• On Saturday, Dec. 12, Santa Claus will be dropping into Drake Field via parachute to deliver Christmas cheer and take socially distanced photos with families at the Arkansas Air and Military Museum until 2:30pm. Visit the Facebook page for more info.
• The next "Weekend Wonderland" in Bentonville is scheduled for Dec. 12 from 5-8pm at the Bentonville Square. While checking out the light display, be sure to grab a picture with Santa and support local businesses. -KNWA/Fox24
• Walmart Stores in NWA and Fort Smith will transform their parking lots into a "Winter Park" starting Dec. 12, where families can send wish lists to Santa, enjoy holidays treats, and even snag a photo with Santa himself. -KNWA/Fox24
• The Stewart Family of Fayetteville will be displaying their famous light show this year after a brief hiatus last year. Admission is $5 and kids 2 and under get in free. For more information, visit their Facebook page.

In a statewide, prime-time address on Thursday, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced there will be no new COVID-19 restrictions for the state.

• Gov. Hutchinson said he has heard calls for more restrictions, but says there are already limitations in place. He worries restrictions would lead to business failures and bankruptcies. -4029 News
• However, the governor encouraged Arkansans to "be smart about travel" and to wear masks during the holiday season.

Mercy Hospital in Rogers was recognized by the Leapfrog Group as "one of the best small teaching hospitals" in patient care. -Talk Business & Politics

• Out of 105 hospitals recognized, Mercy Northwest was the only hospital in Arkansas to receive an award.
• Criteria for the award is based on the quality of care they provide for their patients, including analysis of infections rates, safer surgeries, maternity care, the prevention of medication errors.

The City of Fayetteville is planning to pull together other revenue sources to build more trails than ever, despite having a smaller budget this year.

• The city typically spends $1.5 million a year out of its budget to build 2 to 3 miles of trails per year. Next year's trails budget line item is $1.4 million. City administrators reduced spending on capital projects across the $171.8 million overall budget for next year to account for potential revenue loss from the pandemic.
• The city's transportation crews will take on four of the trails, and contractors will handle the other six, for a total of 10 trails expanding over five miles.

The Walton Family Foundation recently granted $1.2 million to city of Bentonville to design the A Street Promenade, which will span multiple blocks of A Street through downtown and remove motorists to create a business and entertainment district. -Talk Business & Politics

• “A Street Promenade will anchor an extensive network of green spaces in the Quilt of Parks,” said Alison Jumper, program officer with the Walton Personal Philanthropy Group. “This unique pedestrian and cycling destination will serve as a gathering place for the entire community to provide opportunities for play and entertainment.”
• Design Workshop Inc. of Aspen is the designer of the project, which is estimated to cost $20 million and set to be completed over the next eight to ten years.

Decisions regarding attendance in the classroom are traditionally the choice of the faculty. However, UA students have pushed back against such requirements over increasing concerns regarding personal safety in the midst of the pandemic.

• On Wednesday, UA's Faculty Senate voted to approve their own non-binding resolution, endorsing the student government request to waive attendance requirements.
• John Post, a UA spokesman, said in an email Wednesday evening that the faculty resolutions and endorsements "will now be evaluated and considered."
  "We're hopeful that final decisions on some of the resolutions can be made as early as the end of this week," Post said. -Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette