Business

Manufacturing, medicine boost construction activity

Manufacturing and medicine are playing a key role in what may prove to be a huge increase in the 2011 value of construction permitted in Fort Smith. For the first…

Rising fuel prices zap consumer confidence

If there was a glimmer of hope found in our the first quarter Arkansas Consumer Confidence Report, the second quarter survey may have dashed it. Rising gasoline prices and fear…

Religious convention packs Fort Smith hotels, restaurants

Thousands of people traveled to Fort Smith this weekend for the annual Jehovah’s Witnesses convention. The three day event kicked off Friday morning, according to this report from KFSM 5…

Sale to result in 225 jobs lost in Harrison

Editor’s note: Roby Brock, with our content partner Talk Business, wrote this report. He can be reached at [email protected] Rhode Island-based United Natural Foods Inc. today (June 10) announced the…

2010 saw Arkansas jobless rates up across the board

Editor’s note: Roby Brock, with our content partner Talk Business, wrote this report. He can be reached at [email protected] While we’ve seen stability in the Arkansas unemployment rate, it has…

Blount receives Riggs Award; Van Buren achievements noted

Mary Jan Blount was honored with the 2011 Iverson Riggs Memorial Citizen of the Year Award in front of a crowd of at least 400 attending the 56th Annual Meeting…

USDA contract to boost area employment

Up to 15 new jobs could be the result of a new federal contract awarded to Van Buren-based Tankersley Foodservice. According to this report from KFSM 5 News, Tankersley Foodservice…

Gas prices confound economic recovery

Editor’s note: Roby Brock, with our content partner Talk Business, wrote this report. He can be reached at [email protected] The subject of high gas prices, which are more than a…

Building permit values up in May, up year-to-date

Building permit values in Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren combined to total $12.379 million in May, up 34.77% compared to the $9.184 million in May 2010. The May gain…

2010 sales tax analysis paints erratic picture

Editor’s note: Roby Brock, with our content partner Talk Business, wrote this report. He can be reached at [email protected] Sales tax collections in 16 key Arkansas cities underscore the struggling…

Rezoning approved for new restaurant

story by Luke Hobbs [email protected] The Fort Smith Board of Directors voted unanimously on Tuesday (June 7) to approve a rezoning plan that will allow a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant…

‘Big box supermarket’ planned for Chaffee Crossing

story by Aric Mitchell [email protected] A special meeting of the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) was called to order on Tuesday to address rezoning matters for two properties in the…

Area CNG backers optimistic about future growth

Mike Callan and John Robben are optimistic that the admittedly small shift in demand in the Fort Smith region for compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles will blossom into a more…

Enplanements decline in Fort Smith, XNA and Little Rock

The second quarter of 2011 is not off to a good start with respect to enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport. May saw enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional…

The entrepreneurial super hero

The perceived super human non-stop strength a business owner possesses is often the product of necessity.

Arkansas GDP up 2.3% in 2010

Arkansas’ 2010 GDP increased to $91.828 billion, up 2.3% compared to 2009, according to a report released Tuesday morning (June 7) by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. Major Arkansas…

Collier Wenderoth Jr. passes away (Updated)

Editor’s note: Story is editing with additions and changes throughout. See end of story for obit and funeral service information. Collier Wenderoth Jr., the chairman of Fort Smith-based OK Industries…

Fort Smith authors of ‘Pinstripe Defection’ garner national interest

The past few months have been exciting for Fort Smith banker Clay McKinney and attorney Jason Browning, with their book about the New York Yankees catching the interest of USA…

No surprises at Wal-Mart shareholder meeting

Editor’s note: Roby Brock, with our content partner Talk Business, wrote this report. He can be reached at [email protected] While Wal-Mart’s profits and international businesses accelerate, investors, shareholders and top…