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.
The art department at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville has taken over the basement of the Bank of America Building on the square in downtown Fayetteville for the month of April with sUgAR's pop-up gallery featuring work from BFA honors students and MFA candidates. Katy Henriksen has this report.
Web Exclusive: Images From the sUgAR Gallery
Tom Vilsack, the country's Secretary of Agriculture, was the esteemed speaker of yesterday's Dale and Betty Bumpers Distinguished Lecture at the University of Arkansas. He took the opportunity to speak candidly with the standing room only crowd about short-, medium-, and long-term ag public policy goals, and about opening lines of communication.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.
Montreal rockers The Besnard Lakes continue to hone their signature blissed-out apocalypse rock in their latest release Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO. Ozarks at Large's Katy Henriksen reviews the effort in anticipation of their appearance in Fayetteville this week.
Today, Roby Brock from our content partner Talk Business Arkansas has news about tax cuts, the governor's race, and Walmart's new sustainability goals. 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.
If you've been out and about and you've noticed a group of ladies wearing bright red and purple hats, good. They wanted to be noticed. They're most likely members of the Red Hat Society. This Thursday, the group will celebrate the day 15 years ago when five women got together just to have fun. The group has since then morphed into an international organization.
Here are the 11 clips heard during today’s hat montage;
Joe Cocker’s version of "You Can Leave Your Hat On."
The greatest Bond villain of the them all, Oddjob, throws his lethal bowler.
"Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat" by Bob Dylan.
From the late 1950’s, a commercial for Mattel’s beanie copter.
Fred Astaire sings "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails." From the movie Top Hat.
Woody Woodpecker and Wally Walrus debate just what is a top hat.
Gene Watson gives birth to a great phrase in his song "All Hat No Cattle."
Maggie Smith gets the sorting hat ready in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Carmen Miranda (who else?) and the song "The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat." From the movie The Gang’s All Here.
Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, needs his hat in Toy Story.
The Men Without Hats sing "The Safety Dance."
Apologies to: Prince and his Raspberry Beret, the men Waiting for Godot, the Mad Hatter, Davy Crockett, Laurel and Hardy, and every character from Miller’s Crossing. Maybe next time.
Governor Mike Beebe says that a package of tax cuts approved yesterday by the Arkansas Senate is acceptable, though he worries about the cuts' impact in the years to come after he leaves office. A proposed constitutional amendment that would move ethics reform forward in the state moves closer to the ballot after receiving final approval by the legislature. The latest on cleanup efforts on the Mayflower oil spill, in spite of the potential for severe weather. Plans for the Sebastian County aquatics park move forward, and a group at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville plans to take back the night with an annual event aimed at raising awareness about sexual violence.
"Zodiac" by God is an Astronaut
Michael Tilley of The City Wire says that a lower jobless rate doesn't necessarily mean a healthy overall workforce, and the latest on this week's economic developments in the Arkansas River Valley.
Lori Boatright of the Fayetteville Farmers' Market says that the sporatic Arkansas Spring weather can neither dampen nor put a chill on the five markets throughout the week.
"Chi Youm" Abaji
