Today on the News Reel, we speak to Doug McMurdo, editor at the Times-Independent, about the ICE protest that took place in Moab last week. We also discuss a recent state audit of a former USU president who spent nearly $300,000 dollars renovating her office. And we finish with a quick update about funding for CFI’s youth program.

Today we speak to Greg Nunn, a master flintknapper from Castle Valley who crafts stone tools using an ancient technique. We discuss the ways he’s preserving, documenting and passing on the tradition and what the practice means to him personally. This episode is part of a KZMU series that highlights people in our community who are keeping Southwestern traditions alive. You can find more stories in this series on KZMU.org.

- Show Notes -

• Greg Nunn Flintknapping

https://gregnunnflintworks.com/

• Photo: Greg Nunn chips away at a knife with an antler. Photo by Emily Arntsen/KZMU.

This week on the Regional Roundup, we'll hear about the formation of a new federal agency: the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, and a report on so-called “death cards” found in abandoned vehicles following rumored ICE activity near Vail, Colorado. We’ll also check in on an avalanche training program in Wyoming, and efforts underway to reintroduce wolverines to Colorado. Plus, a look at the dismantling of a beloved gathering place for some locals in Moab by the Bureau of Land Management, and we wrap up the show in Park City with a look at the Sundance Film Festival, the final year the festival will call Utah home before moving to Boulder, Colorado, next year.

Today on the News Reel, we speak to Lizzie Ramirez, reporter at the Times-Independent, about a statement from Moab City officials in response to federal immigration officers shooting and killing two Americans in Minnesota recently. We also discuss a survey taking place in the area to assess homelessness.

- Show Notes -

• Moab mayor reaffirms support for immigrants: ‘We’re not going to let anything happen to you.’

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/were-not-gonna-let-anything-happen-to-you-moab-mayor-reaffirms-support-for-immigrants/

• Statewide effort to count Utahns experiencing homelessness

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/statewide-effort-to-count-utahns-experiencing-homelessness/

LeAnder Goldtooth is one of very few people his age keeping the art of Navajo basket weaving alive. At just 23 years old, he's become a master of the craft, harvesting his own sumac, reviving ancient patterns, and sharing his knowledge with the next generation.

- Show Notes -

• LeAnder Goldtooth on Instagram:

www.instagram.com/ashkiiasaa.goldtooth/

Photo: LeAnder Goldtooth holds two baskets he's working on for an upcoming ceremony. Photo by Emily Arntsen/KZMU.

This week on the Regional Roundup, we'll pay a visit to the First People's Festival that took place in Estes Park, Colorado, earlier this month. The three-day event brought together Indigenous artists, educators, and community members for fashion, art, dance, and storytelling. We also learn about a program that teaches high school students trade skills, and puts those skills to work building affordable housing. We’ll also take a closer look at the Colorado River Basin, where the U.S. Department of the Interior has released a draft environmental impact statement outlining potential paths forward for managing the river and its two largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. We’ll round out the show with a conversation with the filmmaker behind a new documentary examining the crisis in local journalism.

Today on the News Reel, we speak to Andrew Christiansen, reporter at the Times-Independent, about the Moab Chamber of Commerce’s recent business summit, and a special guest appearance at that meeting by Kevin Lilly, acting assistant secretary for the Department of Interior Fish, Wildlife and National Parks. We finish with a quick update about Our Village Community Center, a nonprofit that recently lost funding for free food distribution in Moab.

- Show Notes -

• Strengths, opportunities highlight chamber’s business summit

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/strengths-opportunities-highlight-chambers-business-summit/

• Lilly connects National Parks to God, children and cartels at business summit

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/lilly-connects-national-parks-to-god-children-and-cartels-at-business-summit/

• Our Village distributed nearly 34,000 pounds of food in 2025 as grant funding ends

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/our-village-distributed-nearly-34000-pounds-of-food-in-2025-as-grant-funding-ends/

For decades, Otho Bridge was a beloved gathering place for a small community of Moab locals who lived in Mill Creek Canyon. That era has come to an end—the last person left the canyon a few years ago. Then, last spring, the Bureau of Land Management dismantled the site at Otho Bridge, including the famous sandstone chessboard. In this story, we speak with a BLM archaeologist and a member of that original Mill Creek community about the line between art and vandalism, community and public land.

Photo by Emily Arntsen/KZMU

This week on the Regional Roundup, we hear from vigils and protests around the region after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. We also hear from a former National Forest supervisor about the challenges currently facing public lands. Then, a conversation with a conservationist about efforts to restore American bison to Indigenous lands. We finish the show with a BLM archaeologist who tells us about efforts to preserve and conserve the region’s rich archaeological history.

Today on the News Reel, we speak to Andrew Christiansen, reporter at the Times-Independent, about a possible new sales tax in Grand County that would fund new public safety facilities. We also recap the city’s 2026 goals, which were discussed in a recent strategic planning retreat. And we finish with a quick update about the murder-suicide case in Island in the Sky.

- Show Notes -

• City discusses priorities at strategic planning retreat

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/city-discusses-priorities-at-strategic-planning-retreat/

• Commission launches review of proposed public safety sales tax

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/commission-launches-review-of-proposed-public-safety-sales-tax/

• 6-year-old child found deceased inside Canyonlands National Park

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/child-found-deceased-inside-canyonlands-national-park/