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.
Horizontal slickwater natural gas drilling flowback fluids not reused or recycled are pressure injected into the earth. Several such wells were shuttered last year in Faulkner County, linked to seismic activity. Industry is now looking toward Johnson County--pocked with empty underground gas reservoirs--to safely contain frack waste. But some Johnson County residents say not in their backyard.
“An Organ, A Guitar and Chicken Wing” by Ray Manzarek
Roby Brock from our content partner www.talkbusiness.net speaks with the CEO of Alliance Rubber in Hot Springs. The company is the nation’s largest rubber band manufacturer.
“Rubber Band Man” by The Spinners
Little Rock Airport being renamed “Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport;” the Arkansas Razorback baseball team hosts Nevada tonight at Baum Stadium; and more – on today’s edition of Ozarks at Large Half-Time.
“Puss in Boots” to be screened at the Fayetteville and Springdale Public Libraries; the Goddess Festival continues; and much is to be learned about the history of Eureka Springs. Becca Bacon Martin from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers tells us more.
The University of Arkansas is one of few campuses that employs a glass-blower to work closely with researchers. Ozarks at Large’s Christina Thomas visited the glass shop and has this story.
“Floe” by Philip Glass