Community Involvement Opportunities
Weave NWA Community Conversations
Join Weave NWA August 19-22 for a week of connection and creativity in Northwest Arkansas! Hosted by Weave: The Social Fabric Project, this series of events is designed to support and celebrate individuals and groups who strengthen our community. They’re here to connect and uplift, cultivate relationships, share inspiring stories, and encourage more people to weave community wherever they live. Upcoming events this week listed below. RSVP HERE.
Coffee + Conversation - Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea on them while connecting with fellow community members, exchanging stories and experiences, and participating in thoughtful discussions and art prompts.
Thursday, August 22: Onyx Coffee Lab @ The Momentary | 507 SE E St, Bentonville, AR | 10am-12pm
Community Dinner Gatherings - Spend an evening of connection and creativity with us, starting with a delicious buffet dinner. Engage in 1:1 conversations, participate in a community circle with creative games and icebreakers, and collaborate on creative projects. Everyone aged 18 and older is welcome to join — feel free to bring a friend!
Wednesday, August 21: Brick & Mortar | 120 W Walnut St, Rogers, AR | 5:30-7:30pm
Neighbor Night with For the Love NWA - In partnership with For the Love NWA at their weekly Neighbor Night in Downtown Bentonville. Connect with local residents, explore community-building activities, and visit our Weave booth to learn more.
Thursday, August 22: Neighbor Night with For the Love NWA | 306 SW A St, Bentonville, AR | 5:30-6:30pm
League of Women Voters of Benton County
The next League of Women Voters of Benton County start-up meeting is this Thursday, Aug. 22nd, 6:30pm at First Christian Church in Rogers (905 S 13th St). Everyone is welcome to come learn about the League, find out about opportunities to help. Temporary leadership will discuss where they are in the process of formalizing the Benton county chapter of the league and next steps!
Voter Registration Weekend Volunteer Opportunities:
Opportunities to Meet and Volunteer for Local Candidates
You can check your districts by accessing your voter registration from the state website HERE. Once you pull up your personal registration, scroll to the very bottom of the page and expand the “Show” carrot to see your personal districts.
Wednesday, August 21st from 5 - 7 p.m. at 905 McClain Rd in Bentonville; join the Happy Hour with the Candidate event to meet the Bentonville Mayoral candidate Steve Galen
Friday, August 23rd from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at JKJ Architects in downtown Rogers (116 W. Walnut) join in a Meet & Greet for David McPherson (House 7)
Sunday, August 25th from 2:30 - 4 p.m. at the Memorial Park Pavilion in Bentonville join in a family-friendly Ice Cream, Lemonade, and Canvassing candidate meet and greet and learn to canvass event with Kaylee Wedgeworth (Senate 34), Kate Schaffer (House 10), Carol Vella (JP 8), Kelly Sikorski (JP 7), and Gayatri Agnew (Bentonville City Council)
Tuesday, August 27th from 5 - 7 p.m. at Ramo D’Olivo (104 SE 6th St, Bentonville) join in the adult Volunteer Happy Hour to learn more about how to volunteer with Kate Schaffer’s campaign (House 10)
Thursday, August 29th from 6 - 8:30 p.m. at Bike Rack Brewing at 8th Street Market in Bentonville; join the Local Brews and Big Ideas event to meet the Bentonville Mayoral candidate Steve Galen
Saturday, August 31st from 3 - 5 p.m. at 2950 S Fitzroy Pl in Rogers; join a Meet & Greet with Jessica Edmond, candidate for Rogers City Council
Municipal Government Awareness
Bella Vista
Next Council Mtng: Monday, Aug. 19 at 5:30 p.m. (2483 Forest Hills Blvd) - work session
Bentonville
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. (305 SW A St.)
Items of Note:
Watch Roby Brock’s interview with Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Brandom Gengelbach from last week. Brandom outlines the future of the city and potential collaborations about the state.
Coffee with the Mayor zoom meeting on Aug. 20th from 8 - 9 a.m. - updates from the Bentonville Electric Utility Department and the Bentonville Parks and Recreation team; register HERE
Catch up on “One of the Biggest Nights for City Council” in Heather McCombs reporting in the Bentonville Bulletin about all of the items council reviewed last Tuesday.
Join the city, ARDOT, and FHWA for a public hearing Thursday, Aug. 29th from 4-7 at the Bentonville Community Center to review the proposed new interchange at I-49 on NE J St from Tiger. Additional meeting materials will be available Friday, August 23 on the project website. Comments will be accepted through September 13, 2024.
Cave Springs
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. (134 N. Main St.)
Centerton
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. (210 Municipal Dr.)
Items of Note:
Cliff Thompson was appointed to serve the remainder of the term for the ward 1, position 2 city council position (term goes through 2026).
Gravette
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m. (202 Main St. NE)
Lowell
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. (216 N. Lincoln St.)
Items of Note:
Check out the Benton County Master Gardeners new garden at Ward Nail Park.
Pea Ridge
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 6 p.m. (911 Weston St.)
Items of Note:
City Council members will be discussing a Fireworks Ordinance for the city during Tuesday’s meeting and amending the ordinance for door to door sales
Rogers
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. (301 W. Chestnut)
Items of Note:
Rogers City Council approved designating city funds to the design and preconstruction of a new fire station to replace Fire Station 4 (2424 W Olive). The city also plans to do some improvements to Olive Street Park located next to the fire station.
The Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting event for the Oak Street Overpass will be celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 4th at 10 a.m.. The best parking for the event will be in the parking lots to the west (avoid the medical or business offices).
Read Isaac Steven’s write up, “The Vision of Rogers, AR’s New Development Codes”
Siloam Springs
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. (400 N. Broadway)
Items of Note:
Dustin Kindell has been named the new fire chief for Siloam Springs. Reporting from the NWA Dem Gazz HERE.
Springdale
Next Council Mtng: Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. (201 Spring St.)
Items of Note:
Read about the new Spanish bookstore pop-up that debuted Saturday (with hopes to become a brick and mortar location in Springdale), from Alex Golden at Axios NW Arkansas HERE.
County Government Awareness
Beaver Water District
The Beaver Water District has been working with the major cities in Benton and Washington counties to expand and improve water distribution systems to address the accelerated growth in our region. At the Aug. 20th council meeting, Springdale City Council Members will be asked to authorize Springdale Water Utilities to begin the westside water transmission line project. The project will connect the city to a new pump station built by the Beaver Water District. Springdale is expecting to complete the pipeline in late 2025/early 2026. Fayetteville plans to connect in 2026; Bentonville by 2028; and Rogers is estimating having their line in place by 2030. Read more from Tom Sissom at the NWA Dem Gazz HERE.
Springdale School District
At the August Springdale School Board meeting, the board approved an increase to substitute teacher pay. Springdale’s new rates now match Bentonville School District. Rates listed below are based on a 7.5 hour day (full day).
$135/day - substitutes with a current state teaching certificate
$120/day - substitutes with a four-year college degree
$105/day - substitutes with a high school diploma, but no college degree
Benton County Quorum Court
Upcoming County Government meetings at the Admin Building in downtown Bentonville:
Planning Board Meeting - Aug. 21st at 6 p.m.
Quorum Court - Aug. 22nd at 6 p.m.
Development Review Committee - Aug. 28th at 10 a.m.
State Government Awareness
94th General Legislative Assembly:
Looking ahead to the 95th General Legislative Assembly, the designated future House and Senate leadership discussed their priorities for legislation in 2025 at the Association of Arkansas Counties’ annual conference earlier this month. Read details on what was said at the conference from Michael Wickline at the Dem Gazz HERE.
Corrections - Counties are looking at transferring inmates to out of state prisons due to overcrowding (costs $$); Fighting between state officials and the state board of corrections is still ongoing regarding planning for the new 3,000 bed prison which was part of the Protect Act in 2023
Education - Looking to address some unintended consequences from LEARNS
Mental Health - Will consider implementing some of the recommendations from the Mental Health task force that has been meeting the past few months
Water - This is a pressing issue for Benton and Washington Counties due to the continued growth in population (see the update about the Beaver Water District above)
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders:
In Rogers last Tuesday, Governor Sanders indicated that her focus will be on higher education in the next legislative session. She did not mention any details on her priorities. Higher Educations’ budget was decreased for this new fiscal year after multiple years of it remaining flat. So we’ll see what’s coming.
On August 2nd, the governor’s office announced via press release the launch of her office’s Faith Based Initiatives website to unite Arkansas’ diverse faith communities around issues facing Arkansas. From the press release, “The Governor has signed Executive Orders forming working groups to address maternal health, foster care, and human trafficking, and works with advocacy groups around the state on issues facing Arkansans. By joining the Governor’s faith based initiatives team, faith groups can join these advocates and mobilize Arkansans in their communities around common goals.”
Jason Rapert, former state senator and current Governor Sanders’ appointee to the Arkansas State Library Board, continues to cause drama pushing his extreme Christian Conservative agenda on the board. At a meeting earlier this month, the other six board members blocked Rapert’s attempt at withholding funding for three libraries involved in the lawsuit over Act 372 from the 2023 legislative session. Read more from Sonny Albarado at the Arkansas Advocate HERE. Rapert’s latest shenanigans has led On AR Watch to ponder if “We Should All Pay Less Attention to Jason”
Election Information
Next Benton County Election Commission meeting is this Friday, Aug. 23rd at 1 p.m. at the Benton County Election Commission building in Rogers
Hide the bears! 🐻 Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign turned in enough signatures to be placed on the ballot for President this November in Arkansas.
Latest on the Arkansas Abortion Amendment (as of Monday morning):
Read Tess Vrbin’s reporting in the Arkansas Advocate, “Rejection of proposed Arkansas abortion amendment threatens other ballot measures, supporters say - Groups behind proposed medical marijuana and anti-casino measures file motion to intervene in abortion amendment case before Arkansas Supreme Court”
Listen to Arkansas Times Week in Review Podcast to get into the details around what the State Supreme Court is currently weighing with the ballot initiative
If you have a subscription to NWA Dem Gazz, you might be interested in Michael R. Wickline’s reporting from earlier this month, “Growing number of state legislators’ PACS another tool in the elections box” - 👀
From the staff at The 19th, “Where Harris stands on eight key issues — from criminal justice to the economy and education - Here's what we know about where Harris stands on key issues, based on what she’s done while vice president and what she’s said during her run.”
In the Ear
Irvin interviews Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse for the District 3 podcast earlier this month; Listen HERE
Stacey Abrams has a new podcast with Crooked Media called Assembly Required. First episode is out and covers the Electoral College and Rank Choice voting.
Strict Scrutiny reviews the landscape for reproductive rights and justice two years following the fall of roe in their podcast from last week; Listen HERE
Odds & Ends
Read Carter Sherman’s article in the Guardian, “Young women are the most progressive group in American history. Young men are checked out” - Gen Z is seeing a ‘historic reverse gender gap’, with women poised to outpace men across virtually every measure of political involvement
Taylor Lorenz believes “The panic over kids and smartphones has gone too far”. In this linked video, she dives into the origins of the latest freak out about technology, pulled actual data and research, spoke to experts, and went deep on the history of moral panics to explain what’s really going on.
From earlier this month, read Chabeli Carranza’s reporting in The 19th, “It’s Moms’ Equal Pay Day — and the numbers don’t look great - New data shows just how little single moms make compared to other parents.”
In Slate, Steven Reisner makes the case “Kamala Harris Is Providing a Very Specific Kind of Psychological Relief to America - She’s a refreshing alternative to the two men who were performing very sad archetypes”