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.
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has filed a consumer-protection lawsuit against a Kansas-based debt collection agency, the Fort Smith Board of Directors is now conducting business without paper, and more.
“Lions and Tigers and Bears” by: TW Walsh
Much of Arkansas is under extreme drought, with portions of the Arkansas River Valley listed as exceptional. Ponds and creeks are drying up. Lake and river levels are dropping. But what about your water well? We talk with the experts about our drought-threatened water supplies.
As of July 3, 91 animals throughout Arkansas have tested positive for rabies. Boone and Newton counties currently have the highest number of cases of animals tested positive for rabies. Richard Murphree, the environmental manager for the Arkansas Department of Health's northwest regional office, helps us interpret these numbers. More information is available at www.healthy.arkansas.gov.
Today, Becca Martin Brown from NWA Newspapers sends us to an art exhibit and a concert.
Sesame Street Theme Song
A new smart phone application will allow users to track University of Arkansas transit buses in real time. Chris Nixon is one of the developers who worked on the app. More information is available here.