WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, Sept. 11, The U.S. Department of Education announced additional details of the subsequent beta testing period ahead of making the 2025–26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) available to all students and contributors on or before Dec. 1. Starting on Sept. 11, high schools, community-based organizations (CBOs), institutions of higher education and state entities can submit the interest form to participate in subsequent stages of the testing period, including Beta 2 (launching in mid-October), Beta 3 (early November), and Beta 4 (mid-November).

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will receive up to $2.4 million over the next four years to test prevention strategies for reducing high rates of maternal and infant deaths in the Arkansas Delta.

CONWAY — United States Magistrate Joe Volpe Friday swore in seven new members of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s enforcement ranks at the official graduation ceremony of the 2024 agency’s game warden training program at the Antioch Baptist Church.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Christian pastor from California has been freed from China after nearly 20 years behind bars and is back home in the U.S., the State Department said Monday.

JONESBORO — A groundbreaking ceremony will take place at Arkansas State University at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19, for the Windgate Hall of Art and Innovation. The event will take place south of the Fine Arts Center at the future home of the new addition to campus.

RUSSELLVILLE — Nine students and two faculty members from Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM) University of Applied Sciences in Giessen, Germany, arrived at Arkansas Tech University on Monday, Sept. 16, to begin a week filled with cultural immersion and learning.

North Arkansas College Vice President of Finance and Administration Richard Stipe reported the site work on the school's Center for Robotics and Manufacturing Innovation (CRMI) has moved into the final stage of dirt work. Crews have now completed removing rock and are adding dirt in preparation for the start of the building construction. Next steps include digging water and sewer lines.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Wednesday, South Carolina’s highest court ruled that a law allowing parents to spend taxpayer money on private schools violates the constitution.

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division (Forestry Division) is accepting applications for the 2024 Shade Trees on Playgrounds (STOP) program through September 27, 2024. Arkansas schools needing additional shade on playgrounds can find the STOP program application and guidelines at https://www.agriculture.arkansas.gov/forestry/urban-community-forestry/stop-program/