The bill proposing changes to the state's lottery scholarship program moves forward as it passes the Arkansas House, while a bill aimed at capping spending growth by the state government likely heads back to committee. And, two bridges in downtown Fayetteville could soon see rehabilitation.
Ozarks At Large
Ahead on Ozarks, a new series of bills designed to tighten ethics in state government are circulating at the state capitol and we’ll hear from some of the authors of the legislation. Plus a hike to see a stand of Ozark chinquapin trees…a species that’s hard to find these days.The 2013 Point-in-Time Homeless Census numbers show more children in grades K-12 are homeless in Washington and Benton counties in 2013 compared to previous years.
To access data from the homeless census, visit, sociology.uark.edu.
Roby Brock from our content partner Talk Business Arkansas takes stock of the fifth week of the Arkansas Legislature and the past seven days in Arkansas business.
Biologist Joe Neal occasionally hikes up Kessler Mountain to scout for birds. But on a recent night time expedition—in the rain—while searching for spotted salamanders (pictured) he encountered a melodious spring harbinger. 
Eco-preservationists, recreationists and scientists are collaborating on a project to save Kessler Mountain, a 387-acre forest southwest of Fayetteville, from urban development. We take a short expedition along a scenic escarpment to an ancient grove of chinkapin oak, with geoscientist Dr. David Stahle and grad student Allen Edmondson. They want the UofA to dedicate an outdoor natural laboratory on Kessler—similar to Harvard Forest and Duke Forest.
To receive permission to explore Mount Kessler, contact Frank Sharp here.
Web Exclusive: Sampling an Ancient Chinquapin Oak Forest on Mt. KesslerA handful of bills regarding election ethics reform are making their way through the state legislature. But although the bills have been introduced, Timothy Dennis reports that those bills are without a certain future.
The concealed carry bill for college campus staff moves forward in the Arkansas General Assembly after passing a House vote on Friday. Governor Mike Beebe acknowledges the work of family farmers in the state, and the Razorback Foundation announces its next director.
Ahead on Weekend Ozarks: music with Mike Shirkey and Friends inside the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio, and the planet Pluto is discovered and recategorized. Plus, Becca Martin Brown has what's up for your plate.
Here is our out-of-this-world list of material that made up our space montage this morning. If you correctly identified them all, buy yourself a cold glass of Tang.
- "Major Tom," as performed by David Bowie
- Neil Armstrong lands on the moon.
- Charlton Heston just before his space ship crashes into future earth. Spoiler alert: there are APES. This is the opening scene from the original Planet of the Apes
- A commercial for Tang
- HAL takes over in 2001: A Space Odyssey
- The Shocking Blue with their biggest hit, "Venus"
- A piece of the trailer for the disaster movie Armageddon. That's nativa Arkansan Billy Bob Thornton explaining "It's a meteor shower."
- Pluto, the dog, barking in his 1952 cartoon, "Pluto's Party."
- The worst bit of dialogue ever in a movie ("Future events such as these will affect you in the future.") from Plan 9 From Outer Space"
- Holst's Mars from "The Planets"
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Ahead on Weekend Ozarks at Large, a student-led sex education week at the U of A, two brothers building canoes in Avoca, and we step inside of Son's Chapel outside of Goshen.
Becca Bacon Martin from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers tells us country music legend George Strait will be around northwest Arkansas soon.
A Game of Thrones Theme by Ramin Djawadi
Today marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, and this year’s the Year of the Dragon. Kyle Kellams compiled clips of voices of people who were born in the Year of the Dragon. Do you recognize any of these individuals?
The voices, in order as we heard them are:
1) Peter Lorre (from the Maltese Falcon). Born in 1904
2) Fats Domino (singing Walkin’ to New Orleans). Born in 1928
3) Tom Brokaw (from his final night as anchor). Born in 1940.
4) Diana Krall (singing Fly Me to the Moon from her CD, The Very Best of Diana Krall). Born in 1964.
5) Dan Ackroyd (on Saturday Night Live in 1976). Born in 1952.
6) Tom Jones (singing It’s Not Unusual from the CD, Along Came Jones). Born in 1940.
7) Dick Wilson (as Mr. Whipple). Born in 1916.
We report on alarming new figures, just issued by US Fish and Wildlife Service, on the number of hibernating bats in the eastern U.S. killed by White Nose Syndrome, as well as a new monitoring program launched in northwest Arkansas.
“Beautiful” by Fruit Bats
Ozarks at Large’s Christina Thomas spoke with Dr. Tim Yeager of the University of Arkansas to learn more about why U.S. banks are losing billions in annual revenue due to the Federal Reserve’s 2010 changes to overdraft policy.
The Arkansas Razorback women’s basketball team defeats Vanderbilt; Arkansas legislators request a grant to study the idea of a federal health insurance exchange; and more – on today’s Ozarks at Large Half-Time.
“In Motion” by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
