Connected Futures
Communities Unlimited (CU) has launched the Rural Broadband Institute (RBI), a new center built to close the connectivity gap in rural America through technical assistance, research, training, and policy advocacy. The…
Still Here
Twenty-six years ago, Morrilton, Arkansas, took a gut punch. In 1999, two of the city’s largest employers, Arrow Automotive and Levi Strauss & Co., shuttered their local operations within the same period, erasing…
Small Town, Big Turnaround
Zavalla, Texas, sits in Angelina County in the eastern part of the state, where deferred maintenance, economic strain, and limited municipal capacity have shaped daily life for decades. The city’s water system has been…
Cooking Up Profit
Carlos Leon always knew how to cook. Growing up in Mexico, then through college, he had a gift for it. People noticed. But for a long time, he set it aside. That changed when he arrived in Northwest Arkansas. Without a…
Staying Is the Point on 14th Street
Derrick White’s family has lived in the same Pine Bluff, Arkansas, home for more than 50 years. He came back to rehab it himself, spending everything he had on what he could reach. The foundation, sewer line, roof, and…
Cargo Forward
Shay Downing didn’t wait for the market to come back. When the industrial logistics company she built near Port Houston took hits from multiple directions in 2025, she went to work on the business itself. JS&J…
Tires, Finally
On April 25, 2026, the City of Queen City, Texas, opened a free tire disposal event in their parking lot. The line was already wrapped around the building and stretching toward Highway 59 before the 10 a.m. start time. By…
Staying Power
For decades, the people running the Village of Dry Prong’s water system in Grant Parish, Louisiana — a small community near Alexandria — worked from memory. When a valve needed to be located or a line traced, someone who had…
Encore Ready
Steven and Crystal Prichard spend most weekends at the happiest moments of other people’s lives. Steven runs the sound board. Crystal runs the day-of plan. Together, the couple owns CS Perfect Mix Entertainment, a…
Food Forward
In Searcy, located in White County in central Arkansas, a growing partnership is working to address a need many communities face: making sure students have enough to eat outside of school. Through Communities…
Clear Water, Clear Path
TJ O’Rourke knows water like the back of his hand. He’s an engineer and has drilled wells, built systems, and put up windmills in places that had nothing. Perched along the edge of the rugged plateau known as the…
Drawing Steel
Derrick Weekly spent years managing structural steel projects, coordinating with detailers, and watching how the quality of a drawing could either keep a project on schedule or bring it to a halt. After years of working…
Connected Futures
Communities Unlimited (CU) has launched the Rural Broadband Institute (RBI), a new center built to close the connectivity gap in rural America through technical assistance, research, training, and policy advocacy. The…
Still Here
Twenty-six years ago, Morrilton, Arkansas, took a gut punch. In 1999, two of the city’s largest employers, Arrow Automotive and Levi Strauss & Co., shuttered their local operations within the same period, erasing…
Small Town, Big Turnaround
Zavalla, Texas, sits in Angelina County in the eastern part of the state, where deferred maintenance, economic strain, and limited municipal capacity have shaped daily life for decades. The city’s water system has been…
Cooking Up Profit
Carlos Leon always knew how to cook. Growing up in Mexico, then through college, he had a gift for it. People noticed. But for a long time, he set it aside. That changed when he arrived in Northwest Arkansas. Without a…
Staying Is the Point on 14th Street
Derrick White’s family has lived in the same Pine Bluff, Arkansas, home for more than 50 years. He came back to rehab it himself, spending everything he had on what he could reach. The foundation, sewer line, roof, and…
Cargo Forward
Shay Downing didn’t wait for the market to come back. When the industrial logistics company she built near Port Houston took hits from multiple directions in 2025, she went to work on the business itself. JS&J…
Tires, Finally
On April 25, 2026, the City of Queen City, Texas, opened a free tire disposal event in their parking lot. The line was already wrapped around the building and stretching toward Highway 59 before the 10 a.m. start time. By…
Staying Power
For decades, the people running the Village of Dry Prong’s water system in Grant Parish, Louisiana — a small community near Alexandria — worked from memory. When a valve needed to be located or a line traced, someone who had…
Encore Ready
Steven and Crystal Prichard spend most weekends at the happiest moments of other people’s lives. Steven runs the sound board. Crystal runs the day-of plan. Together, the couple owns CS Perfect Mix Entertainment, a…
Food Forward
In Searcy, located in White County in central Arkansas, a growing partnership is working to address a need many communities face: making sure students have enough to eat outside of school. Through Communities…
