Republican state lawmakers remain skeptical about Governor Beebe's push to expand the state's Medicaid system, and Speaker of the House Davy Carter says that he's unsure about the long-term costs of the program. The Fort Smith Police Department unveils a new online service aimed at saving time for people involved in some minor auto accidents. The Rogers Historical Museum has a record-breaking year. And, two convenience store chains vie for the same piece of land in Fayetteville.
Ozarks At Large


A new exhibit at Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale takes patrons along the length of the White River.
Web Exclusive: Seeing Images of the White River Before the Dams
Becca Martin Brown from NWA Newspapers is intrigued about a discussion at the Shiloh Museum about a small community she has not heard of.
Last week, Fort Smith officials were introduced to the idea of holding an urban deer hunt to help control deer populations in the Chaffee Crossing area. There was some concern about the safety of conducting such hunts in the city, but Ozarks at Large’s Timothy Dennis discovers that safety is not an afterthought in planning these urban hunts


Richard Sander is a law professor at UCLA and the author of the book Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It’s Intended to Help, and Why Universities Won’t Admit It. He recently visited the University of Arkansas.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Monday, September 2, 2013
On this special Labor Day edition of Ozarks at Large, we hear selections from the rest of our live events from the Fayetteville Roots Festival weekend, including performances by Joe Crookston and Mary Gautier, a discussion with David Johnson of the Fayetteville Public Library about the library's plans for the future, and we talk with Hank Kaminsky about his new project on Kickstarter. And, we have a special "Labor Insecurity Day" montage, containing film and musical references to people who will likely soon be looking for work.
Those allusions are:
Jerry Reed singing "Guitar Man," a tune made famous by Elvis Presley
Jerry McGuire trying to keep his cool after being canned from his management agency
Johnny Paycheck and his hit "Take This Job and Shove It"
Olive Stanton (played by the venerable Emily Watson) trying to determine if she's in the right line at the employment office in Cradle Will Rock
Woody Guthrie singing his song "Blowin' Down The Road," decades before Andy Griffith or the Grateful Dead made the song their own.
Future Marty gets the ax in Back to the Future Part II
Jim Croce rapping on the difficulties of finding a decent-paying job in "Working at the Car Wash Blues"
The Dude gets lectured by "The Big Lebowski" on the merits of gainful employment in the movie of the same name
Bob Dylan singing about rambling around the country in an alternate of his tune "Tangled Up in Blue
One Arkansas senator is pressing election officials to resolve issues with the state's voter ID law. Other legislators are pushing to prevent the state lottery commission from implementing video gambling games throughout the state. The FASTER Arkansas committee continues its push for changes in state law to allow public schools to connect to an existing, state-funded fiber optic network. And one Eureka Springs alderman is trying to move forward a decades-long debate on what to do about parking in that city's downtown area.
More than twenty Northwest Arkansas specialty shops sell electronic cigarettes, both disposable and rechargeable. The popular devices deliver a smooth warm nicotine-laced white vapor in variety strengths and flavors. We visit the Velvet Vapor in Rogers and also talk to an Arkansas Department of Health tobacco specialist about pending regulations and potential risks associated with “vaping.”
Our history doctor, Bill Smith, explains the relationship between politics and money is an American tradition.
Becca Martin Brown, from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, directs us to performance art and fireworks this weekend.
Jonathan Story sits down at the Mary Baker Rumsey Steinway.