KZMU News

On Tuesday, Grand County commissioners made their first round of decisions for upcoming special events, including the Redrok Roundup, which would provide a weekend of guided tours to 380 UTVs. The organizer's Intent to Apply was approved by the county in a 4-3 vote. Plus, we hear from our partners at KUNC about the Department of Reclamation's recent report regarding Colorado River management. And we hear from the Utah Public News Service about the state's controversial redistricting maps.

//Show Notes:

//Grand County Commission Meeting 10.17.23

https://grandcountyut.portal.civicclerk.com/event/2164/overview

//Photo: An event at the end of June could bring 380 UTVs into Moab if the proposal is approved by the county. Photo by Chris Draper via Flickr.

Moab City recently paid out $429,879 to a company that manages the newly built Element hotel. The 116-room hotel was subject to the city’s workforce assured housing ordinance, which mandates that new overnight accommodations either build some workforce housing or pay a fee in lieu of that construction. The Element made the case that their original fee was too high, and the city agreed to settle. Plus, a tiny home village for unhoused veterans in our region is showing how cities can work with developers on housing solutions.

// Photo: Element Moab is a new hotel north of Moab’s downtown. They recently received $430K from Moab City as part of a settlement agreement over their impact on local housing

Bluff, Utah, was expecting huge crowds of tourists for the eclipse last weekend. The mayor even told the Salt Lake Tribune, about tourists, "Don't try to come here." But the hype was a little overblown, and the small town received the same amount of visitors as it would on a typical fall day, according to one business owner. How did restaurants and businesses fare in terms of supply and demand? Plus, we hear from KRCL's Lara Jones, who interviewed University of Utah professor Amos Guiora about the ongoing violence in Gaza.

//Photo: The Ring of Fire eclipse passed through southeastern Utah on Saturday. Photo by Emily Arntsen

//Show Notes:

//Salt Lake Tribune: Mayor of small town in Utah to eclipse tourists: 'Don't try to come here.'

https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2023/10/12/mayor-small-town-utah-eclipse/

It's Regional Roundup Monday! In this episode, an interview about the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home's body-brokering scam. And, we hear from the manager of a Salt Lake City bookstore that received a bomb threat over their drag queen story time. And later, reporting on new legal help available for immigrants in our region.

During a recent debate, the five candidates running for Moab’s city council were quizzed by the Chamber of Commerce about what they’ll do for local business. Although not all candidates are business owners themselves, they each played to their strengths. Plus, the state of Utah is suing TikTok, claiming the company intentionally encourages unhealthy social media use in children. And later, public lands in the Four Corners region are preparing for eclipse-related traffic.

Plus, the Weekly News Reel! Sophia Fisher of The Times-Independent discusses the Ute Mountain Ute protest of uranium mining and milling in White Mesa, a new affordable housing plan proposed by the Moab Area Housing Task Force, and a city council candidate debate about business in Moab. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News covers the Moab Museum’s special ghost town program and a new study about the mental health consequences of being queer in the LDS church.

// Photo: Moab City Council Candidates. (Left column from top): Tawny Knuteson-Boyd, Kaitlin Myers, Patrick Robbins. (Right column from top): Brad Woodford, Colin Topper.

// Show Notes:

https://www.kzmu.org/its-all-business-at-recent-city-council-debate-plus-the-weekly-news-reel/

KZMU partnered with Moab Arts for this year's Red Rocks Arts Festival to teach a workshop about telling stories with sound. Participants recorded sounds that remind them of Moab and described why those sounds are meaningful to them. Plus, we hear from our partners at the Mountain West News Bureau about conservation of a sacred fish at Pyramid Lake in Nevada.

//Photo: KZMU's Emily Arntsen teaches a podcasting workshop at the Red Rocks Arts Festival. Photo by Kelley McInerney at Moab Arts.

Bluff, Utah, is one of the only towns in the southeastern part of the state near the path of the upcoming solar eclipse. The town only has one gas station, limited cell service, and few restaurants. Plus, many of their Indigenous workforce will take the day off in observance of the astronomical event. Will the eclipse be a boon to the economy, or will it merely bring chaos to the small town? We also hear from our partners at KSJD about a recent march to protest of the uranium mill in White Mesa, which is located on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation.

//Photo: An annular eclipse will pass through part of Utah on Saturday. Map courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management.

//Show Notes:

//How to view the eclipse in Bluff

https://bluffutah.org/annular-solar-eclipse/

Last month was a banger for arts in Moab. New sculptures downtown. Two brand new murals. An arts-focused street festival. And, for a few days, an art installation called Junkyard Reverie invited us to imagine 200 years into the future. Today on the news, local artists explore the practices, rituals and meaning humans might create in a climate-altered world. Plus, our radio partners report on our region’s bumper crop of fruit turning into an incredible fall harvest.

It’s Regional Roundup Monday! This episode features an interview with a regional reporter on the review of historic Native American boarding schools in Colorado. And, a report on efforts to return land to Native American tribes. Plus, an interview about the upcoming 'Ring of Fire' annular solar eclipse.

Artist Chip Thomas installed two murals in downtown Moab last weekend. Each mural features archival photos of historic Moab characters. We also hear from our partners at KOTO about Colorado's bountiful fruit season. Plus, the Weekly News Reel! Sophia Fisher of The Times-Independent discusses an investigation into a plane crash that killed a North Dakota state senator, his wife and two of their children. And, she reviews a recent $750,000 property tax judgment against Grand County. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News discusses preparation in San Juan County for eclipse-related tourism as well as the recently lifted health watch at Ken’s Lake.

//Photo: Chip Thomas poses with his mural of Charlie Glass, a Black rancher who lived in Moab in the early 1900s. Photo: Emily Arntsen

//Show Notes:

https://www.kzmu.org/artist-chip-thomas-installs-two-murals-in-moab/