Weekend Reads: The Upper Buffalo, succulent flavors and spring weather

Text from our SGF Weekend email newsletter, written by Rance Burger

As beautiful as the next seven days are going to be, it’s a great time to shake out of winter hibernation and start planning some road trips with outdoor destinations. Sony Hocklander has some great suggestions on the Upper Buffalo River in northwest Arkansas, where you can do so much more than canoeing or rafting. It might be a bit brisk for a swim, but it’s a prime time for a hike with some natural scenery at the top of the hill.

Maybe you don’t want to leave Springfield, but how about exploring some Italian dining here at home? Juliana Goodwin feeds our foodie curiosities in this stuffed story on ravioli. Forget the smell of Chef Boyardee stored in your childhood memory banks, because this menu has pillowy pasta crammed with great stuff like portobello mushrooms and slow-cooked short rib.

OK, it’s beautiful out this weekend, but it’s never too early to prepare for storm season. Meteorologist Drew Albert explains what it means when our friends on television say “severe thunderstorm,” and how you can get the best information on the weather when the skies turn dark. In light of recent storms, we noticed many of you used our website to look at Jeff Kessinger’s 2022 piece on public tornado shelters in Springfield, how they work and how to get there.

Finally, we want to make sure you’re up to speed on what happened in Tuesday’s elections. Cory Matteson has the reaction to the passage of Proposition S and the election of Shurita Thomas-Tate and Judy Brunner to the Springfield Board of Education, and Jack McGee and I have the passage of three Springfield ballot measures, the reelection of Mayor Ken McClure and three new members of the Springfield City Council set to take office later this month.

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