Marty Cook

It was a perfect match when HFA CEO Dave Wilgus hired Nicole Poole in 2021 to run the architecture and engineering firm's hospitality and entertainment division.

Earlier this year, Arkansas became the latest among a handful of states to enact “gold card” legislation to try to shorten the approval process for medical procedures and prescriptions.

Officials say the new bridge spanning the Mississippi River between West Memphis and Memphis is expected to cost $800 million.

Major players are dominating the cold storage market nationally, but Arkansas still has plenty of room for local businesses to thrive.

The number of licensed processors, who turn hemp flowers into cannabidiol (CBD) oil or hemp stalks and seeds into industrial-use fiber and feed, dropped from 35 in 2019 to four this year.

It may be a few months until Blue Crane announces what it plans to do with the property it bought in Bella Vista earlier this year, but city leaders believe the Walton heirs' interest is a sign its time has come.

Trinitas Ventures, a real estate development company in Lafayette, Indiana, bought the 2-acre site in downtown Fayetteville. The company plans to build a 191-unit, 572-bed complex on the West Center Street lot to provide housing for University of Arkansas students.

Health care officials say the strain on northwest Arkansas' workforce is improving, but the area's continuing growth will keep the demand for medical workers from slowing down any time soon.

Gardner is the executive director of Ozark Regional Transit, the region's public transportation provider. Through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the U.S. Department of Transportation has a $2.5 billion Charging & Fueling Infrastructure grant program to build electric vehicle charging stations, and it sought applications from transit organizations.

The residential and commercial real estate markets in northwest Arkansas remain strong as the region's population growth continues.