On today's edition of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Report, Roby Brock speaks with three business executives who had a front row seat to the business and policy changes that have shaped Arkansas since the Great Recession.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. The park remains rooted in its original mission of celebrating the craftsmanship and creativity of the region. Lisa Rau, Director of Publicity, recently traveled to our studios to discuss some of the planned anniversary celebrations.

Last night, the Fayetteville City Council took up another discussion of where to build a new parking deck that will replace the parking lot across from the Walton Arts Center. The deck has to be constructed before the city can begin working on the civic plaza that is part of the Cultural Arts Corridor project approved by voters last year.

A device called a CuddleCot, which was recently donated by the Chandler and Paisley Skies Foundation to Washington Regional Women and Infants Center , allows grieving families to spend more time with deceased stillborn and newborn infants.

John Walker was born in Hope, Ark. in 1937. After receiving his law degree from Yale in 1964, he was admitted to the Arkansas Bar Association the same year and opened his own practice by 1965. Walker opened one of the first three racially integrated law firms in the South, and it filed the first lawsuit in the nation on the harmful effects of racially segregated schools in the state. He was later elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2010 and served four terms as representative of

The University of Arkansas’s Sam M. Walton College of Business will soon offer a Masters of Science in Economic Analytics , taught by Professor Raja Kali. As Kali explains, the three-course degree will overlap with the existing Masters of Information Systems program at the Walton College where students can earn a certificate in enterprises systems.

The coming weekend offers plenty of opportunities to catch live funk, folk, jazz and more throughout the region. Thursday, Jan. 9 Dylan Earl, Noah Richmond at George's Majestic Lounge (Fayetteville) - 9 p.m. Jon Dooly at Dickson St. Pub (Fayetteville) - 9:30 p.m. Dominic B. Roy at Mickey Finn's (Fayetteville) - 8 p.m. Elizabeth Bainbridge and Ben Harris at Mojo's (Fayetteville) - 7 p.m. Pat Ryan Key and Al Halpin at Natural State Beer (Rogers) - 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10 Earth Bone at Six-Twelve

Last month, the Buffalo National River Park Service announced the first artist in its revamped artist-in-residence program. Samuel Binns, a poet in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the University of Arkansas, will contribute artwork and creative projects in exchange for three weeks of housing at the park in Jasper.

The Rogers Historical Museum is going into 2020 with a new director. Serena Barnett says her goals are to feature more temporary exhibits, hold more events and collaborate with downtown businesses and organizations.

As we head in 2020, the one constant in politics seems to be uncertainty. Roby Brock with our partner Talk Business and Politics and John Brummett, political writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , discuss the articles of impeachment that are yet to be sent to the Senate and the shrinking field of Democratic challengers to President Trump.