John Edwards

Commercial expansion and transportation-related investment at the Helena Port Industrial Park have sparked millions of dollars of infrastructure construction and capital improvements. read more >

The federal grant is the largest single infrastructure and equipment investment in the harbor's history. read more >

For more than three years, members of the Image Environmental Inc. team have become familiar faces at the Helena Harbor, working on the Helm Fertilizer Terminal upgrade-expansion project. read more >

Many of Arkansas’ current infrastructure projects require long-term plans that can be modified as needed, four industry professionals said during the “RechARge Arkansas: Regional Infrastructure Update” webinar. read more >

Helena Harbor and Phillips County Economic Development officials say the harbor has been named a "designated project" on the U.S. Marine Highway System by the U.S. Department of Transportation. read more >

Helena Harbor has been awarded a $528,922 Delta Regional Authority grant to resurface a major road and to continue improving the eight miles of rail it owns. read more >

More than $8.5 million of new and pending utility improvement projects are underway in and around Helena-West Helena. Pieces of the infrastructure puzzle are moving into place to enhance local economic prospects as well as industrial recruitment. read more >

Led by Harvey Williams Jr. and his wife, Donna, Delta Dirt Distillery will begin producing vodka, gin, cordials and more in the coming weeks. Their son, Thomas, will oversee the production of spirits made with corn, wheat, rye and sweet potatoes grown on the family farm. Tours and a tasting room with a full-service bar are on tap. read more >

Lyon College in Batesville has received a $1 million gift from the John W. Edwards trust — the largest-ever gift for the college from a Batesville resident. read more >

Freight railroads, often-overlooked workhorses for American industry, are self-sustaining examples of how private sector investments pay public dividends. read more >

The Helena-West Helena/Phillips County Port Authority (Helena Harbor) announced Friday that it has been awarded a $180,000 Arkansas Waterways Commission grant to improve water supply lines at the site in anticipation of a new water tower. read more >

In 1993, Helena’s slackwater harbor was completed and county officials promised it would attract manufacturing jobs to the crumbling, poverty-ridden Mississippi Delta region. But it’s taken 20 years for that promise to ring true: Last year, the harbor welcomed its first-ever industrial client. read more >