Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – New director of the Jonesboro Parks and Recreation Department Jim Stearns said he wants to establish a verifiable “accountability trail” for city funds as an investigation into his predecessor continues.

Stearns was named director of the department on Jan. 14, a few weeks after former director Danny Kapales resigned from the position amidst a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that was made public in December 2025. He had been on administrative leave since Dec. 2, 2025.

JRN sat down with Stearns to discuss several topics, including his first 100 days on the job, the future of youth sports, and how he plans to navigate the department through this transition.

Restoring Public Trust

JRN’s interview with Stearns comes after the city administration came under fire at the Jan. 20 council meeting, when Matt Modelevsky, chairman of the City Public Facilities Board, accused Mayor Harold Copenhaver of failing to respond to concerns he had expressed for over two years about the organization and finances of the program, specifically the relationship with the Revolution Soccer Team.

The city recently stepped in to serve as a trustee for the City Stars soccer program, including the program’s finances.

| READ MORE: Administration under fire at council meeting

When asked what steps he would take to demonstrate integrity in light of recent events, Stearns said officials have already created a process with multiple team members of the parks and finance departments, and some members of the advisory board.

He explained they have created an operating procedure on how to handle money that creates an accountability trail from the moment it comes into their possession until the distribution process, and that all of their staff are being trained on how to follow it.

“We want to do our due diligence to make sure that we’re earning the trust of the citizens that we’re counting on for the money we’re collecting, and it’s going to the sports programs,” he said.

Stearns added that being more open to the community is something he wants to do in his new role, making sure the department can answer citizens’ questions.

“We want them to ask us how we’re doing that, because we want them to know that we’re trying to just run sports programs to the best of our ability, and handling money and being accountable for that as part of it,” Stearns said.

Regarding the city’s new role, Stearns said they are slowly moving the accounting and money accounts through the city’s processes, trying to make sure everything is in line with current policies and procedures. This includes a transition from the City Stars model to the City of Jonesboro model.

Progress on The Master Parks Plan

Stearns’ resume shows he graduated from Arkansas State University and holds a master’s degree in exercise science and a bachelor’s degree in education. He was also a member of the Arkansas Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation from 1998 to 2022 and did cardiac rehab for almost 30 years at St. Bernards.

Stearns said he believed his background in health directly influences his decisions as director. He views parks not just as recreation, but as access to “quality-of-life” initiatives. He added that the 2024 Master Parks Plan helps.

“It gives people just a little easier access to that. Exercise, good nutrition, and good healthcare are the first steps into prevention of heart disease, and if we can just make that much difference for our community, it’s a win for everybody. For the parks [department], that gives us an opportunity to create those things for people to use,” he said.

There are several aspects of the plan Stearns hopes will become a reality in the next 12 months, with the biggest being the 27-acre Disciple Drive Park.

The nearly $2.2 million project will consist of walking and biking trails, a playground, tennis and pickleball courts, a large and small dog park, multipurpose recreation fields, and a two-acre fishing pond. Stearns said they are starting to lay out the park following grade and tree surveys.

| READ MORE: City of Jonesboro receives $1 million grants for new community park

More changes are coming to Craighead Forest Park to help make it easier to get around as well as safer for those who want to walk earlier or later in the day.

Stearns said, in addition to the lights added to the 3.5-mile trail within the last year, they are working on bids to get a gate at the park entrance to close it off at 10 p.m. to help reduce vandalism and late-night activities.

“This will be a rolling gate that will be able to close off the access but roll back out of the way where it’s unseen when it’s not in use. It’ll just really be a gate for us to be able to close that in the park hours,” he said.

The park ranger program is also a big factor in keeping the park safe, he said. The rangers will interact with visitors to ensure they know what’s right or wrong with the park and do what they can to fix potential issues.

“The guys do safety checks on their regular rounds every week on all the structures out there, all the restrooms. There’s a daily cleaning process they hit. They hit the restrooms every morning before 6 a.m. They just created a team that comes in early and takes care of that, to make sure all that is in working order. They’re out there, they’ve got full power from me as well as the supervisor out there, and we try to address all those concerns when they happen,” he said.

The department has plans to remodel the playground splash pad at Craighead Forest Park, as Stearns said it is at the end of its life. They are also working on the conditions of fishing sites, clearing some of the weeded areas.

Other projects in the plan include multiple trail projects. Right now, Stearns said the main focus is the connectivity trail from downtown Jonesboro to Arkansas State University.

The Parks Department also plans on doing a trail from downtown Jonesboro to Joe Mack Campbell Park, and even a trail from Arkansas State University to Disciple Drive Park. They are also looking into having a community-type facility at the shooting sports complex to host larger trap and skeet shooting events.

The “No-Cost” Goal

Part of Stearns’ vision is to focus on cost. In a news release from the city, Stearns said he wants to provide low- and no-cost youth sports opportunities.

When asked for a concrete example, Stearns pointed to the city pool. He explained they are implementing a lower price structure for swimming access, hoping to give more children a better opportunity to cool off during the summer heat.

“We want to make sure that we continue to do our due diligence with our funds, our youth sports program, our budget, to make sure that we can continue to do that with either [a] sponsorship, partnership, or simply donations from some supportive community members. We want to do that,” he said.

The Road Ahead

With Stearns having only been in the director’s seat for a month since Kapales was put on administrative leave, there are many things that are on the table for the year.

When asked what he hopes to point to in five years as the one thing he wants recognized as a major change to Jonesboro’s landscape, Stearns did not hesitate.

“The trail system. I think in five years, if we can complete that goal, we have a win for this city. We’d like to also probably include [a] remodel of the Youth Center Pool facility to have a greater opportunity for people to come and have water access in the summertime,” he said.