans to prosecute them

CARACAS, Venezuela — The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country in an extraordinary military operation early Saturday that plucked a sitting leader from office. President Donald Trump insisted the...

SARH We CARE recipient

Will Langley was the December South Arkansas Regional Hospital CARE recepient. A Facebook post by SARH states, “Will works in the engineering department but is known by staff across all departments for his willingness to act quickly and solve...

Arkansas awarded $208.8 million from federal rural health fund

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Tuesday that Arkansas has received approximately $208.8 million as its first installment from a $50 billion federal fund established by the tax and spending bill signed by President Donald Trump in July. The...

Where are the wackiest New Year’s Eve drops?

Why let New York City have all the fun with its Times Square ball drop on New Year’s Eve? Dozens of places across the U.S. will ring in 2026 by dropping a quirky assortment of fruits, vegetables, sea creatures and balls of all shapes and sizes. Many...

Record $50 million donation backs Arkansas Children’s 10-year plan

Arkansas Children’s Hospital has received a $50 million gift from philanthropist B. Thomas Golisano. The investment is the largest philanthropic gift in the hospital’s history and will support key strategic priorities for the health system, including...

Arkansas on track for 16-year high in whooping cough cases

Despite a slowdown compared to the beginning of the year, the number of annual whooping cough cases in Arkansas is projected to exceed 500 this year for the first time in at least 16 years, according to the state Department of Health. According to a...

‘One day at a time’

Having won three state championships, Ronald Rogers’ place as one of the top basketball coaches in Arkansas is secure. But Rogers’ biggest battle is one that is ongoing. On April 5, 2023, Rogers was diagnosed with cancer. In November, Rogers...

Pope Leo XIV urges the faithful on Christmas to shed indifference in the face of suffering

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day message on Thursday urged the faithful to shed indifference in the face of those who have lost everything, such as in Gaza, those who are impoverished, such as in Yemen, and the many migrants...

Arkansas set to see unseasonably warm Christmas Day

Christmas is shaping up to be unseasonably warm — so much so that many parts of Arkansas could set new high-temperature records. According to Colby Pope, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s North Little Rock office, the high across the...

Short film with local roots debuts online at midnight

A woman sits alone on a pier overlooking an expansive lake. She seems pensive, her solitude purposeful. A soft piano rift plays. The calm is suddenly interrupted by the woman’s voice as she answers a phone call. Listening to her end of the...

Mayor recovering after fall at City Hall

Area residents who have visited City Hall over the past several days may have noticed that the mayor’s office has been empty. Mayor Paul Choate is on the mend after slipping and tumbling down the stairs Dec. 15 at the rear entrance of City...

South Arkansas groups receive state funding

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, along with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, today announced recipients of the Community Assistance Grant Program, which the Governor announced on May 19, 2025, to help fill funding gaps for projects that...

From the pool to patient care

Many athletes like to stay around sports when their playing days end. Isabella Gati is no exception, but in her case, the sport she competed in also helped determine what career she wanted to pursue. Gati began swimming at El Dorado before heading to...

Union County Quorum Court approves resolution to transfer hospital property to city of El Dorado

The Union County Quorum Court met for their regular December meeting on Thursday and voted on a resolution of particular interest to Union County residents and the future of the local hospital. The first major issue before the court was whether to...

Voluntary wintertime cover crop adoption up to 5 percent in state

Using satellite imagery and government data, researchers measured a 5 percent increase in voluntary, or non-subsidized, cover crop adoption by Arkansas farmers. The finding came out of research seeking to pinpoint how farmers were using cover crops...

Local schools use proactive behavior support

When it comes to supporting students behavioral needs, the El Dorado School District specialist works behind the scenes to ensure that students overcome emotional barriers so they can continue to shine in their academics. Kelsey Jones, behavior...

Barton Junior High supports UCAPS shelter

Barton Junior High student council donated food and raised $1000 for UCAPS Adoption Center in El Dorado to better support the facility’s purpose in providing a safe haven for stray animals. UCAPS is an adoption center that fosters dogs and cats while...

City, county officials advancing efforts for hospital tax proposal

El Dorado and Union County municipal officials are advancing efforts to plan a special election for a city sales tax to support operations for South Arkansas Regional Hospital. However, one city official has asked for more consideration and time to...

City to change operating schedule for holidays

With Christmas less than two weeks away, the city of El Dorado has revised a portion of its operating schedule to work around the holiday and better accommodate city employees and local residents. Most city employees will be gifted a four-day weekend...

Senate rejects extension of health care subsidies

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday rejected legislation to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, essentially guaranteeing that millions of Americans will see a steep rise in costs at the beginning of the year. Senators rejected a Democratic bill to...

KEB winding down year, gearing up for 2026

The year is winding down for Keep El Dorado Beautiful and while members of the group are taking time to enjoy the holiday season, they are also lining up projects and their outlook for 2026 to continue promoting KEB’s goals of litter prevention,...

Two arrested after minor reports repeated sexual abuse

A Columbia County couple is facing charges of rape and permitting abuse of a minor. Kenneth Ray Davis, 50, of Waldo, was taken into custody on Sept. 29 on charges of rape, and Alvinita Steward, 42, of El Dorado, was taken into custody on Sept. 29 on...

Seasonal sickness arise

Wash your hands, wear your hat and make sure to sanitize — seasonal sickness is here, and one local nurse practitioner is offering tips on how to keep healthy this season. Nurse practitioner, Jordan Longnecker spoke to the El Dorado News-Times about...

Holiday events continue downtown

Main Street El Dorado is rolling through its holiday events and to help attract more visitors downtown, the group issued a reminder about its final event of the year. MSE is inviting families to share in the spirit of Christmas and explore downtown...

Student Teacher: Stone illustrates viewpoints with zines

Jill Stone has had a hectic schedule of late. Stone, who graduated from El Dorado in 2024, is a sophomore at Arkansas. But in addition to college, she recently appeared at the South Arkansas Arts Center to host “Mini Masterpieces: A Collage Zine...

Holiday Season Concert set for Dec. 12

While Christmas carols typically take center stage during this time of year, area residents also give a nod to blues and southern soul music with the annual Holiday Season Concert, presented by Mr. Mike’s Productions. The show is set for Dec. 12 in...

ARDOT awards over $170M in construction contracts

The Arkansas Department of Transportation has awarded over $170 million in new contracts and completed 57 projects across the state since the last Arkansas Highway Commission meeting on Oct. 14. At Wednesday’s Arkansas Highway Commission meeting,...

Northwest Elementary teacher shares passion on Special Education Day

Tuesday marked Special Education Day worldwide for teachers and students to celebrate the efforts poured into the field dedicated to developing better help for students with disabilities. Stephanie Hetrick, a self-contained teacher for kindergarten...

Christmas parade set for Thursday

“Families, friends and visitors” are “welcome” to share in the magic of the holiday season during the 2025 El Dorado Christmas Parade, which is set for 7 p.m. Thursday. The theme of this year’s parade is “Welcome Home for the Holidays.” The El Dorado...

El Dorado Wins Board expected to get to work at the first of the year

It has been two months since collections began for the new El Dorado Wins tax and nearly three weeks since the El Dorado City Council formally established a five-member board to administer the tax. The next step, Mayor Paul Choate said, is to swear in...

More than $1 of every $8 allotted for Arkansas’ student accounts last year go unused

A Jonesboro mother set to receive nearly $14,000 total in Educational Freedom Account funds this school year said that more than half of that money is likely to remain unspent and will roll over into next year. She is not alone. Roughly $12.3 million...

Food, coat drive underway at Retta Brown

There is a heightened sense of giving to others during the days and weeks leading up to the holidays. At Retta Brown Elementary School, there is an immediate need for food to restock the food pantry at the school, as well as coats of all sizes at the...