Northwest Arkansas is a gorgeous and interesting place to visit and explore. If you’re considering visiting or even moving to Northwest Arkansas, there are some new and unexpected things happening in the area that you should know about.
The five new and unexpected things in Northwest Arkansas are the development of bigger residency programs from local universities, the Startup Village, a 3-million grant for the trail systems, a new exhibit at the Amazeum, and a death metal album from Onyx Coffee.
Keep reading this article to learn more about each new thing Northwest Arkansas has to offer!
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5 Unexpected Things and Updates In Northwest Arkansas
1. Bigger Residency Programs From Local Universities
The first big, new thing in Northwest Arkansas is related to the medical field. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, and Washington Regional Medical Center have teamed up to create a new internal medicine residency program.
The program’s first step is adding around 92 new residency positions to Northwest Arkansas.
The region already has a residency program for doctors and other specialties. However, they are expanding the program so more medical students would come to Northwest Arkansas for residency instead of going to other places in the United States.
This three-year, community-based program is expected to boost the region’s healthcare workforce.
This residency program was also created because there’s a new medical school being built by Alice Walton in Bentonville. The construction itself is expected to be finished by 2024.
Of course, it’s great to have more medical residents to help out in the area. But this program also benefits Northwest Arkansas in a different way.
A few years ago, the Northwest Arkansas Council did a study and discovered that every medical resident brings about a $715,000 value to the region annually. For that reason, they’ve been pushing this residency program to boost the entire community’s economy.
2. The Creation of the Startup Village
For number two, we’ll switch from the medical to the business side. The University of Arkansas recently built a startup to help other startups. If this sounds confusing, bear with me for a moment.
Arkansas is a very tax-friendly and startup-friendly state. That’s why many businesses are moving into the area. To support this, the University of Arkansas created the Startup Village.
Startup Village is located in a very strategic area, near the University of Arkansas itself and the Fayetteville Historic Square. It’s a coworking space for entrepreneurs to design and grow their businesses.
The best thing about the Startup Village is how it allows entrepreneurs to network and get new connections from the university.
Moreover, Startup Village also offers adequate facilities to allow seed-stage and small businesses to work and collaborate. Having a spot here cuts down the cost of entry because companies no longer have to rent expensive office spaces.
You can apply for a membership at the Startup Village online. Businesses are selected through a competitive annual membership process. But once you get past that hurdle, you don’t have to pay a single penny for your membership.
And in case you’re struggling to come up with good startup ideas, check out my article highlighting the most profitable businesses in NWA. [These Businesses Keep Growing In Northwest Arkansas]
Aside from Startup Village, there are plenty of other coworking spaces in Bentonville and Fayetteville. So, if you’re looking to move your business to Northwest Arkansas, know that the area has many coworking spaces and that NWA wants to help you build your business.
To learn more about the best co-working spaces in NWA, read my other article, Best Co-Working Spaces Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Bella Vista!
3. A 3-Million Grant for the Trail Systems
This wouldn’t come as a surprise to some people, but Northwest Arkansas recently received a 3-million grant for most of its trail systems.
Some of the recipients of this grant include:
- Farmington, $400,000 for Creekside Park Trail.
- The Northwest Arkansas Regional Mobility Authority, $500,000 for Heritage Springs Trail;
- Pea Ridge, $183,000 to extend a sidewalk on McCulloch Street;
- Cave Springs, $348,000 for sidewalks on West Wallis Road and Sands Road;
- And many more.
Cities around the area, and even those on the outskirts, have been receiving grants to expand their trail systems. Eventually, these trail systems are expected to become connected in the very near future.
Soon, Northwest Arkansas will become truly connected with bike paths and various alternative transportation paths.
4. A New Exhibit at the Amazeum
Moving on to a kid-centric theme, there’s a brand new exhibit at the Scott Family Amazeum. It’s called “In the Making: Ideas Come To Life.”
The Scott Family Amazeum is known to be geared more toward kids, so it’s no surprise that this exhibit is targeted at young inquisitive minds. The museum is located right next to Crystal Bridges Museum. You’ll see how cool and colorful the exhibition is when you visit.
This fascinating exhibit allows kids to explore, investigate technologies, and create things in various fun settings.
The main focus of this new exhibit is to showcase the messy side of experiments and scientific works. In a way, it conveys that creativity and exploring new things can get messy sometimes.
By showing this to kids, they’ll learn that it’s okay to experiment and push boundaries. And even though things may get messy at the moment, they can look forward to finding something cool afterward.
I think it’s awesome that the museum keeps pushing boundaries when it comes to how children learn and experience new things. Not everybody wants to learn from a book. So, it’s amazing how this exhibit gives children a more hands-on approach to learning.
Also, I have a 3-day itinerary that can help you decide what activities to do if you’re overwhelmed by everything Northwest Arkansas has to offer.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a foodie, a sports person, a sightseer, or want to spend quality time with your kids; I have something for you. Check out the link below to learn more:
https://www.allthingsnwa.com/3-day-itinerary-northwest-arkansas
5. A Death Metal Album From Onyx Coffee
This last thing is both unexpected and funny at the same time. You might already know about Onyx Coffee from my “Best Coffee Shop in World in Northwest Arkansas” list. This coffee shop is known worldwide for being almost a laboratory for coffee.
Aside from being dedicated to making the best cup of coffee, Onyx Coffee’s team is also an entertainer and a marketing genius.
Onyx Coffee recently made and released a death metal album called Cry for Yelp. This title of the album is based on a coffee style Onyx offers.
As for the songs and lyrics, they took some interesting poor reviews from their Google reviews. The result is some of the most hilarious and unique pieces I have ever heard. They are definitely worth checking out, even if death metal isn’t your thing.
Cry for Yelp from Onyx Coffee is an excellent album to listen to on angry days when you just want to scream to the world.
And that pretty much wraps it up for this one. If you want to keep learning more about the area, check out my next article uncovering the biggest secrets of NWA. You don’t wanna miss this one. [Secret Things of Northwest Arkansas]