Arkansas is one of 45 states to enact Common Core State Standards. A new office on the University of Arkansas campus has been established to find new ways bring those standards into the state's schools. We learn more about the Office of Innovation in Education from the office's director.
Ozarks At Large

Senator John Boozman says he would like to see the National Security Agency use more focused efforts to curb terrorism rather than relying on programs that use mass collections of data. The Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners approves a draft of rules for implementing the state's new voter ID law. Work is expected to begin soon on clearing the Cache River, a tributary of the White River. And the special collections department at the UA's Mullins Library unveils a new exhibit to celebrate National LGBT Pride month.


The Genesis Technology Incubator has been in the same place in some form for nearly three decades. But much has changed in and around that facility, as the Arkansas Research and Technology Park has coagulated on the acreage surrounding the facility.
Becca says the Fort Smith Museum of History is presenting a recreation of the Boston Store's tea room at noon Thursday.

Execution dates for inmates on death row in Arkansas have been put on hold. State lawmakers rally in Little Rock, urging the state's supreme court to uphold a judgement against drugmaker Johnson and Johnson. Also in the state capitol, close attention is being paid to how the state's parole monitoring system is being managed. Mercy Health Northwest in Rogers opens a new center to serve geriatrics in the area. And more trees are on the way for one parking lot in downtown Fayetteville.


Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, we talk to local officials about an increase in the DWI violations. Also, we attend a tasting at 28 Springs in Siloam Springs.
The Arkansas Highway Transportation Department received much criticism of how it handled cleanup of the recent winter storm. Karen Tricot Steward from our Content partner KUAR checked in with AHTD' in this report.
We visit a Knit Night and visit with local knitters about the ways to knit both old and new.
A Pulaski County judge dismisses a lawsuit against Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin. A New York based food company looks to acquire Siloam Springs-based Allens Canning Company. Tyson Foods is cited by OSHA for a June incident at a Kansas processing facility. The dean of the UA Honors College announces retirement, while the UA Full Circle Campus Food Pantry wins an award. And the vice chancellor of advancement at UAFS gets a new job.
"Little Drummer Boy" by Pentatonix
The Springdale School District yesterday was awarded several million dollars in Race to the Top federal grant funding. It was only one of five school districts in the U.S. to be awarded one of the grants.
Last Thursday, a preliminary hearing was held before Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza on a lawsuit filed last summer to strike down an Arkansas constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, approved by seventy-four percent of voters ten years ago. Jacqueline Froelich spoke with attorneys on both sides of the case, as well as a plaintiff and brings us the story.
(Photo credit: John Rankine)