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.
Bishop Gene Robinson, elected in 2003 as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church will speak at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville February 9th and 10th. He took an early retirement from his post late last year and is now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington D.C. We speak to him by phone about his life and vocation, in advance of his visit.
"Untitled" by Kaki King
A new exhibit at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale includes many items from the University of Arkansas Museum collection.
Foxygen, a duo of 22-year-olds who've been playing music together since high school, have a new album out called "We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Love." "Ozarks at Large's" Katy Henriksen reviews the upbeat album, which she deems a perfect antidote to the winter blues.
Here's a video for Foxygen's song "San Francisco."
An audit of the state's Medicaid program that was set to be released late last week has been held until later this week. Also later this week, Governor Mike Beebe is expected to meet with state lawmakers to discuss details of a $1.1 billion dollar project that would see Big River Steel bring a steel mill to Osceola. Plus, there are more bald eagles on Beaver Lake this year, as reported by a recent survey by the Army Corps of Engineers.
"Monday" by The Sea and The Cake
Two companies announce relocation and expansion plans that will bring several hundred jobs to Arkansas. Roby Brock of Talk Business Arkansas gives us the details in his weekly update