
Ozarks At Large

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:
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.

For the past few months there have been meetings, open to the public, to discuss making Fayetteville a city of compassion. We met with two of the organizers of the meetings to find out what it might take for a more compassionate place.
Click here.

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.

Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Ahead on Ozarks, the Nobel director and secretary talks about the selection process for the annual Nobel Peace Prize; he's on the University of Arkansas campus today. Plus, the Northwest Arkansas Council on jobs created in the area in the past year, and the differences between education in the U.S. and the European Union.
An Arkansas non-profit expresses concern about changes to the state's Medicare system. Another state organization is pushing for a tort reform ballot initiative. And, a former landfill in Fayetteville gets one step closer to being cleaned up and converted into greenspace.
"Holding Onto Good" by Delta Rae
Michael Tilley of The City Wire discusses the expansion of the Gerber plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas' severance tax revenue, and more.
The Walmart Shareholders' Meeting in Fayetteville this morning included business as well as entertainment for company associates.
"Don't Give Up On Me" by Milo Greene
Becca's weekend entertainment suggestions include Lombardi at Rogers Little Theater, the Bentonville Art and Culinary Festival and Thunder on the Mountain.
Beloved by many, Leah and the Mojo Doctors are next up at the Fayetteville Public Library for the Mountain Street Music Stage series. Late last month they came to KUAF for their first-ever appearance inside the Firmin Garner Performance Studio.