Mercy Health used an innovative walking program to become one of the healthiest workplaces in the country.
Ozarks At Large
A roundup of events and news for the next few weeks include an alternative way to deliver a Valentine.


An administrative law judge with the Arkansas Public Service Commission on Friday ordered SWEPCO to proceed on its proposed plan to build a massive new power transmission line through portions of northwest Arkansas. Also, Governor Mike Beebe says that recent cost analyses of operating the state's Private Option expansion of Medicaid justifies the program's passage during last year's session of the state legislature. And the state Attorney General's office warns residents about rapid-refund tax providers.

Ahead on Ozarks, a conversation with young adult author An Na. Also, we learn what it takes to become a police officer.

We speak with An Na, author of A Step From Heaven, a book that was awarded the Michael L. Prince Award when it was published a decade ago. Critics and reviewers commended the book's characters for speaking like a child without being too precocious or condescending. The author will speak in Fayetteville later this month.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Weekend Ozarks, we visit the kitchen of Jen Lewis, take a spin in a state-run clinic that aids veterans in rural communities, and we meet a recovering opiate addict who has found hope with methadone.
Becca Martin Brown, from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, has a schedule of events if you welcome Bikes, Blues and BBQ’s arrival…and a schedule for getting away from town, too.
"Penny Drops" by The Delta Riggs
Kory Montgomery calls northwest Arkansas home, but he tours often. While he was in town recently, he came to the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio.
U.S. Senator John Boozman calls for an international solution to remove and destroy chemical weapons in Syria with hopes for Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to come through. And, the Department of Human Services plans to release HIV test results of three Pea Ridge students, even though one organization is suing DHS for what they deem a breach of patient privacy.
"Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel
The Carroll County Mennonite Disaster Service Search and Rescue Team (MDS-SAR) is one of the first of its kind in the nation, and it's now fully embedded with secular emergency crews. We meet up with the team leader at a tri-county training session outside of Huntsville, and speak with MDS executive director about their religious tradition.
Jack Shaheen, author and movie critic, has examined more than 1,200 movies with characters from the Middle East. Hollywood's portrayals are often the same stereotypes.
Music from "Steamboat Willie"