by Ainsley Platt, Arkansas Advocate
March 31, 2025

Cave City was quiet last week.

The day after a high-end EF-3 tornado ripped through the small Sharp County town with 165-mile-per-hour winds on March 14, the main stretch had been abuzz with volunteers, heavy machinery and people sifting through what remained of their homes, businesses and storage units.

Fifteen tornadoes touched down in Arkansas during the March 14-15 severe weather event, according to the National Weather Service. Three people were killed in neighboring Independence County by the same tornado that devastated Cave City. That tornado was also the longest-tracked tornado in Arkansas since 2008, according to the weather service, remaining on the ground for over 80 miles — something the service noted as being “exceptionally rare” for a tornado in Arkansas.

Fast forward a week and a half, and the atmosphere in town has changed. Power lines no longer litter the sidewalk on one side of Main Street. People weren’t slowing in their cars, gawking and taking videos on their phones as they drove past the destruction. Cell service had been restored, even if it was somewhat spotty.

The cleanup had made remarkable progress, even after a week that began with a tornado and continued with whipping winds and fires that burned homes in an already-devastated area. 

The remains of the town’s pharmacy — totalled by the tornado — are gone. Only a concrete pad and a small pile of rubble remain. The church and the grocery store are surrounded by fences, their roofs covered with tarps and sheet metal to keep out future rain. An excavator began tearing into a brick house next door to the grocery store, pulling down what remained of its roof.

Other than people operating heavy machinery — clearing debris and trees — not many people were walking around.

Irma Carrigan, who runs the Crystal River Cave Tours and Motel, said the day after the storm that she wasn’t convinced the hordes of volunteers and support that arrived in town after the storm would last. But on Wednesday, a week and a half after the tornado that totaled her car and pulled down a massive tree in her yard, crushing one of the many small buildings on her property, Carrigan said she’d been pleasantly surprised by just how much people wanted to help, noting that she hadn’t heard one complaint from those who had arrived to offer assistance.

“It has all been very positive, very caring people,” Carrington said. “They set up food centers for different places. We didn’t have to cook during all of that.”

“The volunteerism is just phenomenal,” Carrington said. Still, sometimes it could be overwhelming, she noted, being asked by volunteers how to help when those impacted themselves still weren’t sure.

“You just look ignorant to them because you’re just saying, ‘I don’t know,’” Carrington said.

The waves of volunteers ebbed about five days after the storm, Carrigan reported, but she was grateful for the help she got. A nonprofit brought in a crane, cut up the huge tree into chunks, and helped haul it onto a family friend’s truck. Some roofers reattached a part from her roof that had blown off in the storm.

Still, other things have been slow coming. Carrigan said that as of Wednesday, they were still being told they had to boil their water. Their internet only returned two days prior, and cell service wasn’t always reliable.

In the aftermath of the storm, sleep was sometimes hard to come by.

“Your brain won’t turn off,” Carrigan said. “I think mentally, you can’t shut it off. You’re still thinking, ‘What am I going to be doing tomorrow? What can I do?’ You just continue to pray that you’ll get guidance and where you need to go next.”

Walking down one of the roads that branched off from Main Street, Carrigan pointed to her neighbors’ houses. The white, two-story, former boarding house next to hers was the oldest in town, she said, and one of its occupants was on hospice. It was badly damaged.

Next door to it was a smaller house, the back of it torn open. Those neighbors, Carrigan said, were trapped under the rubble of their home for hours after the tornado hit. One of them was over 90 years old. She said she’d heard that the property had already been sold to someone else.

The yellow house even farther down was occupied by another elderly neighbor in their 90s, Carrigan reported. They planned to repair the damage, she’d heard.

Another neighbor will tear down and put in a mobile home, Carrigan said. Yet another told Carrigan they were considering a modular home.

“He said, ‘I’m too old to build. I’m too old to rebuild,’” Carrigan said of the neighbor who was considering a mobile home. “And he said, ‘I want something; I don’t want to wait two or three years to get it.’”

Some people were scared to even clean their windows until their insurance appraisers showed up, Carrigan said, leaving some in a state of limbo.

Carrigan expressed support for a federal disaster declaration, which Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders requested last week. Sander asked for additional federal help over the weekend.

“I would think they would,” Carrigan said of the federal government helping with disaster recovery. “I mean, I can’t imagine a disaster any worse.”

However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which normally manages federal disaster responses, is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration as one of its targets to be shut down, with the Washington Post reporting that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressed support for removing FEMA’s role in recovering from disasters by October. 

It’s unclear how such an action would impact a federal disaster response in Arkansas if the declaration is approved. Stateline reported last month that disaster experts and states have said that they aren’t able to take on the role FEMA currently fills.

Carrigan wasn’t the only one who would like to see the disaster declaration approved. Brandi Schulz, the executive director of the Cave City Area Chamber of Commerce, said the money that would be available to both businesses and residents would help with the recovery.

“From a chamber director perspective, I know that (a federal disaster declaration) would open up some options for our businesses that were impacted,” Schulz said. “I know that there were going to be more options, supplemental options, outside of insurance if that does go through, so in that regard, I am hoping that we can get more assistance to our businesses and also to our residents.”

Schulz described Cave City as a “very DIY community,” and said that it, combined with the support of volunteers and donors, meant that the city would likely be in “a very good place” on debris removal within the next week. Roughly 59 people have been displaced by the tornado in the area, Schulz estimated.

Taking care of the physical needs of those who were affected doesn’t just mean helping clear debris, however. Schulz said the wife of the town’s fire chief, whom the chamber director said “specializes in trauma debriefing,” has been offering resources for the community.

“I think the biggest thing is people knowing that they’re not alone, that we’re here for them,” Schulz said. “And I think we’ve shown that in the last week or so.”

Carrigan expressed some frustration with communication from state and local authorities, even as she said she appreciated what they were doing and was satisfied with the rate at which cleanup and recovery had been happening. She heard that state money was available to those impacted to help with storm recovery, but wasn’t able to figure out how to apply. She said the Red Cross opened a shelter, only to close it 48 hours later.

“I went up to the Assembly of God to check out, try to find this Red Cross and they said, ‘Well, they were here, but nobody came up here to use their services,’” Carrigan said. “And I said, ‘Well, honey, nobody knew that they were here.’”

Schulz said local officials made efforts to reach people who weren’t able to get online information, at one point distributing fliers, she said. 

The Red Cross confirmed it closed the shelter due to lack of use.

“We had some families that expressed interest, and then had found other places to say,” Red Cross regional spokesperson Sharon Watson said, adding that they had been coordinating with local faith leaders and town officials to get the word out. “Some had requested hotels, and we didn’t have hotel vouchers to offer because we had a shelter set up, and our shelter was available so therefore they opted to find other places to stay, which we completely understand.”

Watson noted that the shelter wasn’t the only way it was helping the community. On Thursday, the Red Cross opened several “Multi-Agency Resource Centers” in conjunction with the Arkansas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster for those affected by the tornado outbreak, designed to serve as a “one-stop shop” for residents to get answers from state and local authorities about disaster assistance. 

The MARCs were open from Thursday to Sunday in different cities — Diaz on Thursday, Cave City on Friday, Melbourne on Saturday, and Pocahontas on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, management of volunteers and donations was handed over to Eight Days of Hope, a Christian nonprofit, after being managed by local officials such as Schulz. 

Gale Manning, the rapid response manager for the Cave City relief efforts, said the organization will be on the ground until April 5. Volunteers have been helping cut up and haul off trees, he said, to help make the area safer. He said roughly 70 to 80 people had been volunteering on the weekdays, with volunteers coming from as far away as Alaska.

“They’re devastated,” Manning said of the people who had been impacted by the storm. “They’ve lost their life savings, belongings. But, you know, as the days go on, they feel a bit better. Again, we share the gospel and we let them know that God’s in control and that he knows what’s going on, and he promised us all a better day.”

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

The post Arkansas town hit hard by tornado making progress appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

by Tess Vrbin and Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate
March 30, 2025

Arkansas legislative leaders say they expect long days at the Capitol during the home stretch of the 2025 legislative session, which they anticipate ending by April 16.

“We’re going to start earlier in the day and we’re going to work late in the day” to move bills through committees and through the House and Senate, Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said in an interview Wednesday.

For any Senate bills that don’t pass Senate committees this week, “it’s going to be very, very difficult for them to move forward,” he said.

House Speaker Rep. Brian Evans echoed those sentiments Friday, noting that Monday and Tuesday will likely be heavy bill filing days because waiting to file beyond that will make it really difficult for legislation to make it all the way through the process. Many bills already have been delayed due to drafting, amendments and last-minute changes, as well as waiting on fiscal impact statements, according to Evans, who said he wasn’t aware of any urgent or controversial bills that have yet to be filed. 

The Cabot Republican said he’s been speaking with House committee chairs about how to clear their calendars and ensure bills that will be heard are placed on the active agenda. The latter is important for transparency and ensuring constituents have time to make arrangements to speak for or against legislation, he said.

In addition to finalizing the state’s fiscal year 2026 budget, the Legislature is expected to consider some of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ policy priorities for the session that have not yet become law.

Two such bills are sponsored by Hester: Senate Bill 377, which would eliminate the state’s 0.125% grocery sales tax, and Senate Bill 426, the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act. The latter would mandate that Arkansas law enforcement agencies participate in a federal program that deputizes them to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the apprehension and deportation of undocumented migrants held in local jails and state prisons.

Hester said he hopes to present SB 426 for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. SB 377 is on Monday’s Senate Revenue and Tax Committee agenda.

Regulating minors’ access to cellphones and social media has also been a priority for Sanders. Two bills modeled after federal legislation passed the House with bipartisan support this month: House Bill 1717 is the Arkansas Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, and House Bill 1726 is the Arkansas Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

Arkansas panel advances children’s online safety and privacy bills modeled after federal efforts

Senate committees will make time to consider both bills even if special orders of business are necessary, Hester said. A special order of business compels consideration before other items on a committee agenda. 

Sanders said in January, during her State of the State address, that the Legislature should amend the Social Media Safety Act of 2023 “so that it’s no longer held up in court and can begin to be enforced.” The enjoined law would have been the first in the nation to require minors to receive parental permission before signing up for a social media account.

So far no such amendments to the law have been proposed, but Hester said he expects it to “happen one way or another” since the governor said it is important to her.

“It may be something we don’t have to handle because it’s getting handled in other ways,” Hester said. “Maybe we’re confident that we’re going to end up winning in court. Maybe we’re confident that… President [Donald] Trump’s executive orders will handle it or something that they’re doing on the federal level.”

Compensation, prisons and China

The Senate is set to take up a proposed revamp of the state employee pay plan Monday, which passed the Joint Budget Committee on March 20. Sanders announced the plan in November and said it should make most state employees’ salaries competitive with the private sector and improve recruitment and retention.

The pay plan has not been controversial, unlike Sanders’ plan to build a 3,000-bed prison on 815 acres the state purchased in Franklin County. Earlier this month, the Joint Budget Committee approved a $750 million appropriation for the project, which has sparked frustration from some lawmakers and Franklin County residents.

Evans said he anticipates the prison appropriation legislation, Senate Bill 354, will continue generating discussion and could take a couple of tries to meet the required vote threshold in the House. Most bills need a simple majority of lawmakers’ support to pass, but budget-related bills need three-fourths of the support of each chamber, or 76 House votes and 27 Senate votes.

“When you’re talking about 100 members, it’s a lot of different opinions, a lot of different ideas, last-minute questions that come up,” he said. “Maybe there’ll be some folks not vote for it the first time just so that they get some extra time, make sure they have all their questions answered.”

Hester said he expects the bill to come before the full Senate on Tuesday. He said he could not predict how the Senate will vote; there is no limit on how many votes an appropriation bill receives before it reaches the three-fourths vote threshold.

Sanders urged passage of the appropriation in an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette op-ed Friday and called on state lawmakers to “[r]eject the tired excuses of politicians who don’t want criminals behind bars. Fund the prison, public safety, and a better future for all Arkansans.”

Sanders has also expressed support for a package of bills that will ban certain interactions between state entities and the Chinese government. She and other Republicans have criticized China’s activities in the state, including its past ownership of farmland in Craighead County.

Only one of the six bills has been signed into law and the rest are at various stages of the legislative process, but Hester said there is “nothing more popular with constituents than pushing back on China and what they’re doing to us.”

Constitutional amendments and education

Prior to last week’s recess, the House State Agencies Committee spent three weeks considering 20 proposed constitutional amendments. Evans anticipates the committee will begin ranking the proposals this week and likely send the top five to the House for further consideration. The Senate has 24 proposals to consider.

The Arkansas Legislature can refer three proposed constitutional amendments to voters during a legislation session, with each chamber generally selecting one and jointly selecting a third, Evans said. However, it’s not a requirement that lawmakers always refer three amendments, he said. 

“I think it’s really, really important to understand that just because we can do three, does not mean that we have to do three,” he said. “But also with the understanding that if we are going to present something forward, refer something out to the public to vote, I think it needs to be something that is really important statewide.”

Also this week, Evans said he anticipates Rep. Keith Brooks, a Little Rock Republican who succeeded him as chair of the House Education Committee this year, will run the biannual public school funding bill, which dictates per-student funding. House Bill 1312 was expected to be considered prior to the break, but was held up because it was awaiting a fiscal impact statement, Evans said. Fiscal impact statements explain how much money a bill would cost to implement, and they are compiled by either the Bureau of Legislative Research or the Department of Finance and Administration.

The per-pupil funding amount for the current school year is $7,771. If lawmakers approve HB 1312, the amount would increase to $8,162 for the 2025-2026 school year and $8,371 for the following academic year. 

New bill would dissolve Arkansas State Library and its board, set new library funding criteria

Overall, the session has been “very smooth,” according to Evans, who said he’s noticed “a different feel, a camaraderie in the House” when it comes to “good policy for all Arkansans.”

“Where things tend to get difficult is when you start looking at policy that’s more culture-driven,” he said. “So while we’ve had a few of those things that have crept up this session, there hasn’t seemed to have been as many. And so the body has really been able to just focus more on policy and members representing their districts, and how that policy’s going to affect their district rather than the culture of the district.” 

One such “culture-driven” bill is Senate Bill 536, which Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, filed March 20. It would dissolve the Arkansas State Library and its board after the board did not take what Sullivan said were appropriate actions to keep “age-inappropriate” materials away from minors.

Hester supports SB 536 and has expressed support for Sullivan’s past promises to abolish the library board, which has repeatedly refused to divest from the American Library Association and to withhold funding from libraries where “sexually explicit” materials are within children’s reach.

“I don’t know how clear we could have been with the library board that they need to take stances to not provide pornography to kids, and they are insistent on it,” Hester said Friday.

The General Assembly resumes its work Monday morning. Meeting schedules, agendas and livestreams are available on the Arkansas Legislature’s website.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

The post Arkansas Legislature gears up for final weeks of 2025 session appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

SUMMARY: Severe weather is expected overnight Saturday and into Sunday, particularly across Northwest Arkansas. While Sunday morning starts calm, conditions will worsen after midnight, with the highest threat for severe weather occurring east of I-49. Thunderstorms may develop, bringing damaging winds and hail, with a low tornado risk. The weather system will continue through Sunday evening, so residents are urged to stay informed for updates. Flash flooding is considered a low threat, but all forms of severe weather remain possible. Follow local channels and social media for the latest information.

TIMELINE: Severe weather possible overnight Saturday and again Sunday

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