Good evening, I'm Alice Stewart. Last night, KARK broadcast the final newscast from our studios here on 3rd Street.
We're just moments away from a new beginning as News 4 Arkansas.
We're going to take you to our brand new home just down from the Capitol.
But before we turn out the lights here, we want to remind you of the wonderful history of KARK TV.
This simple transmitter building on Cantrell Road sent out the first KARK signal.
On April 15, 1954, KARK TV signed on the air from this converted auto dealership building at 10th and Spring Streets in Little Rock.
We were the new kid on the block, and no one knew what to expect from us.
Chris Button was the station's first chief cameraman setting the tone for news.
We had a record of always beating the fart about the fart.
We were the top dog in the market when we went on the air back then.
In 1976, Channel 4 moved to this converted bank building at 3rd and Louisiana.
My office was what was once the safe, so the walls were two feet thick and concrete and soundproof, and I guess I could say I felt safe in there.
We typed everything manually, and the rule was if you had more than four mistakes on a page that had to be crossed out, you had to throw it away and retype it.
Throughout the years, the technology has changed.
The on-air look has taken on several new looks.
Dialing for dollars has been a staple on Channel 4 for what, almost 40 years now.
We spun a dial, and the count and the amount were set at the beginning of each show, and wherever the arrow landed, when we spun the arrow, that was the count and the amount for that day.
Disaster strikes a shuttle launch. I'm Roy Mitchell. I'm Carolyn Long. There have been countless familiar faces coming into our homes every night.
For eyewitness news, Tom Bonner with the weather, Dave Woodman with sports.
We invented Happy Talk at Channel 4 for the state, and people really got to know anchors and know their likes and hear their humor.
The thing that really sticks in my memory most is the kind of a family atmosphere that we had. We had a great team, the most wonderful people to work with.
Through it all, KARK has continued its commitment to the people.
Leader in the community, public affairs, very interested in what's going on in the community.
We were the talk, not only of the city, but in the rural areas, Channel 4 was the station. I mean, everybody felt like they knew it.
Channel 4's dedication to news has and will continue to stand the test of time.
As far as I'm concerned, Channel 4 paved the way for the high viewership of television, news, and art.
Life could be a dream, sweetheart.
News for Arkansas. What is it? It's news for you. It's news about you, and now it's here for you.
We're excited to welcome you to News for Arkansas and the new Victory Building we call home.
KARK is committed to a new era of news, your news, because you're important to us. It all starts now.
Come inside and join us. KARK is now News for Arkansas.
You're watching KARK, News for Arkansas at 10.
Firefighters rushed to the fire this evening in Willow Rock. You may have seen the smoke yourself pouring from this business.
It's our top story this Sunday evening, April 7. Good evening, everyone, and welcome. I'm Denise Whitaker.
Hello and good evening, everybody. I'm Bob Klauss, and thanks for joining us for News for Arkansas.
That fire you just saw started burning at a vacant lumber company, happened this afternoon just before 5 o'clock.
Flames shot high into the air, and smoke could be seen throughout the entire downtown Little Rock area.
News for Arkansas's Lindell Stout joins us live with the details. Lindell?
Denise and Bob Little Rock firefighters haven't seen a fire like this in quite some time.
It took less than two minutes for crews to arrive on the scene, and they spent the next two hours getting this huge blaze under control.
Firefighters quickly launched an all-out attack from the air and on the ground, battling fast-moving flames that kept burning higher.
The enemy? The old Grovemire Lumber Company at 15th and Woodrow, no longer in operation, but still full of old materials and roofing supplies.
Another obstacle? This train stopped on the tracks next to the burning building.
We had three or four of the cars that began to get real hot, and we took hand lines and kept those cool.
People who called this neighborhood home watched in disbelief.
I thought it was going to be a big explosion.
Smoke could be seen for miles around. Huge billowing clouds filled the sky, a sign of the intensity of the fight at the heart of the fire.
I suppose from a fireman's standpoint, we watch our men work, and we watch and see what a good job they do, and they work real hard for the people in this city.
Now, even though fire destroyed the Lumber Company, thanks to the quick work of firefighters, no other buildings or homes were damaged.
Investigators are now working to figure out how it all started. Bob and Denise?
Okay, Little, thank you very much.
That fire was huge this afternoon. I mean, you could see it all over.
You could see it. I mean, we just moved in here, and we're of course all standing around looking out the windows, looking at the plumes of smoke going up.
Wow. It's a great thing that it didn't spread to any other homes.
You couldn't wait to get it when you were 16. These days, criminals can't wait to get their hands on your driver's license, or at least a license with your personal information.
News for Arkansas, Cynthia Tontel joins us live with more on the weaknesses in getting ID verified.
Denise, Bob, this will get you behind the wheel of a car and get you access to some things like bank accounts, but there are few consistencies between states about what qualifies you to get one.
Let me go get another bottle of wine.
The pizza deaction crowds are smaller on Sunday, but ID is still an issue. Employees recognize most of the regulars.
Whenever school's out, spring break, stuff like that, that's when we get most of the people trying to come in with the fake IDs.
This device reads the electronic information stored on licenses from Arkansas and several other states.
If it doesn't read, they know it's not real, but not all restaurants nationwide have this technology.
I think there should be some sort of national standard. I think that, you know, either fingerprints, some sort of DNA, something should be implemented.
That feeling is part of the raging national debate about how to secure driver's licenses, cards that have almost become national ID cards.
Directors of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Offices want national standards for obtaining licenses. Without those, the AAMV says criminals have the green light to shop around for weak link states.
Since 9-11, one nationwide weakness stands out. A non-U.S. citizen who has a driver's license can do almost anything with it within American borders, even after their visa has expired.
Denise Bopp. Thanks, Asira. You'll also want to be on the lookout for a registered sex offender wanted by the law.
In this week's Pulaski County's Most Wanted, we take a closer look at this man, 31-year-old David Edward Colvin.
Colvin's wanted for failure to appear, aggravated robbery, theft of property, stalking, and drug charges.
As I mentioned, he is a registered sex offender and considered armed and dangerous. Colvin has black hair and brown eyes, is 6'2", and weighs 200 pounds.
You can also identify Colvin by a tattoo on his right arm and a scar on his leg. His last known address was 6012 Butler Drive in Little Rock.
If you have any information on David Edward Colvin, call the Crime Stoppers TIP line at 340-TIPS. That number again is 340-8477.
You may receive a reward for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction, and you can remain anonymous.
You can take comfort tonight knowing more methamphetamine made it off the streets of Pine Bluffs. Pine Bluffs police made a major drug bust.
After several years of looking for 43-year-old Gary Wayne Metcalf, Pine Bluffs police finally caught up with him.
Fifteen officers served Metcalf with a warrant. When they searched his house, they found enough chemicals to make more than six ounces of meth.
Officers also found guns. Metcalf faces drug charges and may also be charged with theft once that investigation is complete.
This has certainly been a huge weekend for a blooming attraction in Hot Springs.
That's right. We're going to give you a look at Garvin Gardens. It's been an opening weekend there. That is still ahead.
Well, central and eastern Arkansas have been teased just a bit with rainfall, but the western part of the state really been hammered today with an inch and a half near Fort Smith.
We'll take you to a fresh new look of live forecast Doppler a little later in the show. But first, it's your forecast.
First for the next four days. We start off the beginning of the week and it started off wet, clearing up by Wednesday and Thursday, partly cloudy skies, back into the mid and upper 70s.
We'll have more weather a little bit later, but first, news for Arkansas continues in a moment.
At KARK, we're making changes for you.
You told us what you want, what you need from your news. Beginning April 8th, you'll find news for Arkansas at KARK.
We're changing because you asked us to and you're important to us. It's news for you. It's news for Arkansas.
You're watching KARK with Denise Whitaker and Bob Claussen. This is news for Arkansas at 10.
If you fly at all, you know about security changes with major airports across the country leading the way in security.
Little Rock National works to keep up step by step. A backup at Dallas and increased security caused these long lines at the Little Rock National Airport.
A new program in Little Rock, however, helps take some of the burden off security and they do it with a friendly smile.
It's something we had to go through. It's unpleasant, but you do what you have to do.
Little question that people want, like where are the restrooms, where are the elevators, the escalators?
And we can answer those questions and the security people don't have to worry about that.
Little Rock Airport just added its Angel Squadron of volunteers and as she told us, they're there to answer any general questions you have about the airport.
The State Board of Education is taking recommendations tomorrow on what to do with the Student Instructional Program or SIPP.
The program requires students to maintain a certain grade point average to participate in extracurricular activities, i.e. sports,
but got into some trouble when some kids were found with inadequate grades.
The board wants the Activities Association to take over monitoring of SIPP.
Hot Springs, Garvin Gardens, is a place that's been growing for nearly 40 years.
The botanical haven is beginning to bloom this season.
The grand opening of the gardens got underway with the ribbon cutting this afternoon. Plenty of applause there.
You can enjoy the serenity of blooming flowers, trees, and waterfalls all along these paths.
Berna Garvin developed this area as a tribute to natural conservation.
Now, if you'd like to tour the gardens, the park is open Wednesday through Monday from 10 until 6.
And it was a great weekend to get out there and check out the gardens. Of course, the rain's now moving in.
That's right. You know, we were crossing our fingers hoping it would hold off for most of the weekend,
and for most of us it has, except for our friends in Western Arkansas, but at least temperatures are not going to be changing that much.
It's going to stay mild throughout the first part of your work week.
We'll talk about those temperatures and more in just a moment. But first, a look at your almanac.
And my Lomkonda.
Now, your neighborhood forecast with chief meteorologist Brett Cummins and Pirella Lewis.
This is Weather for Arkansas.
And welcome back to Weather for Arkansas. Some much anticipated rainfall finally making its way into the state.
Unfortunately, looks like it's going to be here a while.
That's exactly right. The trend has been for it to increase through the night,
and we may even hear a few rumbles of thunder a little bit later on as well.
And with that, we take you right outside and let you know exactly what is going on with live cast Doppler.
You'll notice the north and western part of the state definitely getting hit the hardest.
More than two inches of rainfall has been received already throughout parts of the state,
even the north and western part of the state under a flash flood watch as we speak.
A lot going on outside, a lot going on in here at KARK.
Something else that we're introducing to you is forecast first,
which is when we give you a look at your extended forecast first right now and also at the end of the show.
We're going to show you the next several days and what you can anticipate.
You'll notice, however, that the rainfall will continue through about Tuesday morning.
Then we're going to see a clearing and then we're going to see probably some more rainfall for this weekend.
Something we'll take you through and show you again in just a second.
Let's take a look at some of your temperatures and see what's going on outside your home right now.
You'll notice off to the northwest where there actually has been some rain,
a much cooler, much warmer off to the south and eastern part of the state.
That will change as the rainfall will also affect us as well.
There's plenty of rain to go around. We'll all get a little bit here.
We just have to be a little bit patient.
Fifty-three in Russellville right now, 64 in Blythesville,
66 in Stuttgart and 70 degrees right now in Camden.
So some places below seasonal, other places above.
We've kind of been cut in half. 65 right now in Cabot, 71 in Lone Oak,
74 in White Hill and as you're getting the kids ready for school tomorrow,
between 6 and 7 o'clock you can certainly anticipate scattered showers
and we're looking at about 60 degrees. So rainy but warm.
Here to tell you more about your forecast is Chief Meteorologist Brent Cummings.
Thanks a lot, Pirell. Not only is Arkansas having to deal with plenty of rainfall,
but our rain is also coming to us straight out of Oklahoma
and we've got more rain on the way out of Texas.
As a matter of fact, Texas has been having to deal with some tornado watchboxes
over the past several hours moving from the west to the east.
Notice that nasty looking line right there.
Just past the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, continuing to move on off to the east now.
Some clearing taking place behind it, but as this rain moves into state,
it's going to be kind of a slow mover.
Looks like it's going to progress for the next 24 to 36 hours
and we're going to have to deal with some heavier rainfall here in Arkansas.
As a matter of fact, what we're looking for for tomorrow is the chance of not only rainfall,
but the possibility of some of that turning into thunderstorms that could be severe.
The main threat would be hail and the possibility of some damaging winds,
mainly south of I-40 from, say, Fort Smith toward Eldorado.
And then the worst of it, I think, is going to be down toward Louisiana
and back in the southwestern portions of Mississippi.
We'll talk more about that, of course, a little bit later.
Sixty-four tonight. Overcast skies expected. Rain and thunderstorms certainly likely,
especially south and southwestern Arkansas.
We'll monitor the chance of some of that being severe.
Sunrise is tomorrow at 735 and the winds are out of the southeast about 5 to 15 miles per hour.
This is what we're expecting for tomorrow. Rain continuing.
Sixty-seven, the best we can do for a high temperature.
Cloudy, varies of rain and thunderstorms.
Winds out of the south, quite gusty at times, about 10 to 20 miles per hour.
Your extended outlook not looking too bad once we get past about Tuesday morning,
but still that 60 percent chance of rain tomorrow lingering into early Tuesday.
Only 20 percent dry for Wednesday and Thursday as we'll see a return to sunshine.
But you notice we don't cool down. We warm up, as a matter of fact, after the system passes through.
Seventy-four for Wednesday, 78 degrees on Thursday,
and our next chance of showers come in on Friday and Saturday.
But don't look like it's going to be nearly as bad as what we're going to have to deal with the next few hours in the state.
I'm wondering, though, with those temperatures warming up now in April,
what we're going to have in July and August.
Oh, let's not even go there. Let's just enjoy.
Let's hold off. For right now.
Enjoy spring-like temperatures, just like, of course, we're enjoying our weather center.
Oh, it's beautiful back there. You can do so much with it, too.
It's giant.
That's why we've brought so many of our old things over from the new, from the old center.
Now we're going to introduce you to some new things tonight as well.
We've got a lot of things coming up, a lot of new gadgets to tell you about.
We'll take you on a tour of our new forecast center when we come back.
You don't want to miss it. Stay with us.
Music
Welcome back, everyone.
We want to take a few minutes to welcome you to our new forecast center.
We're very excited about having several new ways to bring you weather for Arkansas.
That's right. We've updated some of our weather tools that you've already been familiar with,
adding more advanced technology to help us localize your forecast even more.
Live forecast Doppler is one of those tools that is now more enhanced to bring you weather for Arkansas.
We've also updated and expanded Neighborhood Weather Net
and look forward to showing you even more schools, more communities,
what's going on in your neighborhood in the coming weeks.
You know KRK has been known to be the first in new and exciting concepts in weather.
Tonight is just another example of our commitment to you and to Arkansas's weather.
Exactly right now. We know your weather. We know your time are all so important,
so we're giving you weather headlines.
Those can be seen above us right now, scrolling across the top of your screen while we're here,
is simply the bottom line weather information that you need every time we give you weather for Arkansas.
That's right. And when those headlines turn severe,
we've built a Severe Weather Information Center just for you to tell you when there's a tornado watch,
a tornado warning, severe storms, flash flood, or winter weather.
This warning system reinforces the current weather conditions that threaten you and your family.
And now for a term I know you're going to be hearing a lot here at News for Arkansas.
Forecast first. We know just how important weather is to you,
so we'll give you weather five times, five times throughout the newscast.
It begins with forecast first. You'll get your weather forecast before the news even starts,
and then after the first few minutes of news, we'll bring you your four-day forecast.
You'll also get your extended forecast before and after our complete weather segment,
and then again at the end of the newscast.
These are just some of the ways that we've strengthened our weather commitment to you.
We look forward to bringing you weather for Arkansas.
We sure do. Now let's go back to the main set with Bob, Denise, and Mark for a look at sports.
And turning to sports, Mark rushing is in, and a lot of rain outs, rain delays today.
Yeah, a lot of baseball and NASCAR.
Yeah, that's the big one.
NASCAR, of course, got postponed. But while we're enjoying our new digs here,
the Razorbacks are enjoying their first spring at Reynolds Razorback Stadium,
where they held their first major scrimmage Saturday, and the offense had the upper hand once again.
Hang on. Sports for Arkansas is next.
KARK continues with sports from Mark rushing. This is Sports for Arkansas.
Welcome to Sports for Arkansas. The Razorback offense continues to dominate the defense this spring.
It was obvious from the first play of Saturday's scrimmage that the defenders were going to be pushed around again,
as Matt Jones picked up where he left off last season. It looked like a run-pass option.
He ran, and it was a good option as it resulted in a 65-yard touchdown.
All three quarterbacks look good. And Carlos Owsley, a freshman transfer from Wake Forest,
led all receivers with four receptions for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns,
while Cedric Cobbs picked up 60 yards and scored twice on seven carries.
He's really done a good job with his life off the field. That's what I'm most impressed with.
But he's hitting the hole. He's not dancing, if you notice, when he gets in the line of scrimmage.
He's hitting the hole, and then he's letting Mother Nature take over.
Last year, there were some times where he came up looking around trying to find the big grove,
where I've been really impressed with his toughness and hitting the hole.
The Arkansas Twisters kicked off the arena football season last night and had a chance to take the lead
with just under two minutes to play. The Tennessee blocked a field goal attempt
and tacked on a late score for a 37-28 victory. A trip to Wichita is up next for the Twisters.
Bill Elliott set a new qualifying record at the new faster track at the Texas Motor Speedway,
but no one was moving around the track very quickly today as almost nonstop rain forced the Radio Shack 500
to be postponed until Monday, the new start time high noon.
So if you're a NASCAR nut, tomorrow might be a good day to play hooky.
The Rocks' Gwen Day has had a good week at the Bell South Classic, tied for 20th place heading into today's final round.
He wound up tied for 12th at 6-under, 10 strokes behind Ratif Goosen, the South African who won the U.S. Open last year.
This eagle chip, well, it helped him pick up his second PGA victory. He finished 16-under.
Of course, Phil Mickelson was only two shots back going in and briefly took the lead today,
but the old choke mechanism was in full effect once again.
He pulled this drive into the drink and finished the round one over, next stop, the Masters.
The Arkansas Travelers picked up their first win of the season last night.
They hoped to turn the victory into a streak today at Wichita, and the Travs did just that, whipping the Wranglers 5-zip.
Mike Christensen led Arkansas with a home run and a couple of singles.
Four hours and 23 minutes, that's how long it took Arkansas to finish off South Carolina Saturday night
as Jeff Fletcher hit a three-run homer in the 15th inning to give the Razorbacks an 8-7 win over the fourth-ranked team in the nation.
In fact, the Hogs had a chance to sweep the Gamecocks, but today's game was rained out and won't be made up.
Arkansas is now 17-11 overall, 4-5 in SEC play.
By the way, UALR and ASU did get their game in as the Indians stumped the Trojans 13-3.
In case you missed it, Royals rookie Pedro Asensio had a little trouble in his Major League debut Saturday.
His first four pitches were balls, his next four, four more balls, so on and so forth.
Four batters, four walks, 16 straight balls, and he gave up a run in the process, and then mercifully he was pulled.
I don't know, maybe they pulled him too quickly. Maybe they should have given him four, eight, 12, 16 more balls.
I was going to say, they really got him out of there when they needed to, didn't they?
That's right, four walks.
Not having a ball in the Major League.
Not having a ball yet.
All right, Mark, thanks very much.
You bet.
Stay with us. We've got another look at your forecast.
Right here, right now.
Quick look at the forecast.
Well, we've still got a lot of rain coming in tonight.
You probably wouldn't believe it if you live in eastern Arkansas, but we do have rain.
It's the western part of the state right now.
It will be moving your way, but your extended forecast goes like this.
90% of rain tonight, 60% for tomorrow, 67 will be your high temperature gradually warming back up as the sun returns toward the middle of the week,
back into the mid and upper 70s.
Better chances of rain again will come back on Friday and Saturday.
So you just need an umbrella when you head out the door in the morning.
Exactly right. Tomorrow will be the worst day of the week.
And it's Monday, so you know, rainy days and Mondays, whatever.
That's right.
And it's great that it held off.
That's right.
I've really had a great weekend.
Most of our weekend was pretty good.
All right, Brett, thanks very much.
And if, you know, it's going to be raining tomorrow, NASCAR at noon if the rain holds off in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
One of the benefits of working at a TV station, I could come to work and watch TV.
And then watch TV.
We'll watch that.
Thanks a lot, guys.
Thanks so much for joining us this evening.
Hope you have a great night and certainly hope to see you back here tomorrow.