Ozarks at Large

On today's show, stories of the University of Arkansas' past. Plus, an interview with a future Rhodes scholar, and much more.

The Arkansas Department of Health recorded more than 40 deaths from COVID-19 in Thursday's report.

For this week's look back at the news, Michael Tilley from Talk Business and Politics examines ArcBest revenue, a developing legislative primary in the Arkansas River Valley and good news for dogs (and the people they hang out with).

A snowstorm is pushing some weekend events later into 2022. Becca Martin Brown, the features editor with the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, gives us the rundown on what might still be happening. She also gives us a welcome glimpse toward the summer.

A new documentary, If This Walk Could Talk, uses the words of University of Arkansas students, faculty, staff and supporters to reflect on the first 150 years of the institution. Larry Foley, the film's producer, says he used the tradition of Senior Walk on campus as a launching point.

On today's show, concerns about the high positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in Arkansas. Plus, the continuing strain on healthcare systems exasperated by COVID, a new edition of Sound Perimeter, and much more.

We start today with snow all over, a week-to-week reduction in new cases of COVID-19, and a record low for Arkansas foreclosures in 2021.

The data provided by Pat Walker Health Center at the University of Arkansas shows that the positivity rate on campus is at 24% for the month of January. While masking is mandated inside buildings and classrooms, the university cannot mandate regular COVID-19 testing on campus. If you have tested positive for COVID-19 in a capacity outside of the Pat Walker Health Center, officials request that you self-report your diagnosis.

The panemic is nearly 23 months old in Arkansas and whenever it ends, effects for people and the state will last. Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, the state epidemilogist, talks with us about the virus, Omicron, long COVID and more.

Mervin Jebaraj, the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the Univeristy of Arkansas, discusses the state of the labor force and more as part of this week's Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Report.

Courtney Lanning says a new, independent movie is silly...but there are cute animals. The Wolf and the Lion is coming to theaters this week.

This week, University of Arkansas music professor Lia Uribe brings us a soundtrack for the snow with music by Einojuhani Rautavaara, Astor Piazzolla and Irving Berlin, featuring performances by Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Astor Piazzolla’s Quintet and Billie Holiday.

On today's show, a conversation with the youngest participant in the Selma March. Plus, weather updates from the National Weather Service, the imagination involved in set design, and much more.

At the top of today's show, we prepare for winter weather across the listening area and an update on COVID-19 data across the state.

Lynda Blackmon Lowery was the youngest participant in the Voting Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, marking her 15th birthday during the event. Her story inspires the musical Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom. Even though the national tour was canceled, patrons of the Walton Arts Center can view a production virtually. We talked with Lynda Blackmon Lowery about telling her story.

Severe winter storm conditions are approaching our region this week. The National Weather Service in Tulsa predicts significant amounts of snow, ice and sleet through Friday morning.

On the most recent episode of Undisciplined, host Caree Banton talks to Jacquelyn Wiersma-Mosley about cultural competency, how to categorize it, and how to help understand it.

Creating the right set for a theater production takes imagination, cooperation, art, carpentry, and science. We talked with two set designers...Tanya Orellana and Kimberly V. Powers...who have created multiple sets for TheatreSquared.

This week's chronicle of the University of Arkansas' first 150 years is about a pioneering student, James McGahee, whose names was lost and/or forgotten for many decades.

On today's show, how history can be used to explore different perspectives. Plus, the green book advice for African-American travelers in Jim Crow South, including Arkansas, and much more.

Plenty to keep watch on this Tuesday as new numbers related to COVID-19 in Arkansas are released and meteorologists try to understand an approaching winter storm.

This summer the University of Arkansas Humanities Center will host a pair of NEH-supported summer teaching institutes for K-12 teachers from around the country. One is The Local and International Legacies of Nelson Hackett's Flight from Slavery and the other is Pandemics in History, Literature and Today. Deadline to apply is March 1st.

John Brummett, a political columnist with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, considers the next moves in a Supreme Court nomination process. He talks with Roby Brock from our partner Talk Business and Politics.

The "Green Book," an early 20th century travel guide published annually during racial segregation revealed safe places for African-American travelers to stay, dine, as well as vacation. Fayetteville history writer, Dave Edmark researched how the town of Fayetteville, starting back in the 1930's, accommodated Black travelers — his findings published in Flashback, the quarterly journal of the Washington County Historical Society.

The Arkansas Educators Association published a survey of the state's teachers that reveals concerns with covid-19 protocols and student learning loss during the pandemic.

Our Militant Grammarian, Katherine Shurlds, is back with a ten-year challenge. She has a list of words that entered our shared vocabulary in, or around, 2011.

On today's show, working to make sure the Holocaust is remembered and taught. Plus, Ivermectin, a prescription anti-parasite drug, is also sold over-the- counter at farm supplies, where people are purchasing it to prevent COVID-19, and much more.

A new week begins with a forecast for a continued challenge to get enough workers to fill positions for Arkansas businesses. Plus a weather forecast that has almost something for everybody.

Last week the University of Arkansas commemmorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day by dedicating the pen used to sign Holocaust education into law in Arkansas last year.

Ivermectin, an FDA-approved treatment for parasites in humans, and sold over-the-counter for domestic livestock, is increasingly being taken by people to prevent or treat COVID-19. We hear from an ivermectin enthusiast, the president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest who warns about off-label use, and a physician at Duke Clinical Research Institute leading an ivermectin theraputic intervention study. An attorney with ACLU-Arkansas also discusses a federal lawsuit his team recently filed against a northwest Arkansas physician for treating county jail inmates with prescription ivermectin.

The number of outdoor-themed businesses in Arkansas is growing again. Washington-based Eddyline Kayaks announced a planned expansion into northwest Arkansas.

We go into our archives for archives. We listen again to a Pryor Center collection of clips we first aired in March, 2021 about movies made in Arkansas.

On today's show, setting the stage for Cyclo-Cross World Championships. Plus, working toward more inclusion in the workplace, and much more.

Today's top of the show includes medical debt erased for thousands of Arkansans as well as an update on COVID-19 numbers across the state.

Athletes from more than 20 countries are in Fayetteville this weekend for the 2022 UCI Cyclocross World Championships. The weekend opened Thursday night with ceremonies on the Fayetteville Square.

Beginning in March, three cohorts of nonprofits from across northwest Arkansas will be partnering with the IDEALS Institute. For more information about TRU and each of the three cohorts, you can visit their website.

The city of Fayetteville is reinstating its COVID-19 vaccine incentive. People who live or work in the city are eligible to receive $100 to become vaccinated. More information is available at the city's website.

Becca Martin Brown, the features editor with the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, says she's eager to see the first month of 2022 end. She gives us a guide to many of the weekend's entertainment opportunities.

Courtney Lanning says a sixth installment in the animated Ice Age franchise looks a little less shiny and has a couple more laughs for younger viewers.

The city of Fort Smith experienced a 15% hike in sales tax revenue for 2022. Michael Tilley, with our partner Talk Business and Politics, discusses what that means. He also addresses the hiring of another consultant for a Fort Smith school project.

On today's show, working to ease shortages in Arkansas truck drivers. Plus, a visit to Columbia with Sound Perimeter, the Headquarters House in Fayetteville, and much more.

Today's show starts with another record set for virus hospitalizations in Arkansas and a plan in place for how Bella Vista might use American Rescue Plan funds.

Northwest Arkansas Community College announced a new scholarship for trucking students to get their commercial delivery license, sponsored by trucking pioneer Willis Shaw.

Before the pandemic, many Arkansas schools were in need of more teachers. During the last two years the need has only grown.

In this week's Northwest Arkansas Business Journal, Arkansas Senator Jonathan Dismang talks with Roby Brock about the members who have announced they are not seeking reelection in the Arkansa Legislature and what to expect with every member being on the ballot this year.

A remarkably preserved civil war-era estate in Fayeteville’s historic district serves as headquarters for the Washington County Historical Society. Headquarters House is open to the public for individual and group tours and hosts seasonal events. Society president Lee Anne Kirby Wiederkehr walks us through the historic site, where we also meet the society's Flashback journal editor, Patsy Watkins.

University of Arkansas music professor Lia Uribe returns to share selections written for the film Encanto, with performances by Carolina Gaitan and Mauro Castillo, Marta Gomez, and Carlos Vives.

On today's show, a conversation with the founders of an organization working to make mental health care more accessible for women of color. Plus, we find out more about how people can be reimbursed for at-home COVID-19 tests, and much more.

Today's show starts with more COVID-19 news. Arkansas' hospitalizations from the virus declined a bit yesterday, though state officials are still concerned. Research led by a UAMS team indicates progress in the battle against the virus.

Four free tests are being supplied by the federal government to every household later this month, but if you need one now, your private insurance is required to reimburse you for those purchases.