Spring: A Time for Renewal
There's something I've been sitting with for a while — and Spring feels like the right time to clear the air.
There's a gap between what I see happening in this community every day and the commentary I hear from people I encounter — on social media and in daily life. The subject is Texarkana's viability. I'll be the first to admit we have areas of opportunity. But I've also seen what's happening behind the scenes, and progress is being made.
This issue is about getting you inside the rooms where those conversations are taking place — whether that means tightening up your current business strategy, starting your entrepreneurial journey, or simply meeting the people who are quietly and passionately working to make Texarkana a better place to live.
I believe it is time for a renewed faith in our city’s potential. That movement starts with me and you.
Let's get into it.
The Exhale After April
Tax season is over — but the financial decisions that matter most happen in the weeks after you file, not before. Q2 estimated taxes, summer slowdown, aging invoices, and what the 2026 tax changes actually mean for your bottom line. This one is practical and worth your time right now.
Feature Story
Two Texarkanas - But This Isn’t About State Lines
There’s a gap between what's being built here and what people choose to see — and it costs us when those two things don't line up. If you live, work, or shop in Texarkana, this topic affects you.
In The Know
Texarkana Business Briefs
Marketing & Visibility
Slower seasons are not the time to stop showing up. They're the time to show up smarter. When your competitors pull back, the cost of attention drops and the audience is still there. This is the window to test the message you've been meaning to try, clean up your digital presence, and make sure the people who are looking for what you offer can actually find you.
Marketing during a slow period isn't about generating immediate revenue. It's about making sure you're the first call when the season turns.
Operations & Leadership
Think about the managers and owners in this community who show up every day — not to be recognized, but because the work requires it. They're having hard conversations with employees, making payroll decisions that nobody outside the building will ever know about, and building our community quietly.
That kind of leadership is easy to overlook. People notice the product, the storefront, the service. They rarely see the decisions that made those things possible.
If you're leading a team right now, in any capacity, the work you're doing in the background matters. Especially when nobody's watching. The standard you hold when it's inconvenient is the one your organization actually runs on.
Texarkana Economy
If your business absorbed higher materials costs throughout 2025, here's an update worth paying attention to.
In February, the Supreme Court struck down the major tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, ruling them unconstitutional. A refund portal opened last week for the $166 billion collected — meaning money you paid out may be coming back. Whether it actually does depends on whether you can navigate the application process, which is not simple. If tariffs hit your bottom line last year, find out if you qualify before the window closes.
The catch: the administration has already moved to reinstate tariffs under different legal authority. So while some cost relief may be on the way, the uncertainty isn't fully resolved. New duties could follow.
For Texarkana businesses — particularly those in construction, manufacturing, and retail supply chains — the practical advice hasn't changed much. Review what you're paying for materials. Know where your pricing has flexibility and where it doesn't. And if you made supplier decisions based on last year's tariff environment, it may be time to revisit them.
Events & Happenings
A few things happening locally worth putting on your radar:
Pitch It Texarkana is coming up — if you're building something or know someone who is, this is the room to be in.
Twice As Fine Texarkana Wine Festival benefits the Alzheimer's Alliance this Saturday. A good reason to get out and support a great cause.
Texarkana's First Annual Taco Festival hits downtown next weekend. First annual means someone believed enough to start it — show up and make sure there's a second one.
Visionary Voices
GETTING TO KNOW EMILY NEWSOME
She went back to college at 30 with two kids and a part-time job in a Dean's Office. That detour became a career — and now she's building the talent pipeline that connects Texarkana's students to careers worth staying for. Most people have never heard of her or the work she does. That's exactly why she's in this issue.
WHAT’S SHE DOING? →
A Final Note
"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you."
― C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Until next time,
It’s all about the story.