Author: Roby Brock

Roby Brock

Gov. Sanders announces trade mission to Israel, UAE

Gov. Sarah Sanders said Thursday (July 31) she would make a trade mission to Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Sunday, Aug. 3 to Saturday, Aug. 9. The…

CANTEX to locate $120M facility in Nashville, former Husqvarna plant

CANTEX, a manufacturer of American-made electrical conduit, fittings, and boxes, announced plans Thursday (July 31) to invest $120 million to locate a new facility in Nashville, Ark. The new facility…

Commercial vacancies decline in NWA, industrial demand slows dramatically

Northwest Arkansas’ commercial real estate market continued to show resilience in the second quarter of 2025, with historically low office vacancy and consistent demand for retail space, according to the…

Amazon breaks ground on state-of-the-art logistics facility in Little Rock

Amazon broke ground Tuesday (July 29) on a more than 930,000-square-foot logistics facility in Little Rock that will create more than 1,000 full- and part-time jobs once fully operational. This…

Arkansas PBM law put on hold by federal judge

U.S. District Judge Brian Miller on Monday (July 28) blocked an Arkansas law to prohibit pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning PBMs and pharmacies from going into effect. PBMs are…

The incumbent and the newbie

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., knew he’d draw a Democratic opponent in his 2026 reelection bid. He might not have been counting on a farmer from Newport. Hallie Shoffner, a…

Westrock Coffee opens new manufacturing facility in Conway to accommodate rapid growth

Westrock Coffee officially opened its new Conway manufacturing facility Thursday (July 24) to serve its fast-growing single-serve coffee cup business, but the plant has the capability to grow nearly nine-fold…

Womack sees potential for government shutdown

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, thinks the odds for a government shutdown in early October are pretty high based on the contentiousness in Congress and the fractures within the GOP….

Game and Fish leaders dedicate $16 million renovated hatchery, launch new trophy bass program

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission on Wednesday (July 16) dedicated its $16 million renovation of the nearly 100-year old Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery in Lonoke. It is the…

Shoffner officially announces US Senate bid at England Democratic club

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Hallie Shoffner spoke Monday evening (July 14) to the England Area Democrats and declared her official candidacy to challenge incumbent GOP U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton. Shoffner,…

AM Group’s co-founders carve out niche in NWA, beyond

Business partners. Neighbors. Sisters. Well, maybe not sisters, but Mary Mickel and Andrea Ritchie could pass as sisters. The partners of the fast-growing Fayetteville communications agency, AM Group, act like…

NWA Council’s Serafina Lalany sees startup scene on uphill trajectory

If Arkansas wants to take entrepreneurship to new heights, the best bet is to put its startup companies on rocket fuel. As fate would have it, a one-time Houston resident…

Arkansas Congressional GOP delegation helps pass Senate reconciliation package 218-214

All four of Arkansas’ GOP Congressmen joined their Senate Republican counterparts in supporting a reconciliation bill that reflects President Donald Trump’s legislative priorities. The measure, touted as “one big, beautiful…

Senate passes Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful’ bill 51-50

Arkansas’ two U.S. Senators voted for the Republican-sponsored Senate version of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” on Tuesday (July 1), although details of the measure are still not…

Dr. Lowry Barnes named interim chancellor at UAMS

University of Arkansas System President Jay Silveria said Monday (June 30) that Dr. C. Lowry Barnes, professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Arkansas…

Are we good with this?

After months of limbo, Northeast Arkansas got presumably good news in late June. The $15 billion deal to allow Japanese-based Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel was approved with several…

Love to take his campaign for Governor ‘to the people’

State Sen. Fred Love, D-Little Rock, the newest entrant in the race for Arkansas Governor, said Sunday (June 29) that he would bring his campaign to towns and cities of…

Arkansas Food Hall of Fame finalists unveiled

The 2025 Arkansas Food Hall of Fame finalists were announced on Thursday (June 26). Launched in 2016 by the Division of Arkansas Heritage, the program celebrates Arkansas’ unique culinary heritage…

Democratic State Sen. Fred Love announces for Arkansas governor

State Sen. Fred Love, D-Little Rock, announced Monday (June 23) that he will launch a campaign for Arkansas governor. Love is term-limited and cannot run for legislative reelection. “We can…

Rep. Crawford supports taking out Iran nuclear capabilities, doesn’t see long engagement

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, sees a role for America in the current Israel-Iran fight, but he doesn’t see a prolonged engagement and is…