Tagged: Arkansas Business

Railroads have long been a key industry for Arkansas, with North Little Rock today being the home of one of the largest rail yards for Union Pacific.

The sprawling grounds are busy 24 hours a day with arriving and departing freight trains.

It’s a complicated process, sorting rail cars that arrive from all over the country, changing crews and servicing the equipment.

Directing the action from the top of a tower in the center of the yard is General Yard Master Robby Robelot. He says the biggest challenge is coordination and timing.

Communities throughout the Arkansas Delta often battle against a rising tide of economic woes. As factories close and labor-intensive jobs leave small towns, populations dwindle in many rural cities.

For decades, outside investments from banks and charitable organizations helped stimulate marginal growth, but most of the heavy lifting necessary to revitalize communities must be done by the people who live there.

The world's largest retailer, Walmart, is emphasizing products that are created, processed and produced in Arkansas.

Local companies and lawmakers joined in the launching Monday to highlight thousands of Arkansas-made items on the store's shelves.

The program called "Arkansas’ Own" will help customers easily find and buy things from the state.

Helena-West Helena is part of Phillips County in the Arkansas Delta. According to U.S. Census data, the county’s population decreased over 17 percent in the last ten years, which means by some estimates the population is less than half of what it was in the 1950s. However, new community-led efforts in Helena-West Helena seek to make the area’s history and culture a catalyst for investment and growth.