Fort Smith

Polish F-35 jets expected to soon arrive in Fort Smith

The first two F-35 fighter jets built for Poland will soon roll off the Lockheed production line in Fort Worth, Texas, and Col. Nicholas Ihde is ready to fly one…

Traffic up 1.3% at Fort Smith Regional Airport through November

Enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport between January and November totaled 56,430, up 1.3% compared with traffic in the same period of 2023. November traffic was down almost 7%…

Five Rivers buys Consolidated Terminal’s Van Buren operation

Van Buren-based Five Rivers Distribution has acquired the Van Buren operations of Covington, La.-based Consolidated Terminal and Logistics Company, according to Five Rivers President Marty Shell. Terms of the deal…

Fort Smith Board fires City Administrator Geffken

With a unanimous 7-0 vote, the Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Dec. 10) fired Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken, who had been in the job more than…

Fort Smith metro building permits up in November, down almost 49% year-to-date

Building activity in the Fort Smith metro in November regained momentum with an almost 120% increase in building permit values, but it’s not enough to catch up with the record-breaking…

Booneville, Fort Smith and Van Buren receive money for trails, streetscapes

The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) announced award recipients for the 2024 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) and Recreational Trails Program (RTP) and Booneville, Fort Smith, and Van Buren were among…

‘No-tolerance jaywalking’ policy a response to Fort Smith pedestrian deaths

With yet another pedestrian hit and killed in Fort Smith by a vehicle, Fort Smith Police Chief Danny Baker issued a public statement Monday (Dec. 9) saying the department is…

2024 Fort Smith film fest has estimated $225,000 economic impact

The 2024 Fort Smith International Film Festival had a direct economic impact of $225,000 “and generated substantial financial contributions to the local economy through visitor spending, event services, and more,”…

Fort Smith to give more review to public camping, vagrancy measures

The Fort Smith Board of Directors indefinitely tabled ordinances pertaining to public camping and vagrancy in the city at their Dec. 3 regular board meeting pending more input from the…

UAFS announces tuition waiver program for transfer students

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) will start a new tuition waiver program aimed at supporting transfer students in Fall 2025 to make it easier for such students…

Fort Smith Public Schools hires communications director

Fort Smith Public Schools has named Allan Marshall as the chief communications and engagement officer for the Fort Smith Public Schools. All of the district’s communications and community engagement departments…

UAFS, University of the Ozarks agree to nursing partnership

The University of Arkansas Fort Smith (UAFS) and the University of the Ozarks are partnering to bring more nurses to the region. The Carolyn McKelvey Moore School of Nursing formed…

Fort Smith residents to soon pay credit card fees for city payments

The Fort Smith Board of Directors approved a plan Tuesday (Dec. 3) to pass along credit card fees to citizens. The city uses PayIt as a third party to process…

Taldo named Highway Commission chairman, Farmer to step down

Philip Taldo of Springdale was elected chairman of the Arkansas Highway Commission, and Keith Gibson of Fort Smith was elected vice chair, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT)….

Kemp wins Fort Smith Board Ward 3 runoff election

Lee Kemp will be the new director for Ward 3 on the City of Fort Smith’s Board of Directors. He received 66.5% of the votes in Tuesday’s (Dec. 3) runoff…

Fort Smith Board approves 2025 capital improvement budgets

Approved City of Fort Smith utility department capital improvement plans (CIP) drastically reduce capital expenditures for water and sewer for the coming year compared to estimated spending in 2024. The…

Crawford County library system director changes attorney, alleges ‘reckless’ actions

The back-and-forth over payment of legal fees in the Crawford County Library System case has taken several turns in recent weeks, including the library system director naming a new lawyer…

Fort Smith Police launch S.H.I.E.L.D. program to help troubled youth

The Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) has launched the Shield Our Youth initiative, a new community-driven program designed to prevent juvenile crime. The program aims to address community challenges and…

Smith named a vice chancellor at ATU-Ozark

Dr. Tina Smith has been hired as vice chancellor for academic affairs and workforce advancement at Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus. The announcement was made by ATU-Ozark Chancellor Dr. Sheila Jacobs….

Fort Smith Board reviewing budget allocations between departments

The Fort Smith Board of Directors is hoping a better evaluation of allocations will help take some of the stress off the utility department as well as other city departments….