A Rally is held today in Little Rock to call on Senator Mark Pryor to support gun control legislation. The City of Fayetteville will likely take over management of paid parking at the U of A's West Annex parking lot. Three countries stop importing Arkansas chicken after an outbreak of avian flu in Scott county. And a Siloam Springs chicken magnate gets named the new head of the NWA Council.
Ozarks At Large
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, an update on an agreement between Arkansas and Oklahoma to improve the Illinois River Watershed. Plus, trap shooting. Also, a tour of the second phase of construction at Fayetteville High School, a forum focused on the possibility of a growing green economy in the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta Regions.
Home BancShares, owner of Centennial Bank, announces its acquisition of Liberty BancShares of Jonesboro, nearly doubling the bank's reach in the state. Head Start of Washington County will close two classrooms as a result of federal sequestration of part of the organization's budget. A strain of bird flu found in Scott County has been isolated and contained. And some state campgrounds closed because of flooding have reopened.
Oklahoma and Arkansas have battled for years in the press and courts about cleaning up the Illinois River, an impaired stream shared by both states. This winter they agreed to renew a pact to determine a scientific basis to clean the river. But as Jacqueline Froelich reports, Arkansas industrial interests have since issued letters to EPA requesting a suspension of the current clean water standard. On this edition of Ozarks, two legislators discuss the role of Planned Parenthood in Arkansas' health care future and upcoming examinations of the state's parole and probation process. We also hear why a possible national designation for the White River has some people concerned. We'll also spend an afternoon at Opera in the Ozarks at Inspiration Point, where musicians, singers and an entire community combines to create summer entertainment.
The Amazeum won't open until 2015, but Sam Dean, the director of the new science and learning museum, says that museum officials already have some idea of what the exhibits, and the building itself, will look like.
A group protesting construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in Oklahoma, including members from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and California, chain themselves to equipment at a construction site on the pipeline to prevent construction from moving forward. Officials in Central Arkansas lament a lack of access to documents related to the Mayflower Oil spill, leading to what they view as a lack of oversight. Rogers aldermen look to spend just more than $1 million on a trails project. And state officials draft a waiver that would allow the state to use federal Medicaid dollars for the state's so-called "private option" Medicaid expansion plan.
Opera in the Ozarks at Inspiration Point's season runs through July 19 and will feature Madama Butterfly, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Elixir of Love.For more about other drama events happening in the area, visit the following links:
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, details on Mercy Northwest's Senior Behavioral Health Program. Plus, the creation of Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in high schools, and a conversation with writer Michael Heffernan. Also, the latest installment of Arkansongs and more.
Michael Heffernan will read tomorrow night at Nightbird Books. We talk to him about his latest collection of poetry, "Walking Distance."
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Weekend Ozarks, the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville may be a secret for now, but it won't be for long. We'll explain why, and we find out how distance education will have a larger footprint in the University of Arkansas School of Law next fall.
Michael Tilley from The City Wire discusses a sale of some former Whirlpool real estate in Fort Smith and the eventual arrival of Whole Foods in Fayetteville.
An undocumented Arkansas college student who traveled to Mexico to attain a nursing degree back in 2011, was forced to flee back across the U.S. border this winter, and risk arrest by immigration officials in order to save her own life. As Jacqueline Froelich reports, Marisol Soto somehow made it all the way back home to Pea Ridge, Arkansas. (Photo: Marisol, Andrea, and Marianna Soto)
Becca Martin Brown, from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, says this Mother's Day has more than enough choices for Mom. They're free, too.
"Born to Win, Part One" by Hurray for the Riff Raff
Our content partner KUAR in Little Rock is interviewing Arkansas' gubernatorial candidates. Today's conversation is with Curtis Coleman. An extended version of the interview is available here.
Cletus Got Shot will perform at the 2014 Artosphere Celebration and the Block Street Block Party next weekend.
