
Ozarks At Large

Arkansas ends its fiscal year with a surplus of several million dollars, but lawmakers have no firm plans yet of how to spend the money. Ongoing highway improvements mean some road closures and delays over the holiday weekend. And, students at UALR react to the interest rate hike that went into effect this week on Stafford student loans for low income students.




Becca Martin Brown from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers takes time out from vacation to tell us about the earliest fireworks shows for the holiday week.
The United States Supreme Court decision regarding the Voting Rights Act means changes for Arkansas.
The popular resort town of Eureka Springs is a prime Ozarks vacation spot filled with pretty B&Bs, cottages and cabins for overnight guests. But as Jacqueline Froelich reports, some say a glut of tourist accommodations and vacation rentals are dislocating residents, forcing them to live out of town.
Arkansas home sales are up by 10 percent according to the Arkansas Realtors Association. The half-cent highway sales tax kicks in this month and will continue for the next ten years. The Fort Smith Fire Department honors one of its own who rescued a child from a 30-foot utility shaft. And a familiar term to Fayetteville residents: construction zone.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks at Large, a discussion on the public school employee insurance crisis. Plus, the history of Miss Laura's in Fort Smith.
Our local food ambassador Teresa Maurer returns to tell us about a program that will allow some customers of the Farmers' Market to double their money during the month of March.
"Saturday Evening" by Big Bill Broonzy
Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie "Prince" Billy made a gorgeous album of duets when they released The Letting Go in 2006. Both children of the 1970s, they grew up hearing the close harmonies of the Everly Brothers on the radio. In What the Brothers Sang, just released on Drag City, the duo pays tribute to these early superstars of rock and pay homage to the great American songbook.
Link: The Making of What the Brothers Sang
Officials with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration talk about the potential for making up federal funds lost to sequester cuts, and two public transit services team up in Northwest Arkansas to more completely serve the University of Arkansas community.
“A Letter To Elise” by The Cure
The Arkansas General Assembly is considering passage of a new Voter ID law that will require government-issued photo identification to both register and to vote. Advocates claim it will suppress fraud, but some opponents believe it will suppress progressive voting. We talk with an election rights expert about the measure, as well as how Voter ID laws are trending nationally.
Roby Brock from our content partner Talk Business Arkansas looks at the top legislative and business stories from the last seven days.
"Bugs" by Charles Mingus