
Ozarks At Large

Yesterday's release from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics shows broad-based job growth in northwest Arkansas, sales tax revenue went up for the big four cities of northwest Arkansas in November. NWACC decides to buy land from the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad. The education given by the U of A is again described as a good value by the Princeton Review. A teaching farm in Fayetteville gets a grant from Ozark Natural Foods. And Arkansas' newest state senator doubles down on not renewing the state's Private Option expansion of Medicaid.
The Jones Center has plans to renovate some of its outdoor recreational facilities, while the city of Fayetteville has plans for expanding the city's trails network in 2014. And one Springdale-based poultry company issues a recall for more than a million pounds of frozen chicken products.
University of Arkansas Fort Smith's "Read This" 2014 book is "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien.
The Arkansas Department of Health continues to urge residents to get a flu shot as the number of people in the state who have died from flu-related illness continues to climb. The IRS reminds residents that tax season is about to get underway. The risk of wildfire continues to increase across Arkansas. And Sam's Club announces that it will lay off roughly 2 percent of its overall workforce.


Here is the list of clips for our Denver/Colorado montage. We'll have Seattle next week.
1. Ho Hey by Colorado-based band The Lumineers.
2. Robin Williams, as Mork, introduces himself to Boulder, Colorado (where the show was set).
3. Earth, Wind and Fire (with three Colorado natives) sings Boogie Wonderland.
4. Jack Nicholson crashes through in The Shining (at a Colorado hotel).
5. Voices from South Park, Colorado.
6. The song Colorado, My Home from the Broadway musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
7. Joan Collins and Linda Evans meet for the first time on the Denver-based soap opera Dynasty.
8. A 1970s commercial for Coors.
9. Colorado native Ralph Edwards surprises yet another celebrity on This is Your Life.
10. John Denver with Rocky Mountain High. Of course.
Apologies to: Lon Chaney and Douglas Fairbanks (how do you get silent stars into an audio montage?) and Hattie McDaniel.
1. Ho Hey by Colorado-based band The Lumineers.
2. Robin Williams, as Mork, introduces himself to Boulder, Colorado (where the show was set).
3. Earth, Wind and Fire (with three Colorado natives) sings Boogie Wonderland.
4. Jack Nicholson crashes through in The Shining (at a Colorado hotel).
5. Voices from South Park, Colorado.
6. The song Colorado, My Home from the Broadway musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
7. Joan Collins and Linda Evans meet for the first time on the Denver-based soap opera Dynasty.
8. A 1970s commercial for Coors.
9. Colorado native Ralph Edwards surprises yet another celebrity on This is Your Life.
10. John Denver with Rocky Mountain High. Of course.
Apologies to: Lon Chaney and Douglas Fairbanks (how do you get silent stars into an audio montage?) and Hattie McDaniel.

Web Extra: Images From Sleet City Signs
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Weekend Ozarks, a float along the Buffalo River nearly a year after a hog farm started business near the waterway, and a brand new water park in Siloam Springs is almost ready for the public. And speaking of being ready for the public, the Walmart AMP in Rogers last night had its public debut. Blake Shelton was the first headliner to perform in the new venue, but a few days earlier, we got a sneak preview of the facility.
One Arkansas senator is pressing election officials to resolve issues with the state's voter ID law. Other legislators are pushing to prevent the state lottery commission from implementing video gambling games throughout the state. The FASTER Arkansas committee continues its push for changes in state law to allow public schools to connect to an existing, state-funded fiber optic network. And one Eureka Springs alderman is trying to move forward a decades-long debate on what to do about parking in that city's downtown area.
More than twenty Northwest Arkansas specialty shops sell electronic cigarettes, both disposable and rechargeable. The popular devices deliver a smooth warm nicotine-laced white vapor in variety strengths and flavors. We visit the Velvet Vapor in Rogers and also talk to an Arkansas Department of Health tobacco specialist about pending regulations and potential risks associated with “vaping.”
Our history doctor, Bill Smith, explains the relationship between politics and money is an American tradition.
Becca Martin Brown, from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, directs us to performance art and fireworks this weekend.
Jonathan Story sits down at the Mary Baker Rumsey Steinway.