⌚ The Week’s Top Stories In 60 Seconds

Here are the five stories that resonated most with Arkansas Business readers this week.

1. Budget Tightening Leads Arkansas Blue Cross to Offer Employees Early Retirement

• Blue Cross said the timing of the offer had nothing to do with its recently announced affiliation with Cambia Health Solutions
• A spokeswoman cited a “commitment to the financial stewardship of member dollars,” among other reasons

2. $500M Highway 112 Expansion Begins in Northwest Arkansas

• The 18-month project is expected provide real relief for the local interstate load
• ARDOT is taking steps to ensure the next phases of the project are completed more rapidly

3. Trump Pardon Doesn’t Shield Ex-Nursing Home Operator From Arkansas Prison Sentence

• The president pardoned Joseph Schwartz for his role in a $38 million tax fraud scheme
• State officials say Schwartz must still serve jail time in Arkansas for Medicaid and that he still owes restitution to the state

4. Jessica Hughes Ford Named President & CEO of Arkansas Community Foundation

• Ford will begin working in her new position Jan. 1, succeeding current CEO Heather Larkin
• A native Arkansan, Ford has two decades of nonprofit experience

5. Walmart’s Real Estate Strategy: Owning and Redeveloping Shopping Centers

• The Bentonville-based retailer has spent $118 million this year to buy three shopping centers
• Walmart joins a trend of retailers becoming landlords rather than just tenants