Kellams: Let's begin our first half hour with Michael Tilley from Talk Business & Politics. He's going to help us review some of the news from the past seven days. Hello, Michael.
Tilley: Howdy. I say the dog days of summer are better with air, inside the air conditioning and ice cream. Those are my.
Kellams: Well, I don't think those are controversial picks. I think you'll have many people agreeing with you. How much ice cream has been sold, according to the latest sales tax numbers for Fort Smith and the region?
Tilley: Well, I don't know that I, the new numbers do show us what maybe going, how much money people are spending at the new Bass Pro Shops in Fort Smith. So that 70,000-square-foot store, which opened up in April and May, was the first full month that the store was open. So the city's June sales tax report, sales tax revenue report, reflects May transactions.
Now overall, the city's portion of the countywide tax was about $2.1 million. That was up almost 2% compared to last June. In the last June report, for the first six months, first six reporting months of the year, that tax is collected $12.5 million. That's up 4.1%. So it's a pretty good pace. That 4.1%, if you look back at the CPI, that's a little better than inflation. So that's showing some gain.
The city's 1% tax, which now partially funds the federally mandated consent decree work, but still funds street, bridge and drainage work, that tax generated $2.5 million in June. It was up not much, about 0.4%. For the first six months of the year, that tax has generated almost $15 million. And that's up 3% compared to the same period in 2025.
So the interesting part of this number, and Andrew Richards, the city's chief financial officer, pointed this out in his report. Inside the retail, the subcategory of sporting goods stores, the sales tax in that category was $135,000 in June report. That's up 55% compared, yeah, compared with June 2025, up 56% with June 2024 and up 53% compared with June 2023.
So you have a, those three years show you that this year is not a one off, that it's most likely from that Bass Pro sales. That's the only significant change in the retail sector that I could think of. And when I interviewed Andrew Richards, he said, you know, it's safe to infer, he said, you can't just assume that all of that gain came from Bass Pro, but it's safe to infer that a lot of it.
So I know there was, there were some folks who I don't want to say we're against, but we're kind of downplaying the idea that the shop would have an impact. And that the city shouldn't spend any money on, you know, helping bring them here. But, you know, when you have $45,000 to $50,000 extra a month in sales tax revenue that, I mean, I know my math, I learned math in Arkansas, but even then, that's still, that adds up to be a lot of money. So anyway, some interesting insight in this report.
Kellams: It would be so interesting to know how much of the Bass Pro sales came from, maybe, I don't know, eastern Oklahoma or south of Fort Smith, right. Money that might not have been coming into the city otherwise.
Tilley: Yeah, that's a great point. And, you know, for the Arkansas officials don't provide any breakdown. But that would be a good point. I do know that I think you have to drive a four door truck to shop there, because that's the only vehicle that seems to be in the parking lot. I don't know if that's a requirement, but it looks to be.
Kellams: The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith has already had a relationship with AmeriCorps, but they're expanding it to something called RoarCorps. What will this mean?
Tilley: Well, so I have a soft spot for programs that get college and high school students out of the classroom and into the real world. And I'm not talking about, you know, roadside cleanup programs or cleaning up the landscaping around a nonprofit. I'm talking about placing them in situations where they can help real people with real challenges.
And let me preface the rest of what I'm about to say by saying I'm a crusty old journalist and I'm not supposed to be impressed or excited about anything, but I am with this RoarCorps program. It's called RoarCorps because University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, of course, their mascot is the Lions.
Kellams: Yep.
Tilley: So it's an expansion of that. And they're going to place 40 students into the community. Now these students, it's a benefit for them. They receive a living allowance. They receive an education award, which is essentially a scholarship. And it's not insignificant money. So, you know, I think it's about $2,600 for, well, it's over. It's close to $4,000, I believe, for those students in the 300-hour program, and even more for those students in the 450-hour program.
But they're going to hit four key categories in the community, of course, education. They're going to have some of the students work with 100 students in partnership with the Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club. The healthy futures component is the second category. Those students will work on health and wellness programs for K-12 students in the area, especially those with special needs. And there'll be some garden based education workshops, food distribution, food access.
According to the UAFS press release, they noted that food insecurity rates in Sebastian County are 21%, or 20% in Crawford County, and the adult obesity rate in Sebastian County is almost 68%. So that gives you an idea of the challenge there.
In the environmental stewardship category, those folks are going to work and help us, K-12 students with native plant sustainability, habitat restoration, conservation. And part of the, again, the note was that in the metro, 10%, it contains land that's in the top 10% statewide for conservation impact. So that gives you some idea of what all they have to work with. And they noted that research links biodiversity and nature exposure to reduced anxiety, reduced stress, overall well-being. So there's a health element to that.
And then the final category, maybe the most important, is the youth mental health, and those AmeriCorps members or corps members will provide weekly mentoring sessions for kids age 13 to 18. Activities are going to focus on mental health awareness, coping skills, connections to community resources. And we're going to do, I've assigned one of our freelancers to do a deeper dive into each of those four categories.
Kellams: Oh, good.
Tilley: Yeah. And we hope to have stories on those posted by the end of August. So stay tuned for that. But again, when this press release hit, I was pretty excited. I'm a little biased. My oldest daughter was involved for two years as an AmeriCorps volunteer, or paid AmeriCorps staffer. She was with the Apple Seeds there in Fayetteville. So I've seen the benefit firsthand. And I think this is going to have a huge impact, short term and long term, in this community.
Kellams: Well, if being out in nature, and we know this through research, can reduce stress. Let's talk about something that can increase stress. Elections. We're going to have them later this year. And it looks like there's going to be a chance for, I don't know, some really high participation, at least when it comes to candidates in Fort Smith.
Tilley: Yeah. So if the folks who print the ballots get paid by the page, they're going to love this. So there could be 32 candidates on the November ballot for, there are four city of Fort Smith positions and 32 candidate packets were picked up. There could potentially be more than that. But that's what we're looking at now.
And the city positions on the November ballot are Fort Smith mayor. And that's open because Mayor George McGill is not running for reelection. And then we have the city at large positions five, six and seven. Now Director Christina is position five. She's not running for that because she's running for the open mayor position. Director Kevin Settle, who's in the position six office. He is not running for reelection. In fact, when he finishes his term this year, it'll be his 20th year. So, you know, he says he's been there long enough. Director Neal Martin, he's in the position seven. He is running for re-election.
But of the 32 candidate packets picked up, 14 are for the mayor's spot. And for position five race, there were six packets picked up. For position six race, nine packets went out. And for the position seven race, three packets were picked up.
Aug. 5 is the deadline. It was, let me back up a little bit. It was this Wednesday when people could officially begin turning in their packets and filing. And Aug. 5 is the deadline. Noon on Aug. 5 is the deadline. So you know, this is shaping up to be, you know, when you have three of those four positions, or open positions, that attracted a lot of interest.
And but the key thing to know, though, is that I know the election is Nov. 3, but you have that many people in these races, I suspect most, if not all, of these will go to runoff races. So it may be after Dec. 1 before we know who will fill those posts. But I've been watching city politics for 30 years. I've never seen this number. I've talked to Sherri Gard. She's the city clerk. She likewise said this is absolutely the most she's ever seen.
Kellams: And it's interesting. And as you mentioned, it's Wednesday before the deadline. So 32 could grow to a larger number.
Tilley: Yeah. You know, the challenge is that they have to, if they get a packet, they have to collect 50 signatures. So, and they have until August. Gard has until Aug. 20 to verify those and get them to the county clerk. So there is some. Yeah. After that Aug. 5 deadline, there'll be some time to collect some more signatures, but it's a pressed schedule.
Kellams: Dr. Sandi Sanders had been on Ozarks at Large when she was at Westark. We talked with her when she was, I think, part of several civic groups, leadership groups in Fort Smith. She talked with us. Not someone who was unfamiliar to listeners and not certainly someone who is unfamiliar to the city of Fort Smith.
Tilley: Yeah. And obviously the reason you bring her up is we lost her. She passed away this week. She was 82. And, you know, sometimes she'd been kind of retired out of the public life for a while. And sometimes you, and this is bad of us, sometimes you forget somebody's impact when they're not involved. Alien. When I was working on this news obit, it just seemed like every sentence I was like, you know, holy cow, she did that too. Oh, she did that. Oh gosh. She was involved in that.
But you remember, I don't know if it was last week or a couple of weeks ago, when we talked about the passing of Emon Mahony. And I said that there may be a handful of folks who truly made a significant difference for the better in the metro. Well, Dr. Sanders, Dr. Sandi Sanders, is in that handful.
You know, Dr. Terisa Riley, who is the university chancellor now, had a great quote. She said Dr. Sanders had a rare gift for seeing potential in people long before they saw it themselves. So she spent nearly three decades at what was Westark College, what eventually became the university. She served as a provost, senior vice chancellor, chief of staff, and an interim chancellor. And as they say in the TV commercials, but wait, there's more.
She was a former teacher, a former principal in the public school system in Fort Smith. She was part of that leadership group that transitioned Westark to a four year university.
Kellams: Yeah.
Tilley: She created the Leadership Fort Smith program and was the program director for four years. She was instrumental in creating the university center there that helped students obtain four year degrees. She was received the Jack White Leadership Award in 1995. She was once listed as the top 100 Most Influential Women. She was the first president and CEO of the U.S. Marshals Museum.
Kellams: Oh my goodness.
Tilley: She's been board leader on numerous boards, including Fort Smith Montessori School, Fort Smith Public Library, Girl Scouts. She was first appointed to the Arkansas Arts Council by Governor Asa Hutchinson. She and her husband, who was a former mayor of Sandy Sanders, were recently inducted. There's a pretty prestigious award here in the Fort Smith area. It's the Book of Golden Deeds award given by the Exchange Club. So they've received that.
But I've been impressed but not surprised by the huge outpouring of love and condolences this week for Dr. Sanders and her family. You remember when I suggested that the Leadership Fort Smith program should devote at least 15 minutes to explaining the impact of Emon Mahony? Well, ditto for Dr. Sanders. It's just. And what I just listed is just the surface. I mean, truly, truly had a deep impact on this region.
Kellams: You can read more about Dr. Sanders and her life's work at talkbusiness.net. More about a lot of stuff there. Michael Tilley, when we come back it will be August. Can you wait?
Tilley: I'm going to wait inside. Yes.
Kellams: Okay. Thank you, sir.
Tilley: You're welcome.
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