Page 18 - Steuart Walton News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Fortune 100 giants Tyson Foods and Walmart have heavy influence over two cities within 20 miles of one another, tucked into the northwest corner of the state.

The University of Arkansas football team will be in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 24 to take on the Aggies of Texas A&M. Things still will be hopping in northwest Arkansas, though. That's because brothers Tom and Steuart Walton are at it again.

The approach is familiar by now. Writers produce stories on the explosive growth of northwest Arkansas and feel the need to say something along these lines: "There must be something wrong, though, since part of it is being funded by the evil Walton family."

Teams of University of Arkansas students make their presentations in rapid succession as I watch Matt Waller, dean of the Sam Walton College of Business. Waller smiles, nods and claps. His enthusiasm is contagious.

In 2013, Katherine Andrews earned a degree in finance from the University of Arkansas and went to work for the Hathaway Group, a Little Rock commercial real estate firm. Three years later, she moved to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, which she described at the time as "the sales team for the state."