Cases in the U.S. District Court of Utah can now be heard in Moab and Monticello. The change is intended to cut down travel times for law enforcement involved in hearings and citizens selected for federal jury duty. Plus, a new management plan for Bears Ears National Monument allows rock climbing, prohibits base jumping, and continues on with the status quo for grazing in the area.

On the News Reel today, we talk to Andrew Christiansen, reporter at the Times-Independent, about the Grand County Commission’s newly elected chair and vice chair. We also talk about the Moab Music Festival’s new director and give an update about the missing parrots in Moab. Plus, we highlight a quick story about a 26,000-year-old fox that was discovered in Utah recently.

- Show Notes -

• Winfield made Grand County Commission chair; McCandless elected vice chair

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/winfield-made-grand-county-commission-chair-mccandless-elected-vice-chair/

• Moab music festival names Tessa Lark as artistic director

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/moab-music-festival-names-tessa-lark-as-artistic-director/

• Long lost parrots missing near Porcupine Rim

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/long-lost-parrots-missing-near-porcupine-rim/

• Ice age fox skeleton discovered in Utah cave

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/ice-age-fox-skeleton-discovered-in-utah-cave/

This week on Regional Roundup, as Colorado prepares to reintroduce another pack of wolves, we hear from biologist Diane Boyd, who recounts four decades of wolf research in her new memoir "A Woman Among Wolves." We also hear a story on how immigrant rights groups are battling misinformation and bracing for a second Trump administration. And finally, we hear from Aspen author Auden Schlender, who asks us to be better climate citizens in his new book "Terrible Beauty: Reckoning with Climate Complicity and Rediscovering Our Soul."

In December, 28-year-old Moab resident Kara Bard bought the site of a former artist residency in Cisco, Utah, called Home of the Brave. The program was started by the previous owner Eileen Muza, who spent nearly a decade rebuilding old structures on the ghost town property. Today on the show, we talk to Muza about the history of Home of the Brave and the challenges they faced as a queer artist in rural Utah. And we talk to Bard about her plans to reopen the residency and more.

- Show Notes -

• KZMU’s previous reporting about Home of the Brave: https://www.kzmu.org/best-of-2019-creatively-preserving-and-re-forming-cisco-utah/

• Photo: Eileen Muza touches up their junkyard "movie theater," a projector screen on the ghost town property they used to own in Cisco, Utah. By Emily Arntsen / KZMU

This week on Regional Roundup, we hear from Utah author Elizabeth Smart, who has been a tireless advocate for abuse survivors since her kidnapping at age 14. We also explore how a smaller-sized piano at CU Boulder is helping musicians avoid injury, hear a fire spotter’s story, and learn one film critic’s top five movies of 2024.

On the News Reel today, we talk to Doug McMurdo, editor of the Times-Independent, about a sergeant with the Grand County Sheriff's Office who won Investigator of the Year for his work against internet crimes. We also discuss a new state law that requires the county to review subdivision applications within 160 days, among other changes. We finish up with a quick forecast of what’s to come for the Grand County Commission, which will welcome its new commissioners at their first meeting on Jan. 7.

- Show Notes -

• Grand County sergeant honored as ICAC Investigator of the Year

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/grand-county-sergeant-honored-as-icac-investigator-of-the-year/

• Here’s how Grand County’s subdivision review process is changing

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/heres-how-grand-countys-subdivision-review-process-is-changing/

• Renewal amid challenges: The Year in Review Part 2

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/renewal-amid-challenges-the-year-in-review-part-2/

Today we hear from partners at KUER about the state's initiative to save water by helping farmers install efficient sprinklers. We also hear from the Mountain West News Bureau about rural movie theaters that are keeping the popcorn flowing.

This week on Regional Roundup, we hear from a new podcast about the ripple effects of gun violence in communities across the West. We also share water stories from an Indigenous perspective, produced by Tribal Water Media Fellows at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Finally, we examine how immigrant communities across the region are bracing for a second Trump administration.

Today we hear from partners at KSUT about a public lands celebration in Mancos, Colorado, following a recent land grab attempt. We also hear from the Mountain West News Bureau about women who work in construction and their attempts to usher in a new generation of female construction workers.

Today we hear from our partners at Rocky Mountain Community Radio about a lawsuit against the state of Utah regarding public lands. We also hear from the Utah News Connection about the state's shortage of foster homes. Plus, we hear from the Mountain West News Bureau about the role beavers play in fire mitigation.