Free Range Conversations

RISON - With the 2025 Pioneer Crafts Festival just weeks away, one of the organizers and current Vice President of the Pioneer Village Malinda Berry, joined the latest episode of Free Range Conversations to share what attendees can expect. The festival is set for Saturday, April 19 kicking off at 9 a.m. at Rison’s historic Pioneer Village. The night prior will feature a Beans and Greens Supper at...

For everyday people around the town of Kingsland and Cleveland County as a whole, the infamous shooting of the water tower in May of 2022 is old news they would like to forget. That is not the case however for the rest of the world, specifically for Kasson, Minnesota singer-songwriter (and furniture salesperson) Cori Kennedy. Kennedy stumbled upon news footage of the water tower shooting which dep...

Donna Best of the Woodlawn community has a passion for gardening, and she will be sharing some of her growing techniques at the Arkansas Homesteading Conference to be held Saturday, March 29, at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds. Ahead of her presentation, the avid gardener joined the Free Range Conversations podcast to talk about her experiences of living in a “tiny house” and going over some of h...

After a successful run in 2024, the Great South Arkansas Junk Hunt made some changes for 2025. The Junk Hunt is the merged route of two smaller hunts, the former Historic Hwy. 35 Junk Hunt and the Hwy. 79-63 Junk Hunt Loop, both of which Cleveland County served as the epicenter. The merger created one large route of sales to be held twice a year, spread over four days. While the spring hunt typica...

Logan Duvall, host of Sowing Prosperity, and partner at Me & McGee Market in North Little Rock, chats with the Free Range hosts in advance of his presentation at the Arkansas Homesteading Conference set for March 29 in Rison.

Opening a new business in Rison is sometimes risky, but for a local master massage therapist, it has proven to be a rewarding endeavor. Kristy Strother, MMT and owner of Rison Serenity Wellness Spa, is celebrating three years in business this February. She is also advocating to Arkansas legislators on behalf of the American Massage Therapy Association. Strother sits down for the latest episode of...

RISON - It’s not every day in Cleveland County when someone from San Diego sets an intention to visit a landmark in Rison. But Monday’s surprise visit from California native Julie Federico brought some welcomed insight and a new perspective of our town. Federico sat down for an unplanned episode of the Free Range Conversations podcast to explain what brought her to Rison by way of Bob Abbott. She...

Grandmaster Han's Martial Arts classes return to Rison this week and instructor Master Jeremy Fox joins the newest episode of Free Range Conversations to talk all things Youn Wha Ryu. Fox previously taught classes at the church that were halted through the pandemic of 2020. He expressed his eagerness to return to Rison with former students who will be assisting with the classes, Les and Stacy Walz...

Though it’s only February, prom dress shopping is already at the forefront of many teen girls’ minds (and their parents). Mallory Stuckey, a junior at Rison High Shool, has created a way to lessen that burden with the RHS Prom Closet. Stuckey, and her mother Tracy, join the latest episode of the Free Range Conversations podcast to share all the details of this weekend’s event that provides free dr...

Local healthcare provider and fitness advocate Lauren Threlkeld joins the latest episode of Free Range Conversations to share her journey as she prepares to compete in the IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon in April. She steered her focus towards health after the loss of her father shortly after the birth of her first child. Her motivation was simple, she wanted to be around, and be an example, for her childr...

Mayor of Rison Charles Roberts gives listeners a glimpse at upcoming constructions plans for Rison. During the episode with hosts Britt Talent, Roy Phillips and Douglas Boultinghouse, Roberts gives updates on the water tower renovations, plans for replacing pipes and re-paving the streets of Rison. Throughout the podcast, Roberts and the hosts discuss other possibilities for Rison and features the...

A legendary coach, a two-sport All-State athlete, an All-Southwest Conference football player, twin brothers who left a legacy in Rison athletics, and Rison High School’s first state championship football make up the inaugural class of the new Rison High School Sports Hall of Fame.

The hosts share winter weather preparedness tips in advance of this week's forecasted winter storm. They also recall past winter storms dating back to 1979.

The Free Range Conversations hosts recap the last half of 2024 covering all the big news stories from June to December, ending with a major announcement for Cleveland County.

Leading up to Christmas, the Free Range Conversations hosts recap the first half of 2024 and reflect on the news and events occurring from January through June, including some things they may have forgotten!

The Wilson Family started an employee BBQ at Wilson Bros. Lumber Company in the 1980s that has grown to a be a community tradition in the years since with thousands attending each year, including politicians. Frank, Harrell and Jeff Wilson join the podcast this week to talk about the tradition and the 2024 BBQ held recently.

Current Editor/Publisher Britt Talent sits down with former publisher Stan Sadler to discuss the rich history of the newspaper which is Cleveland County's longest-running business. The two, along with co-hosts Douglas Boultinghouse and Roy Phillips, cover topics ranging from the founding in 1888, to the changes in technology over the past century, and where they see the newspaper going in the futu...

RISON - Memories are a funny thing… and that’s what spurred this week’s Thanksgiving-themed episode of the Free Range Conversations podcast. With Thanksgiving feasts on many people’s minds, podcast co-host Roy Phillips thought he remembered a “turkey drop” happening from the old Phoenix Hotel on Main Street in Rison. What he thought was a turkey drop, not unlike those in Yellville, Arkansas or tho...

Lt. Wesley Hogan of New Edinburg recalled sitting in his office at the Fordyce Police Department around noon time on Friday, June 21, discussing possible lunch options with Police Chief Chad Hubanks and another officer when a call came across his radio about an active shooter at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce. All three officers sprang into action as Hogan recalled putting on his armored...

With the Christmas season quickly approaching, the Cleveland County Cares organization is gearing up to help children and families in need over the holidays. Melinda McKnight, director and fundraiser for the organization, joins in for a special episode of the Free Range Conversations podcast. Over the past several years, the fund has supplied hundreds of children and adults in the county with Chri...

Hosts Britt Talent and Douglas Boultinghouse discuss music icon Johnny Cash with his cousin and local historian Wayne Cash, alongside County Judge Jimmy Cummings. Topics include the Man in Black's landmark bicentennial concert in Rison and how the suit he wore that day has made its way back to the county. Wayne and Jimmy also share stories of being at the unveiling of the legend's statue at the Na...

Herald Editor Britt Talent, former Publisher and Historian Stan Stadler, and Man About Town Roy Phillips discuss the decades-long football rivalry between the Rison Wildcats and the Fordyce Redbugs!

People seeing ghosts? Bigfoot roaming the back roads of Cleveland County? Those are a couple of the stories discussed in this week’s episode. With the Halloween holiday fast approaching, the Free Range Conversation hosts decided to take a look at some the spooky stories from Cleveland County.

You never know what a casual conversation can lead to. Just ask Dustin Prescott and Brian Phillips, this week’s guests on the Herald’s Free Range Conversations podcast. While watching a preseason junior high football practice this summer, Prescott and Phillips said they were remembering some of the great players who have come through the Rison Wildcat football program when they came up with an ide...

The origins of this week’s Rison in the Fall festival can be traced back to an idea by the late Bill Ripling, the former mayor of Rison. Roy Phillips, who served as the lead promoter of the Rison in the Fall Festival for about 30 years, said Ripling wanted to do something special to celebrate the City of Rison’s 100th birthday after it was formally incorporated in August 1890. He appointed a commi...