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.
Marla Steele, a doctoral student at the University of Arkansas, is one of just a few researchers studying a rare, Asian eagle.
To see the website devoted to Marla's work, both past and future, click here.
"Dirty Paws" by Of Monsters and Men
Today she brings us Mugs for the Eureka Spring May Arts Festival, plus the town's new park.
Jayme Stone's Room of Wonders will be playing around Northwest Arkansas and helped us kick off Artosphere by stopping by the studio.
So why not celebrate with the number "five?" Mathematician Edmond Harris gives us some insight into the fantastic figure.
"Video Killed The Radio Star" by Ben Folds Five
Here is information about today’s montage dedicated to the number five:
Beethoven’s Fifth as performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
George Brett (#5 for the Kansas City Royals) hits a home run in the 1984 All-Star Game.
The Vogues sing "Five O’clock World."
How to use the fifth amendment in a congressional hearing.
School House Rock’s take on the number five, as sung by native Arkansan Bob Dorough.
A scene from the British series MI-5.
The Fifth Dimension sings "One Less Egg to Fry."
Jack Nicholson orders breakfast his way in Five Easy Pieces.
Lou Bega’s dance hit "Mambo No. 5."
Jack Lord gives his famous line from Hawaii 5-0.
Apologies to: Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio, Brooks Robinson, the chemical element boron, Kurt Vonnegut, the Penatagon and Subway restaurants and their five-dollar footlong jingle.