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- 🌯Yes! IPO for a FW company; No! Geno calls foul on NCAA sites; Maybe! Engineering athletes?
🌯Yes! IPO for a FW company; No! Geno calls foul on NCAA sites; Maybe! Engineering athletes?
Plus, more bite-size news about business in Tarrant County.

Arlington approved a four-story, mixed-use development featuring apartments and a variety of shops, offices and restaurant space in its downtown area. The development agreement with Wolverine Interests is expected to bring additional housing options and retail activity, create jobs and increase the appraised property value of the 3.41-acre site.
Fort Worth-based convenience store operator Yesway, anchored by the Allsup's burrito, filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock. The stock on The Nasdaq Global Select Market would be listed with ticker symbol "YSWY." The price and number of shares are reported to reach $300 million.
Denver-based Bow River Capital Partners has acquired LeftBank, a 589-unit, multi-family community just west of downtown Fort Worth. JLL represented and will service a five-year, fixed-rate Fannie Mae loan. LeftBank has studios, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments with upmarket finishes, a 24-hour fitness center, swimming pool, bowling lounge, dog park with washing station, shared workspace and a sundeck.
General Motors arranged a fresh $2 billion revolving credit facility specifically for its Fort Worth-based GM Financial division. The unsecured credit line includes standard corporate requirements, such as maintaining at least $4 billion in global liquidity. The move is typical for enhancing short-term funding flexibility in support of vehicle sales; the timing is notable: GM’s stock has dropped approximately 11% the past month.
StraCon Services Group has been awarded its second five-year contract by the Naval Air Systems Command Training Systems Division. It is for $184.8 million and includes engineering, logistics and program management for development and training systems for the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and international partners. Deborah Paris is the CEO of the Fort Worth company.
According to Variety, "The Madison" drew eight million views in its first 10 days on Paramount+ — the biggest series launch for Taylor Sheridan, the producer behind hits such as “Yellowstone,” “Mayor of Kingstown” and “Tulsa King.” Much of the series was filmed in Fort Worth. In addition, filming for “Frisco King” starring Samuel L. Jackson began recently in Fort Worth.
At its annual meeting last week the Fort Worth Chamber debuted The Centennial Club, which consists of local businesses that have been open and operating in Fort Worth for 100 years or more in 2026. See the list of 89 businesses here.
Connecticut women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma wins NCAA games anywhere and against anybody. So, his attack on the NCAA this weekend was not that of a sore loser. Dickies Arena and Fort Worth were just the site but bore the brunt of Geno's tirade that had a simple question: “What are we doing here?”
Your bracket is busted, no doubt. Try out this clever Elite 8 through championship matchup of an estate and family planning bracket from Brooke Hipps, the founder of Weekend Will.
“Athlete engineering is a new way of thinking about how humans, technology and performance evolve together,” said Ben Horan, head of Australia’s Deakin’s School of Engineering. Read how Deakin is partnering with TCU and Mississippi State athletes on exploring the effects of athletic engineering.

Only two days until the 817 Biz free, one-hour AI Workshop for local business owners, executives and managers. Wednesday (April 1) at 2 p.m., Emmy-winning business strategist Ryan Dohrn will walk through practical examples of how AI tools can be used. Find more information and a registration link here.
Dr. T.A. Sims, the longest-serving FWISD board member, passes away at 88. He served from 1983-2019.
Beginning today in downtown Fort Worth, East Weatherford Street from Pecan Street to Nichols Street, and East Belknap Street from Pecan Street to Nichols Street will have two lanes closed, with only one lane of traffic open. Expect delays and plan ahead.
Westlake-based Charles Schwab launched a Teen Investor account for ages 13 to 17, a joint account with a parent or guardian. No fees, fractional shares and an educational component are included.
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $23,677,655 modification to provide continued maintenance and sustainment operations of the Australia, Canada and United Kingdom re-programming laboratory facilities and systems in support of the F-35 Lightning II program’s non-U.S. Department of War participants. Twenty percent of the work will be performed in Fort Worth, and is expected to be completed next April.
Timberland, a brand known for its boots, plans to open three stores in D-FW by the end of the year, including a 4,500-square-foot location at Grapevine Mills, reports The Dallas Morning News.
Notable and quotable: “All those who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.”
Three Arlington family members were sentenced to 38-94 months in prison after a jury trial resulted in convictions for their roles in a $1.7-million tax refund fraud scheme. David Hunt was sentenced to 92 months in prison, his son Baylon Hunt 38 months, and Baylon’s half-brother Corey Burt to 94 months for filing tax returns in the names of purported trusts they controlled. A fourth family member is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
American Airlines is in talks with SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon to revamp in-flight internet and entertainment. It also is considering returning seatback screens to its narrow-body fleet.
A Wichita Falls judge buries Elon Musk's suit claiming advertisers illegally boycotted X, which cost the company billions of dollars.
Believe it or not: This absurd site finds a photo from its archive of someone pointing directly at your cursor. Try it.
Snippets:

“I say, if at first you don’t succeed, redefine success.”
Daily digit: 19 = Pounds of seafood per person that Americans consume annually. Globally, the average is 45 pounds, with some European countries coming in around 90 pounds.
Significant stat: Macy’s says online customers using its AI shopping assistant spend about 4.75x more than those who don’t.
Announcements:
Hotel Drover: Promotes Hailey Barboza to Reservations Manager.
UT- Arlington: Selects Dr. Dennis Lal as Executive Director of the university's Center for Innovation in Health Informatics.
UT- Arlington: Faculty members Brian Dennis, Nicholas Gans, Liping Ting, Frederick Macdonald and Charles Shelor named 2026 National Academy of Inventors Senior Managers.
Lawson Products: Promotes Alyssa Lombardi to Field Marketing Manager.
Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber: Adds Noa Dowl, EVO at JBJ Management, to its Board.
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