News on the Wire

Fort Smith jobless rate up in December

The unemployment rate in the Fort Smith metro area was 8% in December, up above the November rate of 7.8% but below the 8.5% during December 2010. In the eight…

NWA jobless rate rises in December

The unemployment rate in the Northwest metro area was 5.6% in December, up above the November rate of 5.5% but below the 6.1% during December 2010. In the eight metro…

Dynamic Fuels Strikes Deal with Mansfield Oil

Dynamic Fuels — Tyson Foods’ subsidiary and joint venture with Tulsa-based Syntroleum Corp. — confirmed an agreement with Mansfield Oil Company to jointly market and distribute renewable diesel for use…

Tyson shareholders to meet Friday

It’s been a full year since Tyson Foods’ patriarch Don Tyson lost his battle with cancer, but the meat company he built continues to persevere through a tough operating climate….

Dillard’s invests in Fayetteville company

Dillard’s Inc. announced a $4 million strategic investment with Acumen Brands, an e-commerce company based in Fayetteville, Ark. “We are excited to partner with Acumen Brands, underscoring our continuing commitment…

Salamone, Aldridge enter local political races

The candidate roster for Fort Smith and Sebastian County grows, with Salvatore Salamone announcing for a Fort Smith Director position, and former Sebastian County Quorum Court member Danny Aldridge seeking…

Development groups to oppose natural gas tax hike effort

While a group representing city leaders statewide remains committed to raising the natural gas severance tax, local chamber groups within the heart of the Fayetteville Shale region are opposed. This…

Income falls for Acxiom, new CFO named

Database marketer Acxiom Corp. posted smaller quarterly profits than one year ago due to declining revenue and a one-time goodwill charge. The Little Rock-based tech firm reported third quarter net…

Profits elude Metropolitan National Bank

Little Rock-based Metropolitan National Bank ekked out a $537,000 profit in the fourth quarter of 2011, but came up $4.8 million short for the full year, according to call reports…

Arkansas Dems set “tone” for fiscal session

Democratic leaders in the state House and Senate said they were “setting the tone” for the upcoming fiscal session, which begins Feb. 13. “We want to send the message to…

51 new jobs coming to Mulberry (Updated)

American Vegetable Soybean and Edamame, Inc., (AVS) announced Tuesday it would add "40-60 new jobs" in Mulberry in the next three years in the production of Edamame. Edamame are immature…

ATU-Ozark enrollment up, UAFS down

Spring enrollment at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is down 2.5% and enrollment at Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus is up more than 17%. UAFS officials reported Tuesday (Jan….

Arkansas Music Pavilion to move for 2012 season (Updated)

FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Music Pavilion, owned by the Walton Arts Center, will carry out its 2012 concert season at the Washington County Fairgrounds, with the option to stay longer if…

Arkansas House, Senate races taking shape

With filing season less than a month away, candidates for the Arkansas House and Senate are starting to come into clearer picture. In the latest update of a Talk Business…

Military requests to cut five A-10 units

Uncertainty still surrounds the future of the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith, and more information about the fate of the A-10 fighter platform increases the concern that the 188th…

Walgreens loses military prescriptions

A contract dispute between pharmacy retail giants Walgreens and Express Scripts has resulted in military families using Tricare to not be able to have prescriptions filled at Walgreens. Tricare is…

The Beatles drive tourism in Walnut Ridge

Walnut Ridge is just a hop, skip and a jump from Jonesboro, but the northeast Arkansas community is hoping visitors will come to “twist and shout.” As part of a…

Trucking industry mulls natural gas conversion

Rising diesel prices and a federal mandate to reduce fuel consumption is causing trucking firms — private and public — to consider the benefits of a natural gas fleet conversion….

Nursing program approved at ATU-Ozark

The Arkansas Department of Higher Education gave final approval on Friday (Jan. 27) to Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus for its proposed Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Nursing. The endorsement,…

Trane may cut up to 59 Fort Smith jobs

An estimated 59 jobs may leave Fort Smith later this year as Trane moves some production from its Fort Smith plant to an operation in Columbia, S.C. Trane’s Fort Smith…