
Ozarks At Large

The Washington Regional Medical Center board of directors accepted an offer by the Fayetteville Public Library to purchase the former City Hospital property for $2 million. Arkansas's U.S. Senators are hopeful about passing a farm bill when Congress reconvenes next month. The state's new voter ID law is being implemented by the Arkansas Secretary of State's office. Siloam Springs joins the list of area cities holding a special sales tax election this year. And the Northwest Arkansas metro area makes another list, this time for being one of the top real estate markets for wellness and wealth in the country.
KUAF's Katy Henriksen recently traveled to Chicago for the annual Pitchfork Music Festival. Here's some of the sound she found there.
Even though the 2013 minor league baseball and college football season aren't over (or even begun in the case of football) this week 2014 schedules were released.

Reach Out Northwest Arkansas will spend time this weekend connecting to students in the region who didn't show back up for the new school year.
Roby Brock talks to Kyle Kellams about possible political repercussions following the resignation of State Senator Paul Bookout.
The Walton Family Foundation contributes $2 million to the U.S. Marshall's Museum in Fort Smith. The Superintendent of Clarksville Schools speaks to a national radio program about why he thinks that arming teachers is still a good idea, though the head of the Arkansas Department of Education says there are safer alternatives. And several roundabouts are coming soon to a Springdale street.

Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Monday, April 14, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, a Pea Ridge family works to bring a family member home, a new trail lets walkers, runners and cyclists see a part of northwest Arkansas that's pretty much been a secret, and the lowdown on voodoo from a guest speaker who visited the University of Arkansas campus late last week.
The Ozarks Genealogical Society's annual conference is scheduled for Sept. 13-14 in Springfield, Missouri, and the featured speaker is D. Joshua Taylor (http://www.djoshuataylor.com).
The first event outside of Eureka Springs for the Creative Energy Project will bring yarn, and plenty of it, to Bentonville.
Link: For more about Yarnology or the Creative Energy Project, www.creativeenergyproject.com
Officials with hunger relief organizations in Arkansas express concern over recent efforts to remove SNAP funding from the federal Farm Bill. Central Arkansas leaders request information from ExxonMobil regarding a stretch of pipeline in the Lake Maumelle Watershed. The Arkansas House and Senate Education Committees discuss the new Common Core curriculum, set to take effect when schools start in about a month. And the Fayetteville Public Library board of directors moves forward with an offer to purchase the former City Hospital property.
"Cut Me Loose" by T Model Ford
In the first of our series on the deployment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in Arkansas, Cynthia Crone, the state’s insurance department deputy commissioner, explains the fundamentals, including getting an early look at Arkansas’s insurance exchange, now referred to as marketplace.
Early next month the organization called the Military Order of the Purple Heart of the U.S.A. Inc. will hold its annual convention in Rogers. We talked to John Bircher, National Spokesman for the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Link: To learn more about the Military Order of the Purple Heart, visit www.purpleheart.org