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:
Ozarks At Large
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.


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.


Recent numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Arkansas' unemployment rate remains lower than the national average, though the size of the state's workforce has shrank. Governor Mike Beebe touts the state's growing art tourism industry, Senator Mark Pryor's reelection bid will determine whether a Democrat can still be competitive in the state, and the Razorbacks split a series over the weekend, while the Naturals drop another three-game set at home.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, April 4, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks: the former president of Heifer International speaks on the University of Arkansas campus. Plus, we take a walk through history that begins in Jasper.
As a festival that celebrates local food and farmers, Dig In! Food and Farming Festival will return to Fayetteville tomorrow.
More information is available at www.diginfestival.com.
“Life in Technicolor” by Vitamin String Quartet (Tribute to Coldplay)
Michael Tilley from our content partner www.thecitywire.com discusses a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report about increase in the unemployment rate in Arkansas and Mississippi in 2011; a proposed one-cent tax extension in Fort Smith; the increase in sales tax collections in Fort Smith and northwest Arkansas; and more.
“Perpetual Self/What Would Saul Alinsky Do” by Sufjan Stevens
Becca Bacon Martin from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers and a special guest explain to Iti Agnihotri-Mudholkar the mystery of “Veggie Tales.”
“Hairbrush Song” by Veggie Tales
Dr. Eric Baker from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith will present a lecture next week about the depletion of oil resources around the world and the consequences. The event “The End of the Oil Age: Peak Oil and Its Ramifications” will take place in the Gardener Building Lecture Hall on the UA-Fort Smith campus this Monday at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
“Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve
Jodi Beznoska from Walton Arts Center talks about our entertainment choices for the month of March.