KLRT:
A “freedom trucker” convoy heading to Washington D.C. from across the country made a stop in Arkansas Wednesday.
A group of truckers met at the North Little Rock Travel Plaza and headed out, bound for the nation’s capital.
The group was met by supporters holding signs and waving flags.
KTUL:
The cross-country effort to protest mask and vaccine mandates made its way out of Oklahoma on Monday.
The People’s Convoy, comprised of hundreds of truckers and supporters of the cause, left Big Cabin to head to the nation’s Capitol.
A group of truckers calling itself “The People’s Convoy” protested pandemic-era mandates Sunday as the group made its way through Oklahoma and past supporters waving American flags on overpasses and from the side of the road.
The convoy launched Feb. 23 in Southern California and plans to drive the nation’s Capital Beltway by March 5 after passing through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Capital Beltway is a 64-mile roadway through Virginia and Maryland that circles the District of Columbia.
Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:
Chaffee Crossing saw unexpected growth in 2021, bringing in money, jobs and experiences affecting the River Valley and its residents.
In 1995, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closing Fort Chaffee, an Army base opened in 1941. After the closing, the government opted to lease 65,000 acres to the Arkansas Army National Guard for training. The remaining 7,000 acres were turned over to the local community for redevelopment.
The Arkansas Legislature formed the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority in 1997 to oversee the development of the land. The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority uses the revenue generated from land sales to reinvest into infrastructure and public use amenities, and has reduced land prices or conveyed property at no cost to expedite and enhance development for public benefit.
Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority’s 2021 report announced that Chaffee Crossing made a record $5 million in property sales revenue, more than double the nearly $2.5 million in 2020.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) said it’s ready for the arrival of a transcontinental convoy in our state on Sunday.
The movement is made of hundreds of truckers and other travelers who believe officials should end states of emergency and mandates related to the pandemic.
The OHP said the convoy will move along I-40, the Kilpatrick, Turner, Creek and Will Rogers Turnpikes.
Troopers will be positioned along the route to make sure traffic flows normally.
The traveling protestors plan to reach Washington D.C. ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.
The “People’s Convoy,” one of several planned U.S. trucker convoys modeled after Canada’s “Freedom Convoy” protesting vaccine and mask mandates, is planning two stops in Oklahoma over the weekend and will drive through Tulsa on its way to the Washington, D.C., area, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The People’s Convoy plans to enter Oklahoma from Texas on Interstate 40 and stop in Elk City Saturday evening for the night. Then it will travel east through western Oklahoma on Interstate 40 on Sunday before turning northeast on Interstate 44.
It will then travel on the Turner Turnpike to Tulsa and through the Tulsa area on the Creek Turnpike before taking the Will Rogers Turnpike to Vinita, where it will stop for the night Sunday and make its way out of Oklahoma on Monday, the OHP reported. The convoy’s official website lists the rest stops and dates of travel.
A convoy of truckers opposed to COVID-19 mandates set off on a planned cross-country drive from Southern California to the Washington DC area Wednesday as the Pentagon approved a request to deploy approximately 700 unarmed National Guard troops ahead of the group’s expected arrival.
About two dozen trucks and a number of other vehicles hit the road from the Mojave Desert town of Adelanto as part of a self-proclaimed “People’s Convoy.”
Organizers said in a statement that they planned to undertake a “100% safe, lawful and peaceful” journey that would “terminate in the vicinity of the DC area, but will NOT be going into DC proper.”
Arrival was scheduled for March 5, but some participants are expected to arrive in the Washington area in time for President Biden’s March 1 State of the Union address to Congress.
A recent story that appeared on national wire services announced that McDonald’s was bringing back a special dessert for a limited time: a blueberry & creme pie.
Just don’t try to find in Oklahoma. The blueberry pie will be available in only about half of the 14,000 McDonald’s outlets in the United States.
What Oklahoma McDonald’s will be stocking, however, is a similar version of this dessert, namely a strawberry & creme pie, available for $1.89.
The strawberry pie, as is the case with all McDonald’s pies, is made at Tulsa’s Bama Pie Company.
KUAR:
Tractor Supply Company announced Wednesday it will build a new $100 million distribution center in Maumelle that will employ 450 full-time employees.
The 900,000-square-foot facility will service about 250 Tractor Supply stores, the company said, and will open in 2023. The southwest corner of the construction site is near the corner Champs Boulevard and Jackie Burnett Drive, northeast of Maumelle High School.
“Tractor Supply is excited to begin work on our tenth distribution center, and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the Maumelle community,” said Hal Lawton, Tractor Supply’s President and CEO. “In support of our ‘Life Out Here Strategy,’ this new distribution center is a significant investment to help serve our growing store base and online sales as we build a strong, relevant company for the future. We appreciate the support of the many state and local officials who have worked extensively to establish a business climate in which everyone can prosper.”
Tractor Supply currently operates 34 stores in the state of Arkansas and 2,003 stores in total across 49 states.
KNWA:
Tyson Foods announced in a press release it is donating more than 38,000 pounds of protein items to the River Valley Regional Food bank on Wednesday, Jan. 26.
Tyson said it is donating the items to the RVRFB as part of the company’s long-term partnership with the food bank. The protein will be available to the food bank’s pantry agency on Wednesday, which will then distribute it to communities.
KFOR:
The state’s unemployment rate declined to 2.3 percent in December, the third lowest in the nation, according to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC).
The state’s unemployment rate has been on the decline in recent months, with a 2.7 percent rate in October and a 2.5 percent rate in November.
“This is great news for Oklahoma and marks the third consecutive month that we have hit a historic low unemployment rate in our state,” said Shelley Zumwalt, OESC Executive Director. “We also reached a historic high in terms of the number of people working in our state, with more than 1.8 million people in the workforce, an increase of more than 5,000 from November to December. Thanks to the focused efforts of our administration, state leaders and OESC, Oklahoma is one of the states leading the nation in its recovery from the economic impact of the pandemic.”
The state’s labor force rose to 60.4 percent in December, closing in on the 60.6 percent rate prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to OESC.
Fort Smith had a good year in 2021 in sales tax revenues with totals coming in more than 15% higher than those in 2020. According to the December sales tax report, Fort Smith’s share of the Sebastian County sales tax was $21.055 million in 2021, 15.4% higher than 2020 and up 18.14% from budget estimates for the year.
The city’s share of the countywide tax is important because the revenue provides money for the city’s general fund budget, with much of that budget paying for police, fire and other essential city services. The 2021 total was $3.23 million more than city officials budgeted to spend within the general fund budget and $2.81 million more than the tax brought the city in 2020. The tax has posted year-over-year gains for the past five years, but 2021’s jump was the largest seen during that time period by far.
US-based fast-food chain Wienerschnitzel has signed a development agreement with Tejas Dogs to build 20 new restaurants across the US state of Arkansas.
The restaurants will be delivered over the following 12 years, with plans to start the development schedule with three stores in north-west Arkansas.
Tejas Dogs business manager Brian Shinall said: “With personal roots in Arkansas, paired with our extensive business experience, we found the perfect match with Wienerschnitzel and their unique franchise model.
“As we examined many quick-service restaurant (QSR) diversification opportunities for our business portfolio, Wienerschnitzel captured our attention with its recipe for success spanning six decades, including low food costs, simple operations, strong corporate support and the entirely underserved markets in Arkansas; and let’s not forget America’s love of hot dogs.”
Founded in 1961, Wienerschnitzel specialises in serving hot dogs and has locations across several US states. To fuel growth, the fast-food chain is now focusing on franchise expansion through multi-unit partnerships and area development programmes.
Sen. Mat Pitsch, R-Fort Smith, executive director of the Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority, presented the authority’s board a study report for the proposed development of the intermodal facility during a study session on Jan. 10.
Pitsch said the authority assigned the Memphis-based Pickering Firm the following goal: To prepare an action plan for the development and expansion of an intermodal logistics park, meaning a facility involving multiple modes of transportation. This included railroad, marine terminal, transloading facilities, and commercial and industrial properties.
KGOU:
The nation’s largest wind energy project located in western Oklahoma is nearing completion.
The 999-Megawatt Traverse Wind Energy Center is expected to commence operation sometime in April. Sustainable energy company Invenergy secured financing for the project in March of last year — now it’s getting ready to flip the switch.
KTUL:
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that only the federal Surface Transportation Board has jurisdiction over rail carrier transportation and track operation.
BNSF Railway Company sued after police in Edmond and Davis cited the company for violating the law that was passed in 2019.
United States Steel Corp. reported on Jan. 11 that it will build a $3 billion steel mill in Osceola, Ark., to be served by BNSF.
Permitting for the project is under way, and U.S. Steel expects to break ground in first-quarter 2022, with full operation anticipated in 2024.
The steelmaking facility, which will be located close to the company’s Big River Steel plant, is slated to include “two electric arc furnaces (EAFs) with 3 million tons per year of advanced steelmaking capability; a state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling line; and advanced finishing capabilities,” U.S. Steel said.
When completed, the new facility in combination with Big River Steel “will form a 6.3-million-ton mega mill capable of providing many of the most advanced and sustainable steels in North America,” according to U.S. Steel. “The new non-grain oriented electrical steel and galvalume/galvanizing lines currently under construction at Big River Steel will further advance U.S. Steel’s ability to respond to customers’ pressing supply chain needs to satisfy their own domestic manufacturing expansion.”
KNWA:
The Northwest Arkansas Council is investing more than $1 million to attract top talent to the region through the LifeWorks Here initiative, which brings to light the lifestyle, career and innovation benefits offered by the region.
The council is offering remote tech professionals and entrepreneurs $10,000 in Bitcoin to attract them to the region. In addition to the cryptocurrency, recipients will also receive a street or mountain bicycle to help “take advantage of the 162 miles of paved trails, the 37-mile Razorback Regional Greenway, and the 322 miles of world-class mountain biking trails that has made outdoor enthusiasts flock to the area.”
Alternatively, participants can choose cash instead of Bitcoin, and an annual membership to art or cultural institution instead of a bicycle.
Oakhart is far from the only establishment helping to give Tulsa some serious cred as a barbecue hot spot. And the popularity of these restaurants is such that many are seeking out additional locations to spread their individual takes on barbecue throughout the city.
KJRH:
The 36th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl is underway at Tulsa’s Expo Square. Organizers say thousands of people are in Tulsa for the event which means people will be spending money at area businesses.
Tulsa Regional Tourism tells 2 News they are expecting more than 75,000 visitors to the city over the next week. They estimate those visitors will spend more than $30 million at restaurants, hotels, and shopping.
Tickets are in high demand, nearly selling out for Thursday, Friday and saturday. Event organizers tell 2 News people are anxious to attend since last year’s chili bowl was scaled-back because of the pandemic.
