Arkansas is one of 45 states to enact Common Core State Standards. A new office on the University of Arkansas campus has been established to find new ways bring those standards into the state's schools. We learn more about the Office of Innovation in Education from the office's director.
Ozarks At Large

Senator John Boozman says he would like to see the National Security Agency use more focused efforts to curb terrorism rather than relying on programs that use mass collections of data. The Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners approves a draft of rules for implementing the state's new voter ID law. Work is expected to begin soon on clearing the Cache River, a tributary of the White River. And the special collections department at the UA's Mullins Library unveils a new exhibit to celebrate National LGBT Pride month.


The Genesis Technology Incubator has been in the same place in some form for nearly three decades. But much has changed in and around that facility, as the Arkansas Research and Technology Park has coagulated on the acreage surrounding the facility.
Becca says the Fort Smith Museum of History is presenting a recreation of the Boston Store's tea room at noon Thursday.

Execution dates for inmates on death row in Arkansas have been put on hold. State lawmakers rally in Little Rock, urging the state's supreme court to uphold a judgement against drugmaker Johnson and Johnson. Also in the state capitol, close attention is being paid to how the state's parole monitoring system is being managed. Mercy Health Northwest in Rogers opens a new center to serve geriatrics in the area. And more trees are on the way for one parking lot in downtown Fayetteville.


Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, we talk to local officials about an increase in the DWI violations. Also, we attend a tasting at 28 Springs in Siloam Springs.
On game days, Tusk IV, the live mascot for the University of Arkansas, travels from his home near Dardanelle to Fayetteville to help cheer on the Razorbacks.
Becca Martin Brown says some folks like to get out of town during homecoming at the University of Arkansas...and there are plenty of things to do away from the game.
"Dream a Little Dream" by Chicago/Jade/Paul Shaffer
Rosco Bandana hails from Gulfport, Mississippi and is back in our neck of the woods for the Yonder Mountain String Band's Harvest Music Festival.
The city of Fayetteville ponders sharing the cost of adding a railroad crossing gate at Dickson Street in exchange for some needed easements for trails construction. The City of Bentonville aims to add more than a thousand trees to the landscape during October. And results from this year's Secchi Day at Beaver lake are helping officials with the Beaver Water District better understand the effects of drought and flood years on water quality.
"Working Woman Blues" by Valerie June
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a quarter of a million residents are eligible to enroll in free private health insurance made possible by the new Arkansas Healthcare Independence Program. Arkansas is the only state to expand Medicaid coverage via this "private option."