The Northwest Arkansas Ballet Theatre is adapting William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream for its first live performance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three shows are scheduled for March 12 and 13 at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

On this week's edition of Sound Perimeter, University of Arkansas Music Professor Lia Uribe introduces us to virtuosos Valentina Lisitsa as she performs Sergei Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini , Op. 43 on the piano, Santiago Canon Valencia as he performs Niccolo Paganini's Caprice No. 24 on the cello, and Victor Wooten as he performs The Lesson on the bass.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson started his weekly coronavirus response briefing by acknowledging a somber milestone as the U.S. surpassed half a million COVID-19 deaths this week. That total includes more than 5,000 Arkansans. He then announced the state would be expanding vaccination eligibility to people 65 and older. Hutchinson said the state decided to move the group up in the vaccination line from phase 1C to phase 1B because that population has high instances of COVID-19 co-morbidities that lead to

American Red Cross Texas Gulf Coast Region , which is helping communities recover from severe arctic storms that disrupted power and potable water supplies, is in need of donations to carry on its mission. The extreme winter weather also imperiled domestic pets and animals, left outdoors. Both the Houston Humane Society and Austin Animal Services , which responded to thousands of animal cruelty calls during frigid conditions, are also in critical need of donations -- as well as families seeking

The Benton County Sheriff's Office is holding a book drive this week to restock its library cart at the jail. The sheriff's office stopped offering books to inmates last year because of ongoing vandalism, according to Lt. Shannon Jenkins. Last month, the ACLU of Arkansas released a statement calling on the sheriff's office to lift its book ban because it violates inmates' First Amendment rights. Books can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Friday, Feb. 26.

With support from The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation , the fourth episode of “The Movement That Never Was: A People’s Guide to Anti-Racism in the South and Arkansas” covers the wealth gap between black and white families and some of the ways to close it. As the Black Lives Matter movement took to the streets last year, many embraced the campaign to support black-owned businesses, but that same support has been difficult to find for reparations initiatives. This is episode four of five.

On today's show, we learn about a University of Arkansas tour organized by students that explores the Black experience on campus. Plus, we have analysis of Arkansas Sen. Jim Hendren's decision to leave the Republican Party to become an Independent. And, we head to Pea Ridge where several thousand households and businesses lost their natural gas supply in the midst of back-to-back winter storms.

A new tour of the Black experience at the University of Arkansas can be taken physically or virtually and covers decades of stories that took place on campus. The tour, put together by students, originated in a U of A Honors College seminar.

Last week, a high-profile state senator left the GOP citing the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol as his reason for becoming an Independent. Roby Brock, with our partner Talk Business and Politics , asks John Brummett, political columnist with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , what, if anything, this means for the Republican Party in Arkansas.

Several thousand households and businesses in Pea Ridge in Benton County suddenly lost their natural gas supply last Tuesday in the midst of back-to-back arctic winter storms. Black Hills Energy technicians coordinated a swift response, working with Pea Ridge Police Department, averting a major disaster. A debriefing is scheduled for later this week.