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.
Becca Martin Brown reminds us that W. Stuart Towns, author of “Enduring Legacy: Rhetoric and Ritual of the Lost Cause,” will have a reading and book signing today at Fort Smith Museum of History.
The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in Arkansas. The Civil War Sesquicentennial will be celebrated between 2011 and 2015.
Later this summer, a dozen bronze plaques will be placed on the sidewalk outside the Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock to honor the service and sacrifice of Civil Rights’ era icons. Recently Malcom Glover of our partner station KUAR attended ceremonies surrounding the unveiling of the historic markers etched with the names of the Little Rock Nine, NAACP activists L.C. and Daisy Bates, and civil rights attorney Christopher Mercer, Jr.
Governor Mike Beebe is encouraging state legislators to move cautiously with the state’s financial surplus, a member of the UA faculty is receiving a distinguished award from the National Science Foundation, and more.
Music: “Stratosphere Boogie” by: Speedy West
The U.S. Veterans Health Administration is increasing psychiatric staff and support services across the country to help meet veterans' needs. For more information, visit VA.gov.
“Helping Hand” by: Yo Yo Ma