Simmons to release earnings
Simmons First National Corp. announced it is scheduled to release first quarter 2025 earnings after the market closing April 16. Management will conduct a live conference call to review this information beginning at 7:30 a.m. April 17, according to a news release.
Interested parties can listen to the call by dialing toll-free 1-844-481-2779 (North America only) and asking for the Simmons First National Corp. conference call, conference ID 10198144. In addition, the call will be available live or in recorded version on our website at simmonsbank.com under the “Investor Relations” tab. The recorded version will be available for at least 60 days following the date of the call.
New troopers graduate
Thirty-seven recruits became Arkansas State Troopers during a graduation ceremony in the State Capitol rotunda March 27.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
After being tested and interviewed, this class of new Troopers was chosen from a pool of 420 applicants. The recruits started their training program on Oct. 13 at the State Police Training Academy in Little Rock, according to a news release.
Area graduates include:
Troop E
Jacob Garcia, Redfield;
Gage Sanders, Pine Bluff;
Ronald Weast Jr., Star City;
Troop F
Trevor Monk, Woodlawn.
Upon reporting for duty at their respective troop headquarters, the new troopers will be placed with a certified departmental Field Training Officer. Each graduate will work in tandem with their respective FTO for a transitional period before being released to their assignment.
Conference to talk 4th amendment, ag
Senior Attorneys Robert Frommer and Joshua Windham of the Institute for Justice will present on the Fourth Amendment and agriculture at the 3rd Annual Western Water, Agricultural, and Environmental Law Conference. The two previously spoke in 2024 at the 11th Annual Mid-South Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference.
Frommer and Windham will discuss the “Fourth Amendment and Agriculture: Warrantless Access to Ag & Private Rural Lands.” The conference is June 19-20 in Reno, Nev., with a livestream option available. Registration is available at nationalaglawcenter.org/western2025.
This year, the Western is co-hosted by the National Agricultural Law Center and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation, according to a news release.
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”
However, Frommer and Windham have found that most private ag land in the country is unprotected by the Fourth Amendment.
“Thanks to the open fields doctrine, which was established in the 1924 Supreme Court case Hester v. United States, a majority of private agricultural land in the U.S. is unprotected by the Fourth Amendment,” said Frommer. “The open fields doctrine means that private land can be searched without warrant or probable cause. This leaves many Americans questioning their rights. We’ve seen it time and time again.”
A 2024 study co-authored by Windham for the Cato Institute stated that about 1.2 billion acres of U.S. private land is essentially open to warrantless government access.
“Almost 96 percent of private land in the U.S. can be searched without a warrant,” Windham said. “Robert and I have handled many cases involving farmers who have had their land searched without a warrant or probable cause. We’re looking forward to discussing this critical topic at the 3rd Annual Western. The information is crucial for agricultural stakeholders in Western states as well.”
Harrison Pittman, director of the NALC, said that Frommer and Windham distill important legal issues into effective, engaging presentations.
“Robert and Joshua are excellent presenters, as our attendees from last year’s Mid-South conference know,” he said. “We’re happy they’ll be sharing their expertise at the Western. The topic of warrantless search is relevant for stakeholders out West and beyond, and I know attendees will learn a lot from this presentation.”
The Western conference features continuing legal education credit, as well as continuing education from the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.
The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural Library. Details: nationalaglawcenter.org.