A four-minute read for Northwest Arkansas.
Welcome to The NWA Trade Guide.
One quick email a week: free local events, one practical fix, and what's changing in the NWA market, for the people who own homes here and the people who work on them. No ads. No fluff.
Free Guides & Local Events
This Saturday: the MrBeast build at Lowe’s
Swarm Jet Workshop, Sat., July 25, sessions 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The $14.98 kit is your ticket: wooden jet build, exclusive badge, and a Swarm collectible. Spots are limited, register with a free MyLowe’s account and your confirmation email (QR code) gets you in. Grab a spot before they’re gone.
Free passes: Arkansas Home Show, Sept. 26–27
Rogers Convention Center. Home improvement, landscaping, and design pros under one roof. Free passes online at homeshowsar.com, $10 at the door. Free parking. Sat 10–8, Sun 10–5.
Washington County Fair, Aug. 25–29, 2537 N. McConnell Ave., Fayetteville. Arkansas’s oldest fair (since 1857): $5 at the gate ($7.50 card), kids 5 and under free, free parking, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. daily. See the full schedule.
Free kids’ builds: Home Depot Kids Workshop, first Saturday monthly (next: Aug. 1), starts 9 a.m., free, register here. Lowe’s next build: Paw Patrol project, Aug. 15, see the workshop schedule.
The Weekly Fix
The 10-minute exterior check
June was NWA's eighth-wettest in 132 years of records. Ten minutes now saves real money this fall:
Gutters & downspouts, clear them; water should land 3–4 feet from the foundation.
Grading, fix washed-out low spots where water pools against the house.
Crawlspace, a musty smell or fogged vents means trapped moisture.
Roof, scan from the ground with binoculars for lifted shingles and dented flashing.
AC drain line, make sure it's actually dripping outside.
While you're out there: swap the AC filter and book your fall tune-up now. Calendars fill fast.
Hail door-knocker rule: never sign on the spot. Look the contractor up first, the free state license lookup is on our site.
Trade Update
Copper's record run
Copper is trading around $6.30–$6.45/lb, near record territory and up about 11% over the past year. Aluminum is up roughly 19% year over year. Both keep climbing under tariff pressure. If your bids sit 30+ days, shorten validity windows, and price wire and pipe at order time, not estimate time.
Around the Trades
• Evening HVAC school in Springdale, Arkansas HVACr Academy starts Aug. 24. Two nights a week, EPA 608 included. arkansashvac.net
• NWACC fall term, register by Aug. 21. The electrical apprenticeship enrolls year-round. nwacc.edu
• Flagger certification comes to NWA, AGC Arkansas, Aug. 17–18. agcar.net/events
• The state may cover your PM training, AGC’s Project Manager Development Program starts Aug. 3 (online, national credential). Arkansas employers can apply for Office of Skills Development grants that fund job training like this. Register for PMDP or read the grant rules.
• XNA’s $109M concourse is out for bid, 88,939 sq ft, seven new gates. Bids run July–August; construction Sept. 2026 to Sept. 2028. Also open now: a hotel RFP, convenience-store RFP, and campus electrical assessment. You’ll need a current Arkansas contractor’s license (required on commercial work $50K+); bonding and DBE specifics are in the bid docs. See open bids or call 479-205-1000.
Growth Watch
A Walton-backed STEM university is coming to Walmart's old Bentonville home office, 422,000 square feet, first class in 2029, tuition covered in the early years. Another multi-year pipeline of work in the middle of town. Read the full story.
Before you go
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See you next week.
The Trade Guide Team