Fort Smith

Fort Smith reopens search for a city prosecutor

The search for a new city prosecutor for the City of Fort Smith is preparing to start anew, with the city continuing to pay an outside attorney almost four times…

Internet access to be studied by Fort Smith Public Schools; Southside hires football coach

The Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education approved a resolution at a called board meeting Monday (June 1) that authorizes up to $30,000 for a feasibility study for an…

Fort Smith metro home sales up 5.3% in the first four months of 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has not slowed Fort Smith metro home sales. Five counties in the Arkansas part of the metro and adjacent areas in eastern Oklahoma had 1,050 home sales…

With no opponents, no election date set for Fort Smith Board of Director seats

Don’t look for yard signs or any other campaign material from candidates for the four Fort Smith Board of Director seats. All four who filed for the seats saw the…

Fort Smith Police Chief: ‘Silence is not working’ on racial issues

Fort Smith Police Chief Danny Baker took to Facebook Wednesday (May 27) in response to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Baker denounced recent acts of…

Fort Smith National Historic Site to partially reopen June 1

The Fort Smith National Historic Site will begin adding programs for the public on June 1. Weather permitting, park rangers will conduct roving interpretation on the grounds and trails and…

Fort Smith Convention Center to reopen June 1

The Fort Smith Convention Center, including the ArcBest Performing Arts Center, will reopen for business Monday (June 1). The convention center closed March 17 in an effort to stop the…

Beaty Capital, Dream Hotel Group announce $60 million hotel project in Cleveland

Beaty Capital Group of Fort Smith is partnering with New York City-based Dream Hotel Group to build the first of a “Dream Hotel” brand at the TempleLive music venue in…

Future School awarded $1.25 million grant

The Future School of Fort Smith will be receiving almost $1.25 million to help expand the school to include ninth grade. In April, the school received authorization for the state…

Fort Smith sales tax revenue down less than predicted in April report

Though April sales tax revenue for Fort Smith came in lower than what was budgeted for the year, the drop was not as great as expected. The city’s share of…

Delta seeks to suspend service at the Fort Smith Regional Airport

Delta Airlines has asked for federal approval to temporarily suspend service to the Fort Smith Regional Airport, a move that will further reduce traffic out of Fort Smith that has…

Museum boss talk about Marshals’ stories, ‘Gunsmoke’ music and work of modern day Marshals

U.S. Marshals Museum President and CEO Patrick Weeks gave some insight into the future museum experience during a Facebook Live tour Friday (May 22). The museum began the livecast Friday…

Legislators seek subpoena of agency heads on issue of TempleLive and PUA

An Arkansas joint legislative committee on Thursday (May 21) took the unusual step to subpoena Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Doralee Chandler and Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston after the…

Iconic downtown Fort Smith diner to become SPUD’s, help support Harbor House

The Nickel and Dime Diner at the Park at West End has a new sign and new life. Serving as an outreach for Harbor House, Spuds Nickel and Dime Diner…

Levitt music series in Fort Smith postponed to 2021

The Levitt AMP Fort Smith Music Series will be postponed until summer 2021. Organizers chose to postpone the series, originally scheduled July through September, because of the unpredictability of the…

Goins, McGill to receive Jack White Leadership Award

Continuing the theme that 2020 is not a typical year, the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce is honoring two individuals with the annual Jack White Leadership Award. Trent Goins,…

Fort Smith Board suspends business license, pet licensing fees

The Fort Smith Board of Directors took steps at its regular board meeting Tuesday (May 19) to help residents through the COVID-19 pandemic. Directors approved ordinances to suspend occupation registration…

Normal not likely to return in 2020 for Fort Smith metro tourism industry

The regional tourism industry, focused primarily in Crawford and Sebastian counties, was off to a good start in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit restaurants, hotels and put a hold…

Fort Smith Board reverses itself on controversial Chaffee land use plan

The Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (May 19) reversed its decision on zoning change requests in a controversial section of Chaffee Crossing. The area in question is part…

WW&L to furlough 40% of workforce

Fort Smith-based Weldon Williams & Lick, a 122-year-old business and an iconic enterprise in the region’s business history, has been forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to furlough a little more…