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Idaho Couple Falls In Love With NWA

KFSM is celebrating 60 years on the air. Our area is unique, and it’s changed quite a bit over the years. Many people were born and raised in our viewing area, ...

KFSM is celebrating 60 years on the air. Our area is unique, and it’s changed quite a bit over the years. Many people were born and raised in our viewing area, but others, like the McMurtrey’s, moved to the area for work and decided to stay.

When it comes to raising boys, no one knows better than Justin and Melanie McMurtrey. They have four boys, including 1-year-old triplets and a 3-year-old. But the kids didn’t come along until after Justin and Melanie moved to Northwest Arkansas.

Their story begins in 1998 when Justin interviewed with the world’s largest retailer.

“I was at a college career fair and was talking with different companies there and had a good conversation with people from Wal-Mart,” Justin said.

That conversation eventually turned into a job offer. Justin and Melanie lived in Idaho at the time but moved to Northwest Arkansas so Justin could begin his career. He’s now a manager for samsclub.com, but the couple admitted this area was never on their radar.

“It just wasn’t one of those places I’d ever thought about,” Justin said.

“I had a good friend in college who was from Arkansas, and we made so much fun of her,” Melanie said.

But, after seeing everything it has to offer, the McMurtrey’s fell in love with the Natural State - specifically Bentonville.

“There are a lot of great businesses in the area and job growth in the area, so that’s been a compelling reason for us to stay,” Melanie said.

“The great thing about Northwest Arkansas is it feels like we have the amenities of a larger city, but we get the cost of living and closeness of everything like that of a smaller town,” Justin said.

Now, nearly six years later, they’ve tripled the size of their family, and the McMurtrey’s said they’re here to stay.

“We have no end date here. We feel like we can be really happy here for years to come,” Melanie said.

Even though none of their relatives live nearby, the McMurtrey’s said they’ve got a whole new family in Northwest Arkansas made up of friends from work and church.

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