In August, Fayetteville City Counsel unanimously approved an ordinance that requires landlords with more than two long term rental properties to register in a public city database. The deadline to register is tomorrow (April 30)

• The issue: The registry is intended to be a publicly accessible portal for tenants to inquire about properties and/or address issues more quickly and efficiently, and to provide a point of contact for properties.
• Short term: Additionally, in April, the Fayetteville City Counsel approved an ordinance to regulate short term rentals like Airbnbs. These individuals too must also register, but their deadline is not yet set.

There is no fee associated with the registration, and you can register HERE.

Still have questions? You can listen to the full report HERE.

If you're new to the newsletter or you've missed the past few weeks of newsletters, there has been a resurgence of live music, festivals, and events popping up on the calendar in NWA. The upcoming lineup of events is too good for us not to mention again...

• Artosphere: Arkansas’ Arts+Nature Festival, returns May 6-23 with events across Northwest Arkansas.
• Neighborhood Concert Series: DBI and City Sessions bring you live music in the neighborhoods, parks, and lots with their monthly series. Dates can be found HERE.
• Roots HQ on the Avenue: An outdoor street concert series that takes place in downtown Fayetteville. Checkout the line up HERE.
• Freshgrass Festival: Music festival celebrating today's bluegrass and roots music at the Momentary Oct. 1-2.

Check out the other festivals and events happening this year HERE. Rock on.

That 55 acre park in the dead center of Bentonville, that you may or may not have visited yet is having a soft opening this Saturday, May 1!

Osage Park, located on I St. in Bentonville, is your new outdoor getaway in an urban park setting. Starting May 1st visitors can take a stroll through the wetlands, eat at the food trucks, and enjoy the new pavilion.

• When it is 100% complete, the park will include an archery range, music pavilion, dog park, wetland boardwalk, pickle-ball courts, kayaking, paddle boarding, and fishing.
• Food Trucks @ Osage: Yeyos, Java Dudes, and Crackerjack will all be on site this weekend to make your experience even better.

The site is still under construction but will have a community grand opening later this summer.

Of the eight metro areas in or connected to Arkansas, NWA was one of three that posted year-over-year job gains in March, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Northwest Arkansas had an estimated 280,271 jobs in March, up 969 jobs from 279,302 in March 2020.
• The region’s jobless rate was 3.5% in March, up from 2.9% in March 2020, and below 3.8% in February.

In addition, Northwest Arkansas had the lowest metro jobless rate in March (3.5%). By comparison, the state’s jobless rate in March was 4.4%, up from 3.8% in March 2020.

You can check out the full report and how NWA stacked up against the nation as well, HERE.

In the 2020 census, Arkansas' recorded population growth of more than 95,000 since 2010. NWA grew by more than 20% over the past decade. With continued growth, the community and region will be forced to rethink how we traditionally do things. For example, farming. Vertical farming has seen rapid growth and adoption, and several stakeholders in NWA are joining forces to expand research into the practice.

• 80 Acres Farms will work with Scientists at the Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture, to pursue a variety of vertical farming research topics.
• What is this? Vertical farming is the practice of growing fruits and vegetables vertically, conserving space, as opposed to the traditional way of growing them flat in a field.
• Quote: "Buy land, they ain't makin' any more of it" - Grandpa.

Read more about 80 Acres Farms and their upward efforts HERE.