MyPulseNews.com Mena Arkansas News covering Polk County and the surrounding area 
By Jeff Olson “Can somebody tell us what has become of the U.S. mail for this section of the world?” lamented the editor of the Los Angeles Star in 1853, noting that “[it has been] some four weeks since it has arrived here.” Such was often the timeline in communications between the eastern and western parts of the country. This ...
April, 2020
March, 2020
- 25 March
Reflections from History and Faith Victory Over Polio, COVID-19 and Ourselves
By Jeff Olson One of the strengths of America has been the individual freedom and economic opportunities and incentives she has provided for men and women to utilize their intellect, abilities, faith and determination to pursue their dreams, ambitions and goals – not only for themselves but for the good of society. This has been especially true through creative and ...
- 18 March
Reflections from History and Faith Robert Goddard
By Jeff Olson Those of us in the Baby Boomer Generation and others since, grew up in a world of scientific advancements, many quite amazing. Most of us can’t remember when there weren’t airplanes, rockets, spacecraft, satellites and televisions, just to name several. We also can’t remember often enough those pioneers who had the imagination and creativity to discover the ...
- 11 March
State of Arkansas House of Representatives
With spring just around the corner, it’s important to remember that state and federal income tax forms are due soon. Both state and federal income tax forms must be postmarked no later than April 15, 2020, to avoid penalties and late fees. The legislature prioritized and passed several changes to its tax laws during the 92nd General Assembly, which means ...
- 11 March
Reflections from History and Faith Unity Among Diversity
By Jeff Olson The history of the church is indeed an amazing story, not only one of survival, success and failure but also one of its humanity and complexity. It is a paradox; a startling reality of how a diverse rabble of individuals coalesced into a unified people, an institution which by all practical reason and rationale should have perished ...
- 4 March
Reflections from History and Faith The Call to Citizenship
By Jeff Olson The Church is defined, in Greek, as “to call out [from the world and to God].” An important point to understand about this calling is that it applies to each and every member of the Body of Christ, the Church – not just to the Church in general or to only some of us within the Body. ...
February, 2020
- 26 February
New Policies, Positive Outcomes
LITTLE ROCK – In the past two years, the number of youths in state custody has declined by nearly thirty percent, and today I’d like to discuss some of the changes we have made to achieve that. During my first campaign for governor in 2014, I became concerned about the quality of care at our state’s juvenile detention centers and ...
- 26 February
Reflections from History and Faith: Restoration of Church and State
By Jeff Olson According to Aristotle, metaphor consists in giving the thing a name that belongs to something else. Metaphors, while a primary mode of expression and comprehension, are based on premises and if those premises are false then the success of the metaphor serves only to perpetuate the falsehood. Such has been the case with the metaphor, “wall of ...
- 19 February
Reflections from History and Faith – Iwo Jima Remembered
By Jeff Olson America loses hundreds of World War II veterans every day and with each death passes a special chapter of America’s history. This month is the 75th anniversary of one of the most notable campaigns of the war and one of the most iconic moments in American military history. The place was Iwo Jima, a tiny island 660 ...
- 12 February
Reflections from History and Faith: Susan B. Anthony
By Jeff Olson One-hundred years ago this week, February 15, 1820, Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts. She was one of the first pioneering leaders in championing women’s rights. She came from a Quaker family, and a part of their belief was the equality of men and women. Quakers also strongly supported other major reforms such as the ...
