Four States Living Magazine

09/10/2026

Beautiful day for Julie’s Deli, Four States Living, and the Goodyear blimp in Texarkana USA🇺🇸

09/05/2026

It's a wrap on this year's 40 & Under! So many of you have reached out about nominating and we LOVE the enthusiasm! So let's keep the momentum going!

Nominations for the 2027 Four States Living 40 & Under are now open!
Know someone who deserves to be recognized? Nominate them today and help us shine a spotlight on the people shaping the future of our community!

Follow the link below to make your nominations:
https://www.fourstatesliving.com/40-under-nomination-form

09/03/2026

The Randy Sams Outreach Shelter held its sixth annual Invitational Bag Toss Tournament on Sunday, August 2nd at the Elks Lodge. Twenty-two teams participated, split into an advanced division of 7 teams and a novice division of 15 teams. The event raised around $5,500 for services and programs for Randy Sams residents.

09/01/2026

09/01/2026

It's finally here! This year marks 20 years of Four States Living Magazine’s Forty Under Forty issue. Each September, 40 young community members are recognized and celebrated for their professional and personal achievements, as well as community service. The 2026 honorees are bold entrepreneurs, hardworking professionals, and compassionate volunteers. Their stories of creativity, perseverance, and dedication inspire readers of all ages.

Copies are going out to locations all over town right now. But if you can't wait to get your hands on one, check out the digital version on our website.

https://www.fourstatesliving.com/

08/11/2026

Great profile.
When you do business, always think local first. The Primary Commons is such a nice addition to the four states area. Cody Peek is a home grown champion (from a farm to table menu to the people building the premises. And Farmers Bank & Trust? Local as long as anyone can remember.

08/10/2026

THE GREATEST ADVENTURE
How Homeschooling Became Our Family’s Story�
By Nichole Holze

Homeschooling was not on my radar as a parent. Our family moved to the Texarkana area in the fall of 2013 for my husband’s career. All too quickly, it came time for our son to attend kindergarten—full day, five days a week—and we felt unsettled with the choices that lay ahead of us. While no choice was a lesser or inferior option, we took time to sort out what felt best for our family. The rather surprising choice we landed on was homeschooling, which we tried after my husband suggested it and I recovered from the absurdity of the idea. Neither of us was homeschooled, and it wasn’t anything we had ever considered. Well, as it turns out, 11 years in, it’s the best decision we’ve ever made.

Over the years, three simple ideas have shaped how we do this. The first is what I call being responsibly brave: saying yes to new experiences even when they feel a little intimidating, while still being prepared and thoughtful. The second is building rhythm instead of rigid rules. Our week has anchors, like a nature walk on Wednesdays or a history read-aloud on Tuesdays, but there’s always room to follow a rabbit trail if the kids get excited about something else. The third is letting the world outside our front door be as much a classroom as anything else; an afternoon at a local museum can teach just as much as a morning at the kitchen table.

Read about Nichole's homeschooling journey here:
https://www.fourstatesliving.com/feature-stories/2026/7/31/the-greatest-adventure

08/08/2026

LINES OF LEGACY
Poet and professor dr. brittny ray crowell’s debut book, Cord Swell, honors generations of Texarkana residents�
By Ellen Orr

A published poet and professor at Clark Atlanta University, brittny ray crowell grew up in and around Texarkana, Texas, as the youngest in a four-generation home.

“Writing about my folks is really important to me,” she said. “I always say that this book is a work of extending elegy beyond lament; grief can only go so far, and so I try to think of different ways to make connections to people that I love and hang onto the kite string. I [ask my predecessors], ‘How can I show you that I still love you in every dimension of where you may be?’”

brittny attended TISD elementary schools and graduated from Texas High School in 2003. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Spelman College and then won a Fulbright, which allowed her to teach English in Thailand for a semester. She applied to graduate programs for creative writing and was rejected. “I didn’t know what I was going to do,” she said, “so I came back home.”

Read dr. brittny crowell's full story here:
https://www.fourstatesliving.com/feature-stories/2026/7/31/lines-of-legacy