Hundreds of students from Fayetteville High School marched to the Washington County Courthouse Wednesday where they displayed signs and shouted slogans in an effort to spark change to school gun violence. Members of the community and students from Har-Ber High School also participated in the demonstration.

The fate of C&H Hog Farms, a controversial industrial swine breeding facility federally permitted five years ago to operate six miles upstream of the Buffalo National River, was at the center of an extraordinary Arkansas legislative special session this week. The Arkansas General Assembly approved a bill that would protect hog farmers from lawsuits for certain environmental issues once their waste permits are approved. The legislation is meant to reassure hog farmers, as well as the banks

From the evening edition of Ozarks at Large. Students from Bentonville's high schools also participated in the national walkout, although earlier in the week the Betonville School Board voted 4-3 to uphold its policy on detention for student who leave school without permission. About 400 students participated in the walkout at Bentonville High School and 200 participated in the walkout at Bentonville West High School.

From the evening edition of Ozarks at Large. Students across the country walked out of class Wednesday, a month after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, to remember the 17 students and adults who died. Fayetteville students joined the national movement and held a 17-minute moment of silence for the victims on school grounds, then students who got prior permission to leave school took part in march down Dickson Street to the Washington County Courthouse.

At the 90-year-old Coker-Hampton Drug Company in downtown Stuttgart, the pharmacist and owner of the last 25 years, James Bethea, is deeply concerned about the reimbursement rates from Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) he believes are putting small pharmacies at risk of losing their businesses. Bethea has chosen to continue to fill prescriptions even though a recent law in Arkansas allows pharmacists to refuse a sale if it meant that they would lose money due to reimbursement rates being lower

With spring break around the corner, we take a look at some of the opportunities to see live music during the next couple of weeks. Thursday Mar. 15 Isayah’s Allstars at Kingfish (Fayetteville) - 8 to 11 p.m. Notes at Night featuring Serpents of Eden at The Forge (Bentonville) - 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Mar. 16 Esc (Escape) Meatsweat, and Ghost Cities at Nomad’s Music Lounge (Fayetteville) - 7:45 to 10:45 p.m. Amanda Rey and West Street Blues Band at Kingfish (Fayetteville) - 8 to 11 p.m. Friday, Mar

Lawmakers are involved in their second legislative session of 2018. Special sessions, by design, are to take care of matters that can’t wait. Roby Brock with Talk Business and Politics asked John Brummett, political writer for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette , if the dozen or so bills under consideration really fit the special session definition.

Art Experience founder JoAnn Kaminsky is requesting the presence of all puppets to the first-ever Puppet Slam, scheduled the evening of March 24th at the new Phoenix Gallery at 16 West Center Street in Fayetteville. Puppets must apply to enter the free adults-only competition by calling Art Experience director Susan Hartman at 479-442-0557 or emailing [email protected]. Refreshments, puppet snacks, and live music will be served.

As school safety task forces are announced on the federal and state levels, Fayetteville Superintendent Matthew Wendt formed his own task force earlier this month. The task force will focus on examining the safety of the school district's facilities, but Wendt also plans to create a mental health task force that will train teachers and staff to better handle and identify mental health issues. The superintendent also discusses his stance on arming school staff, which has gotten support from

From the noon edition of Ozarks at Large. Students across the country walked out of class today, a month after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, to remember the 17 students and adults who died. Fayetteville and Bentonville students joined the national movement. Antoinette Grajeda went to the Fayetteville High School student march down Dickson Street to the Washington County Courthouse. Meanwhile, Zuzanna Sitek went to Bentonville High School, where students