In light of the recent double homicide of a queer couple in our area, KZMU recognizes the need for voices and stories from LGBTQ+ community members to be featured and shared over our airwaves. We are launching a new project called ‘Lift Up: LGBTQ+ Visibility.’ Interviews with LGBTQ+ locals will appear in the newscast, and we will soon have a dedicated page on our website to their stories and this project. We hope Lift Up: LGBTQ+ Visibility helps deepen understanding and empathy within our community and reinforces a sense of belonging.

Our first LGBTQ+ storyteller is Laura DeFrain, a trauma-informed yoga, climbing, and mindfulness instructor currently living on Ute Land (Moab, UT). They have never considered themselves to be particularly ‘athletic’ but they developed a passion for intuitive movement on their own trauma-healing journey. They began teaching in an effort to help support others in healing and also cultivate more queer and non-binary representation in both climbing and yoga.

Many thanks to Ginger Allen and Serah Mead, who are producing today’s piece.

And later, the Weekly News Reel where we discuss some of the latest stories about our local area with the reporters who wrote them. The Times-Independent’s Doug McMurdo reports on Moab City Police Department’s ‘institutional’ body camera misuse and the resignation of city manager Joel Linares. The Moab Sun News’ Alison Harford discusses mask mandates in Utah, progress on the new USU-Moab campus, and an event bringing bagpipes to downtown.

Show Notes:

Photo: Laura DeFrain is our first storyteller in KZMU’s Lift Up: LGBTQ+ Visibility project. Laura began teaching intuitive movement in an effort to help support others in healing and also cultivate more queer and non-binary representation in both climbing and yoga. Courtesy Laura DeFrain

Music featured in today’s newscast includes:

‘Pennies’ by Ketsa

‘Chicago’ by Scott Holmes Music

‘Upbeat Funk Pop’ by Scott Holmes Music

Weekly News Reel Mentions –

The Times-Independent: Updated Sept. 9 – Linares resigns

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/linares-resigns/

The Times-Independent: Judge Torgerson – MPD body camera misuse ‘detrimental to fair process’

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/judge-torgerson-mpd-body-camera-misuse-detrimental-to-fair-process/

Moab Sun News: Grand County High cancels class due to COVID outbreak

https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_7dbe9086-0e65-11ec-acfb-d7eac5f7f517.html

*more stories from the Moab Sun News will be added when available online*