Colorado’s Secretary of State Office has until September 5 to determine what initiative petitions received enough signatures to be included on the November ballot. For this week’s news brief, KDNK’s Raleigh Burleigh speaks to Corey Hutchins of the Colorado Independent about the measures so far .

Bob Rankin represents Colorado's 57th District in the state house. He dropped by the KDNK studio last week. In this clip, he talks to Amy Hadden Marsh about why a single geographic rating area for health insurers is good for Colorado.

An underground fire that’s been burning along a coal seam for over a century has opened a vent south of New Castle. Officials from the state and Colorado River Fire Rescue surveyed the scene last week. KDNK’s Amy Hadden Marsh has this audio postcard.

The Bureau of Land Management released on Monday an Environmental Assessment for the December oil and gas lease sale that includes nearly 8,000 acres in the North Fork Valley. Despite the Town of Paonia’s push to submit a comment within the shortened scoping period, that comment was omitted from the assessment. KDNK’s Raleigh Burleigh spoke with Andrew Forkes-Gudmundson, associate program director for Citizens for a Healthy Community , and BLM Public Affairs Specialist Jayson Barangan. For

Bob Rankin (R-Carbondale) represents Colorado's 57th District in the state house. He dropped by the KDNK studio last week. In this clip, he talks to KDNK's Amy Hadden Marsh about the previous session and how the abuse scandals impacted his work.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife hosted at least 200 people at a second public meeting last night about the Basalt State Wildlife Area Shooting Range. KDNK’s Amy Hadden Marsh spoke with several attendees, including a Basalt Town Council member who says the Council votes tonight on a resolution about the fate of the range. You can submit comments on the Basalt Shooting Range by clicking here .

Aspen Film is recruiting volunteer screeners for the 28 th Annual Shortsfest. KDNK’s Raleigh Burleigh spoke with director of operations and education Regna Jones to learn more.

On the November ballot, Pitkin County will decide whether or not to renew the Healthy Community Fund at an increased rate for nine years. KDNK's Raleigh Burleigh reports. Full audio of the public hearing on Wednesday, August 22, is available here .

The Colorado River is running low on water. The lifeline that slakes the thirst of 40 million southwestern residents is projected to hit a historic low mark within two years, forcing mandatory cuts to water deliveries in Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.

Smoke on Burning Mountain near New Castle last week came from a fire deep inside an abandoned coal mine. The origin of the fire is unknown but Tara Tafi, Mine Fire Specialist and Senior Project Manager with the state Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety, told KDNK’s Amy Hadden Marsh that the fire has been burning for a very long time.