News in brief

Tyson provides shots for 1,145 workers

Tyson Foods vaccinated more than 1,000 of its workers at two processing plants in Northwest Arkansas on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The nation's largest meat company is one of several providing covid-19 vaccinations for its workers, at no cost.

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On Tuesday, 435 processing workers at Tyson's Fayetteville complex, or more than half of the plant's workforce, were vaccinated, a Tyson spokesman said in an email.

On Wednesday, Tyson inoculated 710 workers at its Berry Street plant in Springdale and were "still vaccinating team members," the spokesman said late Wednesday.

The employees were given the vaccine created by Johnson & Johnson, she said.

Arkansas chicken processors OK Foods and Simmons Foods also started providing vaccines to their workers this week, free of charge.

George's Inc, one of the oldest poultry suppliers in the state, has declined to comment about its plans.

Arkansas opened vaccine eligibility to food processing workers last week. Gov. Asa Hutchinson made all Arkansans in the phase 1-B category, such as food and agriculture, grocery store and public transit workers, eligible for vaccination on Monday.

-- Nathan Owens

New Frontier route links LR, Las Vegas

Frontier Airlines began nonstop service between Little Rock and Las Vegas this week, the low-cost carrier announced.

The new route was among four nonstop destinations added for Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport, which Frontier said now has 44 nonstop destinations from the airport, including two international routes that will begin later this month: service to Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The other nonstop service airports added this week are El Paso, Texas; Oklahoma City; and Wichita, Kan.

Frontier's service from Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field began Sunday and will operate two flights a week, the carrier said in a news release.

Frontier also has flights between Little Rock and Denver, which resumed in 2018.

The airline filed again on Monday for an initial public offering, the Denver Business Journal reported. Frontier withdrew an IPO plan last summer.

-- Noel Oman

Arkansas Index ends with 6.14-point gain

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Wednesday at 584.45, up 6.14.

"Favorable [consumer price index] data early in the session eased inflationary concerns and boosted investor sentiment as stocks rallied with the energy and financials sectors outperforming," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

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