KZMU News

Governor Gary Herbert announced that over the past month, Utah’s COVID-19 case counts have “skyrocketed to the highest they have ever been,” calling this jump “one of the worst outbreaks in the country.” His words preceded an announcement of the state’s new COVID-19 Transmission Index, which rates each county’s transmission rates as low, moderate, or high. Grand County – currently in the state’s moderate category – has averaged three cases per day over the last 12 days. And later, we continue an in-depth look at where water and wildfire intersect in the West.

Show Notes:

Photo: Members of an assessment team put together by the U.S. Forest Service are beginning to gather initial information about the Cameron Peak Fire’s intensity, which will affect water quality for years. (Photo Courtesy U.S. Forest Service)

Utah COVID-19 Transmission Index

https://coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels/

Southeast Utah Health Dept Total Case Counts

https://www.seuhealth.com/covid-19

10/12/20 Southeast Utah Health Dept ‘Plea for Caution’

KUNC: For The West’s Drinking Water, Wildlife Concerns Linger Long After Smoke Clears

https://www.kunc.org/api-only/2020-10-08/for-the-wests-drinking-water-wildfire-concerns-linger-long-after-smoke-clears

Ballots are being mailed to all registered voters in Grand County today, October 13th. And there’s a lot for voters to consider, including three questions related to our county’s form of government. The questions essentially ask: Do you want a new form of county government? Do you want things to stay the same? Or, do you want to amend what we have? Today on the news, de-fogging FOG (form of government). And later, we continue an in-depth look at the intersection of wildfire and watersheds in the West.

Show Notes:

Photo: Firefighters watch a controlled burn within the Grizzly Creek Fire in Colorado. The fire has burned more than 30,000 acres near Glenwood Canyon. Now, the charred hillsides pose a flood risk for nearby areas. (Alex Hager // Aspen Public Radio)

Form of Government Vote Outcomes (Props 10, 16, 17)

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/DocumentCenter/View/10061/FOG-Flyer---Propositions-Vote-Outcomes?bidId=

KZMU Election 2020 Resources

https://www.kzmu.org/election-2020-grand-county-information/

Aspen Public Radio: Homeowners Who Avoid Wildfire Damage Can Find Themselves In New Flood Zone

https://www.aspenpublicradio.org/post/homeowners-who-avoid-wildfire-damage-can-find-themselves-new-flood-zone-0

Although a federal court in Montana recently took away William Perry Pendley’s authority to make decisions as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, the Wyoming native is currently travelling around the region to let people know his job remains largely the same. Plus, a newly launched digital exhibit explores the similarities in Utah during the 1918 flu pandemic and the current COVID-19 pandemic. And later we begin a series taking a closer look at where water and fire intersect across the West.

Show Notes:

Photo: A firefighter watches the flames in Yellowstone National Park during the 1988 fires. (Jim Peako/National Park Service)

Utah Public Radio: Exhibit Examines Similarities Between Spanish Influenza in Utah, The Current Pandemic

https://www.upr.org/post/exhibit-examines-similarities-between-spanish-influenza-utah-current-pandemic

KHOL: In Yellowstone, America's 'First Water Park,' Decades-Old Blaze Marked Start of Megafire Era

https://891khol.org/in-yellowstone-americas-first-water-park-decades-old-blaze-marked-start-of-megafire-era/

Grand County Active Transportation and Trails is making progress on the Robin Groff Memorial Park, a new bike skills area snaking an edge of the Mill Creek Parkway. New developments include rocks and wooden ramp features for beginner mountain bikers. Today on the news, we take a tour of the design-in-progress and hear a reflection from the mayor on how some reactions to this project have influenced the city council.

Plus, News Reel! with The Times-Independent and the Moab Sun News, an opportunity to hear first-hand from newspaper reporters and editors about the unique stories they write and beats they cover in the local area. First, Times-Independent editor Doug McMurdo highlights some of their coverage including the latest COVID-19 cases in Grand County. And later, Moab Sun News editor Maggie McGuire unpacks several issues surrounding ATV/UTV noise.

Show Notes:

Mill Creek Path Bicycle Skills Area: FAQs

https://grandcountyutah.net/1090/Mill-Creek-Path-Bicycle-Skills-area-FAQ

News Reel! Mentions –

The Times-Independent: Moab sees 15 new COVID cases in 3 days

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/moab-sees-15-new-covid-cases-in-3-days/

The Times-Independent: Preparing to vote, making sense of ballot governance options

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/preparing-to-vote-making-sense-of-ballot-governance-options/

The Times-Independent (OPINION): Removing the fog from FOG – form of government

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/removing-the-fog-from-fog-form-of-government/

The Times-Independent: Hug a tree, foster diplomacy

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/hug-a-tree-foster-diplomacy/

The Times-Independent: Brothers admit to stealing ‘a mile’ of copper signal wire

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/brothers-admit-to-stealing-a-mile-of-copper-signal-wire/

Moab Sun News: A mighty uproar

https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_1eeb1f82-09b3-11eb-88ac-230b07bfa8c9.html

Moab Sun News: UTV rally ‘on thin ice’

https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_b16cf198-09b6-11eb-95f5-bfb0efc0e959.html

As part of an effort to become an International Dark Sky Community, volunteer monitors are stepping up to measure the quality of our local night skies. This week, well past dark at the Center Street Ballfields, community members received assignments to monitor certain areas in Moab, learning how to take measurements of the dark skies. Today on the news, more on this training, as well as the overall effort to preserve and protect local dark skies.

Show Notes:

Moab Dark Skies

https://moabcity.org/560/Moab-Dark-Skies

https://grandcountyutah.net/1030/Moab-Dark-Skies

International Dark Sky Communities

https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/communities/

Upcoming Dark Sky Monitoring Info:

The Dark Skies Working Group, a collaboration between Moab City, Grand County, Friends of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and passionate citizens, is looking for volunteers to help them monitor the night skies in Grand County to support their efforts to become an International Dark Sky Community. Volunteers must possess an iPhone and be able to attend a brief training session on October 14th, 8:00PM, Center Street Ballpark. You will learn how to measure the brightness of the sky and be assigned a specific site to monitor about once a month. Training will be held outside and will follow all recommended safety protocols. Interested volunteers should email [email protected].

As Grand County’s coronavirus case counts continue to rise, three recent positives have affected the local school district – two students, both siblings, and one teacher. The school district notified parents of students in shared classrooms, recommending they be ‘extra vigilant’ and watch their child for potential symptoms. Today on the news, we learn more about COVID-19 protocol at the school district, as well as growing concerns over mask compliance among certain members of the community.

Show Notes:

Southeast Utah Health Department Coronavirus Info

https://www.seuhealth.com/covid-19

Southeast Utah Case Breakdowns

https://www.seuhealth.com/case-breakdowns

Grand County School District (10/7)COVID-19 Update

https://www.grandschools.org/apps/news/article/1311657

*Election 2020* As part of our special election coverage, we bring you the League of Women Voters of Grand County 2020 Candidate Forum. The event featured local county candidates, as well as those vying for federal and state seats. Scrub to the sections and candidates that interest you most with this handy schedule of events:

00:00 - 10:00 min

-Opening Remarks

-Grand County Clerk/Auditor Quinn Hall

-Grand County Treasurer Chris Kauffman

10:00 - 16:00 min

-Local Propositions and State Constitutional Amendments

16:00 - 36:00 min

-US House, Utah's 3rd Congressional District

John Curtis, Devin Thorpe, Thomas McNeill

36:00 - 52:00 min

-Utah House District 70

Carl Albrecht, Jessica O'Leary

52:00 - 59:00

-Grand County District 5: Jaques Hadler

-Grand County District 1: Gabriel Woytek

59:00 - 1:14:00

-Grand County District 4

Greg Halliday, Trisha Hedin

1:14:00 -1:28:00

-Grand County At-Large

Stephen Stocks, Kevin Walker

1:28:00 - 1:30:00

-Closing Remarks

Last night, the local League of Women Voters, with the help of KZMU, hosted their 40th annual Candidate Forum. Using a virtual meeting space, candidates participated from their homes and offices to discuss issues like tourism taxes, mineral leasing on public lands, and even the Affordable Care Act. Representatives from the League say having candidates answer questions and talk to voters is an important and necessary exercise in democracy. Today on the news, some clips from the forum.

Show Notes:

League of Women Voters of Grand County

https://my.lwv.org/utah/grand-county

Today on the news, Grand County reports seven new positive COVID-19 cases. This jump comes as the state’s overall numbers continue to climb. We hear an impassioned plea from a critical care physician at Utah Valley Hospital on the importance of masks, hand washing, and social distancing in prevention. Plus, Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs, Colorado have new fire scars to deal with. Our partners at KDNK recently explored a more mature scar to get a sense of what’s to come for these communities.

Show Notes:

Photo: Dr. Clark Bishop, critical care and pulmonary physician at Utah Valley Hospital

The Salt Lake Tribune: Coronavirus in Utah: 1,393 new cases – the second-highest daily count of the pandemic

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/10/04/coronavirus-utah-report/

The Salt Lake Tribune: What new Utah coronavirus data says about schools and how the virus is spreading

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/10/04/what-new-utah-coronavirus/

Southeast Utah Health Department Coronavirus Info

https://www.seuhealth.com/covid-19

Utah Coronavirus Info

https://coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts/

KDNK: Back to the Future – A Walk Through the Lake Christine Burn Zone

https://www.kdnk.org/post/back-future-walk-through-lake-christine-burn-zone

*Election 2020* As part of our special election coverage, KZMU welcomed two guests with different perspectives on Proposition 10 during a recent This Week in Moab. The prop asks: Shall Grand County adopt the alternate form of government known as the council-manager form pursuant to the optional plan for Grand County Government that the study committee has recommended? We hear the pros from former study committee member Walt Dabney and the cons from citizen Kya Marienfeld.

And listener – here’s an important note. Our guests and host reference a court hearing. The following conversation took place on Monday September 28th, prior to a decision from the 7th District Court related to local government issues. On Thursday October 1st, Judge Don M. Torgerson ruled that Grand County’s Propositions 16 and 17 can run on the 2020 Election Ballot, alongside Prop 10, the Study Committee Plan.

Show Notes:

Study Committee Plan

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/DocumentCenter/View/7266/Recommendation--Report-with-Optional-Plan---2020

Changing Form of Government Info

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/984/Changing-Form-of-Government

Grand County Voter Information Pamphlet

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/DocumentCenter/View/10024/FULL-VIP?bidId=

Oct 1 Judge Torgerson Ruling

https://www.kzmu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-10-01-Ruling-Order-on-Rule-65B.pdf

Oct 1 Plaintiff Clarification Request

https://www.kzmu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020.10.01-Ex-Parte-Motion-for-Clarification-RD.pdf