Ozarks At Large

Arkansas' U.S. Senators speak about changes to SNAP benefits in the legislation moving through the Senate. Governor Mike Beebe is calling for a funding increase for a graduate student grant program. And, the U.S. Marshals Museum sets a date for its groundbreaking.

"True collaboration is that willingness to extend yourself to a new place but in a way that does not feel like anything has been given up," says singer-songwriter Tift Merritt. While collaboration between musicians of different genres is nothing new, it's difficult to do well. The album "Night," a collaboration between Merritt and classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein, does just that. Reviewer Katy Henriksen explores the collaboration in which classical composers like Schubert and Purcell connect seamlessly to Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain," the folk traditional "Wayfaring Stranger," a Leonard Cohen inspired instrumental and much more to create a singular song cycle that could only come from these two musicians.

The Arkansas Secretary of State released a draft of rules for implementing the state's new voter ID law. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel isn't overly concerned about discrepancies in Exxon-Mobile's reported timeline of the Mayflower oil spill. U.S. Geological Survey officials say that the flooding of the Fourche LaFave River last week was a flood of historic proportions, or at least the largest since record-keeping began on the river. And Fayetteville is ranked as one of the cheaper places to live in the country.

Though the Arkansas Music Pavilion won't move to Rogers for about another year, Becca Martin Brown of NWA Newspapers says that there will be plenty of opportunities to hear live music at Pinnacle Hills Promenade with the Music on the Lawn series.