At the top of our show: weekend reporting for Arkansas and COVID-19, Arkansas reaction to President Biden's vaccine policies and a new ranking for Arkansas football.

SB8 , a new law in Texas that has made abortion effectively illegal after 6 weeks of pregnancy, means women are traveling out of state to get access to services. One clinic in Little Rock is already seeing Texans travel from nearly seven hours away.

Welcoming Week NWA is an effort dedicated to making the region more inclusive. We talked with Margot Lemaster, the executive director of Engage NWA, and Monica Kumar, a welcoming and inclusion strategist, about the event.

The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs is hosting its final summer “Words in the Garden” literary reading series with an open mic event this Wednesday evening at 4:30 inside the shady Carnegie Library Garden located at 188 Spring Street. Writers, poets and songwriters are welcome to present. To learn more visit writerscolony.org/events .

Randy Dixon, with the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History shares archives relating to Arkansas native Brooks Robinson, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

At the top of our show: A lawsuit challenging a mask mandate in the Bentonville School District is being dismissed, a new candidate for lieutenant governor, and Emmy Award nominations for a University of Arkansas professor and filmmaker.

The now officially open J.B and Johnelle Hunt Family Center for Innovation allows patrons to edit a moive, record music, use a 3-D printer, create a podcast, drive a fork lift, land a plane in Des Moines...and more.

Courtney Lanning, a film critic with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , says Kate isn't original but does some things (like violence and showcasing Japan) well.

Becca Martin Brown, the features editor for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , says Avenue Q has puppets...but the puppets engage in very adult speach and behavior. Arkansas Public Theatre in Rogers has the musical beginning tonight.

At the top of our show today: ICU beds in short supply across the state and in northwest Arkansas, plus Arkansas International is recognized as a top literary publication in the country.