Just like anywhere, business influences daily life and dominates water-cooler conversation. So if you’re about to move here, or just thinking about it, a primer would do you well.

The synopses that follow provide a background in current issues that are shaping central Arkansas. Use them to form your own opinions about our area, and once you’re here, you’ll not only have the foundation you need to ask informed questions, but also have an understanding of the inner workings and how they’ll affect you.

INDUSTRY

Wind Energy

Since 2007, several global wind energy businesses have announced plans to open major operations in central Arkansas. LM Glasfiber, a Danish manufacturer of windmill blades, came first with plans for a major plant and its North American headquarters. The company is already making the blades, which can be up to 200 feet long, and you’ll commonly see them being trucked down local freeways. Several other wind energy companies followed LM Glasfiber, attracted to the area’s proximity to Texas, a state with plenty of wind power waiting to be harnessed.

Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard announced in mid-2008 that it would locate a customer service and technical support center in Conway, employing up to 1,200 people. While a new building is being constructed in the Meadows Office and Technology Park, company officials are ramping up operations from a downtown Little Rock high-rise.

Aerospace

Totaling more than $1 billion in annual exports, the aerospace industry holds the title of the largest export industry in Arkansas, which ranks 11th among all states in aerospace exports. Lockheed Martin, Hawker Beechcraft and other companies produce goods for the commercial, private aviation and defense sectors. At Dassault Falcon Jet’s Little Rock business jet completion center, its largest facility in the world, employees build interiors for jets manufactured overseas by its French parent company.

GOVERNMENT

Financial Standing

Thanks to a state law that prohibits the state government from spending more money than it collects, Arkansas is one of only six states without a budget deficit. The standing has uniquely positioned the state to advance itself with the stimulus money it receives from the federal government.

Education

Arkansas is recognized as having the best advanced placement courses and completion in the country and is also a model in pre-kindergarten education for at-risk youth. In central Arkansas, charter schools are catching on in popularity, the most recognized being the E-Stem Public Charter Schools in downtown Little Rock.

Lottery

In 2009, voters elected to have a state lottery, with the proceeds to be devoted to scholarships for Arkansas students attending Arkansas colleges and universities. This marked a major shift, as such a lottery was illegal under the state constitution. Other gambling establishments already existed in the state however. Oaklawn Jockey Club, a thoroughbred track in Hot Springs, and Southland Park, a greyhound track in West Memphis, recently added electronic games like video poker and video blackjack.

Local Development

Over the past decade, downtown Little Rock has changed radically. The area known as the River Market District â€" an area along President Clinton Avenue full of restaurants, nightspots, art galleries, museums and more â€" used to be filled with old warehouses. Updates to neighboring hotels provided the accommodations for tourists who began flocking to the district for the activities and the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Library, built in 2004. Now downtown redevelopment has moved to a new frontier: Main Street. Much of the area is owned by financier Warren Stephens, who owns Stephens Inc., the largest investment bank off of Wall Street.

Job & Housing Markets

Far more stable than housing markets elsewhere, homes in central Arkansas have held a respectable amount of their value. Additionally, sales didn’t slow nearly as much as they did in other parts of the nation. As for the state’s unemployment rate, it has generally tracked the movement of the national unemployment rate but has been significantly lower.

Stay Informed

Once you’re here, you’ll do good to keep up-to-date with current events. We suggest Arkansas Business, a weekly publication filled with the inside scoop on all things business. Visit Store.ArkansasBusiness.com to subscribe or scope it out at ArkansasBusiness.com.