Business

Little Italy museum to open in September

Italian immigrants made their way to Arkansas in the early part of the 20th century. In 1915, the immigrants established Alta Villa, which would later come to be known as…

Penry leaving ASU for new post

Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Jason Penry is leaving Arkansas State University, Chancellor Kelly Damphousse announced on Friday (Aug. 23). Penry is resigning after seven years with ASU to take…

Walmart seeks patent for blockchain-based drone communication system

Walmart continues to work on it various blockchain applications and earlier this year filed a patent application entitled “Cloning Drone Using Blockchain.” The filing was made public recently by the…

Arkansas jobs, wage growth stagnates in the first quarter compared to national average

Employment and wage growth in Arkansas lagged the rest of the U.S. in the first quarter of 2019 as the tight job market threatens to slow better employment opportunities and…

Downtown Fort Smith traffic study ideas include roundabouts

Roundabouts could be an answer to traffic issues in Fort Smith’s downtown. James Arbuckle, vice president with Halff Associates, reported Thursday (Aug. 23) on possible short- and long-term ideas that…

Labor Department moves to streamline bidding process for Job Corps center contractors

The U.S. Department of Labor has released its first bid solicitation seeking a new contractor to streamline a local Job Corps center in Flint, Mich., as the Trump administration quietly…

Marketing, risk management keys to successful farming in 2019

Farming has always been a business that is at the mercy of many unpredictable factors, but farmers are facing some of the strongest headwinds they’ve dealt with in decades, Farm…

Sales tax revenue up 8.8% in August report for four NWA cities

Sales tax revenue in Northwest Arkansas’ four largest cities rose by 8.8% in the August report compared to the year-ago period. Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale reported cumulative sales tax…

Walmart hires two global compliance execs

Walmart announced the addition of two executives in its global governance and compliance department who will support the retailer’s financial business as one global team. Emma Waddell will join Walmart…

The Supply Side: Omaha manufacturer gets eco-friendly coolers into Walmart

Jon Ehly, CEO of Omaha, Neb.-based Plastilite Corp., said the company is eager to make its first shipment of eco-friendly foam coolers to 500 test stores in the next couple…

DataRank vets Cason, Frazier launch real estate company

Former Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurs Ryan Frazier and Kenny Cason have returned to the region to launch their newest venture — in a roundabout way. Frazier and Cason, two of the…

Fort Smith sales tax revenue almost flat in first half of 2019

Fort Smith’s share of the 1% Sebastian County tax reached $8.51 million in the first six reporting months of the year, up 0.57% compared with the same period in 2018….

Beebe documentary debuts, depicts rise from tar paper shack to governor

Mike Beebe’s rise from a tar paper shack in Amagon, Arkansas to the Governor’s Mansion was depicted in an hour-long documentary debuting Wednesday (Aug. 21) at the Arkansas Cinema Society’s…

Venture Center named finalist for first-ever Finovate Awards to showcase fintech sector

The Little Rock Venture Center, which now operates several cohort accelerator programs in Little Rock, has been selected as a finalist in the first annual Finovate Awards, which is expected…

LiveRamp names new board chairman, former Acxiom director and interim CEO steps down

LiveRamp, the former Acxiom spin-off now based in Silicon Valley, has replaced longtime chairman Jerry Gramaglia on the board of directors of the former Little Rock-based data marketing firm. LiveRamp…

Opportunity Zones could provide lucrative options for farmers

There are nine areas in Northeast Arkansas that have been designated as Opportunity Zones and these places could provide a good place for farmers to invest their capital gains. Attorney…

Arkansas natural gas sales, production see steady decline

Despite the highly publicized exits of Southwestern Energy Inc. and BHP from the Fayetteville Shale, severance tax revenues from the Arkansas play have remained steady as consumption and demand for…

U.S. economy created 500,000 fewer jobs than previously reported

Newly revised data from the U.S. Labor Department posted Wednesday (Aug. 21) shows the nation’s job market produced a half-million fewer jobs than previously thought over the past year. In…

Walmart sues Tesla, citing rooftop fires at 7 stores

Walmart has filed suit against SolarCity, a Tesla-owned company that installed solar panels on top of hundreds of its stores, after reporting seven rooftop fires linked to the panels. In…