The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded a $1.99 million grant to help fund an economic development project in Helena-West Helena in Arkansas. HUD officials said Tuesday the grant from the Rural Innovation Fund will be given to Southern Bancorp...

Thanks to a nearly $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, affordable housing and economic development in Helena-West Helena will receive a real shot in the arm. HUD announced Tuesday that it had awarded a $1,998, 621 grant to...

Weeks of running the air conditioner on high equals a high electric bill for most Arkansans who will need to make budget adjustments to pay the power company... As part of the initial corporate donation, McDonald presented a $130,000 check to the Arkansas Energy...

Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA) announces that Carol Brocato, of Helena-West Helena, has received an award being provided by Southern Bancorp.  Brocato is the 2011 recipient of the Southern Bancorp - Sarah Beth Taylor Scholarship. This...

...For example, in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, where 40 percent of the population is below the poverty level, the area is reportedly on the upswing in a big way, with credit going to nonprofit partners such as Southern Bancorp Capital, the Walton Family Foundation,...

...Southern Bancorp, a rural development bank with a Helena subsidiary, took action in 2003 by leading the effort to create a comprehensive strategic plan. Since then, Helena has made slow but steady progress.

...After decades of a dwindling population and an ailing economy, Helena-West Helena, a Mississippi River town of around 15,000, has experienced a renewal. Perhaps no one is more responsible for this renaissance than Joe Black, the president of Southern Bancorp...

Sporting an emerald polo shirt and a sable mustache, the bank executive reclines in his desk chair until it creaks. His right leg, bent at a 90-degree angle, rests on his left. His head is cocked back, supported by interlocked palms. Joe Black is relaxing, and...

A group of Clark County residents are working to establish a farmers and artisans market in Arkadelphia that would attract customers looking for locally grown produce and handmade items.... “Each class chooses a project, and the idea for a farmers market in...

"We have so much to offer here in Helena-West Helena,” commented Julia Nordsieck, Community Development Officer for Southern Bancorp last year as she described the River Park improvements that were discussed at a Rotary appearance.  Twenty-one interpretative panels, a...