Several happenings at area libraries and music at local pubs for this National Chocolate Milkshake Day edition of the daily notes.
Ozarks At Large
This week Senator John Boozman talked about prospects for passage of a farm bill and mother matters before Congress.
The Arkansas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies yesterday approved plans to let 13 school districts across the state arm some of their staffs. Governor Beebe talks with Roby Brock about what's next in attempts to fix a shortfall in the state's Public School Health Insurance Program. John Brown University is again ranked at the top, and the Walton College of Business at the U of A again gets praise as well.

In addition, the University Libraries digital exhibit on the history of Vol Walker Hall can be accessed here
Web Exclusive: More About Vol Walker

Madison County residents won't see a sales tax increase, and the city sales tax in Siloam Springs will be split a little bit differently after special elections yesterday. The future site of the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith has moved slightly to another riverfront parcel that's twice the size. Residents in Benton County won't receive disaster aid for damage caused by the August storms. And more new jobs are coming to Fort Smith by way of another firearms-related company.


A new art gallery, dedicated to showing controversial and confrontational works, will open this month. We meet the curators at the new Bottle Rocket gallery.

The Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care is working to improve conditions at nursing homes throughout the state. And tax elections are taking place today in Madison County and Siloam Springs, while early voting begins for a millage increase in Bentonville.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, February 28, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks: it has been 60 years since the largest-ever nuclear weapons test by the United States took place on the Marshall Islands' Bikini Atoll. Today, many Marshallese, including several northwest Arkansas residents, are marking the anniversary of the Castle Bravo Blast. Plus, Becca Martin Brown from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers gets us ready for the weekend, Michael Tilley from The City Wire helps us analyze the week's news, and more.
The Amazeum won't open until 2015, but Sam Dean, the director of the new science and learning museum, says that museum officials already have some idea of what the exhibits, and the building itself, will look like.
A snippet of music from last night’s live broadcast of the Artosphere Festival Orchestra.
The state's Department of Corrections has announced it will make changes to the state's parole system following calls by Governor Beebe and others to strengthen the supervision and control of parolees in the state. While new unemployment numbers show a decline in the state's business sector, other areas have experienced growth. Opposition is mounting against the White River's designation as a National Blueway. And non-profit organizations looking to Rogers to host baseball tournaments will soon have to pay more to play.
"Just One" by Blind Pilot
Northwest Arkansas is the second most popular destination in the U.S. for retirees to locate, and Mercy Northwest in Rogers recently dedicated its 7th floor as the "Mercy Senior Behavioral Health Program" in an attempt to provide specialized in-patient care for the older population.