We continue our series previewing this weekend's poetry festival at Nightbird Books. Katie Nichol grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota and says she started writing poetry when she was about 12 years old:
Ozarks At Large
Arkansas' U.S. Senators speak out in favor of the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require online retailers to collect state and local sales tax on purchases anywhere in the country. Officials with the WestArk Area Boy Scout Council voice their feelings about changes to the national organization's membership policy regarding sexual orientation. The Rogers Farmers' Market will be in a different location when it opens Saturday, and the Bentonville School District gets state funding approved for construction of a second high school, though the battle for building bucks continues.
Nathan Vandiver from our content partner KUAR in Little Rock provides a wrap-up of this year's Legislative Session.


Governor Mike Beebe and the state legislature tie up some loose ends at the conclusion of the legislative session, the Northwest Arkansas Council holds a summit for area leaders to figure out how to connect immigrants--either international or domestic--to resources in the area. A group of concerned area residents held a protest on the U of A campus yesterday in an attempt to draw U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's attention to the confined animal feeding operation set to operate in the Buffalo River Watershed, and a group of UAFS students plan a run to benefit victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing.
The state's Department of Human Services holds a rally on the steps of the state capitol to raise awareness that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. One of Northwest Arkansas' two public transit operators get ready to expand certain bus routes in an efficiency reorganization. One economist at the University of Arkansas thinks that construction will help the state, and the nation, recover from the lingering effects of the economic recession. And Walmart sets a record for the amount of donations given by a retailer in a given year.


Recent numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Arkansas' unemployment rate remains lower than the national average, though the size of the state's workforce has shrank. Governor Mike Beebe touts the state's growing art tourism industry, Senator Mark Pryor's reelection bid will determine whether a Democrat can still be competitive in the state, and the Razorbacks split a series over the weekend, while the Naturals drop another three-game set at home.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, April 4, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks: the former president of Heifer International speaks on the University of Arkansas campus. Plus, we take a walk through history that begins in Jasper.
Becca Martin Brown gives us the deets on a venerable BBQ restaurant in Ozark.
Here are our ten clips dedicated to leather-wearing cool guys and gals everywhere:
1. Staying Cool in West Side Story
2. Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
3. The theme from Sons of Anarchy, performed by Curtis Stigers and The Forest.
4. The Fonz.
5. Joey, Dee Dee and Johnny Ramone sing I Wanna Be Sedated.
6. Marlon Brando in The Wild One.
7. Billy Idol sings Dancing With Myself.
8. Trinity looks for an escape in The Matrix.
9. Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.
10. A transformed Olivia Newton John goes for John Travolta at the end of Grease.
Apologies to Uncle Jessie from Full House, James Dean from that iconic poster (was his red jacket in Rebel Without A Cause leather?) and Born to Run-era Bruce Springsteen.
"Two Shoes" by The Cat Empire
Senator John Boozman and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack speak to the importance of Congress coming to a compromise on the Farm Bill on the last day before the August recess. Congressman Tim Griffin and the Sierra Club continue pushing ExxonMobil for more information regarding the Pegasus Pipeline rupture in Mayflower. And a signage project connecting the cities of Northwest Arkansas gets underway.
"Italian Leather Sofa" by Cake
Jim and Susan Nelson moved to northwest Arkansas nearly forty years ago to set up shop…and they’ve stayed. Jim Nelson talks about the differences of then and now when it comes to northwest Arkansas, Eureka Springs and starting a business.
"Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks
Steven Clardy grew up in Clardy's Cobbler Shoppe on College Avenue in Fayetteville as his father fixed shoes and a little bit of everything else. Now, Steven's own children watch as he cobbles things together.
"Boots of Spanish Leather" by Bob Dylan