Friendsgiving will benefit the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas

JONESBORO — The third annual Friendsgiving meal to benefit the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas will take place Nov. 11, hosted by Native Brew Works, hosted by Native Brew Works, 515 S.

Gee St. in Jonesboro.

The event will take place at Native Brew Works but is being held in partnership with local businesses, The Parsonage, Southern Confections and The Rec Room to produce a traditional Thanksgiving meal that can be enjoyed dine-in, to-go or delivered.

The dine-in event is for ages 21 and older.

“We are so excited to partner with our friends, local businesses we admire, to bring another great Friendsgiving to our community,” Jackson Spencer, Native co-owner said in a press release. “We are honored to use this opportunity to raise funds and awareness for the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas before heading into the holiday season.”

New this year, ticket purchasers have two options to dine; they can choose lunchtime starting at 11:30 a.m. or dinner time starting at 6:30 p.m. All profits from ticket sales will benefit the Food Bank. “Community partnerships, like this one with Native, are the heartbeat of our food bank,” Rebecca Hendrix, chief development officer for the Food Bank said. “They transform resources into action and turn collective goodwill into tangible support for those in need.

Together, we’re not just providing meals; we’re building a stronger, more resilient community.”

Pre-sale dine-in tickets are $30 per plate until Oct. 11.

After that date, tickets go up to $35. Tickets must be purchased by Oct. 28. Delivery and to-go tickets are $31 per plate with a minimum of four tickets purchased for delivery since the meal is designed to be enjoyed with friends. Delivery and to-go orders must be placed by Oct. 28. Tickets are limited. Drinks are not included with the tickets.

For complete information and to secure tickets, visit nativebrewworks. com/friends.

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ATU, UAPB awarded $800,000 in funding for

BUILD Initiative

Faculty members from Arkansas Tech University and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff have collaborated to earn $800,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop the Bolstering University Infrastructure for Leading Development in Research (BUILD) initiative.

BUILD endeavors to leverage the roles that ATU and UAPB play in rural economic development within their immediate service areas by improving their institutional positions to participate in Arkansas’ statewide research ecosystem.

Each institution will receive a $400,000 award.

The successful application for and the forthcoming implementation of the grant is being led by Dr. Georgeanna Wright, University Honors director and assistant professor of health informatics at ATU.

She is Arkansas Tech’s principal investigator for BUILD.

Dr. Sarah Gordon, former dean of the ATU Graduate College, and Janet Wood, ATU director of research and sponsored programs, are ATU’s co-principal investigators on the project.

Dr. Zeeshan Habeeb, UAPB associate professor of chemistry, serves as UAPB’s principal investigator for BUILD.

Dr. Emad Badradeen, UAPB research assistant professor, and Dr. David Fernandez, interim dean of the UAPB Division of Graduate Studies and

See STATE, page A9 STATE

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Continuing Education, are coprincipal investigators.

“Through this project, these universities will each grow research capacity by aligning faculty research with regional partnership opportunities, expanding existing partnerships that currently depend on individual faculty into more sustainable collaborations, building partnerships that better meet employer needs and fully leverage university capabilities and addressing the regional brain drain due to underemployed or relocation of STEM talent,” Wright said. “BUILD aims to create a robust research development enterprise, leading to a revitalized rural economic ecosystem, inclusive STEM workforce growth and strengthened regional economic competitiveness.”

BUILD will use gap analysis, program and project evaluation and faculty/staff shared governance to improve and implement policies and procedures to build sustainable partnerships with regional industry.

“This work will enhance institutional research infrastructure to secure competitive funding and conduct impactful research at both ATU and UAPB,” Wright said.

Funding for the BUILD initiative was made available through the NSF Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC) program.

Wright expressed appreciation to Jennifer Fowler, director of the Arkansas National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), along with SURGE Arkansas, for their assistance in helping the BUILD team obtain the $800,000 in grant funding.

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A-State Media Services to host congressional, legislative and mayoral debates for voters

JONESBORO – A series of debates will be held during the month of October for voters to learn more about congressional, legislative and mayoral races in the region as the Nov. 5 general election approaches.

Officials with A-State Media Services announced Friday that ASU-TV, KASU-FM, KLEK-FM, the A-State Herald and Red Wolf Radio will be presenting the debates, starting Oct. 3 at 6 p.m., with the debates continuing Oct. 10 and 17.

The 1st Congressional District debate will be held Oct. 3 with Democratic candidate Rodney Govens and Libertarian candidate Dr. Steven Parsons, with the Oct. 10 debate featuring the Arkansas Senate District 20 race with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro) and Democratic candidate Erika Askeland.

The group will also host a Jonesboro Mayor's debate on Oct. 17 with incumbent Mayor Harold Copenhaver and challengers (and council member) L.J. Bryant, Thomas Elwood and Jeremy Terrell.

The debates will feature panelists that will vary by debate and will include KASU news director Brandon Tabor, KASU news reporter Rebecca Robinson, KLEK general manager LaGanzie Kale, AState Herald editor-in-chief Jerry Don Burton and Talk Business and Politics reporter George Jared.

Officials said the debates will be livestreamed on the ASU, ASU-TV, KLEK and Red Wolf Radio Facebook pages, as well as the ASU-TV and Red Wolf Radio YouTube.

People can also watch the debates on ASU-TV Channel 18 in Jonesboro and the A-State campus broadcast on Apogee Channel 4.1, as well as listen to the debates on KASU 91.9 FM, the KASU Mobile App, KASU.org, KLEK 102.5 FM, KLEKfm.org and on the Red Wolf Radio at AState radio app.