I AM 479

☀️ Weather Update 4 min read Fort Smith · Van Buren, AR Hot-weather forecast graphic from the National Weather Service. Hey Fort Smith — if you were hoping Monday night would be the end of this latest round of dangerous heat, we’ve got some bad news. The National Weather Service in Tulsa has issued another Heat Advisory for Tuesday, Sept. 1, covering north and central Sebastian County and southern Crawford County, including Fort Smith and Van Buren. The new advisory runs from noon until 8 p.m. Tuesday. That’s an actual new development from the advisory we told you about earlier. Monday’s advisory was scheduled to expire at 8 p.m., but forecasters have now added another eight-hour advisory period for Tuesday afternoon and evening. And looking at the numbers, it isn’t hard to see why. Fort Smith is expected to be sunny and around 102°F Tuesday afternoon . Van Buren is looking at similar temperatures, with the National Weather Servi...

🏈 Friday Night Final 5 min read Fort Smith · Crawford County, AR Hey River Valley — Friday night football is pretty much in the books, and we’ve got three local scores that are definitely going to get talked about this weekend. Let’s start with the one everybody in Crawford County was waiting on. Van Buren beat Alma 41-20 in the 80th Battle of the Bone Friday night at Airedale Stadium. That means the Pointers are taking the Bone back to Van Buren again and have now beaten Alma four straight years. Alma came into Friday night hoping this would finally be the year the trophy changed hands. The Airedales had home field, a packed stadium, a new head coach in Alma graduate Jeremie Burns and plenty of energy around the 80th meeting of a rivalry that’s been part of Crawford County forever. Van Buren didn’t care. The Pointers came in with three straight wins over Alma and left with number four, taking the game by three touchdowns. That...

🚨 Developing Story 3 min read Fort Smith · State Line Poteau and Arkansas River area at Fort Smith. Photo: National Park Service. Hey Fort Smith — this is a developing one, and right now there are still more questions than answers. A body was found in the Poteau River Friday morning near Fort Smith , with the discovery reported on the Oklahoma side of the state line in LeFlore County. Fort Smith first responders assisted Oklahoma authorities with recovering the body from the water. As of Friday night, authorities have not publicly released the person’s identity, cause of death or exactly how the person ended up in the river. So before this turns into everybody on Facebook trying to solve the case from their couch, there really isn’t enough confirmed information yet to say what happened. There is no official information I’ve found saying this was a homicide. There is no official information saying it was an accidental drowning either...

💰 City Money Update 4 min read Fort Smith, AR Hey Fort Smith — here’s one of those updates that sounds boring until you realize this money helps pay for police, fire, streets, drainage and that never-ending sewer mess. The city’s latest sales-tax report came out Friday, and the numbers are up again. Fort Smith’s share of the 1% Sebastian County sales tax brought in $2.171 million in the July report , which is about 6% higher than the $2.047 million reported during the same period last year. That report reflects spending that happened in June, so there’s always a little lag between when people swipe the card and when the city actually reports the money. Through the first seven reporting months of 2026, Fort Smith’s share of that countywide tax has generated $14.697 million . That’s about $615,000 more than the same point in 2025 , or roughly a 4.36% increase. That countywide money goes into Fort Smith’s general fund, which is basically...

⛈️ Storm Damage Update 3 min read Crawford County, AR Hey River Valley — this is the first actual local damage report I’ve found from the storms we’ve been watching all day, and it happened in Crawford County near Uniontown. A Wednesday afternoon storm report says multiple trees were knocked down and the roof was taken off a shed near Uniontown around 3:45 p.m. The reported time was estimated using radar, and the damage is currently being listed as thunderstorm wind damage . That last part is important because, as of this update, there is no confirmed tornado report tied to the Uniontown damage. So this looks like the exact kind of straight-line wind damage the National Weather Service has been warning about since earlier Wednesday. And honestly, this is why straight-line wind doesn’t get enough respect sometimes. Everybody hears “no tornado” and starts relaxing, but a strong thunderstorm can still rip roofing off an outbuilding, drop b...

⛈️ Weather Alert 4 min read Fort Smith · River Valley, AR Hey Fort Smith — the heat advisory is finally done for tonight, but tomorrow we’ve got a different weather problem to keep an eye on. The National Weather Service in Tulsa updated its outlook Tuesday evening and says isolated thunderstorms could turn strong to severe across western Arkansas Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday evening . Fort Smith, Van Buren and the surrounding River Valley are right in the area being watched, with forecasters showing a Marginal to Slight Risk for severe storms across portions of western Arkansas. The biggest concern is wind. The National Weather Service says the stronger storms could produce locally damaging wind gusts up to around 70 mph . Some hail is possible too. Before anybody reads “severe weather” and starts thinking tornado outbreak — that’s not what the forecast is saying right now. There is no severe thunderstorm warning for Fort Smith Tuesda...