Northwest Arkansas will be hosting part of the largest multi-sport event in the world this summer at Lake Wedington Recreation Area in west Fayetteville.

• Races: The first ever Gravel National Championships will be in Fayetteville on June 3, and after the dust settles on June 4, the Off Road National Championships will commence. The 2 events are in conjunction with the annual Ozark Valley Triathlon.
• Long haul: The 2022 USA Triathlon National Championships will be a conglomerate of events and races in different states from Jan. 22 to after Sep. 25. Every year, USA Triathlon sanctions over 4k events and hosts over 400k members.

For more details, click HERE. 

The draw to Northwest Arkansas is real and pulling people from the west coast.

• Eastward: An adaptive biker who had it made in San Diego visited NWA with The International Mountain Bicycling Association in 2016, and now has a house in the region and plans to scale his business here. Additionally, a Californian actor fell in love with NWA after acting in True Detective in Fayetteville, and is entertaining moving to Arkansas. 
• Finding home: The current voice of Walmart Radio moved from California knowing no one and integrated with ease. He sites the closeness of everything to be a favorite factor for him, as well as the brewery culture and authentic cuisine. 

The full story by Napa Valley Register can be found HERE. 

Mercy Hospitals, 18 in Northwest Arkansas, received $2.2m to upgrade their Telehealth services. 

• Virtual visits: The grant came from the Federal Communications Commission to expand and upgrade virtual offerings. Since the start of the pandemic, Mercy has provided more than 800k virtual visits, whereas there were only 10k visits in 2019. 
• Even more personal: Within the expansion of virtual programs, the grant will afford hospitals to provide telemedicine carts and monitors for offsite video conferencing, which will make care more safe and timely. 

Find more information about the grant HERE. 

Small business creation and entrepreneurship is on the rise year-over-year and Northwest Arkansas is doing everything to create opportunity for their acceleration and success. 

• Funding: Whether you’re in food, biotech, or the outdoors, there is a program for your startup or small business. Wefunder and Kiva Northwest Arkansas are 2 examples of crowdfunding platforms to connect small businesses with investors in the community and out. 
• Upcoming: Some upcoming opportunities for cash prizes and business assistance are a business pitch contest with Entrepreneurship for All, and 8-week business development program with Cureate and Forge, and a month long Blockchain competition at the University of Arkansas.

Click HERE for details and other events and programs for startups in our area.

One of our very own has been deemed “the best” yet again. 

• The study: According to research by Trips to Discover, Ozark Mountain Bagel Co. (OMB) is the best bagel shop in Arkansas. The team searched over 2,600 bagel eateries in the U.S., then determined the best in each state by ranking them according to Google review scores, the number of reviews, and degree of bagel specialization. 
• Points: Though OMB is 1 of 1,300 U.S. shops with “bagel” in its name, its Google review score is above average. The average review score for the top bagel shops in the U.S is a 4.6. OMB has a 4.8. 

See the full Trips to Discover study HERE.