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.
The University of Arkansas-Fort Smith presents “South Pacific;” an indie rock show will play at a place called Paradigm Shift; the first of the Clayton Conversations at Clayton House; and finally, Elizabeth Cook will be at Second Street Live. Becca Bacon Martin from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers asks - what other reasons do we need to take a trip to Fort Smith?
Ozarks at Large’s Katy Henriksen spoke with Paul Haas, music director of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, about tomorrow’s Masterworks concert, and the challenging pieces it’ll feature.
“Winter Bones” by Stars
Our math expert Dr. Chaim Goodman-Strauss sheds light on the significance of the year 2012.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is deciding whether to destroy or preserve remaining relics of an early 1900s summer resort built in a spring-fed forested valley south east of Rogers—now mostly submerged beneath Beaver Reservoir. (Photo courtesy: Rogers Historical Museum)
“Smile When the Raindrops Fall” by The Bear Hunters
Michael Tilley from our content partner www.thecitywire.com discusses Arkansan politicians’ reactions to President Barack Obama’s rejection of the current KeystoneXL pipeline project, the closure of Huntington Foam’s Fort Smith plant, and more.
“Plink, Plank, Plunk” by Leroy Anderson