Ozarks At Large
New standardized public education testing will be tried in Arkansas public schools under the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. As Jacqueline Froelich reports, one million students across 18 states, including Arkansas, will participate in the “Next Generation Assessment” field tests.
The university system's board voted yesterday to start offering online courses. And, the state departments of health and education partner on educating schools about the dangers of heat-related illnesses.
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks: a walk around the trails at Lake Fayetteville will take you past acres of charred land. We learn about the benefits of prescribed burns such as these. Plus not one, but two area towns are in the running to take over the March Madness bracket of the Greatest Southern Town. And, we climb a tree to visit the serene world of a children's treehouse, and get ready for Spring Break with options for movie lovers.
Trading on the popularity of the NCAA Tournament, the magazine Garden and Gun has its own bracket. This one pits southern towns against each other.
Wings, and other films, will be shown at area libraries during next week's Spring Break Vacation. Becca has a full list.
We go off into our own world with Josh Hart, a carpenter and owner of Natural State Treehouses, who builds play structures for people of all ages.
It’s that time of year, like it or not, when foresters and conservationists burn the land. But as Jacqueline Froelich reports, prescribed burning not only helps to restore and maintain native habitat, it can help to sequester carbon.
Roby Brock with out content partner Talk Business Arkansas leads a roundtable discussion with Grant Tennille, director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, to talk jobs and the economy, including a state workforce program and minimum wage.
As promised, the state legislature overrode a line-item veto by Governor Mike Beebe to allow sand used in natural gas drilling to be exempt from sales tax. And, several organizations through the state accrue grant funding.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Monday, May 26, 2014
For a holiday edition of Ozarks at Large we hear highlights from a show at Fayetteville Public Library featuring songwriters Candy Lee, Shawn James and Barrett Baber.
Our local food ambassador Teresa Maurer returns to tell us about a program that will allow some customers of the Farmers' Market to double their money during the month of March.
"Saturday Evening" by Big Bill Broonzy
Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie "Prince" Billy made a gorgeous album of duets when they released The Letting Go in 2006. Both children of the 1970s, they grew up hearing the close harmonies of the Everly Brothers on the radio. In What the Brothers Sang, just released on Drag City, the duo pays tribute to these early superstars of rock and pay homage to the great American songbook.
Link: The Making of What the Brothers Sang
Officials with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration talk about the potential for making up federal funds lost to sequester cuts, and two public transit services team up in Northwest Arkansas to more completely serve the University of Arkansas community.
“A Letter To Elise” by The Cure
The Arkansas General Assembly is considering passage of a new Voter ID law that will require government-issued photo identification to both register and to vote. Advocates claim it will suppress fraud, but some opponents believe it will suppress progressive voting. We talk with an election rights expert about the measure, as well as how Voter ID laws are trending nationally.
Roby Brock from our content partner Talk Business Arkansas looks at the top legislative and business stories from the last seven days.
"Bugs" by Charles Mingus