Good Wednesday morning.

🌧️ Today's weather: Chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high of 89 and a low of 69.

Situational awareness: Former state Rep. Austin McCollum, the only candidate for Benton County judge, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of violating a protection order and first-degree stalking, according to the Benton County Sheriff's Office.

• McCollum's wife was granted a protection order in August after accusing him of domestic violence. He pleaded not guilty in September to three felony charges.

Today’s newsletter is 1,161 words — a 4.5-minute read.

Rogers voters will decide in November whether to extend an existing 1% sales tax to pay for a range of projects.

The big picture: The city is asking for a considerable amount on the front end to afford construction projects, street maintenance and equipment.

• "I think we're going to be best served by getting as much money out there as we can as quickly as we can so that we can beat inflationary costs and material delays and/or availability at all," Rogers Mayor Greg Hines told Axios.

How it works: The first question — whether to refinance $118 million in bonds — must pass for any other issues to pass, even if voters approve them.

🛣️ $195.5 million for streets

🚧 The bulk of the money is to overlay and rehabilitate streets, Hines said.

• The city has detailed data on the condition of all roads, meaning it can prioritize roads that need work the most or the soonest.
• "The money will follow the data," he said.

🚦 It'll also include some intersection and connectivity improvements. The city's website lists some along Oak, Walnut and Olive streets.

💧 Roughly $5 million would be allotted as seed money to compile data needed for a blueprint as the city likely develops a stormwater utility in the future.

• Hines explained the city is required to do limited regulation surrounding stormwater for now, but as the population grows, it will likely have to take on more responsibility.

🌳 $81.5 million for parks and recreation

🏀 The money would allow the city to purchase the Rogers Activity Center plus about 24 surrounding acres.

• The city rents the building from a nonprofit and helps run some of the programming at the center. The long-term goal is for the city to own it, expand it and add space for recreational amenities like more volleyball and basketball courts, Hines said.

The bond money would also be used to develop an open space community park with trails and a recycling drop-off center on land the city owns on the west side of Rogers near Pleasant Grove and Rainbow roads. The hope is to eventually have an environmental education center on the property, Hines said.

🧑‍🚒 $32.75 million for the Fire Department

🧯 The city plans to build a new fire training center, which includes classroom space to train not only Rogers firefighters but firefighters from other departments.

• The city had outgrown its fire training center, and then it was heavily damaged in the Memorial Day weekend 2024 tornadoes, Hines said.

🚒 The money will also go toward buying fire trucks and expanding Fire Station 2 to accommodate more trucks and firefighters, which Hines said was needed because of the city's growth.

🚔 $20.75 million for the Police Department

🫆 The Police Department needs to construct a building to store most evidence in one place, rather than across a few locations, Hines said. Few people would have access to the building on the police headquarters site. The city also has more physical evidence to keep given the growing population and a backlogged court system, he said.

👮 Voters in 2018 approved a bond issue that paid for a new dispatch center. If approved, money from this bond issue will be used to renovate the former dispatch center inside the police headquarters for criminal investigation and administrative offices.

🚓 The money would also go toward a covered parking area for police cars to protect them from things like hail.

🐾 $8.75 million for animal services

🐶 The money would go toward building a new animal shelter that can take double the number of pets as the existing one, which has 50 kennels, city spokesperson Peter Masonis told Axios.

Keep reading

Rising costs are changing dating for more than eight in 10 Gen Z and millennial daters, leaving some to stop courting altogether, per new data from Zelle.

The big picture: Young Americans are pushing off milestones under cost pressures — and the milestones themselves, from getting hitched to buying a home, are getting pricier once they get there.

Driving the news: For younger Americans, just planning a date is a costly ordeal, with 17% of active Gen Z and Millennial daters saying they've gone into debt trying to maintain the dating lifestyle.

• Nearly one-third say they've gone on fewer dates amid rising costs. A smaller share, 11%, say they've stopped dating because they couldn't afford it.
• Members of Gen Z are more likely to split the cost of a date because of rising costs (26%) than Millennials (18%).
• Daters have changed strategies to lighten the cost burden — like suggesting free activities and spending more time on dates at home, which were used by 37% and 33% of active daters, respectively.

The intrigue: Half of active daters say financial compatibility has at some point mattered more than romantic chemistry when deciding to keep dating someone.

Keep reading

🧑‍⚖️ Pulaski County Circuit Judge Cara Connors did not say when she expects to rule on the lawsuit challenging Arkansas' abortion law after a two-hour hearing Monday. (Arkansas Advocate)

⛹ U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton voted Monday in favor of a bill to regulate college sports as athletes are making money from their name, image and likeness. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

🏷️ Walmart CEO John Furner says the company is not using personal information to set prices, in light of digital price labels that allow Walmart to change prices instantly. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

Axios Social Club is bringing readers together for dinner to downtown Bentonville on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Why it matters: Northwest Arkansas is full of interesting people you haven't met yet. We're making it easier to change that.

How it works: Take a quick quiz, reserve your seat and we'll match you with five fellow locals for dinner at a restaurant we hand-picked.

• Come solo or bring a friend.
• Your restaurant and dinner crew stay a surprise until event day.
• After dinner, all the tables meet up at a surprise after-party.

By the numbers: More than 900 Axios readers across the country are already signed up to join us Oct. 6.

If you go: Dinner starts at 6:30pm. Tickets are $15.99 per person, with food and drinks purchased separately.

The bottom line: Bring a friend — or come make a few new ones.

Save your seat at Axios Social Club.

Thanks to Chloe Gonzales for editing this newsletter.

🤖 Alex is reading about AI vs. AI.

🍽️ Worth is on sabbatical. Maybe he's at dinner in Bentonville.