Ozarks at Large

Since 2014, This Is My Brave has been fighting mental health stigma by producing shows across the country that feature storytellers sharing personal experiences of mental illness. We speak with the producers about the Northwest Arkansas version. Plus, we go to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge where their rescue bears are getting a taste of the wild in their new habitats. And, we stop by the state's only cidery, which has now grown into Central Arkansas.

We get a tour of the Cass Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center after the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Labor go back on their decision to deactivate it and eight others around the country. Plus, we get a history lesson from the daughter of the man who started the Rodeo of the Ozarks in Springdale. And, our summer reading suggestions wrap up with a book about how J.R.R. Tolkien made Middle-earth.

A dozen Arkansas teens are exploring the state in search of stories as part of a new two-week summer camp. Plus, more on a forthcoming report that aims to address regional housing affordability. And, John Brummett and Roby Brock discuss the escalating tension between the United States and Iran.

Construction of a new criminal justice complex and renovations to city hall get underway in Springdale. Plus, we speak to the editor of a new collection of essays, reviews and interviews written by Donald Harington. And, we have details about several investments that will be made in downtown Springdale over the next couple of years.

Today’s show includes a discussion about an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling regarding emails sent by members of the Fort Smith City Board of Directors. Plus, more about a book drive to benefit Moffett School’s library after it flooded last month. And, we hear from a new, all-female musical group that’s sprouted in the region.

The University of Arkansas Razorback Recycling program is feeling the global shift in the recycling market, we find out how the school plans to deal with the changes on campus. Plus, Crystal Bridges now has glasses that make art more accessible to color blind visitors. And, more about a Missouri-based company that has its sights set on the limestone in Carroll County.

Since a 1930s prohibition on hemp farming was lifted last year by the federal government, more than a 100 hemp cultivation licenses have been issued in Arkansas. We visit a hemp farm in Washington County. Plus, more on the Buffalo National River Park's new designation as an International Dark Sky Park. And, Robert Ginsburg of KUAF's Shades of Jazz interviews Jonathan Kreisberg, whose only scheduled performance in mid-America takes place this weekend in Fayetteville.

This month, the Fayetteville City Council voted to explore the feasibility of regulating plastic bags, polystyrene containers and plastic straws. Plus, a discussion of the speculations surrounding a Sarah Huckabee Sanders gubernatorial run as the White House press secretary returns to Arkansas. And, the Prairie Grove Public Library kicks off its latest summer reading program at its new space in a former Walmart Express.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation released its latest Kids Count Data Book and it shows Arkansas' overall ranking in child well-being has improved. Plus, the Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Unit opens in Fayetteville making it the third CSU to open in the state as part of a pilot project funded by the legislature in 2017. And, as flood waters recede and damage is assessed, experts are issuing advice to residents about flood insurance coverage.

As soon as the flood waters in the River Valley receded, volunteers started stepping in to help neighbors with their damaged homes and will continue to play a crucial role in the recovery effort in the weeks and months to come. Plus, a controversial factory hog farm in the Buffalo River watershed is shutting down. And we remember Ed Stilley, an Ozark native who had created more than 200 unique instruments out of rough-sawn wood and found objects.