Fort Smith

Lt. Gov. Griffin announces bid for re-election

Lt. Governor Tim Griffin (R) announced Monday he is seeking re-election when his term ends in 2018. In a statement from his office, Griffin noted that he had cut his…

Arkansas Scholarship Lottery announces 11.5% sales increase for fiscal 2016

The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery finished fiscal year 2016 with sales of $455.6 million, up 11.5% over 2015, the lottery officials announced Monday in a report released Monday to the Legislature’s…

Fort Smith area building permit values down almost 10% in January-June period

For the first six months of 2016, Fort Smith and Greenwood experienced a dip in overall building permit values while Van Buren saw a slight uptick. Combined permit values for…

Brightwater: Community vision to spur economic development around food

Northwest Arkansas in January 2017 will be home to Brightwater, a facility some are saying is a unique culinary school that will put the region on the map for food…

Bank of the Ozarks reports record 2Q earnings, ‘hitting on all cylinders’ with assets over $12 billion

Bank of the Ozarks on Monday (July 11) kicked-off the second quarter earnings period for Arkansas publicly-traded companies with a strong showing of record profits and near across-the-board improvements in…

Riff Raff: Don’t just say no

The medical marijuana debate will ramp up now that at least one medical marijuana issue is on Arkansas’ November ballot. Let’s hope the debate from all sides has more depth…

Gov. Hutchinson says Europe trip to lay foundation for future, may also have speaking role at GOP convention

Gov. Asa Hutchinson is not expecting to bring a major job announcement back from his European trade trip, but he does acknowledge the mission will lay the groundwork for future…

Made in America: Delta Regional Authority to kick off two-day, economic development boot camp in North Little Rock

Editor’s note: Each Sunday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Made In America,” a round-up of state and global manufacturing news. –––––––––––––– DELTA REGIONAL AUTHORITY TO KICK OFF TWO-DAY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT…

Weekend Digest: The ‘Miracle-Gro’ for pot, tense Trump meeting, and Australian slang edition

TV PREVIEW On this week’s TV edition of Talk Business & Politics, which airs Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on KATV Channel 7 in Central Arkansas and in Northeast Arkansas on…

Casino, tort reform supporters submit signatures in effort to qualify for November ballot

Supporters of an amendment that would authorize casinos in Boone, Miller and Washington counties submitted 92,120 signatures Friday (July 8), while supporters of a medical tort reform amendment submitted 131,000…

Talk Business & Politics Daily Digital: The more on medical marijuana edition

In Friday’s Talk Business & Politics Daily, we preview Sunday’s exclusive interview with Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The governor urged caution and prudence in response to the police killings in Minnesota…

Arkansas AG joins other states in suit against feds over school bathroom directive

Arkansas and nine other states filed a lawsuit Friday (July 8) against the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, and other federal agencies and officials in response to…

Molly Rawn named executive director for Fayetteville A&P

Molly Rawn has been named executive director for the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission, a tourism agency that annually collects and manages more than $3 million in revenue from city…

Marijuana amendment organizer submits signatures, says it’s likely more needed

Supporters of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment submitted an estimated 106,268 signatures on 17,819 pages Friday, but the sponsor believes the group will have to collect more signatures to qualify…

Gov. Hutchinson urges ‘calm waters’ on Dallas and other shootings, Sen. Boozman says nation must come together

In response to three nationally related episodes of gun violence and escalations between police officers and citizens, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said leaders must “calm the waters” in an effort to…

Tyson Foods opens new office space in downtown Springdale

More than 100 city, civic and business leaders turned out Thursday (July 7) to welcome the first 100 employees of Tyson Foods Inc. back to the company roots in downtown Springdale….

The Poultry Federation names new board members, elects officers

The Poultry Federation (TPF) of Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma has announced its Board of Directors membership for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The new members are: David Fryar, general manager, Butterball;…

The Poultry Federation names new board members, elects officers

U.S. job market adds nearly 300,000, jobless rate rises to 4.9%

The U.S. labor market added nearly 300,000 new jobs in June, easing concerns that U.S. hiring levels were slowing after only 38,000 workers found new jobs in the previous month,…

Arkansas Tech Career Center receives $664,326 grant

The Arkansas Tech Career Center, managed by Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus, has received a $664,325 grant from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to improve automation technology education and greater…