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.
Here are the 9 pop culture references used for today's montage:
"Reel Around the Sun" from a 1995 performance of Riverdance
Rudy gets ready to lead the Fighting Irish onto the field for the first, and only, time
The Band backing Van Morrison on "Tura Lura Lura (It's an Irish Lullaby)" on Thanksgiving night, 1976
A Lucky Charms commercial from the early '70s
Kermit the Frog being upstaged by none other than the late, great Ray Charles singing "It's Not Easy Being Green"
John Wayne tries to get his bearings from local Dubliners upon his arrival in Ireland in The Quiet Man
A 1979 commercial for Irish Spring soap
John Lennon singing "The Luck of the Irish"
A recent commercial for Jameson Irish Whiskey
"Perfect Stranger" by Dropkick Murpheys
Katy Henriksen fills us in on today's Independent Film event at the Fayetteville Public Library and tonight's Sunday Symphony.
"Swan Lake" by Tchaikovsky
To close out today's show, we have another traditional Irish song by musicians Carol Widder and Richy McCusker.
Simultaneous tax cuts and hikes, charter schools and the latest on Medicaid expansion from the state legislature; jockeys prepare for this weekend's Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn; more sidewalks in Fayetteville and the population continues to grow in Northwest Arkansas; all in today's Segment A.
"Little Lion Man" by Mumford and Sons
Michael Tilley from The City Wire discusses home sales numbers, the governor's race and football.