Fort Smith

Ghan & Cooper open dog park in downtown Fort Smith

Fort Smith dogs have a new place to hang out and sniff and run when they accompany their owners to downtown Fort Smith thanks to a private park now planned…

Child nutrition support focus of new Fort Smith Boys & Girls Club kitchen

Fort Smith Boys & Girls Club officials and supporters gathered Monday (Sept. 16) to mark the opening of the club’s first fully-equipped kitchen. The kitchen will support child nutrition programs…

Fort Smith grants writer focused on public safety, infrastructure, other key projects

Chris Hoover has had a lead role in helping the City of Fort Smith receive grants for the city’s fire department, climate and pollution control, and infrastructure needed for the…

$6 million settlement finalized in Sebastian County jail death case

A $6 million settlement has been reached in a lawsuit related to the 2021 death of Larry Price Jr., in the Sebastian County Jail. As expected, the settlement will cost…

Fort Smith CVB asking for local photos to create mural

The Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is renovating the new Fort Smith Visitors Center at 524 Garrison Ave., for an opening later this year and needs local photos…

New 74-lot residential subdivision planned in south Fort Smith

Royal Ridge Construction has received Fort Smith Planning Commission approval for a new 74-lot residential subdivision on 23.5 acres near the Old 71 South Road and Spring Mountain Road in…

ARDOT rep explains planned use of medians on Rogers Avenue project

Representatives from the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) told the Fort Smith Board of Directors that the raised medians planned for an improvement project on Rogers Avenue will reduce traffic…

Overall UAFS enrollment almost unchanged compared to 2023

Enrollment at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) is essentially flat compared with the same period in 2023, according to unofficial enrollment numbers. Freshmen enrollment also was essentially…

Landmark, Garland & Greenwood merge CPA operations

A “combined operations” between the Little Rock-based accounting firms of Landmark CPAs and Garland & Greenwood CPAs will create a company with more than 200 employees in Arkansas and 16…

Outpatient surgery center closing at Baptist Health-Fort Smith

Baptist Health-Fort Smith is closing its outpatient surgery center in Fort Smith. The action could include the loss of 25 jobs. Jeff Carrier, region president for Baptist Health Fort Smith…

Van Buren Public Schools expanding band, wrestling areas

Van Buren High School will spend more than $8.4 million to expand facilities in ways to benefit two of the school’s award-winning programs, according to Dr. Harold Jeffcoat, superintendent of…

More soldiers, new equipment slated for the 142nd Artillery Brigade

The 142nd Artillery Brigade, which has units in the Fort Smith metro and Northwest Arkansas, is adding a new battery, and will add nine Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS). A…

Value of Fort Smith metro home sales up 14.4% through June

A more than 3% gain in Fort Smith metro home sales during the first half of 2024 appears to be reversing a trend that resulted in double-digit declines in 2023….

Motorcycle group one of several to bring conference dollars to Fort Smith

The Fort Smith’s Convention and Visitors Bureau is focusing on the details to recruit large groups and their dollars to the city. Just four large groups on the books for…

Building permit values down 58.3% in the Fort Smith metro

Building activity in the Fort Smith metro continues to come in well under that of the record-breaking 2023 with all three of metro’s largest cities falling well below last year’s…

Fort Smith Board approves $4.2 million for waterpark slides; tables vote on lease plan

The Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Sept. 3) voted four to three to spend $4.2 million to purchase a five-slide complex for the Parrot Island Waterpark that will…

Ritter spending $6.3 million to expand in Fort Smith

Jonesboro-based Ritter Communications is in the process of spending $6.3 million to bring its “RightFiber” fiber optic internet infrastructure to certain neighborhoods in Fort Smith. RightFiber is the company’s fiber-to-the-home…