Axios Northwest Arkansas

March 19, 2026
It's Friday eve.
☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high of 81 and a low of 54.
Today's newsletter is 935 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Pilot training program lands at Drake Field
A commercial pilot training program is coming to Drake Field in Fayetteville.
Why it matters: The flight school will offer another educational and job training program for the region and better utilize the city-owned airport as an economic development tool, Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn told Axios.
Driving the news: The Fayetteville City Council on Tuesday approved a five-year lease agreement with Norway-based OSM Aviation Academy for a hangar and space at Drake Field for a total of about $5,680 per month, city spokesperson Gracie Ziegler confirmed to Axios.
Zoom in: This will be the second U.S. location for the company, which has a school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
- OSM did not respond to a request for comment this week.
How it works: While students will learn to fly planes on-site, much of the instruction will be in classroom space at Drake Field and in simulators, Rawn said.
- The Arkansas Air and Military Museum will continue to operate at Drake Field.
What they're saying: In addition to the rental revenue, the city expects to make approximately $500,000 in net revenue from fuel sales over five years. Most of the initial 30-40 jobs created this year will be hired locally, and the hope is that having students and staff regularly at Drake Field will also encourage more economic growth like restaurants and retail around the municipal airport, Rawn said.
- Context: The airport is in the southernmost part of the city in a relatively rural area bordering Greenland in Washington County. It's underutilized and a largely untapped economic engine for the city, Rawn said.
What's next: The flight school is expected to begin this fall with about 90 students, with plans to grow in a phased approach, Rawn said. Much of the first cohort will be international students, but the school will soon be open to more NWA students.
2. Sanders touts SAVE Act
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders took to the airwaves Tuesday to support the SAVE America Act, President Trump's voting overhaul bill that would require proof of citizenship and a photo ID to cast a ballot.
What she said: "I couldn't possibly understand why the Democrats are fighting against the SAVE Act, why they're fighting against opening up and funding [the Department of Homeland Security]. These are two of the most basic, fundamental responsibilities of government, and they're failing," she said on Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime."
- "The fact that they're fighting against … keeping our elections fair, safe and secure is so absurd … We need to make sure that it is easy to vote and hard to cheat. This shouldn't be a big debate."
The other side: Opponents of the SAVE Act include the League of Women Voters, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the ACLU.
- The groups broadly note that laws already exist to govern who can legally vote in the U.S. and that the legislation would create additional hurdles for married women who change their names, many minorities, military families and people impacted by natural disasters.
Zoom in: "I'm proud of the fact that Arkansas is number one for having the safest, strongest, fairest elections," Sanders told Watters.
3. Kitchen Sink: Ramblin' news
🏫 Officials at the University of Arkansas intend to keep displaying posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms after a federal judge ruled to permanently block enforcement of a state law at six public schools this week. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
🛒 The Fayetteville City Council approved rezoning of 9 acres in the northeast corner of North Crossover and East Zion roads for a 50,000-square-foot Walmart-branded grocery store. (Fayetteville Flyer)
🎨 Hot Springs Village artist Lakey Goff resubmitted her design for a monument to the unborn to the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission that would cost less to build and maintain than her previous submission. (Arkansas Advocate)
4. AI hacks for your March Madness bracket
Most people making March Madness brackets will get help from AI — and 37% will solely rely on it — according to a Hard Rock Bet survey.
Why it matters: AI can be a helpful tool for bracket-building, but only if used thoughtfully.
What they're saying: "AI isn't designed to predict random events," Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois, tells Axios. "It's designed to look for patterns."
- So avoid relying on AI to tell you who will win each game — the robot's guess is as good as yours.
- Instead, Jacobson recommends prompting AI to analyze multiple simulated brackets and track patterns.
Zoom out: There are plenty of ways to have AI assist with bracket selection.
- For example, fans can use AI to simulate March Madness outcomes randomly or based on specific stats or seeding on NCAA's and ESPN's tournament-picking platforms and Jacobson's BracketOdds.
- Of course, any AI chatbot, from ChatGPT to Google Gemini, can be prompted to help analyze historical NCAA tournament trends, search for the latest news about injuries or identify statistically unlikely outcomes.
Pro tip: Whether or not you're working with AI to build your bracket, start with the Final Four or Elite Eight — instead of the full 68 — and work your way out, says Jacobson.
- That helps you have a "more reasonable" bracket that avoids adding "far too many upsets in the early rounds," he says.
5. One pic to go: Woo Pig Sooie
These guys will face the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors at 3:25pm today in the first round of the NCAA Championship.
- The game will be televised on TBS.
Thanks to Chloe Gonzales for editing this newsletter.
🏥 Alex started watching "The Pitt" and has already cried.
🐽 Worth can't get enough of this "California Dreamin'" cover.
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