Childcare

Michael Tilley with Talk Business & Politics joins Kyle Kellams to discuss this past week's headlines from the Arkansas River Valley.

Matt Holden’s “what I did this summer” essay for 2025 should be interesting. On today's show, we hear that the Fayetteville teacher’s summer will include trips into the Pacific Ocean and to Africa. This summer also means the inaugural Ozark Music Festival all around northwest Arkansas, so we'll provide a glimpse of what's to come. Also, the city of Fayetteville named this year's Amazing Tree, but what makes it so special?

Flyers needing emergency diapers at Northwest Arkansas National Airport now have a place to get diapers, no matter the time of day. Restrooms near Gate A3 at XNA now have vending machines called Diaper Concierge, which dispense diapers and other related items.

Historians are working to learn—and share—more about Black settlers in Washington County. On today's show, a conversation about the updated Annotated Bibliography on Black Settler of Washington County Arkansas. Also, XNA has new vending machines offering a necessary good: diapers. Plus, we hear from a company based in the UK that is participating in the Arkansas Global Cycling Accelerator.

Last week, the third annual Excel by Eight Foundation’s Collaborative Summit took place in Little Rock. The event brought together business leaders, chambers of commerce and heads of nonprofits. It wasn’t designed to find instant solutions to a wide-ranging problem but to expedite conversations among groups to work toward solutions. The meeting wasn’t open to the press. Still, afterward, Steve Cousins, the board chair of El Dorado-based SHARE Foundation, and Brandom Gengelbach, the president and CEO of the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, spoke with Ozarks at Large.

On today's show, we hear from an artist coming to the Fayetteville Public Library who asks, “What did you learn in school today?” Also, how you can stay safe during deer hunting season. Plus, the musical world of Burt Bacharach inspires a new production taking the stage at Walton Arts Center.

Earlier this month, we heard about Hope Academy, Arkansas’ first public charter school that uses trauma-informed education to support students. Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis brought us that report, and today, he’ll share about Hope Academy’s parent organization: The Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter. Jack met with the shelter’s CEO, Rebekah Mitchell, to explore the space and the services they provide to the state’s youth.

The Walmart Home Office is set to officially open in 2025, but some elements of the nine block facility are already open and running. That includes their Whole Health Fitness Center, which opened earlier this year. Just across the street is another space that is up and running, at least at some capacity: Little Squiggles Children’s Enrichment Center.

On today's show, we explore a new childcare facility that is up and running on the Walmart Home Office campus. Also, the new national tour of "Hamilton" will launch from Fayetteville. Plus, one musician goes from Springdale to the New World Symphony

The Family Network has been working for the past four years to address diaper-need in northwest Arkansas through their work with the Diaper Collective. The organization works with food pantries across the region to gather and distribute diapers to families in need. This past weekend, Ozarks at Large visited the unveiling of the Diaper Collective's new warehouse in Springdale.