KZMU News

On the Weekly News Reel today, we talk to Doug McMurdo, editor of the Times-Independent, about upcoming improvements to two bike paths in Moab, one on Highway 128 and one along Highway 191 on the way to Arches National Park. We also highlight key takeaways from a recent interview with Brian King, a Democratic State Representative who’s running in Utah’s gubernatorial race. We finish off with a recap of the Grand County High School’s graduation ceremony, and the announcement of the new high school principal, Cari Caylor.

- Show Notes -

• Two new trail connectors coming to Moab

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/two-new-trail-connectors-coming-to-moab/

• Democrat gubernatorial candidate Brian King thinks Utahns ‘deserve better’

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/democrat-gubernatorial-candidate-brian-king-thinks-utahns-deserve-better/

• Recognizing the GCHS Class of 2024

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/recognizing-the-gchs-class-of-2024/

Bird flu has infected four herds of cattle in Colorado, and scientists believe milk is one likely source of transmission. We also hear from our partners at KUNC about a federal program to pay farmers not to grow crops on their land in order to conserve water. We also hear from KUER about a Utah initiative to reduce recidivism rates on the Navajo Nation.

Nathaniel Clark, a victim advocate with the Moab Police Department, won the System-Based Advocate of the Year award from the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault. We discuss crime trends in Grand County, which has the most domestic violence cases per capita in the state.

- Show Notes -

• Utah’s shelter crisis has gotten worse after a change meant to help domestic violence victims

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/utahs-shelter-crisis-has-gotten-worse-after-a-change-meant-to-help-domestic-violence-victims/

• Moab’s victim assistance program

https://moabcity.org/673/Victim-Assistance-Program

The BLM opened a public comment period today for a new plan proposed by the Lisbon Valley Copper Mine in San Juan County. The company hopes to start in-situ recovery, which requires approval from the EPA to inject acidic solution into the aquifer. This kind of mining permanently contaminates the aquifer, making the water non-potable indefinitely.

We also hear from our partners at KHOL about changes to wolf hunting laws in Wyoming. We hear from KUNC about the best runoff storage in a decade, and from the Utah News Connection about Black voters in Utah. We finish off with a story from Aspen Public Radio about recent drowning deaths in Garfield County.

- Show Notes -

• BLM Public Comment Portal

https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2027164/510

• Salt Lake Tribune: Residents of this southern Utah community fear copper mining proposal’s effects on water

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2024/02/04/residents-this-southern-utah/

• KZMU: Residents of Lisbon Valley speak out against copper mine

https://soundcloud.com/user-452372146-352514478/thursday-february-24-2022?utm_source=www.kzmu.org&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fuser-452372146-352514478%252Fthursday-february-24-2022

Today on the Regional Roundup, we hear a feature about an immersive theater production that aims to heal the historical trauma of the Sand Creek Massacre from Rocky Mountain PBS. We also hear a two-way with Dr. Anne Giesen, a gerontologist with 20 years of hospice care about end of life choices from KGNU. And we finish off with an interview with Holly Carlin who is terminally ill and Jude Higgins, a death doula about having a peaceful death from KRCL.

On the Weekly News Reel today, we talk to Doug McMurdo, editor of the Times-Independent, about the cost of trash collection, which is expected to rise in Moab this summer. We also talk about an old pipeline that could be repurposed from the Crescent Junction UMTRA site to bring water to the town of Thompson Springs. Plus, we preview the Moab Arts Festival and give updates on big repairs needed at the Moab Recreation and Aquatics Center. And we finish off with a story about two people who stole artifacts from Canyonlands National Park.

- Show Notes -

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/cost-of-trash-pickup-will-increase-for-city-residents/

• Need for repairs delays MRAC outdoor pool opening

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/need-for-repairs-delays-mrac-outdoor-pool-opening/

• This weekend: The 30th Moab Arts Festival

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/this-weekend-the-30th-moab-arts-festival/

• Water district looks to acquire federal water pipeline

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/water-district-looks-to-acquire-federal-water-pipeline/

• NPS needs help solving archeological theft incident at Canyonlands National Park

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/nps-needs-help-solving-archeological-theft-incident-at-canyonlands-national-park/

Today, we hear an interview with Sam Mihara, a survivor of the Heart Mountain Prison Camp for Japanese Americans in Wyoming. He spoke at the Moab Museum on Tuesday as part of the museum’s current exhibit on the history of the Moab Isolation Center, a Japanese incarceration camp that operated north of town during WWII. We also hear from the Utah News Connection about the disenrollment of children from the Medicaid system in Utah.

- Show Notes -

• A Moab Prison Camp: Japanese American Incarceration in Grand County

https://moabmuseum.org/exhibition/a-moab-prison-camp/

• Sam Mihara

https://sammihara.com/

A new state law makes it easier for unincorporated land to become a municipality. The new legislation was passed earlier this month, just days before Grand County denied developers of the controversial Kane Creek housing complex the permits they would need to construct a wastewater treatment facility on the property. The developers have already applied to become a municipality through this new program, and if approved, they would be able to bypass county laws and establish their own land use codes. Organizers with Kane Creek Development Watch have reason to believe the new law targets Grand County. Plus, we hear from Aspen Public Radio about a new initiative in Colorado to test drinking water at mobile home parks.

- Show Notes -

• State Bill 258

https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/SB0258.html

• New law could override county's vote against wastewater facility at Kane Creek

https://soundcloud.com/user-452372146-352514478/new-law-could-override-countys-vote-against-wastewater-facility-at-kane-creek-development

• Kane Creek improvement district helmed by developers, not county

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/kane-creek-improvement-district-helmed-by-developers-not-county/

Last week, the U.S. banned the import of Russian uranium, which supplied over 20 percent of the country's fuel demands. Mines in the La Sal Complex south of Moab and at Pinyon Plain near the Grand Canyon have been ramping up production to meet domestic energy demands in response. Today we also hear from the Utah News Connection about fire weather in Utah. Plus, we hear from KSJD about a new law to repatriate sacred objects to Native American tribes. We finish off with a story from KUNC about Colorado River negotiations.

- Show Notes -

• House of Representatives Uranium Industry Report 2023

https://www.congress.gov/118/crpt/hrpt296/CRPT-118hrpt296.pdf

• Salt Lake Tribune: Biden banned Russian uranium imports. Here’s why Utah will feel that.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2024/05/15/bidens-ban-russian-uranium-imports/

Today on the Regional Roundup, we hear a story about the connection between beavers and humans from KSUT. We also hear a two-way with Dr. Daniel Wildcat, a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, who was a speaker at a recent conference in Colorado on using Indigenous knowledge to address the climate crisis, produced by KGNU. Plus, an interview with a veteran on challenges facing veterans trying to get compensation for radiation exposure at the Nevada Test and Training Range, from KSJD. We finish off with a feature about shed antler hunting from KHOL.