KZMU News

Tune in to the Regional Roundup to hear about the prominence of the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado politics in the 1920s. Alan Prendergast explores this history and tells the tale of the district attorney who brought them down in his new book. Plus, we have a report on a collaboration between a regional printmaker and a musician, and spoken word poetry from a world poetry slam champion.

The Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count is a fun activity for birders that happens to contribute tremendously to the field of ornithology.

Plus, the Weekly News Reel! Doug McMurdo of The Times-Independent explains how an unusable boat ramp at Lake Powell is affecting river guiding businesses in Moab, the city’s new green burials program at the cemetery, and Moab’s forthcoming rock climbing gym. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News covers a local author’s new book and the future of USU Moab.

Photo: A Steller's Jay perches on a branch in Bryce Canyon National Park. Photo via Flickr.

Lift Up is a KZMU storytelling project intending to deepen understanding and empathy within our community and reinforce a sense of safety and belonging for all. Our next Lift Up storyteller is Joshua Patterson. A two-year transplant, Josh hopes to one day be considered a full Moabite. He is currently working on a degree in history in hopes to be a history teacher. He lives with his husband, and enjoys reading, video games, and eating as much Filipino food he can get.

// This episode of Lift Up was produced by Ginger Cyan with support from KZMU.

// Image Description: Joshua Patterson, a person with short hair, wears sunglasses in a blue suit. Joshua dips a person in a dark suit, his husband, and they both smile at the camera. They are in front of a brightly colored mural reading ‘Greetings from Moab.’

// Find Lift Up Season 2 here:

www.kzmu.org/lift-up-season-2/

// Show Notes:

https://www.kzmu.org/lift-up-josh-patterson/

Construction on a stormwater system will begin at a development in Kane Creek next week. Concerned residents held a meeting with the Utah Division of Water Quality on Monday to discuss flood risks. Plus, we hear from KGNU about what really happens to most clothes donated to thrift stores in the U.S.

//Photo: Construction on a housing and shopping development near the Colorado River is set to begin next week. Photo by Rob Lucas via Flickr.

//Show Notes:

Recent coverage on the Kane Creek development:

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

If you experienced an emergency in Moab and had nowhere else to turn, Moab Solutions is an organization that could help. All year long, the nonprofit fields calls for emergency lodging, gas, food and even medicine. About one third of the funding Moab Solutions needs to support these calls is raised over the next few weeks by bell ringers. Today on the news, we have an audio portrait of long time bell-ringing volunteer, Bruni Mason. Plus, our radio partners report on winter supply runs to Black Mesa and holiday artisan markets. 

// Photo: Bruni Mason, a longtime volunteer with Moab Solutions, raises money for the organization’s emergency needs fund. Volunteers will be bell-ringing at City Market through Christmas Eve.

// Moab Solutions Emergency Needs Fund

Contact Sara Melnicoff: 435-401-4685

// Music in today’s audio portrait is ‘Plants’ by HoliznaCC0

On the latest Regional Roundup, we hear about a high school in Durango teaching the Navajo language. Plus, an interview about supporting a group of migrants from Venezuela in our region, a feature on a new move to stop naming birds after people, and author Betsy Gaines Quamman examines the myth of the American West.

“The library is the place where you don’t have to ever believe something or buy something to come in here and stay and enjoy the space. Everyone is welcome.”

–Meg Flynn, Grand County Public Library Assistant Director

In the West, ongoing drought is forcing us all to think about how we use water differently. Hopi farmer and University of Arizona faculty member Michael Kotutwa Johnson is using ancient practices to grow food. Our radio partners visited Johnson in his fields, and learned more about the ways he grows corn, squash and beans and why he wants native seeds repatriated back to Indigenous communities like his.

Kaitlin Myers, Colin Topper, and Tawny Knuteson-Boyd won seats in the Moab city council during Tuesday's election. Plus, we hear from our partners at Aspen Public Radio about the blessing of the skis. And from KSJD about hydropower developments on the Navajo Nation.

Show Notes:

Election results:

https://electionresults.utah.gov/results/public/grandcountyutah/elections/2023-Nov-General

The first-ever Parks & Recreation Master Plan recommends an estimated $22.3 million dollars worth of improvements for Moab City’s parks and recreation facilities. These include getting public parks into ADA compliance, redesigning the Center Street Ballfields, and improving trail connections. Plus, WabiSabi’s free, in-person community Thanksgiving meal returns. And later, our radio partners report on Telluride, Colorado’s unique claim to Thanksgiving fame: the tofurkey.

// Show Notes:

// Moab City 2024 Parks & Recreation Master Plan

https://moabcity.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/6524?fileID=8398