We’ve read in recent days information in the press about Albemarle Corporation and its lithium business. Albemarle’s primary business used to be bromine production from its Texas coast and South Arkansas brine fields. Bromine is still an important Albemarle focus but it has been overtaken in…

We’ve been reminded that Monday marked the 100th anniversary of the culmination of two of the most infamous crimes in Columbia County history. The first happened when Sheriff B.E. Greer and two deputies went to a house west of Magnolia to arrest a black man, Jordan Jameson, on a warrant for …

People have a tendency to live in the here and now. They ignore the fact that everything has a past, and that future events can’t be predicted. When the Columbia Shopping Center opened in the mid 1960s, it was a big deal in Magnolia. No one born in the 1970s or later would realize it, but or…

magnoliareporter.com welcomes today a new short-term advertiser, ESS. ESS is a company that specializes in finding and placing people into K-12 school district positions on daily, long-term or permanent basis. It wants people to know about a three-hour training session that will be held from…

AllCare Pharmacy, located at the corner of North and Jackson streets across from City Hall, is the newest advertising partner of magnoliareporter.com . The pharmacy invites clients of another pharmacy in Magnolia that closed this week to transfer its prescriptions to AllCare, where pharmacis…

There’s always great sadness when a local business mainstay closes. That was certainly true of the announcement this weekend by Miller’s Pharmacy. The pharmacy on the square closed on Monday. CLICK HERE to see our story. It’s tough for small, independent pharmacies to exist in this era of In…

We’ve just returned from our three-day annual summit with members of LION – the Local Independent Online News Publishers Association -- held in Nashville. It’s a gathering where people who run online news websites similar to magnoliareporter.com meet to talk about news reporting, techniques …

Yeah, we know that Henderson State University and Arkansas State University aren’t calling it that, but we can’t help but think about the pending friendly takeover of Henderson by ASU that way. If not in name, Henderson State will become a branch of Arkansas State if all parties agree. One i…

RocketFast! Car Wash on East Main Street is the latest Magnolia business to join our list of advertising supporters. RocketFast owner Don Robertson, an SAU graduate who lives in North Louisiana, is throwing an open house at the car wash today. The ad promotes the $19.95 plan to provide its c…

Some things they don’t tell you about applying for that all important if totally useless internal travel document you’ll need if you want to fly anywhere after next October. We made the trip to El Dorado on Tuesday to obtain our new driver’s license. Since we do envision air travel in the co…

Nothing like an online poll involving alcohol to make people go crazy. Our current online poll has been up less than two days but has already received almost 300 votes. We are asking, “Should the City of Magnolia create an entertainment district where the outdoor consumption of alcoholic bev…

Columbia County Judge Larry Atkinson has moved his office into the former County Clerk office on the first floor of the Courthouse. The judge's office has up to this point been a rather oddly-configured suite. The County Clerk office recently moved to the new County Annex on Boundary Street.…

Anyone who felt left out during the inaugural Second Thursday Market last well, well, this comes around once on month. Businesses are invited to set up booths at the next market on November 14. Also welcome are vendors of handmade products, including art, décor, vintage and collectables, sta…

It’s been two years since Magnolia voters rejected – by a 7-3 margin -- plans to construct $16 million in recreational facilities. If they’d been approved, we’d be opening a new aquatic and recreation center, and six baseball and softball fields, right about now. We bring this up because on …

Former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, who graduated from Southern Arkansas University in 1976, formally filed this week to seek the Republican Party’s U.S. Senate nomination in the State of Alabama. Six Republicans are seeking the nomination to oppose Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, w…

We often publish information because it is important news of which readers need to be aware. But we may also think the idea or need for something is totally bogus. Such is the case with today’s story about REAL ID, the federal government’s initiative to require special identification for any…

We were invited to Monday night’s preview opening of the rebuilt McDonalds restaurant, which opened at 5 a.m. today. Staff members took time to explain the operation of the order kiosk. We enjoyed a complete tour of the massive kitchen, the three drive-through windows, employee breakroom, st…

There’s a new, positive way to honor Magnolia High School graduates, or to remember MHS classmates, friends or family members that have passed away. The Magnolia Public Schools Foundation, which was created last year, can accept your gifts or memorial donations through its website. CLICK HER…

With the school year in full swing, and with many organizations planning special events ahead of or in conjunction with the holidays, this is an especially busy season for us. People often want to promote their events by sending us an email with a flyer or poster attachment. When we receive …

Walmart in Magnolia has announced its “grand reopening” following a major remodeling project that is designed to bring its Magnolia customers more fully into the online ordering and pick-up age. The event will be 10 a.m. Friday. This is a big change for both Walmart employees and customers. …

Tammy Johnson has announced that she’s going all in with her new Finns and Hooves restaurant on Calhoun Road. She has made the “tough decision” to close her Village One Stop store and restaurant on U.S. 82 at Arkansas 98. She has put Village One Stop up for sale. The VOS grill, famed locally…

magnoliareporter.com enjoys using its Magnolia Reporter Facebook page to broadcast meetings, special events and interviews as they happen. However, from past experience, we’ve learned that it’s wise to start every broadcast with a viewable proclaimer: “Turn up your sound. Please bear with us…

We had our first chance to dine at the new East Main Wade’s Burgers and Fries on Sunday. The interior has been nicely redone. There’s an order counter and drink-and-condiment station. There’s also plenty of table space for couples or large groups. We had a Wade’s Burger and fries. As anyone …

We thank everyone at the Columbia County Health Unit for helping with our Facebook live stream on Thursday. The Health Unit and its helpers administered hundreds of vaccines during the annual mass flu clinic. We’re going all out not to become a flu victim this season, and wanted to help prom…

Steve and Celia Montgomery, owner-operators of the McDonalds restaurant in Magnolia, have sent out a letter with more details about the new restaurant set to open on Friday, October 3. It will have seating for 89. Wall-mounted “Kids Space” computer games will entertain children. Customers ma…

Wade’s Burgers & Fries' new location on East Main Street held its “soft” opening on Tuesday evening and is now officially open for business. Hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 10:30 a.m. -2 p.m. Sunday. Both the new Wade’s and the original Wade’s location on West Mai…

Educational and religious institution work isn’t subject to listing in our monthly report of building permits. We bring this up to note that the August report, which raises the YTD value of permits issued to almost $5.9 million, is a bit of an under-sell when it comes to reporting the total …

Hey, it’s great that your Facebook page has a few hundred, or maybe even a couple of thousand, followers. Every business, church and organization needs a Facebook page or, preferably, a fully-functional and updated website. But keep in mind that if your goal is to reach a lot of people in Ma…

Amfuel is applying new siding to its building on North Vine Street. The replacement siding was sorely needed for appearance sake and dresses up the building nicely. Amfuel recently installed some big air conditioning units for employee comfort where possible. Investments in the quality of th…

Couldn’t have asked for better weather for the Columbia County Fair Parade on Monday. Well, yeah, 15 degrees cooler would have been nice but the sun did go behind a cloud on Monday afternoon, so that was nice. Then we were off to the fairgrounds for a little food and fun. We always enjoy goi…

Magnolia High basketball standout Derrian Ford, who was central to the Panthers’ Class 4A state basketball title last spring, is getting a lot of looks from Division I schools. Of course, they’ll have three more seasons to look at him until the sophomore graduates from MHS. Arkansas Razorbac…

Many readers will recall the October 2005 homicides of former local residents Dennis and Norma Woodruff. Their daughter, Charla, was attending SAU at the time. The Woodruffs were murdered at their Royce City, TX, home. Their son, Brandon Dale Woodruff, received two life-without-parole senten…

Our new online poll question seeks to determine attitudes toward the recent traffic pattern and parking changes on the Magnolia Square. The city recently declared Jefferson Street to be one-way southbound from Union to Calhoun, and Washington Street to be one-way northbound from Calhoun to U…

We welcome a new advertiser this week, Finns and Hooves restaurant on County Road 11. Tammy Johnson, who also owns Village One Stop, has launched her second restaurant a little closer to Magnolia in the former South Arkansas Youth Services facility. People who click on the ad will be able to…

Mike McNeill’s Diary will not be published today. Enjoy these news briefs from the weekly Columbia Banner newspaper of September 6, 1888 and September 13, 1888:

Labor Day, the last holiday of summer, arrives Monday. We hope you enjoy it, and from our recent poll we know that about 80 percent of our readers generally spend the Labor Day weekend at home. We’ve not done a lot of grilling this summer so it may be a Sunday or Monday for some chicken quar…

The Spudnut Shop and Deli posted a notice on Wednesday to announce that today will be its final day in operation. June Maloch told her customers that the business location on East Main Street will be sold. There are reports about the name of the restaurant, but we will wait for a more offici…

Magnolia’s newest restaurant, Fins and Hooves, will formally open its doors from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday. Tammy Johnson is the owner of the restaurant at the former South Arkansas Youth Services facility on County Road 11 (about a mile outside the city on Calhoun Road). She hopes to have a …

The entire community acknowledges the great sadness and somber mood brought on Magnolia High School this weekend by the accident that claimed the life of senior football player Kendrell Harris. By all accounts Kendrell was a nice young man who made good grades while working part-time at Walm…

There are always delays when it comes to opening a new restaurant, and that situation includes the experience of Tammy Johnson. She is the owner of Village One Stop. She had hopes of opening this weekend her second restaurant, Fins and Hooves, at the former South Arkansas Youth Services comp…

This was the first day for one-way traffic on Jefferson and Washington streets on the Magnolia Square. It was clear that not everyone was getting the message – one vehicle we saw entering Washington Street from the north was a City of Magnolia truck. It seems almost crazy that this is true, …

Hundreds of Southern Arkansas University students will stream onto the Magnolia Square later for Blue & Gold Day. This is a great event that helps students, especially incoming freshmen, develop a better appreciation for what Magnolia has to offer. It’s going to be hot, though. Which is …

Tammy Johnson, owner of Village One Stop, is branching out. She hopes to open by this weekend a new restaurant, Fins and Hooves, in part of the former South Arkansas Youth Services complex on Calhoun Road (County Road 11). Fins and Hooves will specialize in seafood. We hope to have more info…

Classes resume in the Magnolia School District on Monday. This is always an exciting time of year. Our thoughts are usually with the high school students, and those rising into the high school campus. The start of a new school year always presents an opportunity for a reboot. A new start. A …

This Saturday and Sunday will be one of the busiest days of the year in Magnolia as Southern Arkansas University conducts move-in days. Upperclassmen return to dorms from 1-8 p.m. Saturday. Freshmen take over from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. This means that Saturday and Sunday are two days when…

We can’t provide a direct link for legal reasons, but we can tell you that today’s edition of Arkansas Business includes a package of stories about TexARKana. They include the redevelopment of the Hotel Grim, an update on the impact of TexARKana’s sales tax, stories on highway and airport im…

We officially welcome the Magnolia Public Schools Foundation advertisement to our website. The foundation was created last year to raise money for the support of projects above and beyond the funding that is available to the district. This includes grants to teachers, and college scholarship…

Confirmation came on Monday of the previously-reported news that GateHouse Media – an investment firm posing as a media company – is buying Gannett Co. in a $1.4 billion deal. The new company will own 260 daily newspapers and 300+ weekly newspapers in the United States, with print circulatio…