Four States Living Magazine

11/11/2025

We are grateful to the veterans in our community, and across the country, whose service and sacrifice protect the freedoms we cherish. Thank you for your strength, bravery, and commitment.

11/03/2025

11/02/2025

On September 7th, 2022, a baby girl named Khloe was born to Skylar and Jordon Anson of Nash, Texas. Mother Skylar noted that her pregnancy itself was rather uneventful and even what she deemed “easy.” However, as soon as Khloe was delivered, “easy” was entirely out of the equation.

Only moments old, Khloe was observed trying to hold her breath and was slightly blue from her bellybutton downward. When her parents were finally led to the postpartum wing, everything quickly took a turn for the worse. “Every single time Khloe would try to feed, she would grunt, scream, and vomit this red fluid,” Skylar said. “Her daddy and I knew immediately that something wasn’t right.” Eventually, Khloe was taken to the NICU.

Soon after, a neonatologist came to Skylar to deliver some harrowing news: Khloe had a coarctation of the aorta, a congenital heart defect where the aorta, the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the body, becomes narrowed. “He told me that he had called for a helicopter, it was on its way, and that she would need open heart surgery in Little Rock,” Skylar said. Only 22 hours old, Khloe was loaded up in an incubator and flown to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Read Khloe's full story here:
https://www.fourstatesliving.com/feature-stories/2025/10/31/strength-in-every-beat

11/02/2025

Music is sometimes aimed to challenge its listeners—to test them with an idea, style, or subject matter. Other times, music aims to unite its listeners—to be skillful in delivery and undeniable in its intent to bring people together. While both approaches are valid, Texarkana-raised musician Jed Harrelson aspires to unite.

Sonically, Jed and his band have created a sound that takes pages from the books of many beloved genres—primarily blues, jazz, funk, country, and rock—while drawing lyrically from Jed’s life experience. The cocktail that is a Jed Harrelson track goes down smooth and leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy. There is an undeniable charm of the funk-inspired bass groove on a track like “Dem Glasses” or “Bad Habitz” accompanied by Jed’s soulful voice, with its smoky timbre that wouldn’t feel out-of-place in a ‘70s rock track.

Sound aside, Jed has managed to accomplish something that, in the age of the internet, has become simultaneously more accessible and more difficult than ever before: making a career out of playing music.

Read about Jed's musical journey here:
https://www.fourstatesliving.com/feature-stories/2025/10/31/break-bread-sing-songs

11/01/2025

The Dia de los Mu***os Festival just began, and the fun is already in full-swing! Don’t miss this free, family-friendly event at Spring Lake Park, which lasts until 4pm today. Features include local food trucks, kids activities, a costume contest, shopping, live entertainment, a cake competition, and a community altar (bring a photo of a loved one to honor their memory).

11/01/2025

There was a time when Dr. Dallas Bailes, chief medical officer of Texarkana Emergency Center & Hospital, spent his days playing music in Hollywood, California. He had lost his musician father at the age of 13 to an overdose and wanted to honor him through a career in the arts. “I practiced guitar four or five hours a day, left high school early, and attended the Musicians Institute in Hollywood,” he said. “I loved it.” However, Dallas eventually realized that being a rock star wasn’t the most reliable career path, and it was then that he turned his attention toward a field besides music. That field was medicine.

“I shifted gears, went to junior college, and found myself drawn back to the world of science and service I’d grown up around. That’s what led me to medical school at Loma Linda and eventually an emergency medicine residency in Manhattan,” he said.
Medicine, like music, runs in Bailes’ family: his grandfather, Dr. Jerry Bailes, was a Texarkana physician for over 50 years.

“[Dr. Jerry Bailes]—‘Papa’ to me—was a cornerstone of medicine in Texarkana,” Dallas said. “I grew up in Southern California but spent my summers here, staying with him, shadowing him, and watching the way people in town looked up to him with such respect and affection.”

In his time spent as his grandfather’s apprentice, Dallas gained wisdom that he now tries to implement in his practice today.

Read Dr. Bailes' full story here:
https://www.fourstatesliving.com/feature-stories/2025/10/31/empathy-and-expertise

10/31/2025

The members of the Junior League of Texarkana invite you to kick off the holiday season with a weekend full of sparkle, tradition, and community spirit at the 38th Annual Mistletoe Market! This well-known holiday tradition is not just an opportunity to shop for unique gifts; it’s also a chance to make a meaningful impact in the community. This year’s cherished holiday shopping event, “A Holiday Tradition,” will be held November 21st–23rd, 2025, at the beautiful Texarkana Convention Center—our brand-new home for this event. This exciting move allows us over 12,000 square feet of elegant ballroom space, making room for 80+ local and regional vendors and nonprofit organizations. You’ll find everything from festive decor to unique handmade treasures, all of which will make your Christmas shopping joyful and stress-free. And that’s not all—our 5,600–square-foot outdoor patio will be brimming with cheer as children enjoy special events designed just for them.

Read about this year's Mistletoe Market here:
https://www.fourstatesliving.com/feature-stories/2025/10/31/a-holiday-tradition

10/31/2025

10/31/2025

The November issue has arrived! It's hot off the presses and on its way around town right now. So go grab one and while you're eating all that Trick-or-Treat candy tonight you can read about the great things happening this month and inspiring stories from the community. As always you can check out the digital version on our website.

https://www.fourstatesliving.com/