KZMU News

Monsoon season officially ended last week. We check in with a regional expert from the National Weather Service on Moab’s notable season. Plus, hear a sample from KZMU News’ first issue of audio magazine ‘Great Tape.’ And our partners report on a new requirement for Utah schools to provide free period products to students.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Moab had a 'normal' monsoon season this year — which in this time of drought meant it was notable. (CEBImagery)

// Great Tape: Off to the Races

https://www.kzmu.org/great-tape-off-to-the-races/

// UPR: Starting this year, Utah schools are stocking free period products for students

https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2022-10-05/starting-this-year-utah-schools-are-stocking-free-period-products-for-students

// National Weather Service: Monthly Total Precipitation for Moab, UT

https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=gjt

There was a steep increase in requested property tax relief for Grand County residents from 2018 to 2022. That's due largely to the dramatic rise in property values. Plus, our partners share a tribute to renowned mountaineer Hilaree Nelson who passed away in an avalanche while on an expedition in Nepal recently. And the Southern Ute tribe is conducting a new housing survey in Ignacio, Colorado.

// Photo: Telluride, Colorado, local mountaineer Hilaree Nelson passed away in an avalanche while on an expedition in Nepal. (Chris Figenshau)

// Grand County Tax Abatements

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/615/Tax-Abatements

// KOTO: Remembering Hilaree Nelson

https://www.koto.org/featured-news-stories/2022/9/29/remembering-hilaree-nelson

Formations in a Wyoming cave that are hundreds of thousands of years old are helping scientists better understand the climate crisis. The research is paired with information gathered from neighboring lake sediment to help inform climate modeling. Our partners speak with High Country News about their story on this paleoclimate research. Plus, federal officials say they have a tool at their disposal to force a significant amount of water conservation on Lower Colorado River users.

// Photo: Lower Colorado River basin users do not have to account for evaporation from Lake Mead, a fact that irks those upstream in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. (Luke Runyon/KUNC)

// High Country News: How a hidden cave can help scientists understand the climate

https://www.hcn.org/issues/54.9/climate-change-how-a-hidden-cave-can-help-scientists-understand-the-climate

// Aspen Public Radio: How a hidden cave can help scientists understand the climate

https://www.aspenpublicradio.org/environment/2022-09-23/how-a-hidden-cave-can-help-scientists-understand-the-climate

// KUNC: Federal officials set their sights on Lower Colorado River evaporation to speed up conservation

https://www.kunc.org/environment/2022-09-30/federal-officials-set-their-sights-on-lower-colorado-river-evaporation-to-speed-up-conservation

Wildlife officers often investigate crime in far-reaching areas, traveling across mountains, lakes and streams. Now a Utah conservation officer drone team will use unmanned aircraft to conduct investigations, which a rep says should improve their effectiveness in solving crime. Plus, Friday was the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools, also known as Orange Shirt Day. And, a school superintendent in our region recently wrote an opinion piece detailing harassment that LGBTQ+ students have said they are enduring in school. And lastly, the Moab Sun News has a preview of the Grand County Commission’s Tuesday agenda.

// Show Notes:

// Photo courtesy of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

// Orange Shirt Day

https://www.orangeshirtday.org

// KDNK: ‘We’re Here’ – Trans students and community come together to support dignity, rights

https://www.kdnk.org/local-news/2022-09-29/were-here-trans-students-and-community-come-together-to-support-dignity-rights

// Grand County 10/4 Agenda

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10042022-1559?html=true

// Music in the agenda preview is 'Coast2Most' by Independent Music Licensing Collective

Beginning Tuesday, visitors to Arches National Park will no longer need to secure a reservation to enter. At least for now. The 2022 temporary timed entry experiment is slated to end October 4th. Now park staff will pore over the data accrued during the program, to help make a final decision on implementing it again next season.

// Plus, the Weekly News Reel! Sophia Fisher of The Times-Independent discusses an OHV-related lawsuit against the city and county, the White Mesa Uranium Mill attempting to update its image and the first homeowners moving in at Arroyo Crossing. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News talks about the city’s new sustainability director and their plans for the department, new hires at the Moab City Police Department, and the upcoming Red Rock Arts Festival. And, listen for ‘What Happened At The Meeting,’ a rundown of Tuesday’s city council meeting from the Moab Sun News.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Traffic at the Devil’s Garden parking lot. NPS Photo/V. Verdin

// Arches National Park Will Conclude Timed Entry Pilot on October 4, 2022

https://www.nps.gov/arch/learn/news/news09262022.htm

// Grand County Visitation Statistics

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/908/Visitation-Statistics

// Music in ‘What Happened At The Meeting’ is ‘Paris Gypsy Swing’ by Dieter van der Westen

// Weekly News Reel Mentions

// The Times-Independent: OHV businesses, BlueRibbon file lawsuit against city, county

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/ohv-businesses-blueribbon-file-lawsuit-against-city-county/

// The Times-Independent: White Mesa Mill wants to turn a new leaf

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/white-mesa-mill-wants-to-turn-a-new-leaf/

// The Times-Independent: The Grateful Eight

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/the-grateful-eight/

// Moab Sun News: City hires new sustainability director

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/29/city-hires-new-sustainability-director/

// Moab Sun News: Overhaul at the Moab Police Department

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/29/overhaul-at-moab-police-department/

// Moab Sun News: This year’s Red Rock Arts Fest includes more workshops, performances

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/29/2022-red-rock-arts-fest/

Mustangs from the Sulphur herd in Utah trace their ancestry to the Iberian peninsula. Brought to North America by the Spanish in the 1500s, they've since roamed free among an isolated mountain range near the Nevada border. We visit a ranch with Sulphur horses to find out what makes these animals a "genetic treasure." Plus, the average cost of keeping a roof over your head in Utah's metro areas is a lot more than it used to be — if you're renting.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: A Sulphur horse with a bi-color mane is seen in La Sal, Utah, in August. KZMU

​​// BLM Sulphur Herd Management Area

https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/herd-management-areas/utah/sulphur

// American Sulphur Horse Association

http://www.americanspanishsulphur.org

// Find Western singer R.W. Hampton's music here:

www.rwhampton.com

// Public News Service: Study: Skyrocketing Housing Costs Putting the Squeeze on Utah Renters

https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2022-09-29/housing-homelessness/study-skyrocketing-housing-costs-putting-the-squeeze-on-utah-renters/a80828-1

Yesterday there was an open house event showcasing the first eight finished homes of Arroyo Crossing. The public was allowed a peek inside that new affordable housing development built with help from the Housing Authority of Southeastern Utah and Moab non-profit Community Rebuilds. The neighborhood will provide homes for local workers who would otherwise likely be priced out of the housing market. Plus, an off-highway vehicle advocacy group is suing Moab elected officials over recent noise and business regulations. And officials across the region are looking into property tax relief as many people on fixed incomes struggle to pay their yearly bills.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: A new home in Moab's Arroyo Crossing development is seen during an open house event on September 28, 2022. KZMU

// Community Rebuilds

https://www.communityrebuilds.org/

// Blue Ribbon Coalition

https://www.sharetrails.org/

// KZMU News: Fresh signs are popping up in Moab neighborhoods

https://www.kzmu.org/thursday-march-24-2022/

// Dispatch from the Undisputed Motorhead Capitol of the West: A Radio Special by Jon Kovash and Josie Kovash

https://www.kzmu.org/dispatch-from-the-undisputed-motorhead-capitol-of-the-west-a-radio-special-by-jon-kovash-and-josie-kovash/

School district leaders across the country say they are having trouble finding enough substitutes to cover teacher absences. That’s certainly the case in Grand County, where school librarians, behavioral health specialists and principals are covering classes. Current staff are reaching out to community members with a substitute teacher sales pitch. One of the rewards of the job? Their immense gratitude. Plus, as the Great Salt Lake gets saltier, researchers are predicting brine shrimp will be at risk.

// Show Notes:

// Education Week: How Bad Are School Staffing Shortages? What We Learned by Asking Administrators

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-bad-are-school-staffing-shortages-what-we-learned-by-asking-administrators/2021/10

// UPR: Increasing Great Salt Lake salinity predicted to impact Utah brine shrimp

https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2022-09-28/increasing-great-salt-lake-salinity-predicted-to-impact-utah-brine-shrimp

A recent study in the Journal of Animal Ecology shows that predators can help regulate wild ungulates in the desert. For example, mountain lions keep a wild donkey population in Death Valley out of precious wetlands. We speak to a biologist about potential lessons for southeastern Utah from this research. Plus, norovirus is a nasty stomach bug that’s usually associated with cruise ships and restaurants. Our partners report on an outbreak in the Grand Canyon. And conservation groups say more needs to be done to protect the natural and cultural resources of Utah’s Labyrinth Canyon from off-road vehicles. The Bureau of Land Management is taking comments until October 7th on a draft travel management plan for the area outside of Moab. And lastly, Moab City Council will meet this Tuesday. We have a preview of the council’s agenda from the Moab Sun News.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: This past spring Grand Canyon National Park became the site of an extended norovirus outbreak, with more than 200 cases of gastrointestinal illness among rafters and backpackers. (Laurel Morales, KJZZ)

// Journal of Animal Ecology: A novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys shapes desert wetlands

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13766

// New York Times: ​​Death Valley’s Invasive Donkeys Have Become Cat Food

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/15/science/donkeys-mountain-lions-death-valley.html

// Public News Service: Groups Urge BLM to Keep Off-Road Vehicles Out of Labyrinth Canyon

https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2022-09-23/public-lands-wilderness/groups-urge-blm-to-keep-off-road-vehicles-out-of-labyrinth-canyon/a80754-1

// Lab/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Plan, YGP Harvest Festival – This Week in Moab

https://www.kzmu.org/lab-gemini-bridges-travel-management-plan-ygp-harvest-festival-this-week-in-moab/

// KUNC: Raft trips hit hard by the Grand Canyon’s largest recorded norovirus outbreak, CDC reports

https://www.kunc.org/2022-09-23/raft-trips-hit-hard-by-the-grand-canyons-largest-recorded-norovirus-outbreak-cdc-reports

// Moab Sun News

https://moabsunnews.com/

// Music: Independent Music Licensing Collective (IMLC) - Coast2Most

Today we have a special program — the first issue of Great Tape, an audio magazine from KZMU News. We’re telling personal stories of the West and providing audio snapshots of what it’s like to live and work here — all in the creative spirit of an alternative weekly (except it won’t be weekly, at least not yet).

Every show will have a different theme which we’ll explore in a bunch of ways. And our first theme is “Off to the Races.”

In this episode we jump from one daily race to another in Moab — following a baker, newspaper editor, delivery man and nursing-home resident. We also have stories about political races, the race to exterminate an invasive plant and the race to put goods on our shelves. And we have fiction and music! We have a radio drama about Moab’s only Uber driver, an excerpt from a book about discovering the West and a song about deep time and the imperceptible natural rhythms of our environment.

Contributors were Marlow Mewborn, Emily Arnsten, Veronica Verdin, Lauren Carmona, Brian Laidlaw and The Family Trade.

Featured interviews include John Schwoger, Curt Brewer, Jamison Wiggins, Doug McMurdo, Randall Lewis, Liz Ballenger, Kya Marienfeld, Izzi Weimholt, AJ Long, Victor Beltran, Raymond Munson, Joel Swett and Marge Logan.

Original art was created by Veronica Verdin.

See detailed show notes here:

https://www.kzmu.org/great-tape-off-to-the-races/