Weekend Entertainment Roundup for July 2, 2026

Daily Newscast for Wednesday, July 15, 2026

[https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ec71a3e/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1485x1485+0+0/resize/528x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F20%2F58%2F541e6e6741a9bf41936eb513de74%2Fnewscast-square.png] Here's the latest local and regional news from the Little Rock Public Radio Newsroom for Wednesday, July 15, 2026. - The Arkansas Department of Health has identified 10 cases of cyclosporiasis in Arkansas this year. - Representatives from the City of Sherwood presented a plan on Tuesday to create a new school district - The company behind a $6 billion data center proposal in Pulaski County hosted a meeting with community members on Monday - Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is heading overseas for a trade mission this month - State officials are releasing a new tranche of funding for infrastructure and construction in communities across Arkansas - Little Rock’s former police chief will now lead the state's Division of Law Enforcement Standards and Training - A judge has issued an order recommending two years of probation rather than disbarment for Bentonville-based lawyer William Hutchinson III - The city of Benton could be switching its power supplier to a Florida-based nonprofit energy trader Listen to live newscasts from Little Rock Public Radio each weekday during NPR's Morning Edition from 6 to 9 a.m., during All Things Considered from 4 to 6 p.m., and online at littlerockpublicradio.org.

Daily Newscast for Tuesday, July 14, 2026

[https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ec71a3e/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1485x1485+0+0/resize/528x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F20%2F58%2F541e6e6741a9bf41936eb513de74%2Fnewscast-square.png] Here's the latest local and regional news from the Little Rock Public Radio Newsroom for Tuesday, July 14, 2026. - The city of Fayetteville is now offering paid parental leave to all of its employees - New literacy requirements have led to about 50 third graders in the Little Rock School District being held back next year - Members of the Arkansas State Medical Board have suspended a south Arkansas physician’s license - The daughter of a former state lawmaker is facing criminal charges related to a fight at a central Arkansas shopping mall - University of Arkansas officials are countersuing a professor who they allege defrauded the university - Federal dollars are helping Arkansas researchers return ancestral remains and items to Native American tribal officials Listen to live newscasts from Little Rock Public Radio each weekday during NPR's Morning Edition from 6 to 9 a.m., during All Things Considered from 4 to 6 p.m., and online at littlerockpublicradio.org.

Little Rock-based filmmaker screens documentary at Obama Presidential Center

"Evidence of Our Existence" is the latest film from filmmakers Antonio Tarrell and Castel Sweet. [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5556f9d/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/792x446!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffd%2Fbb%2F825a82e94bd2b279fb9bed287fa8%2Fimg-6626-1.png]"Evidence of Our Existence" is the latest film from filmmakers Antonio Tarrell and Castel Sweet. ( Courtesy Antonio Tarrell) A documentary short film co-produced by Little Rock-based filmmaker Antonio Tarrell premiered at the newly-opened Obama Presidential Center on June 24, during the Every Child Thrives Festival. Tarrell has embedded himself in the central Arkansas film community since moving to Little Rock in 2022. But he has deep roots in his home state of Mississippi, and often travels to produce films. His latest documentary short, “Evidence of Our Existence,” is a co-production with Mississippi-based Sociologist and fellow filmmaker Castel Sweet. This is the fourth documentary the two have made together. The film is about Behind the Big House, a historic site tour in Holly Springs, Mississippi that tells the stories of enslaved people who lived behind antebellum homes. Sweet, who has a background in sociology, said their work tries to highlight communities that often don’t see themselves on film. “I got into filmmaking by wanting to capture some of the things that are happening in communities that people don't know about,” Sweet said. “So how do we amplify some of the stories and some of the work, some of the people, some of the voices that you may not be aware about, but the world should know about. And so that's what led to this film.” The “Behind the Big House” tour was created in 2012 to coincide with the Annual Holly Springs Pilgrimage tour of historic homes and buildings. It later spawned Arkansas spinoffs in Hempstead County, Chicot County, and the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock. Sweet says the project directly inspired the film’s title. “The title is called ‘Evidence of Our Existence’ because the way that they provide the context and the history [is] to talk about the structures, the foodways, the skills, the expertise and the knowledge that we kind of see in material culture,” Sweet said. “Such as buildings, such as food, such as the way that we do things is evidence of the existence of people that we don't often talk about.” Sweet developed the documentary while participating in a short film lab called “How We Heal” earlier this year. The program was launched by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and invited filmmakers to submit films or concepts for films based on the topic of shared humanity. Sweet and Tarrell had been filming at the annual Behind the Big House tour since 2023 but didn’t have specific plans for the footage until Sweet was accepted into the program. Sweet said she was drawn to the program’s theme. “It was exciting to have the film selected. One, to be selected for the theme of how we heal,” Sweet said. “So that's a lot of the work that we do. A lot of our films center around communities, around healing, around work that still needs to be done around things that people are doing to heal their community. Again, that may not be on the front page of a newspaper that may not be, you know, mainstream news.” Sweet was one of ten semifinalists to participate in the lab, which provided the filmmakers a four-month-long virtual mentorship with industry professionals to develop their projects. Sweet was then one of five finalists chosen to premiere her film at The Obama Presidential Center in June. Tarrell described the moment he got the news from Sweet. “Chills kind of went through my body… to be a part of something and working with her again,” Tarrell said. “She's an amazing storyteller. Also, it kind of confirmed all of the hard work that you're doing is paying off. And also to be from a small town, being recognized for that work.” Tarrell’s and Sweet’s other films have been recognized at film festivals around the country, including Arkansas. The two hope to screen “Evidence of Our Existence” here soon. Like their past projects, “Evidence of Our Existence” is rooted in Southern Black History. Tarrell said storytelling is crucial to preserving this history. “For me, just continue telling those Southern stories; that rich history.” Tarrell said “Because without people like us, filmmakers and storytellers, if we don't do that, then those stories become lost.” Tarrell and Sweet are submitting “Evidence of Our Existence” to film festivals now. More information about the film and their work is at antoniotarrellfilms.com [http://antoniotarrellfilms.com] and sweetsoilnarratives.com [http://sweetsoilnarratives.com]. More information about Behind the Big House can be found at behindthebighouse.org [https://behindthebighouse.org/].

Daily Newscast for Monday, July 13, 2026

[https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ec71a3e/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1485x1485+0+0/resize/528x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F20%2F58%2F541e6e6741a9bf41936eb513de74%2Fnewscast-square.png] Here's the latest local and regional news from the Little Rock Public Radio Newsroom for Monday, July 13, 2026. - The Arkansas State Board of Education has suspended the former Fouke School District Superintendent’s license over ethics violations - The Arkansas Department of Human Services missed another deadline to extend Medicaid coverage to doula services across the state - The city of Little Rock will pay more than $151-thousand dollars to cover attorney fees and court costs for three firefighters who were terminated over a spanking incident - Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders issues a weekend statement following the death of Republican South Carolina US Senator Lindsey Graham - Prairie Grove State Park is undertaking a land restoration project thanks to a new partnership and funding Listen to live newscasts from Little Rock Public Radio each weekday during NPR's Morning Edition from 6 to 9 a.m., during All Things Considered from 4 to 6 p.m., and online at littlerockpublicradio.org.

Daily Newscast for Friday, July 10, 2026

[https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ec71a3e/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1485x1485+0+0/resize/528x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F20%2F58%2F541e6e6741a9bf41936eb513de74%2Fnewscast-square.png] Here's the latest local and regional news from the Little Rock Public Radio Newsroom for Friday, July 10, 2026. - The City of Pine Bluff is transferring oversight of its aquatic center following a death at the facility last month - A 2022 March of Dimes report found nearly half of all Arkansas counties lack adequate maternity care - Josh Duggar, the former reality TV star serving a sentence for possessing child sexual abuse materials, has been moved to a different prison for the fourth time in three months - A judge has dropped charges against a protester arrested outside the Governor’s mansion, provided she is not charged with anything else within six months - The Arkansas Department of Transportation is back open after air quality tests found asbestos in the building - The North Little Rock Youth Coalition is hosting its annual Family Fun Day coming up Saturday, August 8, at the Sherman Park Community Center on Beech Street Listen to live newscasts from Little Rock Public Radio each weekday during NPR's Morning Edition from 6 to 9 a.m., during All Things Considered from 4 to 6 p.m., and online at littlerockpublicradio.org.