The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services points to a handful of reasons as to why employment and unemployment numbers in the state keep improving. The Arkansas Supreme Court grants a stay on a Pulaski County Circuit Court ruling that allowed same-sex marriages to occur in the state last week, and Arkansas Tech's board of trustees approves tuition increases for the coming academic year.
Ozarks At Large
Ahead on this edition of Weekend Ozarks, we'll hear wedding bells in our Sunday Morning Montage, and we'll talk about talking about faith. And, we visit two different buildings in downtown Fayetteville that have been around for about three-quarters of a century.
Here is the list we'll call the "Congratulations Christina and Sam" montage:
- The Marvelettes sing Going to the Chapel.
- Luke and Laura get married on All My Children and live happily ever after. Just kidding, it was a soap opera.
- Billy Idol pumps his fist to White Wedding.
- Miss Piggy and Kermit come *this close* to marrying.
- The Fifth Dimension and Wedding Bell Blues.
- Steve Martin panics in the remake of the Father of the Bride.
- Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling in Royal Wedding.
- The ending of Four Weddings and a Funeral with Andie McDowell and Hugh Grant.
- Sarah Harmer sings Open Window (the Wedding Song). Best song with wedding in the title, by the way.
A 2014 Artoshpere exhibit actually grows with help from the community. We visit one of six locations of these unique terrariums.
In our "What's in a Name?" series, we learn about George Peabody, the namesake of the UA's Peabody Hall Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, we conclude our series of conversations with candidates in primary races with GOP Congressional candidate Bruce Westerman. We also welcome Barrett Baber back into the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio to hear a new take on one of his songs.
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks: in an effort to facilitate further business success in Arkansas, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission has launched a new website, ArkansasFavorsTheBold.com. We'll have a conversation with Grant Tennille, that organization's executive director. Plus, the Fourth Congressional District, geographically the largest in the state is in the midst of a heated Republican race this primary season. We have part one in a series of conversations with each candidate.
In our "What's in a Name?" series, we learn about George Peabody, the namesake of the UA's Peabody Hall 
Planting and cultivating home vegetable gardens takes hard work and certain investment—in seeds, starts and soil amendments. And protecting that investment from varmints can also be expensive. One no-cost solution? The pallet.Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, many local businesses have received their starts as a mobile vendor before moving into a bricks and mortar location. A long-time Fayetteville store is doing the opposite now. We talk with Sidney of Sidney's Emporium. Plus, the cycle of Artosphere: artworks of festivals past are removed to make way for the new. And we learn three things about the Peace Corps and more.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Ahead on Ozarks, a roundtable discussion on workforce education in the state. And, and an effort to expand the footprint of Gulley Park.
Clint Schnekloth is the Lead Pastor at Good Shepard Lutheran Church in Fayetteville and the author of the new book, Mediating Faith: Faith Formation in a Trans-media Era.
at end of show: "Sunny of 75" by Joe Nichols
When the Arkansas Legislature convened this week, lawmakers proposed and pondered long-term solutions to the state's Private Option expansion of Medicaid. The changes considered were meant to make the program more palatable to some politicians. We learn more in this morning's Week in Review.
"The Game of Love" by Daft Punk
In 1980, more than 125,000 Cubans fleeing Fidel Castro's communist regime were boatlifted to America and processed at military compounds including Fort Chaffee in Arkansas. Among the population were gay Cubans and prisoners that Castro had purged from his prisons. The Cubans were widely portrayed by the press as criminal—a stigma that's persisted. But as Jacqueline Froelich reports, historians are working to clarify the record.
Photo: "Task Force Commander, Colonel Don E. Karr with Cuban refugee family"--Courtesy Fort Chaffee Museum
Charles Baum was both a philanthropist and a baseball lover. We learn more about the man behind the Arkansas Razorback's baseball stadium.
"Stubborn Love" by The Lumineers
Here are the ten sources for our Sunday Montage dedicated to bows, arrows and archers:
1) Sam Cooke sings tribute to Cupid.
2) Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) proves a point in the animated movie Brave.
3) Harry Nilsson sings Me and My Arrow.
4) Claude Rains and Errol Flynn meet in the 1939 version of Robin Hood.
5) Arya receives counter intuitive lessons on an episode of HBO's Game of Thrones.
6) Kacey Musgraves offers advice in her song Follow Your Arrow.
7) Legolas fails to impress in a scene from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
8) From the 80s: ABC's hit Poison Arrow.
9) Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) gets attention after her amazing shot in The Hunger Games.
10) The Halle Orchestra performs the greatest piece of music dedicated to an archer, Rossini's William Tell Overture.
Apologies to: Hawkeye, Green Arrow, The Golden Archer (and about 100 other comic book characters), Burt Reynolds in Deliverance, Edith Wharton, and Cock Robin. Maybe next time.
