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.
In this month’s music review, we revisit an album of summer’s past. Abra Moore’s “Strangest Places” was released in 1995, but the whimsical folk vibes have us rolling down our windows and driving to the tunes again this year.
at end of show: "I'm Wiley Post" by Shannon Wurst
Governor Mike Beebe has joined other governors in a call on Congress to forgo certain cuts to the National Guard. And although three Arkansas counties were issuing marriage certificates this morning to same-sex couples, others were not and instead are waiting on a ruling from the state Supreme Court.
"Same Love" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (featuring Mary Lambert)
After Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Chris Piazza overturned the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage late Friday, dozens of couples rushed to the only courthouse open in the state on Saturday to obtain licenses—in the “Wedding Capital of the South”--Eureka Springs. Jacqueline Froelich was there. (UPDATE: As of 10:45am May 12th, the Carroll County Clerk's office stopped issuing licenses to same-sex couples, until further notice.)
Roby Brock discusses the president's business to Arkansas, Verizon bringing jobs to the state, and more in his weekly business and political news recap.
"1904" by The Tallest Man on Earth
Becca gives us the rundown of Trike Theatre's upcoming summer camps.