Arkansas is ranked near the bottom in terms of states' residents being connected to the Internet. We look at the implications this might have for education, and efforts to try and bridge the digital divide.
Ozarks At Large
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks: Kory Montgomery and his guitar inside the Firmin Garner Performance Studio. He'll play two original songs and talk about a life lived a lot on the road. Plus guides are getting ready to help people navigate the new state health insurance marketplace as the enrollment period approaches. And a student-designed sex education week at the University of Arkansas begins Monday. We'll hear from some of the organizers who say they want the week to be for students and created by students..
Kory Montgomery calls northwest Arkansas home, but he tours often. While he was in town recently, he came to the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio.
Becca Martin Brown, from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, has a schedule of events if you welcome Bikes, Blues and BBQ’s arrival…and a schedule for getting away from town, too.
As many as 500 “In-Person Assister Guides” are completing training and setting up offices so that they can be ready, October 1st, to enroll eligible consumers into the new state Health Insurance Marketplace, as prescribed by the new Affordable Health Care Act. We talk with regional supervisor, Dale Ramsey as well as with Carroll County IPA Guide, Charlisa Cato (pictured).
Michael Tilley, from The City Wire, says the latest Compass Report figures show some good news for both the Fort Smith region and Northwest Arkansas.The FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) Roadshow is coming to the area next week, and Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approves another proposed ballot measure and rejects two for next year's election.
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, FEMA and the American Red Cross are familiar names when it comes to emergency relief organizations, but have you heard of the Mennonite Disaster Team? We meet the Ozarks Mennonite team, as well as the brothers behind Two Brothers Canoes in the latest installment of our "Locally Made" series.
An American Girl fashion show takes place at the Arts Center of the Ozarks, one of only a few non-profits are chosen nationally for the fundraiser. Becca Martin Brown has more.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Ahead on Weekend Ozarks, a conversation with Arkansas photographer Tim Ernst. Also, singer/songwriter Joe Pug pays a visit to the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio.
Bill Parry, from the cast of Memphis, talks to us about the musical, life on the road and the changes theater has had in the past couple of decades. Memphis is at Walton Arts Center through the weekend.
"Big Love" performed by Will Mann, from the Memphis soundtrack
The Valley of the Vapors music festival turns Hot Springs into a hotbed of DIY and experimental music each March. There's a new documentary film out about the fest making its Northwest Arkansas debut at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville this Saturday. Ozarks at Large's Katy Henriksen has more.
The Arkansas Legislature considers a ban on the parental rights of convicted rapists, as well as a bill barring school districts from considering home school students as public school students. Plus, University of Arkansas chancellor G. David Gearhart calls for an independent audit of the university's advancement division.
"We Will Become Silhouettes (Matthew Dear's Not Scared Mix)" by The Postal Service
In reaction to the Newtown, Connecticut elementary school massacre, Arkansas schools continue to bolster security—from hiring armed guards to installing heavy surveillance. We check districts around the region, talk with school security experts, look at current state legislation, and hear from former U.S. Congressman Asa Hutchinson on the status of his National School Shield Emergency Response Program, commissioned by the National Rifle Association.
We talk to an expert who has studied norovirus for 10 years about the symptoms and conditions to lead to its exposure to humans.
