Fair Play: The Arkansas State Fair returns after record-breaking year

Features

The Arkansas State Fair might be 82, but it can still party. The fair returns to Little Rock Oct. 14-23, offering food, entertainment, rides and various competition, from livestock to baking to pageants. The event is coming off of the highest attendance in its history in 2021, attracting nearly 540,000 fans, a testament to the Arkansas State Fair’s enduring popularity. “The Arkansas State Fair is

A Legend in the Baking: State Fair blue-ribbon baker Brandi Burke is the one to ‘beat’

Features

You can’t ask Arkansas State Fair baking champion Brandi Burke for her secret recipes, but not for the reasons you might think. It isn’t because she’s not approachable, or she’s zealous about preserving her advantage, or she’s paranoid over enlightening a fellow amateur pâtissier looking to improve. You can’t ask Burke for the secret to

Junior chefs master the Arkansas 4-H Food Challenge

Features

Preparing nutritious meals on a budget with limited shopping resources and limited access to fresh foods can be challenging for many adults. But students who competed in the Arkansas 4-H Food Challenge on Aug. 4 were up to the task. The annual cooking competition, held at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College’s Culinary and Hospitality

Uniquely Arkansas: Fouke’s Monster Mart keeps legend alive

Uniquely Arkansas

It’s been 50 years since the “The Legend of Boggy Creek” stirred the imaginations of moviegoers about the Fouke Monster — a Bigfoot creature from the bottomlands of the Sulphur River in southwest Arkansas. The film, an independent, low-budget venture, put Fouke on the map. The cult-classic drew throngs of monster hunters to the tiny

Bring on the bagpipes! Lyon College celebrates 150th anniversary with festival, homecoming

Worth the Drive

Tradition at Arkansas’ oldest independent college is tuned to the wail of bagpipes. An array of kilted pipers, some in marching bands, will perform traditional Gaelic songs Oct. 14-16, as Lyon College stages a triple celebration on its Batesville campus — for the Arkansas Scottish Festival, for homecoming and for the university’s 150th anniversary. Under

Reader Recipes: Tasty cooperative contributions

Reader Recipes

October is National Co-op Month. To celebrate, we asked some members of our cooperative family to submit their favorite recipes — and they cooperated! Cast-Iron Skillet Apple Pie 1 stick butter 1 cup brown sugar 2 prepared pie crusts (I use one box of Pillsbury crusts) at room temperature 4-5 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled

Recipes: Frightful delights!

Recipes - Juliana Goodwin

Halloween goodies give guests ‘pumpkin’ to talk about! Frankenstein Guacamole Makes 4 servings. 2 large avocados 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice 1/2  teaspoon salt or to taste 1 clove garlic, chopped 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 1/3 cup white onion, minced Black tortilla chips Black olives Red bell pepper or roasted red

Web Exclusive Recipe: Witch Layered Dip

Recipes - Juliana Goodwin

Witch Layered Mexican Dip Makes 6-8 servings 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning 1 cup refried beans 1 cup chunky salsa 1 cup prepared guacamole 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese Black olives Red bell pepper strips Black tortilla chips Mix together cream cheese and taco seasoning, and spread in a

The Cooperative Difference: The pace of change

The Cooperative Difference

I went to Houston, Texas, to visit my son and daughter-in-law and had the privilege of visiting NASA’s Johnson Space Center. A cool T-shirt in the gift shop had a quote from the late theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking: “Intelligence is the Ability to Adapt to Change” spelled out in cryptic letters and numbers. The point

Let’s Eat: Mama K’s is more than OK!

Let’s Eat

Kyle and Julie Orr opened Mama K’s in the Lono community — in the southern part of Hot Spring County — in October 2014. “We saw a need for a restaurant in this area,” Julie said. “We looked at one location, but the deal fell through, so we decided to build instead. Our family and

Meet Bill Gossage, AECI vice president of governmental affairs

Currents

In 1937, Arkansas State Rep. Claude M. Smith co-sponsored the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation Act, paving the way for rural electrification. Some 85 years later, Smith’s great-grandson, Bill Gossage, is making his own mark on the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. Gossage, former deputy chief of staff of external affairs for Gov. Asa Hutchinson, recently joined

Editor’s Welcome: Cooperative employee goes distance for members, ministry

Editor's Welcome

In his work life as a quality of service technician, Casey Jones, a 28-year employee of Ozarks Electric Cooperative, inspects miles and miles of poles. In his free time, Casey hikes miles and miles for charity. It started in 2017 when he visited India as part of a mission trip with his church, Prairie Grove

Gardening: The Great Pumpkins, squash and gourds

Gardening with Janet

October and pumpkins are almost synonymous. While many think only of the mid-size orange jack-o’-lantern type, pumpkins, gourds and winter squashes come in a myriad of sizes and colors. From tiny Jack-B-Little forms to the competition giant pumpkins at county fairs, a wide variety of pumpkins and their relatives are readily available at local markets.

Pumpkin Patches

BoBrook Farms 13810 Combee Lane, Roland 501-519-5666 Admission $7 ages 2 and up Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday-Sunday 9 a.m.-6 p.m. bobrookfarms.com   Farmland Adventures 5350 Parsons Rd., Springdale 479-799-5033 Admission $14 adults, $12 ages 3-12 Thursday 3-9:30 p.m., Friday 1-9:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-9:30p.m. farmlandadventures.com   Hicks Family Farms, LLC. 184 Lasiter Rd., Lonoke