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.
In the latest installment of our What's in a Name series, we explore the history of Lake Atalanta.
The annual Secchi Day on Beaver Lake is this weekend. Events include a crowd-sourced process to test the clarity of the lake.
"Lost in the Congo" by Doyle Bramhall
Amina Figarova has 12 recordings and has performed with her quintet on the main stage of the Newport Jazz Festival. Friday night she closes the KUAF Summer Jazz Concert Series at Walton Arts Center.
A spokesman for Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin says that the office should be able to use outside counsel that questions the office's compliance with the state's Freedom of Information Act. Benton County officials continue to assess damage done by recent floods, with the cost of said damage estimated at $5 million and rising. The same rains that caused damage in Benton County has given a rare opportunity to floaters of the Buffalo River. And while yesterday's elections resulted in a runoff next month in Springdale, voters in Paris and Huntsville approved more taxes in their own cities.
"Join Me On My Avalanche" by Explosions in the Sky & David Wingo
The plans for the Charlie Craig State Fish Hatchery in Centerton began in the middle of the Great Depression, long before large man-made lakes were part of the landscape in northern Arkansas. The hatchery has been a part of Benton County for years, but in coming ones a replacement could be built near Highfill.