Bon Voyage, 2024!

A look back at the year.

Author

NWA Daily
December 23, 2024

Hey there,

We’re winding things down to enjoy some time off over the holidays, so this will be our last email of the year—and what a year it’s been!

As a way to look back, we’re closing out the year with:

  • 🏅 The Top Stories of 2024

  • 🔎 Our Most Popular Guides of 2024

  • 🎧 The Music That Influenced NWA Daily in 2024

Enjoy!

The Top Stories of 2024

When I scrolled back through stories from last year, this picture captured the essence of the year in Northwest Arkansas in so many ways. If 2024 showed us anything, it was the power of a community rallying together after a disaster.

It’s always interesting seeing what stories get the most engagement each day, and based on how many people clicked through to learn more, these were the most popular stories of 2024.

  1. NWA Rallied Together After Memorial Weekend Tornados

  2. Construction On 8th Street Gateway Park Began in Bentonville

  3. Flashback Pizza & Milkshakes Opened in Downtown Rogers

  4. War Eagle Mill in Rogers Came Under New Ownership

  5. Blue Crane Acquired 2,700 Acres Of Undeveloped Land In Bella Vista

You can search other past stories from NWA Daily HERE.

We have a lot of fun putting together guides to help our readers discover new things around Northwest Arkansas. Of those we compiled this year, these were the top five most read of 2024.

  1. The Five Oldest Restaurants in Northwest Arkansas

  2. Local Brands to Consider Before Shopping the Big Names

  3. Seven Must-Try Wing Spots in Northwest Arkansas

  4. Top Five Sandwiches in Northwest Arkansas

  5. Eight Independent Bookstores to Explore in Northwest Arkansas

You can find these and more guides on our website HERE.

NWA Daily’s 2024 Playlist

Some huge names in the music industry made stops in Northwest Arkansas this year, to name a few that generated the most hype:

  • Chappel Roan performed for the largest audience at the Walmart AMP, with 10,881 in attendance.

  • Post Malone had the highest-grossing show of the year at the Walmart AMP

  • Jon Batiste kicked off the LIVE on the Green series at the Momentary

  • John Legend performed in front of a sold-out crowd at the Momentary in

  • Alan Jackson brought his farewell tour through Fayetteville at Bud Walton Arena

As you‘ve probably noticed, we love coming up with wacky subject lines for the newsletter each day. Of those inspired by music, these were some of our most popular!

  1. This Squirrel Is On Fire 🐿️ 🔥 
    Song: Girl is On Fire - Alicia Keys
    Story: 2024 World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off

  2. Ms. New Boutique 🛍️
    Song: Ms. New Booty - Bubba Sparxxx, Mr. Collipark, Ying Yang Twins
    Story: NWA Boutique Show

  3. Those Summer Knights ⚔️
    Song: Summer Nights - John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John
    Story: Summer Nights Market at Airship + Rentopia Renaissance Faire

  4. Them Apple Bottom Screams 🍎 😱 
    Song: Low - Flo Rida, T-Pain
    Story: Arkansas Apple Festival + Rogers Ghost Walk Tours

  5. A Sky Full Of Cars 🚗 💫 
    Song: Sky Full Of Stars - Coldplay
    Story: UP.Summit In Bentonville

Jam out to a playlist of the top 50 songs that inspired NWA Daily emails this year HERE.

A Round Of Applause

Sometimes, we feel like the guy at the party who gets a great reaction because he heard a killer joke and simply said it louder.

Being a news aggregator (that is, a human one rather than AI) plays a valuable role in a local news ecosystem, but we’re only one part of it.

So we’d like to give a huge shoutout to some of the journalists in our area who are out there finding these stories firsthand. While we curate content from all over, these are a few of the folks we look to first to gather great stories:

To our readers, please consider supporting these local journalists as part of your year-end giving! We’ve made it easy for you by including a link to their giving pages above, where applicable.

A Gift For You

If you’re still with us, here’s a little treat for reading to the end. There are several discount codes still available through Christmas in our Secret Holiday Gift Guide. Maybe you can use a few for those last-minute gifts! Hit the button below to access.

That’s a Wrap

Thanks for following NWA Daily. We’re so thankful you take the time to keep up with the local happenings that make Northwest Arkansas such a special place to live, and we can’t wait to run it back with you in 2025.

From our crew to yours, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Will Ferrell Elf GIF by filmeditor