Stories credited to Talk Business & Politics, by publication date. ChamberLight collects articles that mention the officials it tracks, so this shows its own coverage of this source, not how much the source publishes.

Stories from Talk Business & Politics
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Month	Stories	All outlets
March 2026	2	181
April 2026	0	4,538
May 2026	0	none collected
June 2026	0	none collected
July 2026	0	none collected
August 2026	0	1 (collection gap)
September 2026	0	1,320

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Party of the officials these stories are mainly about, across all 1 officials named. A story counts once for each official it is mainly about, so the split is over 2 story–official pairs, from 2 stories.

Republican100% · 2 pairs

Most covered

Stories mainly about each official, and their share of the source’s 2 stories.

1John BoozmanR2 stories · 100%

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Good Look: 2 (100%)
Mixed: 0 (0%)
Informational: 0 (0%)
Bad Look: 0 (0%)

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Articles served from talkbusiness.net

Fort Smith receives waiver on $3 million matching requirement

Chris Hoover has more than paid for his keep. The grants and government relations manager for the city of Fort Smith found a possible exemption to a matching requirement for a $12 million federal grant. The exemption was approved March 26, saving the city $3 million. The $12 million grant, pushed by U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., is from a fiscal year 2024 “Congressionally Directed Spending” earmark to support construction of a new water transmission line from Lake Fort Smith in north Crawford County to the city. The city is working to build a 48-inch water transmission line that will extend 33.56 miles from the Lake Fort Smith Water Treatment Plant in Mountainburg to Fort Smith. One cost estimate for a completed line is $328 million. The existing 27-inch transmission line between Lake Fort Smith and Fort Smith was constructed in 1935 and 1936. The line carries around 35% of water from Lake Fort Smith. The 36-inch Lake Fort Smith transmission line was built in the 1950s and 1960s and carries 65% of the water from Lake Fort Smith. There are five phases to build the 48-inch transmission line. The first phase of 6 miles has been completed. The second phase length is 12.3 miles in Crawford County, and the design work is complete. Phase 3 is 8.9 miles in Crawford County, and design is almost complete. Phase 4 is 2.1 miles and would cross the Arkansas River near where the Interstate 49 bridge is now under construction north of Barling. Phase 5 is 4.2 miles and would extend from the Arkansas River crossing near Barling into the southeast part of Fort Smith. Chris Hoover The $12 million in federal money approved in 2024 is for a 3-mile section of Phase 2. It required a 25% match, or $3 million, by the city. In a March 27 note to the Fort Smith Board of Directors, Fort Smith Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved waiving the required $3 million match. Hoover, hired in October 2023 at an annual salary of $72,000, decided to review the funding guidance as part of the city’s “tedious process” to comply with the federal funding rules. Before Hoover was hired, the city did not have an employee working full-time to find public and private grant money or assist other city staffers in complying with funding requirements. One of five federal waiver exemptions involves the percentage of a population receiving federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits — also known as food stamps. A waiver is allowed if a city has more than 11.7% of its population receiving SNAP benefits. Hoover sent the EPA a waiver request noting that 13.3% of city residents receive SNAP benefits. “We must submit a variety of documents to the EPA before they will allow us to proceed with construction, and it’s a long, tedious process,” Hoover noted when asked about finding the waiver exemption. “This project is now under our Engineering Department, but previously under the Water Utilities Department prior to reorganization. Because of this, I decided to review the funding guidance, and there was a section on cost share. Typically, this is 10%-25% for most grants, and we rarely qualify for an exemption given our size and high income. Although I was unsure if we might qualify, I eventually found a SNAP-related exemption. After examining the data, I discovered that we were 1.6% over the threshold needed to submit a request. This led us to draft a letter and, eventually, to receive the exemption.” The waiver approval came March 26 from Stacey Dwyer, the deputy regional administrator for the Dallas-based EPA Region 6. Hoover, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said the process “has been made smoother thanks to our strong relationships with EPA Region 6 and the ongoing support from our Congressional delegation.” The Fort Smith Board of Directors is set to consider on Tuesday (March 31) submitting applications to Boozman’s office for $32 million more in federal funding for water transmission line and utility relocation work. The funding, if approved, also comes with matching requirements. Josh Buchfink, the city’s public relations manager, said the city will likely apply for matching waivers if the requests are approved. The post Fort Smith receives waiver on $3 million matching requirement appeared first on Talk Business & Politics.

Mar 29, 202616 votes

Fort Smith Board asked to approve $32 million in federal funding requests

Two federal funding requests totaling $32 million are set to be reviewed Tuesday (March 31) by the Fort Smith Board of Directors, with $12 million of that for ongoing work to build a new water transmission line from Lake Fort Smith to the city. According to the board agenda, the office of U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., is accepting “Congressionally Directed Spending requests” to be considered for the federal fiscal year 2027 budget. The deadline for applications is April 5. The city, according to a memo from Chris Hoover, the city’s grants and government relations manager, to Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman, is proposing application requests for $12 million for water transmission line construction, and $20 million for utility relocation necessary for Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) work on Rogers Avenue (Arkansas Highway 22) from Interstate 540 to 74th Street. The $12 million would build upon a $12 million funding request through Boozman’s office that was approved in 2024. That request recently received approval to waive a required $3 million match by the city. The two new requests could each have a 25% required match. Josh Buchfink, the city’s public relations manager, said the city will likely apply for waivers if the requests are approved. The city is working to build a 48-inch water transmission line that will extend 33.56 miles from the Lake Fort Smith Water Treatment Plant in Mountainburg to Fort Smith. One cost estimate for a completed line is $328 million. The proposed $12 million request would support the second phase of the work which is a 12.3-mile segment in Crawford County. “After evaluating the feasibility of several projects, it has been determined that requesting funds to complete section 2A1-2 of the Lake Fort Smith Water Transmission Line would be of great benefit to the city’s water utility, would constitute a compelling funding need, and is eligible for funding through guidelines promulgated by the Senate Appropriations Committee,” Hoover noted in the memo. “Director of Engineering Todd Mittge, based on consultation with City Administration, and feedback from the Board of Directors, contends that the replacement of the water transmission line is a priority for his department and the city.” A second request for $20 million would help the city relocate utility lines as part of the ARDOT plan to make significant changes along Rogers Avenue in the city. ARDOT officials announced in May 2024 plans to make “capacity improvements” at the Rogers Avenue/Interstate 540 interchange and along the main lanes of Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith. The improvements will include the construction of a raised median along the main lanes of Rogers Avenue, and intersection improvements at various signalized intersections along the main lanes of Rogers Avenue. The improvements will also include widening the road to add capacity to the off-ramps within the footprint of the interchange. There also will be some alignment improvements along several of the left-turn lanes at various signals at intersections along the main lanes of Rogers Avenue. ARDOT said in 2024 that work on the project could begin 2026, and work could take up to two years. “In preparation for construction, the City will be required to acquire necessary easements and relocate municipal water and sewer utilities currently located within the state right-of-way,” Hoover noted. The post Fort Smith Board asked to approve $32 million in federal funding requests appeared first on Talk Business & Politics.

Mar 29, 202615 votes

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