As the nomination period to run for local office will end on the 31st at least one Arkansas County community member has announced her candidacy for Stuttgart City Council.
Kyle Loveless Noble confirmed last week that she has filed the initial paperwork and is running for the open seat in Ward 2.
As a small child growing up in Little Rock, family conversations around the dinner table for Kyle consisted of the Rice and Duck Capitol of the world. Kyle fell in love with the Stuttgart at a young age. With family roots from Arkansas County, Kyle knew she wanted to someday make Stuttgart home.
“I grew up hearing stories about Stuttgart and my grandfather’s childhood here,” said Kyle. Her grandfather, Walter Loveless, is from Stuttgart and grew up as a Ricebird.
“Stuttgart was the Mecca for that side of the family with family reunions at John Cain Park,” said Kyle. “My grandfather played football for the Ricebirds so I grew up hearing the cheers because he knew them all.”
The Little Rock native moved to Washington D.C. after college and lived there for 13 years where she met her husband, Ben Noble, who is now the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Riceland Foods.
While in Washington D.C., Kyle organized political fundraising. She was a manager for the Credit Union National Association and also planned events for congress.
With two children who are now in Jr. High and High School, the Noble family returned back to Little Rock. Ben started his own Public Affairs Firm, which Kyle managed the contracts and books for.
On September 1, 2017, Ben joined the Riceland Foods team. With Ben having been raised on a rice farm in Arkansas County and his mom and dad still living in the area, Kyle felt one step closer to her homecoming.
“When my husband began to work for Riceland Foods I knew we were supposed to be living in Stuttgart,” said Noble. “I felt we needed to be a part of the community.”
Uprooting their family to Stuttgart from Little Rock in August of 2018, Nobles immediately became active in the community but her volunteerism ended as quickly as it began when she was diagnosed with colon cancer the following summer.
“It took me out of the loop for a section of time,” said Noble who has made a full recovery. But right when she began to get back in the swing of things, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“When we first began talking about moving to Stuttgart I would talk to my husband about city responsibilities, upkeep and positive changes to enhance the way of life in the community,” said Noble. “Stuttgart is already amazing and I think it really could be enhanced a lot more.”
With leadership, management and a fundraising background, Noble wants to improve the city for all residents, not just for the ward she lives in.
“There are improvements within the city that will make day to day life for all the citizens across the board better, easier, cleaner and more harmonious,” said Noble. “I just think there could be efficiencies and improvements in some ways that some things are done regardless of what street you live on. It all has to run well.”
Some of the areas of improvement Kyle would like to engage in include street repair, safety, government agency support and community cleanliness.
Vowing to serve the community in a way that the community needs to be served, Kyle said she is a thinker and a doer.
“I’m always thinking about how things are done and how can we do these better,” she said. “What do our citizens really want and what do they need is really what I am passionate about.”
With a heart to serve and making a full circle back to a community that has been a jewel to her family for decades, Kyle is ready to pick up from where she left off for the betterment of Stuttgart.
“I am interested in improvement inward and outward throughout the city,” said Kyle. “My overall interest is to improve the city and setup structure for the future– planning for longevity and not just thinking about our city while we are here but for future generations to come.”
