Ozarks at Large

Kris Mastin has performed in various bands around Fayetteville over the years. Now, as John Charles, he has released his first album of his own original music, an effort that took about ten years to complete. We talk with him about making “Around,” and we hear a track from the album.

Today, we work to learn more about the lynching of 13 Black men in St. Charles, Arkansas in 1904. Plus, a trip to December, 1975 with the Pryor Center and suggestions for books to give and receive this holiday season.

We start a new week with a small number of new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours...work begins to recover from tornadoes in Arkansas....Haas Hall seeks approval for a presence in Fort Smith.

In 1904, over four days, white mobs lynched 13 Black men in St. Charles, Arkansas. Despite being one of the worst such incidents in U.S. history, little has been said about it for more than a century. Mary Hennigan, a graduate journalism student at the University of Arkansas, has spent months researching what happened and talked with descendants of those murdered. Her reporting is part of the Printing Hate project from the University of Maryland's Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.

There's still some time to pick up some books this holiday season, and the ladies at Two Friends Books in Bentonville are offering two different categories of books: those you want to read during the holidays and those you want to give during the holidays. Here's a list of the books mentioned:

Late last week, the Conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow a strict abortion ban in Texas to remain in place. American Civil Liberties Union - Arkansas executive director Holly Dickson says the ruling, which portends the possible outlawing of safe, legal abortions in 2022, is causing great harm.

We use archives from the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History to remember the news of December, 1975. There were concerns about Russia, concerns about inflation and talk of football.

On today's show, the week’s news with Michael Tilley from Talk Business and Politics, a holiday weekend preview with Becca Martin Brown from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Courtney Lanning explains why a star-studded cast doesn’t necessarily make for a great movie and the essential service of Meals on Wheels.

The city of Fort Smith is engaged in another court discussion about the Freedom of Information Act. Michael Tilley, with our partner Talk Business and Politics, gives us details.

Tomorrow, from 11:00-1:00, the annual fundraiser for Meals on Wheels takes place at the Fayetteville Senior Wellness and Activity Center.