KZMU News

On the News Reel today, we talk to Doug McMurdo, editor of the Times-Independent, about the city’s plans to improve Main Street in Moab, possible updates to the Moab Area Travel Council Advisory Board, and law enforcement’s recovery of the body of a missing woman who was killed in a flash flood. Plus, we hear from Kenny Fallon, editor and publisher of the monthly newsletter, the Green River Observer. Fallon tells us about three house fires that occurred in Green River last month and the city’s request for proposals for a new recreation center.

- Show Notes -

• Moab’s Main Street could see safety enhancements

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/moabs-main-street-could-see-safety-enhancements/

• Potential changes to TCAB bylaws discussed amid ongoing tensions

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/potential-changes-to-tcab-bylaws-discussed-amid-ongoing-tensions/

• The Green River Observer

https://thegreenriverobserver.substack.com/

The mining company Energy Fuels transported its first shipment of uranium ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine near the Grand Canyon to the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, Utah, on Tuesday. The company plans to transport six or more truckloads of ore to the White Mesa Mill daily for the next two years. The shipping route cuts through the Navajo Nation, which banned the transportation of uranium on the reservation in 2012, and on Tuesday, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said that Energy Fuels is operating illegally on tribal land. Tribal laws don't apply to federal and state highways, which the company uses to transport, but President Nygren threatened to take Energy Fuels to court over the issue.

After 51 years, the Moab Police Department has finally solved the murder of Ann Woodward, a local barkeep who was killed at Woody’s Tavern in 1973. For decades, law enforcement was stumped — who was the man that Ann beat at poker that night, the man sitting next to her smoking Camel cigarettes, the man with what one witness described as “devastating blue eyes?”

Moab Police detective Jeremy Drexler finally has the answer. In this episode, we talk to Drexler about who the killer was and how, after all these years, he was able to piece together the story of what happened that night in 1973.

The music in this episode was produced by Lobo Loco.

This week on the Regional Roundup, we hear a feature about using stilts to pick peaches in Palisade, Colorado, by Rocky Mountain PBS. We also hear a feature on catfishing in the moonlight by KGNU, a feature on a mounted patrol unit in Jackson, Wyoming, by KHOL, a feature on the recent Ute games for kids, by KSUT/KSJD, and a feature on river runners who tackle the fabled rapids of Cataract Canyon in Utah, excerpted from the Sound of Rushing Water documentary by KZMU.

On the Weekly News Reel today, we talk to Doug McMurdo, editor of the Times-Independent, about the county’s decision to postpone accepting a recent state auditor’s report that found the county misallocated over $4 million in tourism-related funds. We finish our discussion with a story about a recent tragedy involving a Moab resident who passed away from altitude sickness in Peru earlier this summer.

- Show Notes -

• Commissioners postpone acceptance of audit findings

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/commissioners-postpone-acceptance-of-audit-findings/

• Commission, tourism board battle over spending

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/fractured-relationship-commission-tourism-board-battle-over-spending/

• Moab father of two dies in Peru from extreme high altitude

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/moab-father-of-two-dies-in-peru-from-extreme-high-altitude-sickness/

Today we hear from our partners at KUER about a proposed shooting range near a residential neighborhood. We also hear from KSUT about an inter-tribal sports competition in Ignacio, Colorado. And we finish off with a story from KHOL about Jackson, Wyoming's volunteer crew of mounted police.

Today on the Regional Roundup, we hear a two way with former Colorado Governor, Dick Lamm, who spearheaded the opposition to the Winter Olympics in Colorado. We also hear a feature on bird watching in Telluride. Plus, an audio postcard on fire flies, and an interview on Dark Sky communities. And we finish up with a two way on the Gunnison Valley Observatory.

On the Weekly News Reel today, we talk to Doug McMurdo, editor of the Times-Independent, about the Moab Police Department’s year-in-review report, which uses a new records management system that will hopefully make it easier to track 9-1-1 calls by category in the future. We also cover two tragedies that happened last week – two fatalities in Canyonlands and three fatalities on Highway 191.

- Show Notes -

• Moab police responded to nearly 13k calls in last 12 months

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/moab-police-responded-to-nearly-13k-calls-in-last-12-months/

• Dad, daughter die at Canyonlands

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/dad-daughter-die-at-canyonlands/

• 3 family members killed in fatal accident

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/3-family-members-killed-in-fatal-accident/

Today we hear from our partners at KGNU about a traveling Smithsonian exhibit that is currently on display at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum in Green River. We also hear from Rocky Mountain Community Radio's Maeve Conran about western Colorado's approach to managing the spread of Japanese Beetles.

Today we hear from KSUT about a new program to provide locally grown produce to Indigenous communities. We also hear from KGNU about Colorado's new Medicaid plan that includes doula services.