Beyond the Headlines

After years of working as a CPA, Michelle Kooi made a career change with the intention of helping others. Kooi uses her experience to help women business owners prioritize getting more done. She now runs Confluence Consulting & Coaching. By Rick O’Block and Connor Shreve.

Sponsored by Sky Ute Casino Resort and FASTSIGNS Durango.

Colorado has a special relationship with historic hotels. From Telluride’s New Sheridan to Durango’s Strater Hotel to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park - among other examples. They can serve as the focal point of a town's business district, peeling back a town's history and allowing guests and residents to transport themselves back in time.
An ambitious historic hotel renovation is underway in Fremont County, where one of Colorado’s ten oldest hotels is getting more than a simple makeover.
By Connor Shreve. This story is sponsored by Sky Ute Casino Resort and FASTSIGNS Durango

Chef Arnold Safari has brought his blend of African Fusion cuisine to Durango for years. The most recent iteration of his culinary creativity is Chef Safari’s African Fusion Food Truck in Durango. The menu draws from Chef Safari’s Kenyan roots as well as his global culinary experience. On this edition of Beyond The Headlines, Chef Safari talks about his cuisine and his journey to the Four Corners.

Sponsored by Sky Ute Casino Resort and FASTSIGNS Durango

Climber Rob Javier is an educator at Escalante Middle School in Durango, Colorado. He’s one of only about 21,000 people who have ever summited Mount Denali. On this episode, Javier reflects on his trip to the top of North America’s highest peak.
This story is sponsored by Sky Ute Casino and FASTSIGNS Durango.

Author Mark Stevens is the 2023 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Writer of the Year. A two-time winner of the award, Stevens' most recent release, ‘The Fireballer’ was named one of the best baseball books of the year by baseball literary magazine Spitball and named Best Baseball Fiction Book 2023 by The Twin Bill. When he’s not crafting award-winning prose, Stevens plays bass in the band Flashback and hosts a weekly radio show on KSJD called TRAIL MIX.
By Connor Shreve

Sponsored by Sky Ute Casino Resort and FASTSIGNS Durango.

The Blue Moon Ramblers Americana band are synonymous with The Strater Hotel. In three decades as the Sunday night house band at The Diamond Belle Saloon, the group has performed 1900 times, with more than 50 musicians. In 2023, the Strater Hotel dedicated one of its rooms to the band. Co-founder George Usinowicz reflects on the band's journey. By Connor Shreve

This story is sponsored by Sky Ute Casino Resort

David Yarrow is a world-renowned fine art photographer who took his first globally recognized photo at the age of 20. It was a photo of soccer star Diego Maradona clutching the World Cup Trophy after winning the tournament in Mexico in 1986. After working the World Cup and the Olympics he left his photography career for one in finance. Now, Yarrow is once again a professional photographer, among the list of recognizable fine art producers, shooting everything from wildlife to landscapes to celebrities and models. The Four Corners and the American West are among his favorite places to shoot. By Connor Shreve

This story is sponsored by FASTSIGNS of Durango