Fort Smith Metro News Briefs: ArcBest to issue dividend, Leadership Crawford County goes to the farm

Following are recent news brief items from the Fort Smith metro.

ArcBest Dividend
The board of directors at Fort Smith-based ArcBest have declared a quarterly cash dividend of 12 cents per share to holders of record on May 8, with the dividend payable May 22.

The shipping and logistics company is scheduled to report first quarter earnings on April 28. The consensus estimate is per share net income of 29 cents, which would be below the 51 cents in the same quarter of 2025. The consensus revenue estimate is $998.38 million, which would be above revenue in the same quarter of 2025.

Founded in 1923, ArcBest has about 14,000 employees at 250 locations. ArcBest shares (NASDAQ: ARCB) closed Friday at $122.50, up $2.61. During the past 52 weeks the share trading price has ranged between $55.19 and $124.66, with the high set Friday (April 24).

Leadership Crawford County
The Leadership Crawford County 2026 class recently participated in community projects. The first project to be completed was refurbishing of the Accessible Park in Van Buren, in partnership with the Van Buren Lions Club. The class team sanded, repaired, and painted play equipment in the park.

The second project was at the offices of The Call of Crawford and Sebastian Counties. The class team stained the fence around the playground, removed two dead trees, and renovated the restroom for the visitation area.

Also, the class recently completed their agriculture session, gaining insight into an important Crawford County economic sector.

“From learning about local operations to understanding the broader impact of agriculture on our economy and daily lives, this session continues to be a favorite and an eye-opening experience for participants,” Leadership Crawford County, a program of the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce, noted in a statement.

The application process for the Leadership Crawford County class of 2027 is now open. Link here for more info and the application.

Attorney Awards
Fort Smith attorneys Joey McCutchen and Stephen Napurano of McCutchen Napurano: The Law Firm in Fort Smith were recently recognized as recipients of the 2025-2026 Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award by the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA).

The award is annually presented to an attorney or attorneys dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals, according to an ATLA press release. McCutchen and Stephan Napurano were jointly selected for this award due to “their unwavering commitment to the citizens of Arkansas in the courtroom. In addition to securing justice for the clients of their firm, Joey and Stephen have continually worked to protect the 7th Amendment, the right to a civil jury trial, for all Arkansans.”

The award was presented at ATLA’s 63rd Annual Convention held April 23 in Eureka Springs.

Police Input
On May 1, the Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) will begin its Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Public Safety Training Academy web-based assessment.

Part of this process is to provide the public with an opportunity to make comments or ask questions about the department’s CALEA accreditation. Link here to find the public input process.

“When using this specific portal, please keep all comments/questions related to CALEA Public Safety Training Academy Accreditation,” the FSPD noted in a statement. “This comment portal will help our administration and CALEA obtain valuable information to help better serve our community.”