Good Thursday morning, folks.

🌧️ Today's weather: Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms then mostly sunny, with a high of 97 and a low of 70.

📸 We're now on Instagram! Follow us @axios_nwarkansas.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Heather Kees!

Today's newsletter is 877 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Vaccination rates among American kindergartners decreased during the 2025–2026 school year for all tracked vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday.

Why it matters: The drop-off coincided with continued efforts by the Trump administration to make controversial vaccine policy changes and with measles cases hitting levels not seen in more than three decades.

The big picture: Exemptions from getting one or more vaccines increased in 41 states, including Arkansas, and the District of Columbia, growing to 4.2% from 3.6% the year before.

Zoom in: The rate of children with vaccine exemptions in Arkansas in the 2025-2026 school year was about 4.6%, higher than the national rate of 4.2%.

• Data for this school year won't be available until the spring, Arkansas Department of Health spokesperson Sarah Morris told Axios.
• The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement previously reported that the vast majority of vaccine exemptions in the state are not for medical reasons.

By the numbers: Coverage with the MMR, DTaP, polio and varicella vaccines decreased in more than half of states, ranging from 92% for diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine to 92.4% for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and polio vaccines.

• Public health officials say overall measles vaccination rates should remain above 95% to maintain herd immunity.

What they're saying: The CDC, in a statement, said the data showed a 0.1% decline in vaccination coverage among children entering kindergarten.

Yes, but: It only takes a small drop in the vaccination rate to make herd immunity against measles plummet.

• The new data also doesn't indicate how many community clusters may actually have seen much greater declines.

Between the lines: Polling shows childhood vaccines remain popular, but administration efforts to upend longstanding vaccine policies could further erode trust in vaccines and public health, medical experts say.

• President Trump last week signed an executive order calling for a slimmed-down childhood vaccine schedule and breaking the MMR vaccine into three separately administered shots.
• It also advises states to review federal vaccine recommendations and update their requirements for school enrollment.

Capital Alpha Partners analyst Kim Monk wrote in a note Monday that any official vaccine scheduling recommendations or policy changes stemming from the order are expected to be challenged in court.

• "As with past administration attempts to change or influence vaccine schedules, we think it's likely that providers and stakeholder groups will continue to ignore this advice, although these developments certainly don't help with ongoing vaccine hesitancy," Monk wrote.

What's next: The CDC said it continues to encourage parents to discuss vaccination options with their doctors.

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Arkansas high school students now have a universal college application system, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced this week.

Why it matters: The ACCESS portal is intended to create a streamlined system that allows high school seniors to apply to higher education institutions with one form, one login and no application fees for up to five colleges, according to a news release.

What they're saying: "The Arkansas ACCESS Portal takes what used to be a confusing, repetitive college application process that would overwhelm students and families and streamlines it into a simple process," Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva said in a news release.

Flashback: Sanders signed the sweeping Arkansas ACCESS Act into law in 2025. The law created the Arkansas Direct Admissions Program, which includes a common application portal, beginning with high school students graduating in 2027.

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🚔 Farmington is the latest city to get rid of its Flock cameras. The police department's contract with Flock ended Aug. 10, and it's not renewing it. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

✍️ The Fayetteville City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to add more regulations on data centers. (Fayetteville Flyer)

🧳 Kalene Griffith, president and CEO of Bentonville's tourism arm, Visit Bentonville, has been appointed to the board of directors of Destinations International, a group that works with travel and tourism executives. (Northwest Arkansas Business Journal)

Northwest Arkansas National Airport had its highest-ever number of enplanements in a single month in July.

The big picture: Airport officials have been trying to stay ahead of the expected increase in demand for years, as the formerly regional airport surpassed Little Rock's airport in 2025, six years sooner than predicted.

• They've been busy buying land for potential future expansion, adding amenities, completing renovations and building a new air traffic control tower. Construction on a new concourse is underway.

By the numbers: The airport had 129,397 enplanements in July, which represents the total number of tickets purchased to fly out of the airport, according to data from XNA. That's up from 123,993 enplanements in July 2025.

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Thanks to Chloe Gonzales for editing this newsletter.

👏 Alex saw our own Mezzaluna Pasteria & Mozzarella Bar and Saiwok Vietnamese Street Food get featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."

✈️ Worth is still recovering from a 5am flight back to XNA, where he will contribute to the August enplanement numbers.