Most of the stories identified as the top stories of 2015 are continuing this year.
It's not that there was no hard-breaking news in the past year. There was plenty. It's just that last year's news is news again, or likely will be. Most of it has to do with major government activity and policies and, of course, the pending elections.
Each year, members of The Associated Press in Arkansas, all of them newspaper editors, broadcast news directors and other journalists, collectively identify the state's top 10 stories.
At the top of the list is the Republican influence at the state Capitol, which grew in 2015 with Republican Asa Hutchinson as governor and an even stronger majority of Republicans in both houses of the Arkansas Legislature, not to mention in all six seats in the state's congressional delegation.
It is, as the AP noted, a level of influence not seen since Reconstruction.
Of course, that influence continues this year as Gov. Hutchinson prepares for the fiscal session of the Legislature in mid-April. He is also contemplating the call of a special session to address highway funding and continuation of an expanded Medicaid program to replace what is known now in Arkansas as the "private option" health insurance program.
The latter, notably, also made the 2015 list of top stories in the fourth spot. The issue is one of several that have been the subject of task force review in preparation for this year's legislative session.
In fact, with only a few exceptions, the whole list of top stories was about matters in which the Legislature had some hand as the state adopted or changed policies in 2015 or before, causing some sort of reaction during the 2015 news cycle.
First, here's the whole list of the Top 10 stories in order of their selection: Hutchinson and the GOP, executions, anti-discrimination, private option, rehoming banned, the "19 Kids..." scandal, presidential politics, an abortion fight, tornadoes and floods, and the public spat among Arkansas Supreme Court members.
Drop out the molestation scandal that surfaced involving Josh Duggar of "19 Kids and Counting" fame. Eliminate presidential politics, natural disasters and this odd conflict among Supreme Court justices. The stories that remain are all about past and present actions of state lawmakers and, for the most part, they'll still be in the news in 2016.
The rehoming matter was listed because lawmakers banned the practice in 2015; but the story broke when a state lawmaker, Rep. Justin Harris of West Fork, was found to have rehomed adopted daughters with a man who later raped one of them. He isn't seeking re-election this year, but another related matter will likely get legislative attention.
Harris' story prompted a closer look at the state Department of Human Services and the Hutchinson administration will propose changes.
Presidential politics and the Supreme Court spat will certainly carry over into 2016. This is election year, after all.
Clearly, Arkansas has become accustomed to presidential bids by people with Arkansas ties. That particular story ranked just seventh in the list of top stories last year.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee each launched second tries for the White House last year and each is still seeking nomination from their respective parties now. She's facing a tougher primary than originally expected but is still predicted to be the Democratic standard bearer. Huckabee's campaign, however, may be on its last legs.
With Arkansas' primary elections being held in just a matter of weeks, on March 1, the Supreme Court story has a bit more urgency. It will be part and parcel of the campaign for chief justice of the court.
One race features a challenge of Courtney Goodson, a sitting associate justice, by Dan Kemp, who is a circuit judge from Mountain View. Goodson's role in the news-making spat among justices over an unannounced ruling on gay marriage is fair game in the election.
And, here's a reminder for Arkansas voters about that election. Judicial offices are nonpartisan but these races are held in conjunction with the party primaries.
Whoever wins those Supreme Court elections on March 1 will walk into eight-year terms on the state's highest court. Choose carefully.
Executions of eight inmates were halted by a judge in a case involving a state law that blocked the condemned inmates' ability to know what drugs might be used to kill them. That story continues, too.
Anti-discrimination law was at the center of dispute between state and local governments last year and the new year began with several localities having their own laws despite a state prohibition on such measures.
Those fights will go on, as will as a court test of a 2013 Arkansas law banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. That issue is before the U.S. Supreme Court.
So, keep the 2015 list handy. Many of the same items may also make the 2016 list.
Commentary on 01/17/2016