On Wednesday (March 24), the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission approved unanimously a plan for how people will travel around the region for the next 25 years.

• The plan includes 25 years worth of projects, including "completing the U.S. 412 Northern Bypass, an access road to the Northwest Arkansas National Airport and turning Arkansas 112 into a major north/south corridor." NWA Democrat Gazette

• Who is paying for this? Any project requiring federal money has to be part of the plan. "The region is expected to receive about $2 billion in state and federal money, adjusted for inflation, for transportation projects over the next 25 years," according to Regional Planning.

Proposed Transit Map

Proposed Trails Map

Proposed Road Map

The Arkansas Economic Development Institute estimates that by 2045, 1 million people will call NWA home.

beardedgoat exists to get more people on the water, mountains, roads, and trails. Bridging the gap between technical and everyday apparel, they're making products you can wear regardless of your activity or climate.

They are also in the process of building out a new flagship store on the Fayetteville Square, but before it's finished they need your help to make room by clearing out some of everyone's favorite styles from past seasons. Swing by their (unfinished) new store tomorrow (March 27), and cash in on the cheapest beardedgoat deals you'll ever find.

• WHAT: beardedgoat Pre Move-In Sale
• WHERE: 15 S. Block Ave #102 (on the Fayetteville Square, right next to City Supply)
• WHEN: Saturday 3/27 from 8am-2pm (during the Farmer's Market)
• WHO: you and all your friends
• WHY: everything will be $10, $20, or $30

Walmart maintains the top spot on Kantar's top Global Retail Company for 2021. This rating system provides a unique look at the 50 most impactful international retailers based on their operations at the start of 2020.

• How did they do it? Walmart continued to shift its business model to "align with a broader omni-channel approach to its market as it continued expanding into marketplace platforms and services on an international level." At the No. 1 spot, "Walmart reported $519 billion in sales revenue" for fiscal year 2020 - $120 billion of which was international revenue. Talk Business & Politics

• David Marcotte, senior vice president of global insights at Kantar, said "shoppers around the world struggled to find what they needed under circumstances that changed weekly." Second place was retailer started with an "A" and ended with "mazon".

• 6,146: The number of stores Walmart has internationally.

The full list can be found HERE

Happy Friday - here is what we've seen happening this weekend that you might like..

• Arkansas men's basketball team plays in the round of Sweet 16 tomorrow (March 27) at 6:25p - you can watch it on Dickson.

• Freckled Hen Home, the sister shop to Freckled Hen Farmhouse, opens up today (March 26) at 10am. They have everything inside their home that you may need for yours.
• The University of Arkansas turns 150 years old on Saturday.
• Best Friends Animal Society and Washington County Animal Shelter will be offering free pet microchipping on Saturday and Sunday.
• Oasis at Undercroft pop-up bar offers a unique get-away in downtown Bentonville.
• Listen to live music at the Walton Arts Center In The Atrium concert series.

Did we miss anything special? If so, let us know.

A Fayetteville based startup, MORE Technologies, founded by four University of Arkansas students recently sold their IP and technology to Sphero, a technology firm out of Colorado

• MORE Technology (Modular Open-source Robotics Ecosystem) was founded by Canon Reeves 3 years ago when he was a U of A undergrad in computer science. So, what does MORE do? They specialize in the sale of 3-D printable assembly robots for kids.

• Founded out of Startup Weekend in 2018, hosted by Startup Junkie, Reeves and his two future partners, over the course of 48 hours, "formed a team, pitched ideas, hammer out a business plan and built a prototype robot, then presented their proposal." They won.

• Over the next 7 days, 75 orders were submitted and MORE Technologies was formed. "We sold kits to over 23 countries and 25 states. We have a 3-D print farm of 12 3-D printers that we run around the clock to product our parts," says Reeves. University of Arkansas

• Supposedly the technology will be used for "injection molds in China to manufacture parts for the kits" enabling Sphero to scale with size.

You can read the full story HERE