by - January 8, 2026 3:36 pm
Input from almost 1,200 survey responses point to a desire for more downtown Fort Smith music and events. The results also give Main Street Fort Smith goals to pursue and…
by - January 7, 2026 4:27 pm
John Thomas Shepherd has been nominated to be a federal judge with the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, according to a press release from the…
by - January 7, 2026 12:54 pm
The city of Fort Smith reduced the number of water leaks by almost 90% in 2025, with city crews fixing on average 5.3 leaks a day. The work marks major…
by - January 6, 2026 9:55 pm
It remains uncertain who will face Independent candidate Adam Watson in the March 3 special election for Senate District 26. Based on unofficial results, Wade Dunn and Brad Simon will…
by - January 6, 2026 8:45 pm
After more than a year of trying without a search firm to hire a new city administrator, the Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Jan. 6) voted unanimously to…
by - January 6, 2026 4:16 pm
Fort Smith businessman and one-time mayoral candidate Ernest Robert “Buddy” Coleman has died. He was 89. Part of the housing development company he founded in 1957 recently sold for more…
by - January 5, 2026 3:16 pm
January Bur Edson, 77, Jan. 15 — Edson, the trusted face of 5NEWS’ evening newscasts for over two decades, died after a battle with pneumonia, according to his family. Edson…
by - January 5, 2026 2:35 pm
Vikings were in the Fort Smith area between 600 and 800 AD, well before federal regiments were sent to the area. Also, an estimated 12,000 Native Americans called the area…
by - January 4, 2026 12:33 pm
Approval of a $360 million tax plan to address mandated Fort Smith sewer system repairs, a record-setting University of Arkansas at Fort Smith fundraising campaign, and progress on Interstate 49…
by - January 3, 2026 12:29 pm
Following are news brief items from the Fort Smith metro. 911 Transfer Fort Smith Police Chief Danny Baker recently transferred control of the department’s communications unit to the River Valley…
by - December 29, 2025 3:32 pm
Fort Smith sales tax revenue dipped slightly in the November report compared to November 2024, with the city’s share of the Sebastian County 1% tax down 2.5% below the budget…
by - December 28, 2025 2:03 pm
Following are news brief items from the Fort Smith metro. Race Complaint Through attorney Joey McCutchen, former Northside High School head football coach Felix Curry has filed an amended lawsuit…
by - December 22, 2025 8:33 am
September nonfarm employment in the Fort Smith metro was at the highest level for the year, with the biggest job gains posted in the Trade, Transportation, Utilities and Education and…
by - December 21, 2025 5:02 pm
An effort to develop a master use plan for more than 100 acres of former ACME Brick property in Fort Smith has drawn criticism from those who don’t think the…
by - December 20, 2025 10:44 am
Following are news brief items from the Fort Smith metro. ACME Property Planning The city of Fort Smith, working with Des Moines, Iowa-based RDG Planning and Design, have launched a…
by - December 19, 2025 5:13 pm
Early voting in the special election for Senate District 26 is set to begin Dec. 30, with the only early voting site in Sebastian County to be at the county’s…
by - December 18, 2025 5:51 pm
John Taylor, who built a successful career in accounting and investments and had a key role in the creation of the Fort Smith-based Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE), has…
by - December 18, 2025 10:36 am
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith’s (UAFS) Intrepid Ambition fundraising campaign tally is up 13% since university officials on April 2 announced the effort. The campaign is set to…
by - December 17, 2025 12:36 pm
Barring a dismal December, enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport are on track to top the 2024 numbers that were slightly better than the 2023 numbers. The airport also…
by - December 16, 2025 7:50 pm
After broad praise of efforts by all involved to work through difficult budget cuts that tallied almost $17 million, the Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Dec. 16) approved…
