On the Line

Thanks to three prominent exhibitions in the past nine years, sculptor George Tobolowsky has become synonymous with public art in Texarkana. You've probably seen at least one of his pieces, metal sculptures made of objects found in scrap yards and industrial sites. This week, he installed four new sculptures in Texarkana for an exhibition called “Bending the Rules 3.” While he was in town, he stopped by the studio to talk about his work, his process and his relationship with the Twin Cities. LINK Related Texarkana Gazette story with photos ...

Since he was hired last summer, City Manager Jay Ellington has been hard at work pursuing his vision for a better Texarkana, Arkansas, including an ambitious plan to turn Front Street Festival Plaza into a more welcoming event venue. In this week's interview, he and host Karl Richter talked about the plaza project, as well as residents' concerns about streets, flooding and the city Animal Care and Adoption Center. ...

Texarkana Gazette Editor Les Minor is retiring next week after almost 40 years with the paper, including 35 leading its newsroom. Host Karl Richter sat down with Les to talk about his memories and accomplishments, and what it's like to leave behind the profession to which he has devoted his life. Les's successor, Gazette General Manager James Bright, joined them to talk about his vision for the paper and what readers can expect after the transition. ...

Allen West hopes to upset Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and win the Republican Party's nomination for governor. The retired Army lieutenant colonel, former U.S. House representative and former chair of the Texas GOP spoke to host Karl Richter by telephone Friday, three days before early primary voting began. You'll hear why he's taking Abbott on, as well as his views on energy policy, immigration, election integrity and more. LINK Texarkana Region Primary Election Early Voting Information ...

LaMoya Burks is the head librarian at Texarkana College's Palmer Memorial Library. Last week, she was appointed interim executive director of the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association. The organization's mission is to empower library staff to serve teens and support them — especially those with the greatest needs — on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. In this week's interview, LaMoya and host Karl Richter talked about her career success, what's different about serving younger library patrons, recent attempts to remove books from library shelves and more. ...

As executive director and CEO of TexAmericas Center, Scott Norton oversees one of the Texarkana region's most important economic assets. That proved true last week, when the Gazette broke the news that an ammunition plant employing 400 people will soon begin operations at the Center. It was the perfect opportunity to catch up with Scott about some recent developments at TexAmericas Center, and what the future holds there. ...