Author: Tina Alvey Dale

Tina Alvey Dale

Ghan & Cooper open dog park in downtown Fort Smith

Fort Smith dogs have a new place to hang out and sniff and run when they accompany their owners to downtown Fort Smith thanks to a private park now planned…

Fort Smith grants writer focused on public safety, infrastructure, other key projects

Chris Hoover has had a lead role in helping the City of Fort Smith receive grants for the city’s fire department, climate and pollution control, and infrastructure needed for the…

Fort Smith CVB asking for local photos to create mural

The Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is renovating the new Fort Smith Visitors Center at 524 Garrison Ave., for an opening later this year and needs local photos…

ARDOT rep explains planned use of medians on Rogers Avenue project

Representatives from the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) told the Fort Smith Board of Directors that the raised medians planned for an improvement project on Rogers Avenue will reduce traffic…

Overall UAFS enrollment almost unchanged compared to 2023

Enrollment at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) is essentially flat compared with the same period in 2023, according to unofficial enrollment numbers. Freshmen enrollment also was essentially…

Outpatient surgery center closing at Baptist Health-Fort Smith

Baptist Health-Fort Smith is closing its outpatient surgery center in Fort Smith. The action could include the loss of 25 jobs. Jeff Carrier, region president for Baptist Health Fort Smith…

Van Buren Public Schools expanding band, wrestling areas

Van Buren High School will spend more than $8.4 million to expand facilities in ways to benefit two of the school’s award-winning programs, according to Dr. Harold Jeffcoat, superintendent of…

Motorcycle group one of several to bring conference dollars to Fort Smith

The Fort Smith’s Convention and Visitors Bureau is focusing on the details to recruit large groups and their dollars to the city. Just four large groups on the books for…

Building permit values down 58.3% in the Fort Smith metro

Building activity in the Fort Smith metro continues to come in well under that of the record-breaking 2023 with all three of metro’s largest cities falling well below last year’s…

Fort Smith Board approves $4.2 million for waterpark slides; tables vote on lease plan

The Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Sept. 3) voted four to three to spend $4.2 million to purchase a five-slide complex for the Parrot Island Waterpark that will…

Developers respond to FCRA lawsuit, allege retaliation and deceptive practices

Developers included in a lawsuit filed in July by the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) have filed a counterclaim saying FCRA engages in deceptive practices and the original lawsuit was…

Main Street Fort Smith issues call for artist on downtown ‘art activation’

Main Street Fort Smith is working to bring a unique art activation to connect historic areas in downtown Fort Smith, but it needs the right artist to make it happen….

Glass recycling test in Fort Smith off to a slow start

Glass recycling in Fort Smith is not getting off to the fast start city administration hoped. The city’s sanitation department has added only 10 customers since the onset of the…

Fort Smith Public Schools hire law firm in Peak Center flooding issue

The Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education during its regular board meeting Monday (Aug. 27) approved the district hiring a Texas law firm to pursue potential lawsuits related to…

Fort Smith School Board moves forward with plan to close Orr Elementary

The Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education agreed Monday (Aug. 26) to work toward closing Orr Elementary School at the end of the school year. The space, according to…

Fort Smith Coffee Co. to open a location in the U.S. Marshals Museum

Fort Smith Coffee Co. is expanding its footprint yet again, this time opening inside the U.S. Marshals Museum on the Arkansas River in downtown Fort Smith. A grand opening is…

State of the State Mid-Year 2024: Arkansas tourism continues to be a strong industry

Arkansas Tourism Director Dalaney Thomas said the state’s 2% tourism tax collections continue to rise with fiscal year 2024 (June 2023-July 2024) closing out at a record $26.363 million, up…

Fort Smith sales tax revenue flat through July report

Fort Smith sales tax revenue is relatively flat through 2024. The July report shows the city’s share of the countywide tax is 1.3% above the budgeted estimate for the month…