The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock released its latest COVID-19 forecast on July 30. Short-term models predict Arkansas will have a total of 55,000 coronavirus cases by Aug. 10. The report includes projections for hospitalizations, the need for intensive care and deaths, as well. It also examines the impact of COVID-19 on children and young adults as students get ready to return to school. For a video explaining the report, click here .

A new report from Bentonville think-tank Heartland Forward examines the decline in economic mobility across the Heartland over the past several decades and analyzes the factors that influence economic opportunity or lack thereof. In today's edition of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Report, Paul Gatling speak with Heartland Forward President and CEO Ross DeVol about the report's findings.

After rising steadily for weeks in Northwest Arkansas, cases of COVID-19 have now been increasing in Sebastian County too. On July 1, the area had 476 total cases of the virus, now there are nearly 2,000 with about 500 active cases. We speak with the Sebastian County Health Unit administrator about why numbers are going up and get information about a free testing event coming up this weekend.

On today's Sound Perimeter with Lia Uribe, we hear Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony #5 in C minor, as well as Cinco Salsa, an arrangement of the same work, performed by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and Hovedoen Social Club.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program Review Board approved the move of a controversial Confederate monument in Bentonville to a nearby private park. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 for commemorating Confederate Veterans and their cause, the statue was installed and is owned by James H. Berry Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

New cases of COVID-19 increased by 912 today, including 754 community cases. Governor Asa Hutchinson said there were 158 new cases in correctional facilities, most of those at the Delta Regional Unit in Chicot County, so the state is planning to test each inmate at Arkansas's 19 correctional facilities. Pulaski County had the most new community cases with 79, Sebastian County had 51, Washington County had 42 and Benton County had 20. The governor also reported 18 more deaths from the virus

The Arkansas Department of Commerce is awarding a $1.9 million grant to the city of Ozark in partnership with Pinnacle Telecom to deploy fiber to homes. The goal of the Arkansas Rural Connect program is to provide high speed broadband to rural communities.

A couple of weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released more than $430,000 in CARES Act Funding to the City of Fayetteville's Community Resources Division . About $238,000 will go toward the city's rent and utility bill assistance program to help residents make ends meet during the pandemic. The rest of the funding has been distributed to seven local nonprofit organizations that also provide services to those in need.

Opinions on the use of face coverings continue to evolve since a COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Two experts with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences reveal which masks are best to wear, how to use them and what protections face coverings offer.

Nearly a dozen artists created nine murals this summer in Fayetteville during the city's inaugural Sprayetteville Street Art Festival adding more public art to Northwest Arkansas's landscape.