Dr. Jarod Williams, a veterinarian medical specialist and clinical consultant, operates Ozark Veterinary Specialty Care in Springdale. Williams, an expert in animal transfusion support services, plans to open the region’s first blood bank for companion animals.

A Wednesday roundup includes differing opinions about EPA regulations, a new sleep clinic in Fort Smith and a chance to dance in The Nutcracker .

NWA Space brought a large telescope from Pennsylvania to northwest Arkansas last summer. The nonprofit organization has continued to work on finding a permanent home for the telescope and has hosted several space-related events throughout the region. The group is hosting an event to sort eclipse glasses from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Explore Scientific in Springdale.

The annual Fayetteville Roots Festival begins tonight. While tickets are sold out for the festival's main stage, we take a look at other festival performances that you can still attend.

In about a month, Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas will launch the region's first bike share system after entering into a contract with VeoRide . The fleet will consist of 290 standard pedal bikes and 50 e-bikes, which are bikes with an electric pedal-assist mechanism. The bikes will be parked at designated locations around the city, and users will be able to unlock them using a smartphone app. Users will be able to sign up for yearly and monthly memberships, but will also have the

This week's Vinyl Hour, at 5 p.m. Saturday on 91.3, allows us to hear some Arkansas-connected songs that are rarely heard. Leigh Wood, the host of the KUAF Vinyl Hour, gives us a preview.

For a Tuesday roundup, Walmart and Tyson both complete multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, and the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks holds a town hall to hear from patients affected by an impaired pathologist, who was fired the hospital earlier this year.

'Tis the season for letters of recommendation for students seeking college acceptance. Noah Pittman, Assisitant Dean of Enrollment for the Honors College at the University of Arkansas, has read a few thousand such letters. He has advice for us.

In his weekly conversation with Roby Brock of Talk Business and Politics , political writer John Brummett offers his thoughts on truth, separation of church and state, and more.

For the last five years, Tyson Foods' Upward Academy has offered ESL, GED and citizenship courses and assistance to the employees at its plants. The program began in 2014 in Springdale and has since spread to dozens of plants across the country. Next year, Tyson also plans to pilot digital and financial literacy courses with the goal of providing employees with more opportunities, which has yielded higher attendance and retention rates throughout the company.