Bob Clinard, Benton County Judge, declared the county a disaster zone Friday, after the county saw more than 6 inches of rain in the latter half of the week. A recent report shows meaningful long-term benefits for children taking part in the state's "Better Chance Pre-K" program. Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago, spoke at the graduation for the Clinton School of Public Service over the weekend. Governor Mike Beebe likens the recently passed Arkansas Private Option to the successful ARKids First program, though he says that the children's insurance program has room to improve.
Ozarks At Large



In her latest book Cached: Decoding the Internet in Global Popular Culture, Stephanie Schulte says that examples of pop culture like the movie War Games played prominently into how the world perceived the Internet in its earliest days.
Bear hunts, mermaids and dinner, Becca Martin Brown offers plenty to occupy your Mother's Day afternoon. Plus, the upcoming season at the Arts Center of the Ozarks.
Charles Banks Wilson, an American artist, was laid to rest on Tuesday in his hometown of Miami, Oklahoma. He was born and passed in Arkansas. Wilson is best known for his works of the American Indian. Wilson's works are housed in some of the most renowned museums and art galleries in the world, including New York's Metropolitan Museum, Washington's Library of Congress, the Corcoran Gallery, the Oklahoma State Capitol where four 13 feet tall and 27 feet wide murals line the rotunda, and the Gilcrease Museum, which owns more than 300 pieces of the artist's work.

The head of the Hatcher Agency, the state's largest independent insurer, says that many of his clients are providing insurance to employees rather than paying penalties associated with the Affordable Care Act. Senator Mark Pryor talks about his push for answers from the Air Force regarding the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith while Senator Boozman says he is concerned about a backlog in disability claims for veterans. And Elton John is coming to Fayetteville in just a few weeks.


Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, how education and employment are more connected than ever in Arkansas. We have a report on yesterday's Career and Technology Education summit in northwest Arkansas. Plus, our technology ambassador Tyrel Denison breaks down some of the new technology that was on display at South-by-Southwest. And, a new report looks at children's healthcare issues in Arkansas.
Roby Brock from Talk Business Arkansas discusses a farm bill not passing the House of Representatives and more in his weekly recap of political and business news from around the state.
Nine out of ten gay youth report verbal, sexual, or physical harassment at school. But now gay high school students are taking a stand by organizing, with their straight allies, Gay-Straight Alliances. Nearly 40 GSA clubs have been sanctioned by school districts across Arkansas but not without some resistance. We talk with students, as well as state, and national advocates.
"Good Man" by Josh Ritter
Becca Martin Brown discusses the lineup for this year's Harvest Music Festival.
Michael Heffernan will read tomorrow night at Nightbird Books. We talk to him about his latest collection of poetry, "Walking Distance."
Though we don't normally cover the doom and gloom, Timothy Dennis brings us a roundup of stories from the past week that involved statutes, crimes and punishments, and no Dostoyevsky.