Good morning, Bentonville.

Ozarks Electric announced a phased plan to leave its membership with Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation.

It will receive power from AECC until November 2030 (and take over energy supply in December 2030) without changing current service.

Four children of Walmart founder Sam Walton (Rob, Alice, Jim, and the late John Walton) will be inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame on Feb.

5 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The induction honors their contributions to business, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy.

Fayetteville cooperative Ozarks Electric outlined a long-term plan to buy its own power while it continues receiving wholesale power from Arkansas Electric until November 2030 and will honor its contract through 2042.

The change will help support growth in Northwest Arkansas and expand its OzarksGo broadband network.

Ozark Flame and Flavor Festival takes place Saturday from 3 – 10:30 p.m. at Record Downtown in Bentonville.

The family event offers live music, spicy food samples, competitions for the first League of Fire Belt Champion, and public hot sauce tastings, with $15 admission and free entry for kids 12 and younger.

Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to Facebook and Instagram after settling a trial over teen social media addiction.

Arkansas will receive about $172.5 million from the settlement, and Meta will introduce new limits to safeguard young users, according to AG Tim Griffin.

This month, sales tax revenue from Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale totaled $10.001M, with Bentonville down 6.2% (2.079M) from last year while the other cities posted modest gains; overall, eight-month receipts rose to $78.077M amid rebate adjustments.

Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and six food banks announced the Arkansas Hunger Continuum report on Wednesday, showing 37% of Arkansans did not have enough food in 2025 compared to 27% nationally.

Officials said the insights will guide local food banks in targeting outreach — a step toward addressing food insecurity.

Monte Anderson, president of Option Real Estate, spoke at the Growing Home NWA conference held at Fayetteville Public Library on Wednesday, urging city council and local investors to support repurposing smaller spaces for affordable commercial use — noting that smaller, bite-sized projects can attract community backing and fill market needs.

Former Liberty safety Brylan Green signed with the Razorbacks 11 days ahead of the season opener and will join the team on Sept.

5 at Donald W. Razorback Stadium for their game against North Alabama. His veteran play adds depth to coach Ryan Silverfield’s SEC lineup.