Ainsley Platt

On this episode of ledes that made me laugh:

Live Coverage: 2026 Primary Election | Arkansas Advocate Thousands of Arkansans are expected to cast their ballots Tuesday in the primary and nonpartisan judicial elections.

Arkansas Senate Majority Leader Sen. Blake Johnson lost his primary tonight. Republican Rep. Jeremy Wooldridge came away with a convincing win over the longtime senator, who had planned to run for the Senate’s top job.

Read more in @arkansasadvocate.com

#arpx

Live Coverage: 2026 Primary Election | Arkansas Advocate Thousands of Arkansans are expected to cast their ballots Tuesday in the primary and nonpartisan judicial elections.

Republican Brad Simon is Senate District 26’s new senator, winning a special election dominated by opposition to the Franklin County prison. He defeated independent Adam Watson, earning 69% of the vote with an estimated 86% of votes reported. #arpx

Read more in @arkansasadvocate.com

Live Coverage: 2026 Primary Election | Arkansas Advocate Thousands of Arkansans are expected to cast their ballots Tuesday in the primary and nonpartisan judicial elections.

Sen. Ron Caldwell has decisively defeated a primary challenger backed by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. He had 72% of vote to his opponent’s 28%, w/ 87% of the vote counted after the AP called the race. Caldwell voted against FrankCo prison funding last year.

Read more @arkansasadvocate.com

Live Coverage: 2026 Primary Election | Arkansas Advocate Thousands of Arkansans are expected to cast their ballots Tuesday in the primary and nonpartisan judicial elections.

Wrapped up a couple hours talking to voters outside New Life Church in Saline County. Tl;dr, the Republican voters I spoke to are happy with President Trump’s performance since returning to office, approving of his handling of immigration and economic policy. Read more @arkansasadvocate.com

#arpx

Sanders’ efforts against 2 prison project opponents a test of Arkansas governor’s pull | Arkansas Advocate Two veteran Arkansas lawmakers are fighting for their political lives in Tuesday’s Republican primaries, with a barrage of mailers and ads funded by outside groups casting them as insufficiently conse...

I’ll be keeping an eye on some Arkansas Senate races today, with two Republican incumbents facing challengers backed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Read about them here:

#arpx

Good primary day vibes: I had lovely conversation with a poll worker who used to work at a few newspapers in Cali about how much we both loved working in news as I got my ballot. It’s wonderful how little interactions like that can set the tone for the rest of the day!

Tl;dr go vote!

#arpx

new “i voted” sticker who dis?

It’s truly the little things — office building vending machines got restocked 🥹

...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Arkansas... Cache River Near Patterson affecting Jackson and Woodruff Counties. For the Cache River...including Patterson...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHAT...Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Cache River near Patterson. * WHEN...Until further notice. * IMPACTS...At 10.0 feet, Pastureland and cropland not protected by levees in Jackson and Woodruff counties affected. Water is over portions of State Highway 37 and deep along the shoulders of State Highway 18 near Grubbs. Water over portions of Woodruff County Road 775 north of State Highway 260. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 6:15 PM CST Saturday the stage was 10.1 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to fall to 9.1 feet Thursday evening. - Flood stage is 9.0 feet. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood

🚨 Flood Warning issued February 21 at 6:53PM CST by NWS Little Rock AR 🚨
Additional Details Here.

A timeline of Operation Metro Surge | Arkansas Advocate “Operation Metro Surge,” the incursion of 3,000 federal immigration agents into Minnesota in what the Department of Homeland Security called “the largest DHS operation ever,” began in December, when M...

From our colleagues at the @minnesotareformer.com: A timeline of Operation Metro Surge arkansasadvocate.com/2026/02/21/r...

To the LA Times reporter who wrote this: You’re my idol today

Arkansas judge dismisses part of attorney general’s lawsuit against corrections board | Arkansas Advocate A Pulaski County Circuit judge dismissed part of the lawsuit Attorney General Tim Griffin filed against the Arkansas Board of Corrections over its now-fired private attorney.

Arkansas judge dismisses part of attorney general’s lawsuit against corrections board arkansasadvocate.com/2026/02/12/a...

Arkansas judge blocks state law increasing signature requirement for ballot measures  | Arkansas Advocate An Arkansas judge on Thursday blocked implementation of a 2023 state  law that increased the signature requirements for measures to qualify for the ballot.

Arkansas judge blocks state law increasing signature requirement for ballot measures  #ARLeg #ARpx arkansasadvocate.com/2026/02/13/a...

Snark and puns are in the air for #ARLegValentines | Arkansas Advocate Most people celebrate Valentine’s Day as a time for roses, chocolates and romance. Arkansas legislators, lobbyists and journalists celebrate the day sharing bad jokes about state government on social ...

Snark and puns are in the air for #ARLegValentines arkansasadvocate.com/2026/02/13/s...

Two more poultry companies agree to settle Oklahoma pollution lawsuit | Arkansas Advocate Two more poultry companies have agreed to settle with the state to end a 20-year lawsuit over pollution in the Illinois River Watershed.

Two more poultry companies agree to settle Oklahoma pollution lawsuit arkansasadvocate.com/2026/02/12/r...

Just met the cutest dog while running to the store and I’m missing my fearless assistant something fierce right now!

Democrats defend 'the actual existence of the Department of Education' in forum | Arkansas Advocate WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats on Wednesday rebuked ongoing efforts from President Donald Trump’s administration to dismantle the Department of Education, including moves to shift some of its core ...

Democrats defend ‘the actual existence of the Department of Education’ in forum arkansasadvocate.com/2026/02/11/r...

When It’s Finally Cold Enough to Race Ice Yachts

Don’t mind me I’m just trying to be as cool as the people in these ice yacht clubs, because this is so cool

FAA closes airspace around El Paso, Texas, for 10 days, grounding all flights The Federal Aviation Administration is closing the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days, grounding all flights to and from the airport.

BREAKING: The Pentagon let Customs and Border Protection use an anti-drone laser before the FAA closed El Paso airspace, AP sources say.

The Arkansas Board of Corrections looks to hire a private attorney — again | Arkansas Advocate The new chairman of the panel overseeing Arkansas’ prison system Attorney General Tim Griffin requested permission Tuesday for the board to hire a new attorney to represent it in two lawsuits.

NEW: Arkansas’ corrections board is looking to hire a new private attorney after firing the one it hired in 2023. Read my story in the @arkansasadvocate.com here:
#arpx

Latest from me: #arpx

I found my 11 (!!) year old Series 1 Apple Watch today after losing it my sophomore year of college and it shockingly still works! I swear its the little things sometimes

Latest from me:

A 60-Year Arc at The Washington Post, From Watergate to the Weather

An absolute must read. It’s devastating to see the Post abandon its mission and lay off so many great journalists.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...

a good reminder this week!

House committee passes bill allowing public K-12 schools to have volunteer chaplains | Alabama Reflector The bill would allow local boards to authorize volunteer chaplains on campus to be used by teachers and other faculty and staff.

Via Andrea Tinker: An Alabama House Committee passed a bill that would allow local school boards to allow chaplains in public K-12 schools.

Attorney fired by Arkansas corrections board says panel still owes him | Arkansas Advocate The private attorney fired by the Arkansas Board of Corrections said the panel still owes him and his firm hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for representing it in two long-running lawsui...

A bit of a small scoop from me: The attorney fired by Arkansas Board of Corrections said in a letter that the body he represented in court was now "participating in the same erosion of institutional integrity" they hired him to oppose. Read more in @arkansasadvocate.com #arpx

There are several factors that go into deciding when schools close for inclement weather and how they make up lost instruction time.

Learn more in my latest for @arkansasadvocate.com

#arpx #arwx

16 million browser windows doing their jobs and bringing you the SD26 results. Stay tuned for more detailed story! #arpx