Friends,

As a top destination for tourism, Little Rock hosts dozens of conferences and events every year. We take pride in the amenities, activities, accommodations, hospitality, and so much more Arkansas’s capital city has to offer.

This year, Little Rock will host the National Bikers Roundup, bringing nearly 50,000 attendees to the City in late July. This event and others like it demonstrate the positive economic impact of tourism and further strengthens Little Rock as a premier destination for guests.

We joined representatives of the National Bikers Roundup and our partners at the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau last week to announce our City as the site of this year’s roundup. This 49th annual event is the largest annual gathering of African American motorcycle riders. It takes place from July 28 to August 2 at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds.

As a host to this and other events, Little Rock has a great opportunity to showcase its civil rights heritage and its rich, diverse arts and culture offerings. Our destinations, merchants, restaurants, and most importantly, our people, make Little Rock a great place to visit and an even better place to live, work and play.

We are grateful to the National Bikers Roundup for selecting Little Rock as its host, and for all the guests that choose to invest in our City.

I appreciate you!

Top of The Rock

City’s AmeriCorps Partnership Promotes Digital Literacy, Access

Digital literacy and access are essential tools for a 21st Century economy, and we continue to support ways to help our residents gain the knowledge and help they need to build skills and bridge the digital connection gap. Through the City’s multiyear partnership with AmeriCorps, several American Connection Corps (ACC) Fellows have partnered with the City of Little Rock to provide training, identify solutions and improve online accessibility for our residents.

ACC Fellows are a branch of AmeriCorps and Lead for America, and fellows from more than 30 states were in Little Rock earlier this month for the group’s Winter Institute. These public servants who work in community development efforts nationwide explored our City and heard about the initiatives we have implemented to make broadband more accessible and strengthen digital skills.

I appreciate the invitation I received to talk to these future leaders about servant leadership and the key roles they have as they serve their communities in other municipalities, libraries and nonprofit organizations.

Bridging the digital divide is a priority, because digital access is now mandatory for so many parts of our lives. It is foundational for education, employment, health care, civic engagement, and economic mobility.

Little Rock’s current ACC Fellow, India Stephens, has implemented the “Let’s Get Digital” series for our City, collaborating with the Arkansas Civic Action Network in a nonpartisan effort to increase civic engagement. Through a series of workshops across the City, residents learn new digital skills and are encouraged to be more involved in the community through voting. The program is an important digital skills resource for all residents.

We recently hosted a series of workshops at the Wakefield Resource Center and have more planned for the future. Follow the City of Little Rock on Facebook, Instagram and X to learn about upcoming events. Our workshops focus on helping residents sharpen their digital skills, including skills that support civic participation.

The AAC Fellows program has made a transformational impact in Little Rock, connecting people to broadband, helping our most seasoned residents to better navigate the Internet, and assisting job seekers with online applications.

We appreciated the opportunity to highlight our partnership and showcase our City during the program’s recent conference.

Updates in The Rock

Clinton National Gains Another Nonstop Flight

Travelers in Arkansas’s capital city now have a new direct flight path to Music City with the start this month of twice-daily nonstop service to Nashville from the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport. Southwest Airlines is offering two flights departing at 7:25 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day.

This new service marks our third announcement in recent months of additional nonstop options out of Little Rock. Last year, American Airlines launched a nonstop flight to Phoenix and Delta Airlines started nonstop flights to Salt Lake City, offering more options for travelers going to the western United States and beyond.

The Nashville-Little Rock flight links the two fastest-growing economies in the region based on five-year Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. Little Rock trails only Nashville among regional peer cities and state capitals, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

This air service expansion enhances this economic momentum, and positions Little Rock for continued growth and connectivity. Little Rock is a growing and thriving regional tourism and commerce hub, and we look forward to additional nonstop connections from our airport.

We appreciate Clinton Airport Executive Director Suzanne Peyton, the Little Rock Airport Commission, and all those working to invest in Little Rock’s future.

Zoo “Bugtopia” Exhibit Launches Saturday

Spring is always a great time to visit the Little Rock Zoo, Arkansas’s only accredited Zoo and one of our City’s best attractions. With Spring Break ahead for students next week, the Zoo’s “Bugtopia: Wonder Magnified!” experience opens on Saturday, March 21.

Bugtopia is an immersive experience that magnifies the world of insects, featuring 21 sculptures. These include some climbable structures and others that are animatronic. The exhibition shows how insects impact our lives, and Zoo educators will be on hand to offer interactive learning opportunities about how insects impact our world.

Bugtopia is made possible through funding from the Arkansas Zoological Foundation, and additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Visit the Zoo’s website for more details.

Bugtopia runs through Sept. 20, and admission is included with paid entrance to the Zoo. We hope you will be able to join us for this family-friendly, enriching, and educational experience.

Scam Alert: Delete Fraudulent “Planning Commission” Emails

Several property owners may have recently received emails purporting to be from the Little Rock Planning Commission or Planning Department seeking money for a variety of fake fees and costs through wire transfer.

To be clear, our Planning Department will never issue a bill or invoice for a matter that is pending before the Planning Commission. Simply, any exchange of money for application fees or building permits would be done in person at the Planning Department or by phone with City staff.

Residents should never open any links or attachments from emails with “invoices” that are supposedly from the Planning Department. When in doubt about the amount of an application fee or building permit, or if there is a question about the validity of an email from City staff, please call (501) 371-4790 or email permits@littlerock.gov directly.

Ahead in The Rock

Here’s a quick look at what’s going on this week in the City of Little Rock:

Tuesday, March 17: The Little Rock Board of Directors will meet at 6 p.m. in the Board Room at City Hall. All board meetings are open to the public, and all meetings are livestreamed on the City of Little Rock’s Facebook and YouTube pages. View the agenda here.

Wednesday, March 18: The Little Rock Land Bank Commission meets at noon at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center, 3805 W. 12th St.

Thursday, March 19: The Little Rock Civil Service Commission meets at 8:30 a.m. at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center.

Thursday, March 19: The Age-Friendly Little Rock Commission meets at 12:30 p.m. at the West Central Community Center, 8616 Colonel Glenn Road.

Thursday, March 19: The City of Little Rock Public Works Department will host an open forum public meeting to provide details and obtain resident feedback on a planned drainage project for Weldon Avenue. The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. at West Central Community Center.

City of Little Rock Calendar of Events

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