Business

Fort Smith School Board approves plan to close Trusty Elementary

The Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education approved a plan at its Dec. 18 regular meeting to move students from Trusty Elementary School when the school closes at the…

Survey: Majority of U.S. holiday shoppers worry about cyber hacks

As more holiday sales gravitate online the fear increases of data breaches that could put shoppers’ personal data at risk, according to a recent survey report from cloud communications firm…

New service from Springdale neurodiagnostic provider grows 800% in 2023

A new service for Springdale-based neurodiagnostic services provider Advanced Monitoring Services has achieved 800% growth this year. The ambulatory electroencephalography (EEG) service is the company’s first to use technology to…

Summit Utilities opens new office in Fort Smith

Summit Utilities, the parent company of Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp. (AOG), has officially opened a new office in Fort Smith that also provides customer service for its operations in six…

NWA mortgage originations showing signs of a rebound

According to Attom Data Solutions, mortgage originations in Northwest Arkansas were down about 33% in the third quarter this year compared with the same time last year. That’s a bigger…

Peak flooding investigation report could be ready by February

The investigation into frequent flooding at Fort Smith Public School’s Peak Innovation facility is continuing and a report is expected for the FSPS Board of Education by February. School Board…

Arkansas peanut crop could set yield records in 2023

Southern blight was an issue for Arkansas peanut growers this year but if projections hold, it will be the best harvest in a decade. The peanut crop got off to…

The Supply Side: Navigating the omnichannel transition in the grocery industry

While mass retailers like Walmart and specialty retailers like Ulta Beauty have worked to become omnichannel by offering a unified shopping experience that bridges digital and physical commerce, the traditional…

U.S. Marshals Museum, Museum Foundation announce new board leadership

The U.S. Marshals Museum and the U.S. Marshals Museum Foundation announced new board leadership Monday (Dec. 18) as the museum heads into its first full year of being open to…

Democrat Printing & Lithographing Co. joins partnership with Indiana company

Democrat Printing and Lithographing, Co. (DP&L) on Monday (Dec. 18) announced it will enter a strategic partnership with EP Graphics of Berne, Indiana. DP&L, founded in 1871, is a commercial…

Fort Smith Board reviews relationship with 64.6 Downtown

As the Fort Smith Board of Directors plans for the 2024 operating budget, directors discussed the city’s $150,000 investment in 64.6 Downtown, with members saying they hoped the investment would…

ARDOT posts traffic plan for the April 2024 solar eclipse

An estimated 2 million people will drive in and around Arkansas on April 8, 2024, to see the total solar eclipse. Such movement will result in an estimated 700,000 extra…

Poultry production increased in Arkansas during 2023

Poultry producers and consumers experienced myriad problems in 2022 that led to higher prices and shortages in some instances. This year much of the market stabilized and it led to…

U.S. Steel to be acquired in $14 billion deal

U.S. Steel, which owns Big River Steel and other operations in Northeast Arkansas, is being acquired by Tokyo-based Nippon Steel Corp. in a $14.1 billion deal, the companies announced Monday…

UA economist sees ‘soft landing’ for economy as a strong possibility

Mervin Jebaraj, economist with the University of Arkansas Walton College of Business, offers a gymnastics analogy for the Federal Reserve Bank’s handling of the tumultuous economy. Observers have wondered if…

First building on Walmart’s new Bentonville campus opens Jan. 12

The Walton Family Whole Health & Fitness will open Jan. 12 at 1400 S.E. Fifth St. in Bentonville. A company spokeswoman confirmed the date on Thursday (Dec. 14). The fitness…

Senate Public Health Chair wants more focus on physician shortage

State Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, wants a stronger state focus on a physician shortage issue that she says threatens the health of rural Arkansans. Irvin, who chairs the Senate…

AAA: holiday travel to rise 2.2%, remain below 2019 levels

The second-highest number of Americans are expected to travel over the holidays amid the lowest gas prices in nearly a year, according to AAA. Over the holidays, 115.2 million people…

The Supply Side: Retailers adapt strategies to address holiday shopping trends

With holiday shopping well underway, retailers large and small continue to wrestle with shipping options, return policies and overcoming cart abandonment from online shoppers. A new survey from shipping platform…

ACHE officially opens a new building in its Heritage Village development

Officials with the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) and have officially opened another large commercial space in the Heritage Village area adjacent to the Fort Smith-based osteopathic college. Heritage…