State Digest
Arkansas man completes 3,100 mile walk across the US
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas man has completed a 148-day, 3,100 mile walk across the United States.
Ben Davis of Little Rock arrived Saturday at Pleasure Bay in Boston to finish the journey that began Feb. 27 in Los Angeles.
He was met in Boston by more than two dozen friends, family and Instagram followers. Davis tells the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that being finished is exhilarating.
Davis says he walked 25 to 30 miles per day while pushing a stroller that held his water and gear. Along the way he crossed the Mojave Desert, the Painted Desert, the Rockies and the Great Plains, adding that the most difficult part of the trip was long stretches of isolation.
He now plans a book about the journey and says its title will be "Ever Eastward."
Wording approved for Arkansas term limits proposal for '18
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Supporters of stricter term limits for Arkansas elected officials are shifting their focus to 2018 after failing to make the November ballot this year.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge on Friday approved the wording of a proposed constitutional amendment to limit the maximum amount of time lawmakers can serve in the Legislature from 16 years to 10 years and limiting lawmakers to three two-year terms in the House and two four-year terms in the Senate.
Rutledge's certification clears the way for supporters to begin gathering signatures to try and put the measure on the 2018 ballot. A group behind an identical proposal said earlier this month it was unable to gather the required signatures to put the measure on the November ballot.
20 Arkansas workforce programs get more than $15M in grants
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Twenty workforce training programs in Arkansas have been awarded $15.7 million in state grants.
The programs involve new collaborations between colleges, employers and high schools, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Arkansas Department of Education director Brett Powell said that in order to qualify, a workforce training program had to include educational pathways for students that could begin in high school.