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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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Arkansas will receive $10 million for maternal health

Olivia Walton announced her nonprofit will give $10M to Arkansas and $10M to Kentucky.

Health

A nonprofit c0-founded by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art chairperson Olivia Walton <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="will give $10 million to improve maternal health" data-vars-click-url="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/01/3373371/0/en/healthy-moms-healthy-babies-america-hmhba-announces-20-million-in-state-grants-for-arkansas-and-kentucky.html" data-vars-content-id="20c41aab-28f5-4f69-a8d2-21ac5b67bf15" data-vars-headline="Arkansas will receive $10 million for maternal health" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/01/3373371/0/en/healthy-moms-healthy-babies-america-hmhba-announces-20-million-in-state-grants-for-arkansas-and-kentucky.html" target="_blank">will give $10 million to improve maternal health</a> in Arkansas.Why it matters: The state has some of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="nation&#x27;s worst outcomes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2026/03/31/heartland-forward-targets-maternal-mortality-but-arkansas-lags" data-vars-content-id="20c41aab-28f5-4f69-a8d2-21ac5b67bf15" data-vars-headline="Arkansas will receive $10 million for maternal health" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2026/03/31/heartland-forward-targets-maternal-mortality-but-arkansas-lags" target="_self">nation&#x27;s worst outcomes</a>, including high mortality rates, for new moms and babies.

Monday Munchies: The Purple Cow

The burger was cooked well and had the flavor of a patty that was made in-house, not at some faraway food factory.

Things to Do

Purple milkshakes don&#x27;t come from cows on a steady diet of lavender.<ul><li>It&#x27;s simply food dye for a gimmick that dates back to 1989, when <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The Purple Cow" data-vars-click-url="https://ilovepurplecow.com/" data-vars-content-id="9119f7ed-a190-49df-8ba4-ebaf63fcb93d" data-vars-headline="Monday Munchies: The Purple Cow" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://ilovepurplecow.com/" target="_blank">The Purple Cow</a> first opened in Little Rock.</li></ul>The latest: The 1950s-style diner expanded in recent years — say, the last 20 or so — through central Arkansas and finally opened in Rogers this March.

Haunted houses, pop-up bars and Halloween events in NWA

NWA has plenty of events, haunted experiences and places to get a spooky drink.

Halloween is fast approaching, and NWA has plenty of events, haunted experiences and places to get a spooky drink.Here are some of our picks.

McCollum still in jail with increased bond

McCollum has been arrested twice in the past two months.

Politics

Former state representative and presumed incoming Benton County Judge Austin McCollum remained in the county jail Monday with an increased bond and stricter rules if he is released.Why it matters: He&#x27;s set to take the chief executive office of the county in January as the only candidate, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="despite calls for him to step aside" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2026/09/09/benton-county-judge-mccollum-moehring?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_nw_arkansas&amp;stream=top" data-vars-content-id="a122c8fb-562b-4981-9e89-d7176e8ea9de" data-vars-headline="McCollum still in jail with increased bond" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2026/09/09/benton-county-judge-mccollum-moehring?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_nw_arkansas&amp;stream=top" target="_self">despite calls for him to step aside</a>.

Grants to boost trades in Arkansas

News

Finance-focused organization BlackRock is giving $1 million to Bentonville-based nonprofit Heartland Forward and $850,000 to Goodwill Arkansas to support the trades.Why it matters: The goal is to help people who want to pursue skilled labor and improve local economies as businesses need to hire tradespeople, Arielle Gurman, executive director of the BlackRock Future Builders initiative, told Axios.

Walton-backed STEM university breaks ground

It will be called the Bentonville Institute of Technology.

Education

Bentonville&#x27;s planned private STEM university broke ground Friday on land that was formerly home to the Walmart headquarters.Why it matters: The Bentonville Institute of Technology is a major investment for the future of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and for development in the region.

Attainable housing project opens in Bentonville

McAuley Place includes designated cottages for Bentonville Public Schools employees.

A development intended to offer affordable housing to Bentonville School District employees and others making under a certain income is open, with plans for the first residents to move in this week.Why it matters: The McAuley Place project serves as a blueprint for how housing can be offered to residents below market rate as Northwest Arkansas has seen <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="housing prices rise sharply" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2026/01/20/housing-prices-jumped-nwa-series" data-vars-content-id="92719f4e-1501-4194-9b45-c143c996d149" data-vars-headline="Attainable housing project opens in Bentonville" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2026/01/20/housing-prices-jumped-nwa-series" target="_self">housing prices rise sharply</a> in recent years.

Grant boosts Dolly Parton's literacy program in NWA

The Imagination Library received $60,000.

A $60,000 grant will help establish long-term support for Dolly Parton&#x27;s Imagination Library in Benton and Washington counties.Why it matters: The investment will help the Arkansas Imagination Library sustain monthly book delivery for children while building the capacity to reach more families in the region, according to a news release.

Arkansas flunks free speech on campus

Students are self-censoring at high rates amid intense political pressure.

The University of Arkansas <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="received an F" data-vars-click-url="https://rankings.fire.org/campus/106397-university-of-arkansas?demo=all&amp;year=2026&amp;csfs=false&amp;neutrality=false&amp;spotlight=yellow" data-vars-content-id="ac7f0dd0-c1b6-4652-8650-9d72d4867004" data-vars-headline="Arkansas flunks free speech on campus" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://rankings.fire.org/campus/106397-university-of-arkansas?demo=all&amp;year=2026&amp;csfs=false&amp;neutrality=false&amp;spotlight=yellow" target="_blank">received an F</a> for its campus <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="free speech" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/miami/2026/08/24/fiu-students-ice-free-speech-aclu-florida" data-vars-content-id="ac7f0dd0-c1b6-4652-8650-9d72d4867004" data-vars-headline="Arkansas flunks free speech on campus" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/miami/2026/08/24/fiu-students-ice-free-speech-aclu-florida" target="_self">free speech</a> climate, ranking 242nd out 261 schools in a national analysis.Why it matters: The grade comes during a turbulent year for speech at the state&#x27;s flagship institution, including controversies over its law school dean search and a professor&#x27;s pro-Palestinian posters.

University freshman boom outpaces campus housing

The University of Arkansas has 7,100 freshmen.

The University of Arkansas has its largest-ever freshman class and is again contracting with off-campus apartments to house them.Why it matters: It&#x27;s a necessary step, with two additional dorms not set to open for a few more years.

Dolly Parton's literacy program to continue and needs NWA support

The program sends books in the mail each month to children under 5 years old.

Parenting

The Arkansas branch of Dolly Parton&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="children&#x27;s literacy program" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/08/27/dolly-parton-philanthropy-donations" data-vars-content-id="e33fe340-acaa-4a68-8c42-1592e7dfd280" data-vars-headline="Dolly Parton&#x27;s literacy program to continue and needs NWA support" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/08/27/dolly-parton-philanthropy-donations" target="_self">children&#x27;s literacy program</a> is continuing after the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="star&#x27;s death" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/08/31/dolly-parton-dollyfest-nashville-london-memorial" data-vars-content-id="e33fe340-acaa-4a68-8c42-1592e7dfd280" data-vars-headline="Dolly Parton&#x27;s literacy program to continue and needs NWA support" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/08/31/dolly-parton-dollyfest-nashville-london-memorial" target="_self">star&#x27;s death</a>, but Northwest Arkansas needs a local organization to help raise money.Why it matters: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Arkansas Imagination Library" data-vars-click-url="https://arkansasimaginationlibrary.org/" data-vars-content-id="e33fe340-acaa-4a68-8c42-1592e7dfd280" data-vars-headline="Dolly Parton&#x27;s literacy program to continue and needs NWA support" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://arkansasimaginationlibrary.org/" target="_blank">Arkansas Imagination Library</a> utilizes local partners — typically by county — to help cover the costs of books for children under 5.

Free training prepares restaurant workers

Grant-funded programs through Brightwater seek to prepare students for the workforce.

Food and Drink

NorthWest Arkansas Community College&#x27;s culinary school is offering programs aimed at quickly training up people for restaurant jobs — for free.Why it matters: Northwest Arkansas has hundreds of available restaurant jobs at any given time, and these eight-week programs are designed to quickly train people for the workforce, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Brightwater" data-vars-click-url="https://brightwater.nwacc.edu/index.html" data-vars-content-id="209d3be8-f1aa-4ad3-9046-cd755d73df9e" data-vars-headline="Free training prepares restaurant workers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://brightwater.nwacc.edu/index.html" target="_blank">Brightwater</a> executive director Marshall Shafkowitz told Axios.

Walton College doubles down on real-world experience

The college has launched a five-year plan.

The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas is launching a five-year plan to ensure that students graduate with practical entrepreneurial experience and that faculty have expanded research opportunities.Why it matters: The college, which is 100 years old this year and has more than 10,000 students, must offer education that evolves as &quot;business changes at an unprecedented pace,&quot; such as in artificial intelligence and analytics, according to a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="news release" data-vars-click-url="https://news.uark.edu/articles/82775/walton-college-marks-centennial-with-new-strategic-plan" data-vars-content-id="7e8bf7c3-e5bf-48d2-b77a-b4e7f37d3b27" data-vars-headline="Walton College doubles down on real-world experience" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://news.uark.edu/articles/82775/walton-college-marks-centennial-with-new-strategic-plan" target="_blank">news release</a>.

University of Arkansas awards 15 research teams

The projects cover a diverse set of areas, including artificial intelligence and rural mental health.

Business

Seed funding of $1 million total for 15 research teams will be awarded through a new I³R (Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research) Watershed Grants Program, the University of Arkansas <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="announced" data-vars-click-url="https://news.uark.edu/articles/82747/i-r-watershed-grants-spark-new-research-collaborations-across-u-of-a-1-million-in-seed-funding-awarded" data-vars-content-id="89ae6e73-6ac4-4c27-8ee7-8d0c638cabaa" data-vars-headline="University of Arkansas awards 15 research teams" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://news.uark.edu/articles/82747/i-r-watershed-grants-spark-new-research-collaborations-across-u-of-a-1-million-in-seed-funding-awarded" target="_blank">announced</a> this week.Why it matters: The effort aims to turn new campus collaborations into research projects that can attract outside funding and move discoveries toward practical use.

Education 📚

Grants to boost trades in Arkansas

Walton-backed STEM university breaks ground

Attainable housing project opens in Bentonville

Grant boosts Dolly Parton's literacy program in NWA

Arkansas flunks free speech on campus