It's been a bordello, a restaurant and now a visitors center...and it's one of our favorite spaces in the region. We spent an afternoon at Miss Laura's in downtown Fort Smith,
Ozarks At Large

The Arkansas Department of Human Services has released numbers that show thousands of low-income Arkansans have shown intent to sign up for the state's Private Option insurance plans. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families releases a report detailing inequality of enrichment opportunities between schools across the state. And furloughed work-study employees at Northwest Arkansas Community College returned to work this morning after a two-day suspension and before negotiations in Washington showed promise.


An effort to improve understanding in the classroom led to astonishing art.
Becca Martin Brown from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers has still more Halloween events to tell us about today.
Disney's Beauty and the Beast comes back to Walton Arts Center this weekend and we talk with the set designer about what we see behind the characters.

Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, January 3, 2014
On this special edition of Ozarks at Large we listen again to some of our favorite stories from 2013, including: how to make it to age 100 in Huntsville, an odds-defying collaboration between a renown musician and Trike Theater and the creation of the Ozarks at Large quiche cup.
State legislator Ann Clemmer throws her hat into the race for the 2nd District in the U.S. Congress. Trails in Fort Smith get a boost thanks to the Walton Family Foundation. Emergency food and shelter organizations in Northwest Arkansas get assistance money. And state health officials say that whooping cough is on the rise in Arkansas.
"Frankenstein" by The Edgar Winter Group, and "White Sky" by Vampire Weekend
This All Hallow’s Eve we take you to Droke House, an abandoned Washington County country estate which facilitator Vickie Kelly is seeking to transform into a final resting place for souls craving to go “to ground”—under the state’s first sustainable cemetery.
"Sloom" by Of Monsters and Men, and "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon
Halloween isn't over yet. Becca has the address of a house that begins as a family-friendly Halloween destination...then gets scarier as the night continues.
A just-announced grant will allow Fort Smith to expand the trail systems along the city's riverfront.
"Mummy Walk" by The Contrails, and "Ghost Riders in the Sky" by California Guitar Trio
For years Frank Tavares has been the voice of NPR's underwriting announcements. He's also a writer and professor.
"Zombie" by The Cranberries