Even though it shouldn’t be, I have a feeling this column will be unpopular with some  of our readers. That’s why I want to state the facts right out of the gate. Here it goes. We are living in the middle of a deadly pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. The number of deaths has decreased in many countries but continues to increase in the United States. Northwest Arkansas, the region in which we live, is a national hot spot for COVID-19 deaths...

Asa Hutchinson’s almost-daily updates on COVID-19, aired live via YouTube, have become required viewing since the pandemic began in March. I’ve been generally pleased, for what it’s worth, with Hutchinson’s performance as governor. As a conservative Republican, he has managed to find enough common ground with Democratic legislators to function fairly successfully as the state’s chief executive. ...

This column is being written on Friday morning, which is an anomaly. Typically, it’s more like Monday morning. I’m a procrastinator by nature — something I’ve learned to guard against since I work in a deadline-based business. Sometimes, it’s difficult deciding on a topic. Sometimes I write about politics. Sometimes I write about sports. Sometimes I write about what’s most important to me, and that’s my family. This is one of those times...

I grew up in Oklahoma City during the Civil Rights era. I remember when de-segregation happened. Happily, the women that raised and influenced me taught me that ethnic hatred was wrong. The first time I saw a black person in Berryville was in 1983;...