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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Northwest Arkansas, written by local reporters.

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Military drone plant opens in Arkansas, drawing protest

The company plans to make unmanned aerial vehicles to operate in coordinated swarms

Business

Tech startup Swarm Aero opened a Northwest Arkansas facility Wednesday to build military drones near Fayetteville&#x27;s Drake Field, with plans to create hundreds of jobs.Why it matters: Regional leaders say the facility positions Northwest Arkansas as a growing <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="defense manufacturing hub" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2024/04/19/xtremis-technology-ai-rf-electromagnetic" data-vars-content-id="f97842e1-2f60-48cd-9179-6328cccd4129" data-vars-headline="Military drone plant opens in Arkansas, drawing protest" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2024/04/19/xtremis-technology-ai-rf-electromagnetic" target="_self">defense manufacturing hub</a>.

Mixed-use project planned for Bentonville square

The plan is to break ground on The Hart on Main this summer.

News

Construction of a development bringing retail, office and housing to the Bentonville square will begin soon.State of play: The plan is to break ground on The Hart on Main this summer with a &quot;multiyear build ahead,&quot; according to a news release.

Arkansas Gov. Sanders knocks Dems on Fox News

"If Kamala Harris is the best person that the Democrats can run again, I think '28 is looking really good for Republicans," Sanders said.

Politics

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders opined about the 2028 general election on &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Fox &amp; Friends" data-vars-click-url="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6389570439112" data-vars-content-id="ac621f56-12f0-4511-9f96-5ed102302d4b" data-vars-headline="Arkansas Gov. Sanders knocks Dems on Fox News" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6389570439112" target="_blank">Fox &amp; Friends</a>&quot; on Thursday, following a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="commentary" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/democrats-you-may-already-have-lost-the-2028-election-7bab8946?st=6xtgWW&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink" data-vars-content-id="ac621f56-12f0-4511-9f96-5ed102302d4b" data-vars-headline="Arkansas Gov. Sanders knocks Dems on Fox News" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/democrats-you-may-already-have-lost-the-2028-election-7bab8946?st=6xtgWW&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink" target="_blank">commentary</a> in the Wall Street Journal critiquing the Democratic Party.

Filmmaker second in Crystal Bridges speaker series

Ken Burns will speak in April in Bentonville.

Things to Do

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art announced Wednesday that documentary filmmaker <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Ken Burns will be the next speaker" data-vars-click-url="https://crystalbridges.org/calendar/building-bridges-an-evening-with-ken-burns/" data-vars-content-id="ad8181a3-39ed-4141-9ee6-32ede953c7fe" data-vars-headline="Filmmaker second in Crystal Bridges speaker series" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://crystalbridges.org/calendar/building-bridges-an-evening-with-ken-burns/" target="_blank">Ken Burns will be the next speaker</a> in its &quot;Building Bridges&quot; series.Context: The series, happening in conjunction with the United States turning 250 this year, &quot;brings together thought leaders, thinkers and artists to model civic dialogue,&quot; according to a news release.

Children's hospital expansion on track to open in fall

This won't be the last expansion of Arkansas Children's Northwest.

The Arkansas Children&#x27;s Northwest expansion is set to be complete late this fall, and families are already seeing some upgrades at the hospital, president and CEO Marcy Doderer told Axios.Why it matters: More space, services and medical professionals mean <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="more children can get care closer to home" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2023/05/16/arkansas-childrens-hospital-expansion-little-rock-nwa" data-vars-content-id="e4d774e0-860a-4f21-81de-cadfe443f538" data-vars-headline="Children&#x27;s hospital expansion on track to open in fall" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2023/05/16/arkansas-childrens-hospital-expansion-little-rock-nwa" target="_self">more children can get care closer to home</a> and avoid traveling to Arkansas Children&#x27;s Hospital in Little Rock or another children&#x27;s hospital.

Northwest Arkansas office vacancy rate among tightest in U.S.

Commercial property trends signal economic momentum, reinforcing Northwest Arkansas as an economic outlier.

Office space in Northwest Arkansas remained scarce at the end of 2025, with a 4.6% vacancy rate, one of the lowest in the U.S., according to a Cushman &amp; Wakefield Sage Partners report.Why it matters: Commercial property trends signal economic momentum, reinforcing Northwest Arkansas as an economic outlier in a soft national office market — though tight supply can limit expansion and push rents higher.

Rogers Whole Foods to open this month

The store will carry more than 30 Arkansas brands.

Northwest Arkansas&#x27; second Whole Foods Market is set to open Feb. 18, as a part of mixed-use development with apartments and other retailers in the Pinnacle Hills area of Rogers.The intrigue: The store will carry 32 Arkansas-based brands from beer and food to wellness and beauty and employ 110 people hired locally, spokesperson Carrie Hunte told Axios. Another 40 employees are being transferred from other stores.

Economic factors drive up homelessness

Housing prices have jumped in Northwest Arkansas.

Expensive housing and a lack of housing supply contribute to homelessness rates, which have increased in Northwest Arkansas in recent years.The big picture: The issue isn&#x27;t only who is unhoused but who can become unhoused. Those numbers have &quot;increased exponentially&quot; in the last five to 10 years because of factors like a lack of wage growth and less stability in employment, in addition to housing costs, Northwest Arkansas Continuum of Care executive director Quinn Emett tells Axios.

More housing, other development calls for infrastructure upgrades

Some places in Northwest Arkansas effectively have building moratoriums because of a lack of infrastructure.

Northwest Arkansas&#x27; rapid growth is pressuring its small towns to build out water, sewer and roads — and its larger cities to make big infrastructure upgrades, too.Case in point: Pea Ridge, a small town just northeast of Bentonville that had a population of about 6,550 in the 2020 census, built a new sewer plant in 2021 that gives the city the capacity to serve 30,000 people. It already plans to expand that capacity in 2032 or 2033.

Leaders tackle growth with zoning and policy changes

Zoning reforms alone probably won&#x27;t significantly drive down housing costs, but community leaders say they&#x27;re a good place to start.Why it matters: Changes can go a long way toward housing a growing population and have implications for quality of life, like how close people live to services and entertainment.

Bentonville schools' program to expand with help from Walton organizations

The Alice L. Walton Foundation is considering constructing a building for the Ignite program on its new health care campus.

Alice Walton&#x27;s organizations plan to work with high school students pursuing careers in health care and other fields, and the students could have a building at Walton&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="future Bentonville health care campus" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/11/14/alice-walton-future-health-care-campus-preview" data-vars-content-id="e490c60c-2071-415a-ac9f-c7df84ce1597" data-vars-headline="Bentonville schools&#x27; program to expand with help from Walton organizations" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/11/14/alice-walton-future-health-care-campus-preview" target="_self">future Bentonville health care campus</a>.Why it matters: Northwest Arkansas <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="needs more health care workers" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2024/11/14/nwa-health-care-council-report" data-vars-content-id="e490c60c-2071-415a-ac9f-c7df84ce1597" data-vars-headline="Bentonville schools&#x27; program to expand with help from Walton organizations" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2024/11/14/nwa-health-care-council-report" target="_self">needs more health care workers</a> both to serve its growing population and to treat patients from surrounding rural areas. A <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="2019 report" data-vars-click-url="https://nwacouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/NWAHealthcareAssessmentOnlineVersion.pdf" data-vars-content-id="e490c60c-2071-415a-ac9f-c7df84ce1597" data-vars-headline="Bentonville schools&#x27; program to expand with help from Walton organizations" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://nwacouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/NWAHealthcareAssessmentOnlineVersion.pdf" target="_blank">2019 report</a> commissioned by the Northwest Arkansas Council recommended creating a more robust pipeline with health care education, Alice L. Walton Foundation spokesperson Diane Carroll noted.

The Agenda: Construction contracts

Your local city councils are still at it.

Your local city councils are still at it. Here&#x27;s what&#x27;s on deck tonight.<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Bentonville" data-vars-click-url="https://bentonvillear.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1645/files/agenda/5387" data-vars-content-id="3128d08c-809d-4329-8c07-466f89de54de" data-vars-headline="The Agenda: Construction contracts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://bentonvillear.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1645/files/agenda/5387" target="_blank">Bentonville</a> will vote on:

A preview of Alice Walton's future health care campus

Designers are on deck for a nature-inspired medical campus in Bentonville.

The Alice L. Walton Foundation has hired firms to design a new health care campus in Bentonville that will start with cardiovascular care.Catch up quick: The Walmart heir&#x27;s foundation announced in February it had <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="purchased about 100 acres in Bentonville" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/02/19/alice-walton-foundation-walmart-land-purchase-health-care-campus" data-vars-content-id="4e73d723-a684-4101-8a34-3b2233a252a9" data-vars-headline="A preview of Alice Walton&#x27;s future health care campus" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/02/19/alice-walton-foundation-walmart-land-purchase-health-care-campus" target="_self">purchased about 100 acres in Bentonville</a> to develop a health care campus. The campus is separate from Walton&#x27;s new <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="four-year medical school" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/07/21/alice-walton-medical-school-opens-bentonville" data-vars-content-id="4e73d723-a684-4101-8a34-3b2233a252a9" data-vars-headline="A preview of Alice Walton&#x27;s future health care campus" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/07/21/alice-walton-medical-school-opens-bentonville" target="_self">four-year medical school</a> and health care policy-focused <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="nonprofit Heartland Whole Health Institute" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/05/05/walmart-alice-walton-heartland-health-institute" data-vars-content-id="4e73d723-a684-4101-8a34-3b2233a252a9" data-vars-headline="A preview of Alice Walton&#x27;s future health care campus" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2025/05/05/walmart-alice-walton-heartland-health-institute" target="_self">nonprofit Heartland Whole Health Institute</a>, both now open near Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Development 🏗️

Mixed-use project planned for Bentonville square

Children's hospital expansion on track to open in fall

Northwest Arkansas office vacancy rate among tightest in U.S.

Rogers Whole Foods to open this month

Economic factors drive up homelessness