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 is our list of ten cookie references from our montage this morning. If you got all ten, take the rest of the week off . . . this was our most obscure list yet.
A commercial for the Fig Newton cookie from the 1970s.
Michael Scott and Angel fight for Kevin’s loyalty on an episode of The Office.
Kate Smith and Andy Williams deny the Cookie Bear a cookie on The Andy Williams Show. (this was once a popular, zany skit . . . we promise)
Walter Matthau in a scene for the movie The Fortune Cookie.
Jerry and Elaine discuss the black and white cookie. It didn’t end well.
Shirley Temple sings "Animal Crackers" . . . they’re cookies, right?
The Keebler Elves push fudge cookies.
Gingy, the talking Gingerbread Man tosses an insult in Shrek 3.
Shelly Long sells Girl Scout Cookies in Troop Beverly Hills.
Two of the three best Muppets ever, Kermit and Cookie Monster, play a game.
Apologies to the cast of Robert Altman’s film Cookie’s Fortune, baseball players Rojas and Lovagetto, the short-order cook in Beetle Bailey and famous Amos. Maybe next time
Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5
Results from a new study announced yesterday by the NWA Council found many strengths of doing business in Northwest Arkansas, and few weaknesses as well. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and state senator Keith Ingram introduce a trifecta of bills aimed at curbing election fraud. And Governor Mike Beebe stands by his decision to veto two abortion bills, even though the legislature overturned both vetoes.
“Play With Me” by The Album Leaf
Michael Tilley of The City Wire discusses how the abortion law passed by the Arkansas State Legislature could result in legal action that will be funded by taxpayers, and more.
“American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell,” is a traveling exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art that opens to the public tomorrow.
“Earl Harvin” by Garage A Trois
Becca Martin Brown helps kids look forward to what entertainment options they'll have for Spring Break.