Tyson spends $15M
on upgrades in Iowa
A Tyson Foods pork plant in Iowa is undergoing $15.4 million in renovations, including facility modifications and machinery and equipment upgrades.
The investment is expected to create 10 jobs, including eight that pay $19.65 per hour. These jobs are related to installing a slaughter method, widely supported by animal-welfare groups, where animals die from lack of oxygen.
The Iowa Economic Development Authority recently approved the project and awarded Tyson nearly $540,000 in tax benefits, state documents show. More than 1,300 people work at the Columbus Junction processing plant.
The modern slaughter method -- known as controlled atmosphere stunning -- has grown in popularity.
"We've done extensive research into the use of [controlled atmosphere stunning] and found it to be an acceptable alternative to electrical stunning," Tyson spokesman Liz Croston said in an email Tuesday. "Our Louisa County plant is the final pork plant to implement this process."
Lately, Tyson has been facing pressures from inflationary raw material and transportation costs and raising beef, chicken and pork prices to compensate.
-- Nathan Owens
Wells Fargo to fund
small-business aid
Wells Fargo is donating $1.25 million to two Arkansas organizations that help minority-owned small businesses manage the economic distress caused by the pandemic.
The funding will help Communities Unlimited, a woman-led Community Development Financial Institution in Fayetteville, increase access to capital with low-rate loans for small-business owners in impoverished counties in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Southern Bancorp of Little Rock, which emphasizes lending that empowers individuals, families and businesses in economically distressed communities, also will receive support from Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo has committed about $420 million to small-business recovery effort across the United States to help entrepreneurs recover and rebuild. The initiative focuses on three key areas: increasing access to capital through Community Development Financial Institutions, technical assistance and long-term recovery and resiliency programs.
-- Andrew Moreau
Dillard's shares rise;
state index up 4.89
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Tuesday at 668.84, up 4.89.
Shares of Dillard's Inc. rose 2.9%.
"Wall Street limped higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ending [the] session at all-time closing highs," said Chris Harkins, managing director at Raymond James & Associates.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.