Batesville to serve as State Capital for a Day, June 5

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Monday that Batesville will be designated “Capital for a Day” on June 5.

The announcement is part of Sanders’ ongoing initiative to spotlight communities across Arkansas and bring state government closer to local residents.

“Batesville is known for its many festivals and small shops, growing economy, and friendly and hospitable attitude that welcomes students and tourists alike each year,” Sanders said in the announcement. “That’s part of the reason it was recently listed as one of the 100 Best Small Towns in America.”

Batesville becomes the 14th city to receive the “Capital for a Day” designation under Sanders’ administration.

Sanders and senior state officials are scheduled to visit the city on June 5 for meetings with local leaders, business owners and residents.

Read the full announcement from Gov. Sanders’ office below:

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME – GREETINGS:

WHEREAS: Batesville was founded where the rapids and bends of the White River headwaters turn into the navigable waters of the lower White, and during the 19th century the town became a center of steamboat shipping and agriculture, followed by light industry and rail transit;

WHEREAS: Arkansas College, now Lyon College, was founded in the town in 1872 and has become one of Arkansas’ premier small liberal arts colleges, attracting students, faculty, and business to Batesville. The University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville opened in 1975 and prepares students for the workforce;

WHEREAS: Batesville’s downtown is home to many buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and visitors to the town can enjoy the Old Independence Regional Museum and the native son Mark Martin’s NASCAR Museum;

WHEREAS: Today, Batesville is known for its many festivals and small shops, growing economy, and friendly and hospitable attitude that welcomes students and tourists alike each year, part of the reason it was recently listed as one of the “100 Best Small Towns in America;”

WHEREAS: Governor Sanders’ “Capital for a Day” program highlights great cities around Arkansas like Batesville and brings senior state government officials into town to meet with their local counterparts; and

WHEREAS: Batesville will serve as the fourteenth “Capital for a Day” under Governor Sanders and will momentarily serve as Arkansas’ seat of government.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, Governor of the State of Arkansas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, do hereby name Batesville, Arkansas, our Capital for a Day on June 5th, 2025, and invite our senior state government officials to join me in a visit to the city.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 30th day of May, in the year of our Lord 2025.