Members of Arkansas' Congressional delegation react to President Obama's State of the Union Address earlier this week, as well as the President's pick to lead the Department of Defense. And, Fort Smith city and Sebastian County officials plan their next step inn moving forward with a regional aquatics center following public dissatisfaction with recently revised plans.
Ozarks At Large

A survey released this morning by the Walton Family Foundation measures residents of Northwest Arkansas' happiness and opinions.
Arkansas legislators move forward with a bill that would cap annual growth of the state government, and the controversial bill that would allow some to carry concealed firearms on college campuses in the state moves forward as well. Plus, John Brown University in Siloam Springs gets a gift to help renovate the oldest dormitory on the school's campus.
A bill that would initiate a study of the state's public schools' readiness to acts of violence is one step closer to becoming law. The Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas selects cities to be a part of a program studying municipal sustainable energy consumption. And Lincoln residents will get the chance to see one of the Academy Awards nominees, weeks before the ceremony takes place in Holywood.

Becca Martin Brown from NWA Newspapers says tonight's entertainment suggestions include auditions for “Goodbye Charlie” at Rogers Little Theater, and the band Spoken returns to Fayetteville.
A recent bill in the Arkansas legislature would reward state employees who report waste or inefficiency with state money, and lawmakers speak out on a recently released audit of the state's Medicaid system. And, smaller beef cattle herds in the state caused by last year's drought may result in higher beef prices at the grocery store.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Monday, March 17, 2014
On this St. Patrick's Day edition of Ozarks, a conversation with Christopher Leonard, author of “The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America's Food Business.”
Last week the future of a proposed steel mill project in Arkansas was just one item legislators paid attention to in Little Rock. Roby Brock, from our content partner Talk Business Arkansas covers the past seven days of Arkansas business and politics in his regular Monday rundown.
Legislators return to the state capitol this week following developments last week on the legislature's biggest decisions this session: the state's Medicaid program and whether to approve a $125 million state investment in a steel mill in northeast Arkansas.
"Fools Rush In" by Glenn Miller and "Ship of Fools" by Robert Plant
Becca Martin Brown of Northwest Arkansas Media gives us the scoop on what's ahead for TheatreSquared and the Walton Arts Center.
If you've been waiting for a novel set in Miami with four good friends, a python, a Haitian family seeking a better life and the line "hyperactive poo-flinging banshee," then you're in luck. More simply, if you've been waiting for the next crime-tinged novel from Dave Barry, then your're still in luck. Even better still, Barry is headed for the Fayetteville Public Library April 12.
In winter we hear a few chirps, but with spring upon us our feathered co-inhabitants are vocally staking their nesting claims. Wildlife recordist, Joe Neal waxes on about the call of the cardinal. Neal is coauthor of “Arkansas Birds,” published by the University of Arkansas Press. His latest book “In the Province of Birds, a Western Arkansas Memoir,” is published by Half-Acre Press.
"My Foolish Heart" by Bill Evans Trio