Colorado Matters

Colorado's minimum wage goes up again Jan. 1. Two perspectives on how it helps and hurts. Also, maybe you had some awkward political conversations with family over the holidays...but what about at work? More this week from our series Breaking Bread. Then, remembering a Colorado man who became a Disney imagineer.

Sixty years ago, black students integrated a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. We speak with a member of that group, Carlotta Walls Lanier, who lives in Denver, about her views on racial discrimination then and now. Also, our colleagues at Open Air remember musicians who've died in 2017 by having local bands play their music.

In 2017, we heard the stories behind the songs. Today we revisit some of our favorite music interviews from the past year. That includes the thoroughly Colorado career of John Oates, the classical connection of a father and son, and a touch of bluegrass with the Cody Sisters and Jonny Miller of The Lonesome Days.

DEA investigators in Denver believed they had an open and shut case; a drug company they thought played a role in the opioid crisis. But in the end, they say the company got only a slap on the wrist. What that means for the fight against opioids. Then, films that came out of Colorado this year. And, the new head of public health at the CU School of Medicine is an air quality expert. He plans to make things better. Also, we remember a Colorado mountain climber who was "an uncensored soul."

A Denver coffeehouse offers apprenticeships to workers who've struggled in previous jobs. Then, nonprofits worry that tax changes will cut donations. Also, we remember a Coloradan who used a little-known rule to challenge the jury system. Plus, historians recover the voices of history in Grand Junction. And, how to exercise that airport wait away.

The Fray's Isaac Slade and his wife, Anna, were the opening act for the 2nd annual Colorado Matters Holiday Extravaganza, a showcase of artists sharing their favorite holiday songs, memories and traditions. Guests included comedian Josh Blue, Denver Latin ska band Roka Hueka and soprano Christie Conover.

Last year Coloradans voted to let people take prescription medications to end their lives. Kathy Myers was one of the first to die under the new law, but her husband says it was hard to find doctors who would help them. In other cases, patients struggled when the medication took a long time to kill them. Then, how 20 people survived a mountain plane crash near Steamboat Springs almost 40 years ago. And, the new album from Big Head Todd And The Monsters.

The state’s largest treatment provider is closing. Arapahoe House serves 5,000 people a year in metro Denver. Now, nobody’s quite sure where those people will go. Then, Clarence Moses-El spent nearly 30 years behind bars for a rape he says he didn’t commit. He was released, acquitted, and now he’s suing Denver.

In our monthly interview, Gov. John Hickenlooper says CHIP -- the health insurance program for poor kids and pregnant moms-- shouldn't be used as a bargaining chip. Hickenlooper, and other governors -- from both parties -- are lobbying Congress for the program's reauthorization. He also discussed what he found when he looked into complaints in his own executive branch in the wake of the Me Too movement. Then, the impact new appointee Melissa Hart might have on the Colorado Supreme Court.

When the U.S. announced it was leaving the Paris climate agreement, the French government invited climate scientists to move to France. Several of the scientists who accepted the invitation are from Colorado. Also, we discuss whether energy development was a factor when the Trump administration decided to shrink Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.