TRU Powered by IDEALS, a U of A institute, has 35 nonprofit organizations selected to participate in the second phase of its regional initiative to bolster diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in Northwest Arkansas. 

• Empowering community: The initiative provides cohort participants practical strategies for the advancement of their individual DEI journeys as local nonprofits. TRU is an acronym that stands for Train, Recharge, and Uplift. Those three words are also the names of three cohorts within the TRU Powered by IDEALS initiative. 
• Cohorts: There are 15 members in the Train cohort, 5 in the Recharge cohort, and 15 in the Uplift cohort. You can learn a little bit more about what separates the individual cohorts in a previous newsletter. 

See the full list of participating organizations and learn more HERE. 

The great minds behind Fayetteville’s Prelude Breakfast Bar are opening a new restaurant and bar in Rogers today. 

• A place to try: The new restaurant is called 52 Kilo and it is located at 3000 S. Pinnacle Hills Parkway near Lewis & Clark Outfitters. The restaurant is a steakhouse and is said to be unlike anything out there already. 
• A space to enter: 52 Kilo specializes in Wagyu beef and the bar primarily features mezcal for its cocktails (another 52 Kilo specialty) and wine. The space is small but has a top-notch interior. Think dark blues, gold, wood, and plants. Go check it out! Reservations are encouraged. 

Make a reservation HERE. 

Tech startup Mycelium Networks is leading the decentralized revolution in Northwest Arkansas through their deployment of the Helium network, aka The People’s Network, which provides inexpensive, long-range connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.  

• Encourage innovation:  Imagine smart parking systems that could alert you to the nearest open parking spot, reduce congestion, or cut down your drive time. The reality is, the infrastructure for smart cities already exists in NWA, but we need talented individuals to help build solutions on this infrastructure.
• Build & support: Through the $1m Mycelium Fund, anyone can start building IoT solutions today. If you’re not interested in building, you can participate in the revolution by “hosting” a node (connectivity gateway) and receive a monthly stipend for providing coverage in our area.  

Learn more and join the decentralized revolution at connectnwa.com.  

If you’re in Bentonville and you’ve been wanting to get more involved with the city government and city happenings, there’s a community meeting today just for you! 

• Place and time: The first Bentonville Connections meeting is today in the Walmart Community Room at the Bentonville Public Library. There is an 11a meeting and a 5p meeting and a city-expo from 1:30p-4:30p. Anyone can attend the meetings and the expo via Zoom or in person.
• City conversations: The Bentonville mayor and city council members will be present to engage in conversations about a variety of Bentonville quality of life initiatives such as public safety and property maintenance. 

For more information and to register for the meetings, click HERE. 

Thanking the stars for where we are, because Northwest Arkansas is currently in the top 10 most affordable cities to live and work, according to Good Hire. 

• Analysis: The banking company analyzed data from 155 cities to find the best locations for affordability in 2022, and NWA is seventh on the list. The Fayetteville Metro Area is number one on the list of America’s most affordable housing markets in 2022.
• Methodology: Good Hire evaluated the cities with seven factors to create the list: Wage Growth, Unemployment Rate, Job Growth, Percentage of Jobs Open, Renter Affordability, Homeowner Affordability, and Real Per Capita Personal Income. 

Click HERE for more details.