Ozarks At Large
The head of the Hatcher Agency, the state's largest independent insurer, says that many of his clients are providing insurance to employees rather than paying penalties associated with the Affordable Care Act. Senator Mark Pryor talks about his push for answers from the Air Force regarding the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith while Senator Boozman says he is concerned about a backlog in disability claims for veterans. And Elton John is coming to Fayetteville in just a few weeks.




Two public meetings were held late yesterday in Jasper to address concerns about the large CAFO in Newton County. Picasolar took home several thousand dollars from an MIT competition earlier this week. Fort Smith has finished automating trash collection, but now the city's sanitation department is turning its eye to automating recyclable collection. And speaking of Fort Smith, Senator Mark Pryor demands answers from the U.S. Air Force regarding the future of the 188th Fighter Wing.

Ozarks at Large's Meredith Martin Moats recently sat in on a conversation with Bud Rector, who will turn 99 later this year and has lived almost all his life in Yell County. We conclude her two-part report on his recollections of an Arkansas that has nearly vanished.

Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Remembering Some of the People We Lost in 2013
On this special edition of Ozarks we hear again some of the voices we lost during 2013, including Bill Harrison, Curley Miller, Ivan Denton and Dick Renko.
Here is the key to our mail montage on today's show:
The song "Please Mister Postman" by the Marvelettes.
Wayne Knight as Newman, the postman, on Seinfeld.
Elvis, of course, singing "Return to Sender."
Lana Turner and John Garfield up to no good in the 1946 version of The Postman Always Rings Twice.
R. B Greaves' biggest hit: "Take a Letter Maria."
John Ratzenberger, as Cliff Clavin the postman, on Cheers.
Frank Cady, the postmaster general Frank Drucker, on Green Acres' first episode
Kevin Costner in the movie The Postman.
Reba the Mail Lady, played by S. Epatha Merkerson, on Pee Wee's Playhouse.
"The Letter" by the Box Tops.
Bird man, Joe Neal investigates an "irruption" taking place on a local golf course, providing a lesson in evolutionary biology. (Neal is coauthor of "Arkansas Birds," published by UofA Press and "In the Province of Birds, a Western Arkansas Memoir," published by Half-Acre Press).
To learn more about crossbills, click here.
"Finch's Theme" by Murder By Death
Following Thursday's Energize NWA Summit in Rogers, plans begin for healthy initiatives in northwest Arkansas.
"Jump" Lana Del Ray
Katy Henriksen gives us a preview of tonight's Sunday Symphony.
Stenhammar Symphony No. 2
The Red Carpet Awards Season is upon us, but so is the Green Carpet Season--the 137th annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York City February 11th and 12th. And this year? Spike, an Ozarks-born and bred Russell Terrier from Frayed Knot Farm will face the pupparazzi. Jacqueline Froelich takes us to meet him.
Correction: Spike is a Grand Champion of the UKC--United Kennel Club, an all-breed registry based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Web Esclusive: Some Pupparazzi Snaps of Spike--the Ozarks Show Dog!!