
Ozarks At Large

We continue our series previewing this weekend's poetry festival at Nightbird Books. Katie Nichol grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota and says she started writing poetry when she was about 12 years old:
Arkansas' U.S. Senators speak out in favor of the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require online retailers to collect state and local sales tax on purchases anywhere in the country. Officials with the WestArk Area Boy Scout Council voice their feelings about changes to the national organization's membership policy regarding sexual orientation. The Rogers Farmers' Market will be in a different location when it opens Saturday, and the Bentonville School District gets state funding approved for construction of a second high school, though the battle for building bucks continues.
Nathan Vandiver from our content partner KUAR in Little Rock provides a wrap-up of this year's Legislative Session.

For the past few months there have been meetings, open to the public, to discuss making Fayetteville a city of compassion. We met with two of the organizers of the meetings to find out what it might take for a more compassionate place.
Click here.

Governor Mike Beebe and the state legislature tie up some loose ends at the conclusion of the legislative session, the Northwest Arkansas Council holds a summit for area leaders to figure out how to connect immigrants--either international or domestic--to resources in the area. A group of concerned area residents held a protest on the U of A campus yesterday in an attempt to draw U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's attention to the confined animal feeding operation set to operate in the Buffalo River Watershed, and a group of UAFS students plan a run to benefit victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing.
The state's Department of Human Services holds a rally on the steps of the state capitol to raise awareness that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. One of Northwest Arkansas' two public transit operators get ready to expand certain bus routes in an efficiency reorganization. One economist at the University of Arkansas thinks that construction will help the state, and the nation, recover from the lingering effects of the economic recession. And Walmart sets a record for the amount of donations given by a retailer in a given year.

Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Ahead on Ozarks, the Nobel director and secretary talks about the selection process for the annual Nobel Peace Prize; he's on the University of Arkansas campus today. Plus, the Northwest Arkansas Council on jobs created in the area in the past year, and the differences between education in the U.S. and the European Union.
Roby Brock, from our content partner Talk Business ands Politics, reports the state of Arkansas is targeting motorcyclists as potential tourists.
at end of show: "Keep on the Sunny Side" Roe Family Singers
Congressman Tom Cotton and Mark Pryor traded verbal blows late last week as each addressed the Delta Grassroots Caucus, which held its annual meeting in Little Rock. Enrollment in the state's Private Option continued to grow last month, as evidenced by a new report released by the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and the University of Arkansas System moved forward with its future online university programs last week by hiring the school's first three employees.
"Shuckatoom" by American Top 40
Students begin to lose gains made throughout the academic year almost as soon as the final bell rings for summer vacation. An open forum tomorrow at the Jones Center in Springdale will address opportunities to keep students' minds active during out of school times. Many organizations will be involved, including the Arkansas Out of School Network.
Roby Brock, from Talk Business and Politics, says it was an especially busy week for economic matters in Arkansas, including Tyson Foods' attempt to acquire Hillshire Brands.
Children's House in Springdale is designed to help some of the youngest victims of abuse and neglect in northwest Arkansas.
"Twilight" by U2