Page 48 - Rex Nelson News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

They called her the Queen of the Hillbillies. Sometimes they used the term First Lady of the Ozarks.

I'm writing about Little Rock in the Sunday edition of the statewide newspaper because it's important to the whole state that its largest city do well. I look to our east where most Mississippians have written off their capital city of Jackson as a lost cause. Those with the money to do so head to Oxford or the Gulf Coast.

It's a brilliant fall afternoon as John P. Gill of Little Rock and I walk the grounds of Historic Washington State Park. Gill--a prominent attorney, Arkansas historian and author of several books--has devoted years to publicizing this Arkansas version of Colonial Williamsburg.

Lee Watson has a vision, and it's one that's coming to fruition. Yes, Arkansas has just 3 million residents and a low percentage of college graduates. But Watson feels strongly that the state has the workforce, military connections, private investment opportunities and infrastructure to take advantage of a global industry that's predicted to produce 3.5 million job openings by 2025.

Excellent reminder