Mercy Health used an innovative walking program to become one of the healthiest workplaces in the country.
Ozarks At Large
A roundup of events and news for the next few weeks include an alternative way to deliver a Valentine.


An administrative law judge with the Arkansas Public Service Commission on Friday ordered SWEPCO to proceed on its proposed plan to build a massive new power transmission line through portions of northwest Arkansas. Also, Governor Mike Beebe says that recent cost analyses of operating the state's Private Option expansion of Medicaid justifies the program's passage during last year's session of the state legislature. And the state Attorney General's office warns residents about rapid-refund tax providers.

Ahead on Ozarks, a conversation with young adult author An Na. Also, we learn what it takes to become a police officer.

We speak with An Na, author of A Step From Heaven, a book that was awarded the Michael L. Prince Award when it was published a decade ago. Critics and reviewers commended the book's characters for speaking like a child without being too precocious or condescending. The author will speak in Fayetteville later this month.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Weekend Ozarks, we visit the kitchen of Jen Lewis, take a spin in a state-run clinic that aids veterans in rural communities, and we meet a recovering opiate addict who has found hope with methadone.
Professor Ronald Mallett, who teaches physics at the University of Connecticut, recently visited the University of Arkansas campus to deliver a public lecture on theoretical physics. Mallett is also the author of “Time Traveler,” a memoir that discusses his personal life and his desire to time travel.
“Theme to the Time Tunnel” by John Williams
The City of Springdale installs a wind turbine at Shiloh Square in downtown Springdale; Arkansas Auditor of State Charlie Daniels announces an eBay auction of unclaimed property; and more – on today’s Ozarks at Large Half-Time.
Beatles tribute band Rain will be in town soon. Also, comedian Lewis Black will be at Walton Arts Center this Saturday, but his show’s already sold out. Becca Bacon Martin from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers has the details.
“Freezone” by Spacetime Continuum
Arkansas Health Director Paul Halverson announced the state will get another 29 trauma centers to provide faster care for trauma patients. The additions will be funded by a 2009 tobacco tax increase.
Columnist Wayne Bell from www.fayettevilleflyer.com contemplates the possibility of having a theatre for independent films, a venue for live musical acts that can accommodate a couple thousand people, and much more.