Advocates believe Northwest Arkansas is on its way to ending veteran homelessness by the end of the year. There are currently 30 veterans without a permanent home in the region, down from about 80 a year ago. We speak with the executive director of the NWA Continuum of Care about the milestone.

Throughout November, Ozarks at Large is participating in the Purple Project for Democracy , a nonpartisan campaign that explores civics, government and public service. Today we speak with Jennifer Price, director of elections for Washington County, about where you can cast your ballot.

Ernest James Gaines was born in 1933 in Louisiana, but as a teenager moved with his family to California during the Great Migration. He found his voice as a fiction writer who dives into the Black experience. Gaines' subjects are men and women from rural communities navigating day-to-day life with the backdrop of racial injustice. His most popular novel is The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman , a fictional personal history from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement. This is his story.

Teachers in Little Rock are planning to hold a one-day strike Thursday, as the debate about local versus state control of the school district rages on. It will be the first teachers strike in more than 30 years. Daniel Breen from our partner station KUAR explains the events that led up to this moment.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences researcher Terry Harville has published a study that for the first time links autism spectrum disorder to a specific genetic variation that affects the immune system. The study, which is published in the Frontiers of Psychiatry , found the genetically inherited immune type HLA-Cw7 was present in much higher numbers in people with autism as compared to the general population.

Martha Redbone’s performance in Northwest Arkansas and noted British guitarist Adrian Legg’s performance in the River Valley are just a couple of this weekend’s musical happenings. Wednesday, Nov. 13 Casey Donahew, Chris Colston at George's Majestic Lounge (Fayetteville) - $23, 9 p.m. John Underwood at Chelsea's (Eureka Springs) - 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14 Brother Moses, Harbour at George's Majestic Lounge (Fayetteville) - $12 adv, $15 day of, 8 p.m. Beer and Hymns at Bike Rack Brewing Co.

Physics is fun. That's what the University of Arkansas Society of Physics Students will be demonstrating at a showcase Nov. 16 at the U of A Physics Building on West Dickson Street. The event goes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will involve flying pie pans.

On today's show, we head to Rogers where Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas just completed construction of a new seven-story tower. Plus, Roby Brock and John Brummett discuss the newly-vacated head coaching job at the University of Arkansas. And, we speak with Deepak Chopra ahead of his Sages and Scientists Symposium, which will be held this weekend at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas has completed construction of its new seven-story tower in Rogers. The $141 million project is part of a $277 million expansion announced in April 2016 that also included Mercy Springdale and six new clinics. The tower will open to patients Nov. 18.

The Eureka Springs City Council has approved a resolution to explore purchasing solar energy credits from Entegrity , which plans to build an industrial solar farm in Carroll County.