Wynne named Arkansas capitol for a day, one year after deadly tornado

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders made a stop in Wynne, Arkansas on Thursday, nearly one year after an EF-3 tornado tore through the city.

The city of Wynne was named the capital of Arkansas for the day in honor of the efforts to rebuild after tragedy struck in March 2023.

“There has been a very hard year for this community, but also a lot of silver linings and a lot of things we can be proud of,” Governor Sanders said.

Govenor Sanders also presented the Wynne School District with a $111,000 grant.

Four killed, dozens injured by tornado in Wynne, AR

This upcoming weekend marks one-year since the deadly tornado struck the city, taking four lives with it and leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Michelle McGill says her family just finished rebuilding their home two weeks ago, but her neighbors were not as fortunate.

“We’ve seen 22 houses in our vicinity that are just totally to the ground gone,” McGill said.

Empty lots, abandoned homes and businesses are left as reminders of that fateful day. Mayor Jennifer Hobbs says while there has been progress, there is still much work to be done.

“We get one opportunity to rebuild Wynne, and we want to bring it back better than what it was prior to the tornado,” Hobbs said. “But we know that doesn’t happen overnight.”

Mayor Hobbs says many people living in the hardest hit areas were underinsured or renting their homes when the tornado hit, which created a gap in the rebuilding process.

Residents reeling after tornado topples town in Wynne, AR

However, the mayor says they plan on taking action soon.

“We will start the process of communicating as a city agency with those property owners about what their plan is, and at some point, we will have to get code enforcement involved and probably have to condemn some properties to get those cleaned up,” Hobbs said.

Until then, the people WREG spoke to remain optimistic about the future of the place they call home.

“We’re Wynne strong,” McGill said. “We’re the city with the smile. We’re going to keep smiling, and we’re going to smile back.”

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