KZMU News

Today we revisit an audio portrait of the Moab Pride Library. Organizer Desirae Miller took us on a tour of the library, which provides a safe space for locals seeking resources and information. This audio portrait first aired in July 2022. Thanks for listening!

// Original Broadcast:

https://www.kzmu.org/moab-pride-library-with-desirae-miller-audio-portrait/

On June 9, 2021, a fire broke out in the Pack Creek day use area. It moved quickly through the riparian area along the creek, tearing through several homes and structures in the Pack Creek neighborhood. And then it moved up to the mountains. Over the coming days and weeks, the fire burned close to 9,000 acres. On the two year anniversary of the Pack Creek Fire, we revisit its early hours with two people who were there. And we hear about the state of the forest today.

//Show Notes:

//Photo: Pack Creek flows below the Forest Service day use area, still closed because of a fire in 2021. That fire burned close to 9,000 acres in the La Sal Mountains.

//KZMU: News Extra – Thoughts from a Pack Creek Resident

https://www.kzmu.org/news-extra-thoughts-from-a-pack-creek-area-resident/

//KZMU: Monday June 14, 2021

https://www.kzmu.org/monday-june-14-2021/

//KZMU: Wednesday June 16, 2021

https://www.kzmu.org/wednesday-june-16-2021/

//KZMU: Tuesday April 12, 2022

https://www.kzmu.org/tuesday-april-12-2022/

Plus, the Weekly News Reel! Sophia Fisher of The Times-Independent discusses Moab’s super bloom, the Grand County High School graduation, the future of the film commission, potential funding for continued flights to Salt Lake City, and the eggy smell wafting from the wetlands. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News talks about stewarding the region’s famous mountain bike trails, the Moab Garden Club’s 13th anniversary, and Easy Bee Farm’s new produce stand.

//Weekly News Reel Mentions:

// The Times-Independent: Why ‘super blooms’ are in the eye of the beholder

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/why-super-blooms-are-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/

// The Times-Independent: Grand County High School christens the Class of 2023

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/grand-county-high-school-christens-the-class-of-2023/

// The Times-Independent: Film commission likely to head to Red Cliffs

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/film-commission-likely-to-head-to-red-cliffs/

// The Times-Independent: County throws weight behind SLC flights, board suggestions

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/county-throws-weight-behind-slc-flights-board-suggestions/

//The Times-Independent: What’s that smell? Functional wetlands

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/whats-that-smell-functional-wetlands/

(Sound Effects Attribution: Car Tires Start and Stop on Gravel Shoulder by UnplugTheFridge, phone ringing by Rebecca_f, cell phone ring by jordanielmills, Walkie_Talkie_Static.aif by crcavol, Cell Phone Vibrate.aif by JasonElrod, taxidispatch by stomachache)

Today, we hear from our regional partner at KUNC, who takes us to the Yampa River, a major tributary of the Colorado River and one of the West’s only undammed waterways. Plus, we hear from our partners at KSJD about the Ute Mountain Ute tribe’s annual Bear Dance in Towaoc, Colorado. We also hear from KJZZ about Indigenous communities’ responses to Arizona’s recent funding for psychedelic research.

//Photo: Psilocybin mushrooms, such as the Liberty Cap mushroom pictured, have been used by Indigenous communities in North America for thousands of years. Courtesy of Lukas Large via Flickr.

//Show Notes:

//KUNC: This wild river is a ‘roller coaster ride’ as the West replenishes its reservoirs

https://www.kunc.org/news/2023-06-08/this-wild-river-is-a-roller-coaster-ride-as-the-west-replenishes-its-reservoirs

//KJZZ: Why some indigenous people are not happy with the proliferation of psychedelic drugs

https://fronterasdesk.org/content/1848713/why-some-indigenous-people-are-not-happy-proliferation-psychedelic-drugs?_ga=2.192988840.480459434.1685999148-120176561.1685470073

An excited, almost gleeful group of students gathered outside Margaret L. Hopkin Middle just before summer break. Using cans of spray paint, they created unique designs on several panels that will represent themselves and their school. The panels will hang in the Thunderbird’s Nest, a new ‘freestore’ at MLHM where students can exchange clothes and grab new items like toiletries and school supplies. Plus, researchers have confirmed the age of the Utah state dinosaur. And, an exploration of water flows from Lake Powell.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Middle schoolers spray painted their own designs on a series of panels that will hang in the new Thunderbird’s Nest, an in-school ‘freestore.’

// KZMU: This Week in Moab, Middle School ‘Freestore’

https://www.kzmu.org/this-week-in-moab-adu-development-middle-school-freestore/

// KUER: Thanks to a Mesozoic hot spot near Moab, we finally know how old the Utahraptor is

https://www.kuer.org/health-science-environment/2023-06-06/thanks-to-a-mesozoic-hot-spot-near-moab-we-finally-know-how-old-the-utahraptor-is

// UPR: Here’s how water moves through Lake Powell

https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2023-05-30/heres-how-water-moves-through-lake-powell

In a new piece for Salt Lake Magazine, Christie Porter writes that marginalized students at Brigham Young University are more visible “than ever before.” During Pride month, she asked current students if this increased visibility is leading to increased acceptance in the wider school community. Plus, Navajo Nation officials launched Operation Rainbow Bridge to help Navajo citizens caught up in fraudulent rehab centers. And, the Moab Sun News previews the Grand County Commission meeting.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Pride Flag, courtesy Benson Kua via Wikimedia Commons

// Salt Lake Magazine: The State of LGBTQ+ Activism at BYU

https://www.saltlakemagazine.com/the-state-of-lgbtq-activism-at-byu/

// Grand County Commission 6/6 Agenda

https://grandcountyut.portal.civicclerk.com/event/10/overview

It’s Regional Roundup Monday! Today we feature a new, biweekly production of the Rocky Mountain Community Radio Coalition, of which KZMU is a proud member. This show features authors who write about the American West. We’ll hear from author Oscar Hokeah on Calling For a Blanket Dance, author Shelley Read on Go As a River, author Teow Lim Goh on Western Journeys and author Morgan Sjogren on Path of Light, A Walk Through Colliding Legacies of Glen Canyon.

The Bureau of Land Management owns 245 million acres of lands in the U.S, including about 40% of the lands in Utah. And to manage this landscape, the federal agency uses a doctrine of multiple use and sustained yield. That’s why oil and gas, grazing, and recreation often co-exist on BLM lands. But what about conservation? Today on the news, we report on a rule that would clarify conservation as its own use on public lands. Plus, critics say a recent Supreme Court ruling is putting waterways at risk of pollution. And, communities across the West are preparing for flooding after a big snow season.

// And later, the Weekly News Reel! Sophia Fisher of The Times-Independent discusses a new proposed resort near Ken’s Lake, a potential wastewater treatment facility near Moonflower Canyon in Kane Creek, the future of Grand County’s economic diversification funds following changes that abridged the original plan, and Times-Independent editor Doug McMurdo’s adventures in Cataract Canyon. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News talks about a nonprofit’s plans to start construction on an affordable housing project in Green River. Plus, she tells us about the upcoming ArtWalk, and what’s on the agenda for Pride Month in Moab.

// Show Notes:

// BLM Public Lands Rule

https://www.blm.gov/public-lands-rule

// Mountain West News Bureau: Supreme Court sides with Idaho couple, undercuts EPA’s power to regulate wetlands

https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/news/2023-05-30/supreme-court-sides-with-idaho-couple-undercuts-epas-power-to-regulate-wetlands

// KDNK: Redstone residents band together to face flooding concerns

https://www.kdnk.org/local-news/2023-06-01/redstone-residents-band-together-to-face-flooding-concerns

// The Times-Independent: Ken’s Lake resort approved for rezone

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/kens-lake-resort-approved-for-rezone/

// The Times-Independent: Kane Creek development pursues wastewater plant

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/kane-creek-development-pursues-wastewater-plant/

// The Times-Independent: Remaining diversification funds could bolster student center, business loans

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/remaining-diversification-funds-could-bolster-student-center-business-loans/

// The Times-Independent: The Old Man and the (North) Seas

​https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/the-old-man-and-the-north-seas/

// Moab Sun News: Green River nonprofit to build 10 new housing units

https://moabsunnews.com/2023/06/01/canal-commons/

// Moab Sun News: June ArtWalk to highlight illustrators, photographers

https://moabsunnews.com/2023/06/01/june-artwalk-2023/

// Moab Sun News: Celebrate Pride Month with Moab Pride

https://moabsunnews.com/2023/06/01/celebrate-pride-month/

A couple years ago, Moab resident Jeff Gutierrez started Natural Resonance, a tour guiding business that enables people to explore canyons and the sounds of their ricochets. KZMU’s Emily Arntsen joined Gutierrez on a musical hike. Plus, we hear from our partners at KOTO about Telluride’s recent acquisition of the Valley Floor.

//Photo: Jeff Gutierrez poses with his alto saxophone after playing in one of Moab’s canyons. Photo by Emily Arntsen.

//Show Notes:

//Natural Resonance

https://www.nrmoab.com/

//KOTO: Open space opens doors for young students in Telluride

https://www.ksut.org/education/2023-05-24/open-space-opens-doors-for-young-students-in-telluride

An excited and determined group of local middle schoolers gathered at the shores of Ken’s Lake on Tuesday. Their goal? Be the first ones to make it across the lake in homemade, cardboard boats. And later, we hear from the Great Salt Lake commissioner on why Utahns should avoid 'Great Salt Lake fatigue'. Plus, a federal judge has ruled in a trespassing case involving our region’s checkerboard pattern of land ownership. And, new research shows ancient chile peppers were likely growing in Southwestern states millions of years earlier than previously thought.

// Photo: At this year’s second annual cardboard duct tape boat race, there was a lot of enthusiasm…and a lot of capsizing. KZMU / Emily Arntsen

How can we learn to live with less on the Colorado River? This question is at the heart of Thirst Gap, a new podcast from KUNC. In a six-part series, host Luke Runyon examines how the Southwest is adapting to water shortages as climate change causes the region to warm up and dry out. Today on the news, we speak with Luke about this new series and his years of experience reporting on the people and places grappling with limited water supplies in our region.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: A forest of dead cottonwood trees line a flowing creek in one of the side canyons near Lake Powell on July 6, 2022. Alex Hager/KUNC

// Thirst Gap: Learning to live with less on the Colorado River

https://www.kunc.org/thirstgap