OPINION | MIKE MASTERSON: Seeking a brighter day
If I made it through surgery yesterday, I'm face up this morning on what I hope is a brighter day in a recovery bed at the University of Arkansas for Medical S…
If I made it through surgery yesterday, I'm face up this morning on what I hope is a brighter day in a recovery bed at the University of Arkansas for Medical S…
The relatively clueless among us who still need convincing evil thrives on this troubled planet need look no further than the horrendous story of a deceased bo…
A senior at Bergman High School set a record last month by becoming the first student in the 48-year history of North Arkansas College at Harrison to earn an a…
On Christmas Eve, Jeanetta and I agreed the greatest thing we had to be thankful for this year was having our 12-pound Benji still beside her in the chair afte…
Editor's note: Mike Masterson is taking the day off. The original version of this column was published Dec. 18, 2010.
Because one smiles ear-to-ear and rings the bell symbolizing the end of 35 grueling radiation and seven chemotherapy sessions aimed at knocking out a squamous …
It appears the crumbling, long-ineffective dam that forms Lake Bella Vista will finally be torn down, allowing Little Sugar Creek to return to being a free-flo…
Editor's note: Mike Masterson is taking the day off. The original version of this column was published Dec. 21, 2014.
I'd forgotten how much fun a wedding and reception can be until last week when Kenda Leigh McCroskey, Jeanetta's middle of three daughters, tied the knot with …
Among my favorite courses at the University of Central Arkansas in 1970 was a Philosophy 101 class with Dr. Patrick Murray, who later would leave academia to b…
Three months removed from brutal radiation and chemo treatments for a squamous cell cancer trapped by a lymph node in my neck, I had a remarkably vivid dream t…
We all understand that being charged with a crime doesn't necessarily mean one is guilty. In fact, I've been deeply involved with several cases over the years …
With Christmas around the corner, I decided today to give my grandchildren, Elizabeth, Trenton and Keirston some unsolicited advice from their grandfather who …
Others frequently share what they believe were signs of a mystical presence in their lives, whether it be from divine intervention or guardian angels.
Those who read this space regularly know that ever since my wife Jeanetta and our little taco terrier Benji, were badly mauled by a vicious and unrestrained pi…
Editor's note: Mike Masterson is taking the day off. The original version of this column was published Dec. 2, 2014.
Children confined to our state's 13 psychiatric residential treatment facilities endure hundreds of instances of abuse, neglect, over-medication and other form…
Many across our state have sent messages of caring and support since my final of 35 radiation and seven chemotherapy treatments for squamous cell cancer mercif…
The mating season for white-tailed deer has rolled around again. With it come the memories of the same time of year a decade past.
Valued readers know of my interest in sharing accounts of mysterious happenings, some of which I've labeled GodNods. Others, like the following event, are abou…
Very near the top of my list of gratitudes this Thanksgiving is Walter Hussman Jr. and all he's brought to my life and career.
We took an afternoon not long ago to visit three relatives in their mid-80s. Two are in nursing homes while the other remains in her home where caregivers visi…
Editor's note: Mike Masterson is taking the day off. The original version of this column was published Aug. 5, 2007.
The Arkansas Transparency in Government group (ArkTIGG), working in association with a member investigator, has released a report showing the 10 public school …
Editor's note: Mike Masterson is taking the day off. The original version of this column was published Sept. 29, 2013.
The older I get, the more difficult I'm finding it to remember the names of those I meet. Perhaps you share that problem. I know it's cost me some embarrassmen…
I've become intrigued by the civil case involving Little Rock resident Marion Andrew Humphrey Jr. who has accused Arkansas State Trooper Steven Payton of viola…
Let's say you are certain you can prove your school board broke the law when it failed to publicly vote on extending the contract and compensation for its supe…
Please don't bother trying to convince me dogs don't understand what's going on within their human families, not after what happened with Benji the other eveni…
In 2015, after Eric Higgins retired from a 30-year career with the Little Rock Police Department, he volunteered with an organization called The Exodus Project…
Editor's note: Mike Masterson is taking the day off. The original version of this column was published Oct. 6, 2012.
Anyone who's lived long enough has heard about feeding tubes and the less-than-pleasant image the name conveys for many of us. It sounds anything but natural.
My advocacy for a stronger state law and municipal ordinances to hold negligent large-dog owners legally responsible for their pets who harm, maul or kill inno…
Bulldog Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen and his law partners Stephen Napurano and Chip Sexton aimed their sights eastward to Cabot last week as they filed a…
Many of you likely caught the story out of Millington, Tenn., about a mother whose 2-year-old daughter and 5-month-old son were mauled and killed by two family…
In reflecting over the past seven-plus decades, I can't help but see them as chapters in my book of life.
As careful as we have been to avoid the worldwide army of online scammers, we can still get swept up in the moment of a bargain for a needed item that seems ju…
There hasn't been a lot that's happened in recent years to bring tears to these aging eyes.
"You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself."--John Steinbeck
Editor's note: Mike Masterson is taking the day off. The original version of this column was published Sept. 17, 2013.
File these developments under better late than never.
Those who thought I'd quietly fade away after Jeanetta and our little dog Benji were savagely mauled by an unrestrained dog during a morning walk along a Harri…
Readers likely recall the very public conflict and charges of discrimination between UALR law professor Rob Steinbuch and Theresa Beiner, dean of the universit…
A majority of the many appreciated messages I've received since launching my battle with the beast known as squamous cell cancer have offered prayers for my he…
It took 35 days of radiation and chemotherapy to be able to ring the bell marking a successful end to the treatments.
Editor's note: Mike Masterson is taking the day off. The original version of this column was published Oct. 9, 2011.
I never knew during the summer of my 15th year whether the crawlspace I was about to enter to attach ventilation ducts would contain more centipedes or spiders.
There are many reasons I chose to return to my hometown of Harrison in 2015, the most significant of which is the genuine and caring nature of its people.
This is a column best described as a nightmare followed by a GodNod.
I occasionally share exploits with our 12-pound pound pup Benji, and how he has enriched our lives beyond measure. I do that in tribute to him and all members …