News on the Wire

Wal-Mart Shareholders: Meeting evolution

From float trips and camp outs along the Big Sugar Creek near Noel, Mo., in the early days of Wal-Mart and ice cream socials at the Walton’s Bentonville homestead, the…

Controversy looms on Wal-Mart’s 50th anniversary

Thousands of shareholders and Walmart employees from the four corners of the globe will descend on Bentonville this week to celebrate the retail giant’s golden anniversary and annual meeting at…

Doctors warn against exposure to summer sun

Ah, summer. Memorial Day often marks the start of longer days, vacations, relaxed schedules and sun-kissed skin. The latter may more accurately be described as a “pre-cancerous glow,” according to…

Ross renews call for Postal Service reform

U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, used his Memorial Day to renew a call for passage of legislation he claims “will avoid drastic cuts” within the U.S. Postal Service. Ross, a…

Legal opinion affects NWACC trustee terms

BENTONVILLE – The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office on Friday (May 25) issued an opinion regarding the election of board trustees for NorthWest Arkansas Community College and the new establishment of…

Homes gone in 60 minutes a signal of U.S. recovery?

BLOOMBERG — For the latest sign of a U.S. housing rebound, Toll Brothers Inc. Chief Executive Officer Douglas Yearley points to Hoboken, New Jersey: A couple torn between two condos…

Rogers noted in bond issue ‘pay-to-play’ scheme (Updated)

BLOOMBERG — Soon after investment bank Morgan Keegan Inc. gave $1,000 to a committee backing voter passage of a bond authorization for Rogers, Ark., in September, the bank earned $502,000…

U.S. economy shows signs of cooling

BLOOMBERG — Companies placed fewer orders for computers, machinery and other capital equipment in April for a second month, indicating manufacturing in the U.S. is cooling. Bookings for non-military goods…

Car-Mart rolls to higher profits

Bentonville-based America's Car-Mart continues to outperform Wall Street expectations posting double-digit net income growth in its fourth quarter and fiscal 2012, which ended April 30. The buy here, pay here…

Northwest Arkansas Newspapers hires efficiency firm

Nearly three years after Stephens Media and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Inc. merged operations in Northwest Arkansas, the union has yet to achieve the expected financial security. The joint venture, Northwest…

CBID, Chaffee competing for sports facilities

Commissioners of the Central Business Improvement District (CBID) know they’re in for a fight for the affections of soccer and volleyball groups in the Fort Smith region, but it’s a…

Rheem layoffs not a sign of departure

Rheem Manufacturing laid off 16 salaried jobs at its Fort Smith plant and a distribution center in Lewisville, Texas, on Thursday (May 24), but a company official says the move…

NWA construction pace trends upward

Local homebuilders and commercial contractors say business is steady through the first one-third of 2012. April permit values increased 8.87% among the five largest retail districts in Benton and Washington…

UA student savors every opportunity

FAYETTEVILLE — He might look like a typical college student in a coffee shop: backpack, water bottle, T-shirt and shorts. But this just might be a kid who will change…

Arkansas political leaders note ‘degrees of divisiveness’

Terry Rice and Uvalde Lindsey may soon be on opposite ends of a more divisive political arena come January, but both say they don’t want Little Rock politics to morph…

Obama health care hangs on business clause

BLOOMBERG — When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the justices said next to nothing about racial equality, the ideal that drove the landmark law’s enactment….

Fayetteville energy sector shines brighter

FAYETTEVILLE — The U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, Daniel Poneman, presented a local company with a $150,000 grant for innovative energy research on Wednesday, May 23, as he visited the…

GOP dominates NWA, Fort Smith legislative seats

Political control of Arkansas’ House and Senate will be a point of numerous media stories between now and November, but Republicans are clearly in the majority in the Northwest Arkansas…

Fort Smith revenue down in April, up year-to-date

After six consecutive months of year-over-year gains, tax collections for Fort Smith were down less than 1% in the April report. However, the year-to-date collections are more than 5% above…

Sales tax revenue rises across the region

Cities across Northwest Arkansas continue to report strong sales tax collections in May, according to a report from the Arkansas Department of Finance earlier this week. Among the region’s five…

GDP up 4.3% in the third quarter, consumer confidence declines

St. Bernards to expand Maternal Life360 HOME program into Greene County

Then and Now: Cooperative business model a good fit for Mitchell Johnson

Dope Medicinal Wellness opens Fayetteville clinic