Jordan P. Hickey

Springdale

Journalist and Editor at Freelance

Arkansas-based freelancer. Words in WaPo, Garden & Gun, VQR, Arkansas Advocate, others. Spanish, Urdu. Trying not to tump. || @jordanphickey.bsky.social

Articles

'Water, sewer building a hot subject around here,' Northwest Arkansas consultant says

2 days ago | arkansasadvocate.com | Jordan P. Hickey

by Jordan P. Hickey, Contributing Writer, Arkansas Advocate June 6, 2025 Building in some of Arkansas’ fastest-growing cities hit a wall last spring after the Arkansas Department of Health ceased approving any significant new projects. Centerton and Highfill, two communities in the booming Northwest Arkansas region, grew by 7.2% and 15.2%, respectively, between July 1, 2023 and last July 1, according to the Census Bureau.
‘Water, sewer building a hot subject around here,’ Northwest Arkansas consultant says

2 days ago | yahoo.com | Jordan P. Hickey

Residential construction in fast-growing Centerton has slowed because of limited sewer infrastructure capacity. (Photo by Arshia Khan for Arkansas Advocate, June 2025)Building in some of Arkansas’ fastest-growing cities hit a wall last spring after the Arkansas Department of Health ceased approving any significant new projects.
A Weekend Guide to Jasper, a Gem in Northern Arkansas

2 days ago | flipboard.com | Jordan P. Hickey

Arkansas’s Newton County is a place preserved: no stoplights, and scarce cell service. The county seat of Jasper’s population (547) remains roughly what it was 125 years ago. In recent years, however, the long-delayed specters of change have sniffed out Northern Arkansas’s once-isolated rural …
Cowboys of Color Rodeo Founder Cleo Hearn is Leaving a Legacy

2 weeks ago | dmagazine.com | Jordan P. Hickey

or the first 99 seconds of Black Rodeo, a documentary made in 1972, White cowboys are all you see. A montage of sepia-toned photographs of White cowboys snipped from popular culture fades in and out as a warped-record rendition of “Home on the Range” warbles in the background. These are the cowboys that popular culture has said are cowboys, to the exclusion of all others, the film seems to say.
As Northwest Arkansas booms, residents are asking: Does Fayetteville still belong to them? - Arkansas Times

2 months ago | arktimes.com | Jordan P. Hickey

It was mid-December 2023, and the halls of Fayetteville’s historic square were fully decked. More than 500,000 lights had been hung for the 30th annual Lights of the Ozarks, which drew an estimated 300,000 visitors over a six-week run. In that light, Fayetteville looked every bit the “Best Place to Live” it’d been named in national rankings for eight years running. A few blocks north of the square on Block Street, that festive atmosphere was still present, though slightly more subdued.
The fading of agriculture's footprint in Walmart's backyard

2 months ago | agdaily.com | Jordan P. Hickey |Investigate Midwest

On a brisk October morning, two pickup trucks ground to a stop and parked side by side on a Northwest Arkansas dirt road. Dan Douglas, a cattle and hay farmer whose family has farmed in Benton County for 170 years, rolled down his window to chat with longtime neighbor Chris Harral. They spoke about the changes sweeping through their community: new subdivisions, soaring land prices, and the fading presence of a once robust farm community.
Jordan P. Hickey, Investigate Midwest

2 months ago | agdaily.com | Jordan P. Hickey |Investigate Midwest

Walmart’s corporate presence in northwest Arkansas has led to a surge of urban development, shifting the region from a farming hub into a metropolitan area.
Can Northwest Arkansas farming survive in Walmart’s backyard?

Mar 10, 2025 | arkansasadvocate.com | Jordan P. Hickey |Arkansas Advocate

Dan Douglas checks on cattle at his farm on Jan. 4, 2025, near Bentonville, Arkansas. Although he had doubts about selling his family land, Douglas says he now values his financial independence, which allows him to continue to farm in the area without fear of losing it all. (Photo by Arshia Khan for Investigate Midwest) On a brisk October morning, two pickup trucks ground to a stop and parked side by side on a Northwest Arkansas dirt road.
Is there still room for agriculture in Walmart's backyard?

Mar 3, 2025 | investigatemidwest.org | Jordan P. Hickey

On a brisk October morning, two pickup trucks ground to a stop and parked side by side on a Northwest Arkansas dirt road. Dan Douglas, a cattle and hay farmer whose family has farmed in Benton County for 170 years, rolled down his window to chat with longtime neighbor Chris Harral. They spoke about the changes sweeping through their community: new subdivisions, soaring land prices, and the fading presence of a once robust farm community.
Bars of Key West: 8 iconic watering holes

Feb 5, 2025 | atlantamagazine.com | Jordan P. Hickey

You can tell a lot about a place by its bars. Some neighborhoods are as stiff as their martinis; others as homey as their strung lights. On the surface, Key West—that four-by-one-mile sliver of sand at the southernmost part of the United States—seems to follow the same formula: Its bars certainly mirror the larger-than-life personalities (Hemingway, Buffett) who clustered about the island like metal filings to a magnet. But that, of course, is to miss the point entirely.