John Cooper

He follows Danny Kennedy, who retired in July after 21 years with Riceland. read more >

The same things that made Arkansas attractive to 20th century retirees can, in theory, make Arkansas attractive to 21st century workers who are now much more comfortable with the idea of working remotely. read more >

At 26,000 acres, Hot Springs Village is the largest gated community in North America, with a golf course, lake or hiking trail practically a stone’s throw from any spot within those gates. read more >

After a heated and contentious debate, Arkansas' Senate Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday against a bill which would have loosened regulations for the use of deadly force in self-defense. read more >

A real estate and development resource to help navigate the leadership of the largest Arkansas companies or institutions. read more >

Specialized agriculture education in Arkansas will soon not be solely the purview of higher education. A measure approved in this year’s legislative session will create a pilot program for “agriculture schools” in the state. read more >

The "heck no" caucus on Arkansas' Medicaid expansion is turning into a very lonely place. Winning over a coalition of supporters of Arkansas' private option and lawmakers who were ushered into office on vows to kill it, Gov. Asa Hutchinson cleared a major hurdle in his plan to continue the program while looking at longer term changes. read more >

Cooper Communities Inc. of Rogers — along with its assorted subsidiaries such as Cooper Land Development, Cooper Homes and Cooper Realty Investment — really is a family business. read more >

John Cooper III is president and chairman of the board of directors of Cooper Communities Inc. of Rogers, a prolific land development company for the past 50-plus years. How prolific is a company secret, as Cooper politely declines to share the private company’s revenue or employment figures. He did sit down at his company’s headquarters for an interview, his first ever with the media. read more >

The private option is the major issue facing the General Assembly in the upcoming fiscal session. The impact on the state economy and business climate will be significant, but the outlook for reauthorization is grim. read more >

Supporters of Arkansas' "private option" Medicaid expansion are walking a fine line as they assess the future of the program before this year's legislative session. They don't want to understate the danger it faces of being defunded, but they don't want to declare it dead just yet. read more >

If you thought convincing a Republican-led Legislature to support a key part of the new federal health care law was a tough fight last year, wait until you see Round 2. Still, at least one GOP lawmaker is confident arguments for the law will win again. read more >

A Republican takeover of a northeast Arkansas state Senate seat dims the prospects for continuing the state's compromise Medicaid expansion plan and could be a troubling early sign for Democrats who had hoped to rebound from recent losses at the polls. read more >

A group of entrepreneurial visionaries — Sam Walton, J.B. Hunt, Don Tyson, John Cooper and others — laid the groundwork for an economic explosion that would eventually reverberate through the entire financial world. Part of Arkansas Business' 20th anniversary issue. read more >