Enrollment data for Arkansas' new health insurance exchange is released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A committee tasked with reviewing public notification procedures for confined animal feeding operations permits soon will have its first meeting. Fort Smith officials approve a list of funding requests for non-government public agencies. And the Women's Razorback Basketball team wins big in its second game of the season.
Ozarks At Large



Republican gubernatorial hopeful Asa Hutchinson yesterday announced his plans to cut taxes for middle-income Arkansans, though some disagree about the potential budget impact the plan would have for the state. Fayetteville voters yesterday approved extending the current HMR tax to help fund development of a regional park and to help fund expansion of the Walton Arts Center, which still has quite a bit of fundraising left to do. Bentonville breaks ground on its community center, and two Springdale parks will soon have new bleachers for baseball and softball fields.



The Community Creative Center wants you to try your hand at creativity.

The city of Bentonville recently got a grant from the Endeavor Foundation for sidewalk construction in an area with sparse pedestrian infrastructure. Heifer International assesses damage to ongoing projects in the Philippines following the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. This year has seen record corn yields for Arkansas farmers, but that's not necessarily all good news. Today is voting day in Fayetteville to extend a current hotel-motel-restaurant tax. And the UA Soccer team advances to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, those amphibious harbingers of spring--frogs and toads--are being counted all over Arkansas. We'll find out how the frog watch works, and if the number of frogs in the state is diminishing. And, the AMP is being prepared for its first show. The seats aren't in yet, but work is going on almost around-the-clock to meet a June 1 completion date.
Here are the ten clips for our montage dedicated to streets, roads and avenues:
1. Nat King Cole gets us started with Route 66.
2. Gloria Swanson as the doomed Nora Desmond in Sunset Boulevard.
3. U2 sings Where the Streets Have No Name.
4. Michael Douglas as Gordon Gecko in Wall Steet.
5. Bruce Springsteen sings 10th Avenue Freeze Out.
6. Michael Conrad offers his end-of-meeting statement on Hill Street Blues.
7. The opening theme, of course, from Sesame Street.
8. Part of the trailer from the original Nightmare on Elm Street.
9. Jack Kerouac reads from the last page of On the Road.
10. Willie is On the Road Again.
Apologies to Bob Dylan’s Highway 61, the cast of Mulholland Drive, any number of other songwriters and Kraftwerk’s Autobahn (but then again, the German group was included in last week’s montage). Maybe next time.
"Intro" by XX
Congressman Tim Griffin has some questions for the top IRS official who resigned earlier this week. A festival of short films comes to Eureka Springs next month. Arkansas drivers can expect lower gas prices this month. The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts has plans for increasing the amount of college credit with which students graduate. And the region four headquarters of the Arkansas Highway Transportation Department makes the move from Fort Smith to Barling.
"Get Lucky" by Daft Punk
Michael Tilley from The City Wire discusses the 2014 Arkansas governor’s race and pollution at a former Whirlpool plant.
We finish our week-long series about summer camps with a preview of Camp Invention at Immaculate Conception Elementary School in Fort Smith. For more information about any Camp Invention in the area, click here.
"Luna Park" by Signal Hill
Becca Martin Brown from NWA Newspapers gives us the details on a busy outdoor weekend.