Author: Michael Tilley

Fast 15: Jordan Hale

He was laid off after 11 months with his first job. And of his first time to meet the person who would become his wife: “We did not get along…

Riff Raff: A fortunate son

Editor’s note: This essay was first posted May 10, 2009. Happy Mother’s Day! –––––––––––––––– A lot has changed in Mom’s world. The world in 1949, the year of her birth,…

ArcBest share price up 28% in Friday trading, sets new 52-week high

Friday (May 11) was Good Friday for shareholders of Fort Smith-based ArcBest after the company’s share price – fueled by a much better than expected first quarter report published Thursday…

ArcBest first quarter revenue up 7.5%, beats estimates on income and revenue

It was a better than expected first quarter for Fort Smith-based ArcBest, which posted net income of $9.954 million, a wide swing from the first quarter 2017 loss of $7.407…

Group lobbying for Fort Smith millage increase raises more than $68,000

Friends of the Fort Smith Public Schools, the lobbying group raising and spending money in support of a millage rate increase for the school district, has raised $68,750 and entered…

25 new jobs at Fort Smith-based osteopathic college have average annual pay of $118,000

Officials at the Fort Smith-based Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) are in the process of hiring 25 more people, at an average salary of $118,000, to complete faculty and…

Bekaert plans $16 million expansion, 40 new jobs at its Van Buren operation

A $16 million, 100,000-square-foot expansion is planned for Bekaert’s wire product plant in Van Buren. The Van Buren City Council held a special meeting Monday night (April 30) during which…

Report: New union contract may leave ABF Freight in ‘market share losing position’

The first independent analysis of the proposed five-year labor contract between Fort Smith-based ABF Freight and the Teamsters suggests the union negotiators won the day. An April 13 investor note…

UA researchers form new medical testing venture, receive help from Fort Smith company

Research from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville combined with medical products made by a Fort Smith-based company resulted in new products touted as a better way to train clinicians…

$500 million-plus Greensborough Village to be a ‘city within a city’

The Snellgrove family owned a more than 200-acre swath of land bordered by U.S. 49 and Old Greensboro Road (Arkansas 351) in northern Jonesboro. The wooded acreage had been in…

Arkansas Tourism Ticker: Growth moderates but continues for Arkansas’ tourism industry in 2017

Jobs, city hospitality revenue and the state’s 2% tourism tax all showed gains in 2017, even up against tough comparisons with healthy gains in 2016, according to the Arkansas Tourism…

Riff Raff: A marijuana farm, a clown show, and a phrase factory

Golden Living has placed on the market its 318.000-square-foot Class A office building in Fort Smith. Would be an economic blow to Fort Smith and the state if the jobs…

Golden Living puts large Fort Smith admin center on the market for sale or lease

Uncertainty about the future of Golden Living jobs in Fort Smith became somewhat less clear Tuesday. Real estate firm CBRE said it is has been hired to sell or lease…

Under 40 Forum participants asked to build a ‘Better Brand for Arkansas’

Author, outdoor adventure planner and speaker Georgia Pellegrini told Arkansas community and business leaders they have an “incredible opportunity” to help the state develop a brand, adding they should not…

AG Rutledge, Prosecuting Attorney Ellington trade filings in argument over who should sue drug makers

In separate actions, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Scott Ellington, prosecuting attorney for the 2nd Judicial District of Arkansas, are taking drug makers to court in a fight against…

Riff Raff: A burning bush, Jan and Andy, and the United States of Acquisitions

Much paperwork has been involved in this ongoing Charlie Foxtrot to implement medical marijuana use in Arkansas. Unfortunately, none of the paper is of the rolling variety. Not sure if…

Teamsters, ABF reach tentative contract deal, no details provided

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Fort Smith-based ABF Freight have reached a tentative five-year labor agreement that now must be reviewed and submitted to a membership vote. Contract details…

Belle Point Ranch Angus cattle sale includes ‘certified’ barn painting

Troy Freeman was in the Fort Smith area over the weekend painting on the side of a barn. He’s got 34 more around the U.S. to paint before Oct. 18….

Teamsters don’t want ‘concessionary contract’ in push for new deal with ABF

Officials with the Teamsters and Fort Smith-based ABF Freight System are set to meet again Monday (March 26) in another attempt to hammer out a contract for the 8,000 union…

Riff Raff: Federal idiots, Oprah, slippery slopes, and channel changes

Encouraging more STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education is great, but should it result in less education in communication skills? The best engineer in the world is no good…