KZMU News

The Grand County Commission held a public hearing this week to consider an alternative dwelling overlay ordinance. That would create a pilot program to allow non-traditional housing — like RVs, tiny homes and longer-term camping — potentially within residential areas. The goal is to provide more housing for the local workforce. Plus, our partners report on an annual hot air balloon bonanza which brought dozens of colorful vessels to Snowmass Village in Colorado. And we get an update on local government from Moab Sun News in our new segment "What Happened at the Meeting."

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Michael Grindstaff is seen at a NAVTEC workers' camp on April 27, 2022. Areas like this would have the opportunity to bring themselves into compliance under a proposed alternative dwelling overlay ordinance.

// Draft Alternative Dwelling Overlay (ADO) District

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/644?fileID=41930

// Aspen Public Radio: ‘Champagne and propane’ keep spirits high at Snowmass Balloon Festival

https://www.aspenpublicradio.org/arts-culture/2022-09-17/champagne-and-propane-lift-balloon-pilots-at-snowmass-balloon-festival

// Moab Sun News

https://moabsunnews.com/

// Music: Paris Gipsy Swing by Dieter van der Westen

It’s Banned Books Week, and libraries and bookstores across the country are celebrating the freedom to read. It’s a pressing issue, as books dealing with race, gender, and sexuality continue to be challenged. Today on the news, we speak with local librarians and booksellers in Moab on the power of books and the importance of accessing information in our democracy.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: The banned books display at Back of Beyond Books. The bookstore and Grand County Public Library are highlighting banned books this week as part of a celebration of the freedom to read. Courtesy Back of Beyond Books

// Banned Books Week:

https://bannedbooksweek.org

// American Library Association: Frequently Challenged Books

https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

// KUER: Utah authors, librarians, and teachers call for more open minds rather than more banned books

https://www.kuer.org/education/2022-09-19/utah-authors-librarians-and-teachers-call-for-more-open-minds-rather-than-more-banned-books?fbclid=IwAR1Pvb9ZWxJTwdqnjeL7me4B8cTvEdMuPaUhykFJ8ou8V_34eDa_b17sO1Q

A developer with the state trust lands administration is making progress on their residential Aggie Townhome and Apartments project, adjacent to USU-Moab’s new campus. Housing here has been in the works here for decades, but staff say they can now see a finish line – the first phase is on track to be complete by 2023. Plus, nonprofits have seen reductions in lodging opportunities to house guests and seasonal staff they bring to the region. This challenge is part of the housing crisis familiar to many communities across the West. Our partners report on one town where affected organizations are coming together to raise awareness about the impact it’s having on their programming.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Flora along Aggie Boulevard. The state trust lands administration is making progress on their Aggie Townhome and Apartments development which will be built near the new USU-Moab campus. KZMU/Molly Marcello

// Aggie Townhome Phase II Zoning

https://moabcity.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/5191?fileID=6137

The film crew of 'Horizon: An American Saga' were honored in Moab over the weekend by representatives of several Native American tribes. Written and directed by Kevin Costner, the film series aims to tell a more truthful story of the clash between settlers and Indigenous peoples in the 19th century. After receiving gifts including blankets and an antique rifle, Costner told the crowd that he has thought about the cultural conflict at the heart of the film his entire life. And later, new data sheds light on big shifts in health and housing in our region and the Southern Ute Fair recently marked its 100th anniversary. Plus, the Moab Sun News previews the upcoming Grand County Commission agenda.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Kevin Costner receives a blanket and antique rifle in a special event in Moab on Saturday night. The actor aims to tell a more truthful story of the 19th century cultural conflicts in the West with his new project, 'Horizon: An American Saga.' KZMU/Anthony Militano

// KZMU: Rural Utah has more than natural scenery to attract big film productions

https://www.kzmu.org/tuesday-march-8-2022/

// KSUT: Native peoples from across the U.S. and Canada attend the 100th annual Southern Ute Fair

https://www.ksut.org/culture/2022-09-16/native-peoples-from-across-the-u-s-and-canada-attend-the-100th-annual-southern-ute-fair

// Grand County Commission Agenda Sept 20th

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09202022-1553?html=true

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

There’s a vital race that happens across the country – everywhere there’s a paved road. It’s the reason you have ripe tomatoes or ice cream or paperclips. Those in Moab know the race well. Trucks move over 70 percent of the nation’s freight by weight, and Moab is on the trucking routes supplying products across the Southwest. Today on the news, we hear from truckers passing through our community hauling goods.

// Plus, the Weekly News Reel! Doug McMurdo of The Times-Independent talks skunk problems, flood debris removal and Grand County High School’s new principal. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News discusses financing flood recovery, a new round of covid boosters available and the upcoming YGP Harvest Festival.

// Show notes:

// Photo: Moab is on the trucking routes supplying products across the Southwest / Credit Rennett Stowe

// ATA: Economics and Industry Data

https://www.trucking.org/economics-and-industry-data

// Trucks: Federal Data Shows Trucking Remains One of America’s Deadliest Jobs

https://www.trucks.com/2021/01/11/federal-data-shows-trucking-remains-one-of-americas-deadliest-jobs/

// CDC: Long-Haul Truck Drivers

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/truck/health.html

// Sounds in Today’s Newscast include ‘truck semi-trailer approach slow to stop turn and pull away slow heavy rattly diesel’ by kyles, ‘cb junk on 19’ by goose278, and ‘CB-Radio Report’ by sentryx86

//Music in Today's Newscast include 'Theme for The Mad Thinker' by Dr. Fankenstein and 'Dirt Rhodes' by Kevin MacLeod

// Weekly News Reel Mentions:

// The Times-Independent: A skunky problem

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/a-skunky-problem/

// The Times-Independent: City removes 2,800 tons of debris

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/city-removes-2800-tons-of-flood-debris/

// The Times-Independent: County approves flood relief grant program

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/county-approves-flood-relief-grant-program/

// The Times-Independent: Meet Grand County High’s new principal

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/meet-grand-county-highs-new-principal/

// Moab Sun News: Moab reviews flood recovery

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/15/moab-reviews-flood-recovery/

// Moab Sun News: Another round of COVID boosters available at Health Department

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/15/another-round-of-covid-boosters-available-at-health-department/

// Moab Sun News: Celebrating the harvest

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/15/celebrating-the-harvest/

Moab Free Health Clinic staff made progress this week on their 200 South building, holding a ‘demolition party’ to make way for the clinic’s updated design. The old USU campus is being transformed into a health center that will house the clinic, health department and socially oriented nonprofits. Staff say this campus will help address the social determinants of health. Plus, the Supreme Court will be reviewing a case that could overturn landmark legislation that protects Indigenous youth. And later, paleontologists in southeastern Utah have found a fossil of ancient amphibian bones that appear to have been regurgitated by a predator.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Moab Free Health Clinic staff use hammers and crowbars to demo an interior wall at the old USU campus, which will become their new building. The property will house the clinic, health department and socially oriented nonprofits. KZMU / Molly Marcelo

// Moab Sun News (4/28/22): Free Health Clinic Finds New Home

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/04/28/free-health-clinic-finds-new-home/

// Moab Free Health Clinic

https://www.moabfreehealthclinic.org

// CDC: Social Determinants of Health

https://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/index.htm

// KHOL: ACLU of Wyoming, state tribes urge Supreme Court to uphold Indian Child Welfare Act

https://891khol.org/aclu-of-wyoming-state-tribes-urge-supreme-court-to-uphold-indian-child-welfare-act/

After an August flood tore through downtown, Moab City has stayed pretty busy. They are tasked with working on infrastructure repair - and figuring out how to pay for it. Today on the news, a rundown on the numbers. Plus, the Colorado River is drying up, and the major cities in the West that depend on it are scrambling to boost their supplies and keep taps flowing. Climate change is already cutting into the amount they get from mother nature, which leaves those cities to turn to reusing the water they already have.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Debris flows along 300 South on August 21, 2022, the day after major flooding tore through downtown Moab. City officials are figuring out how to pay for repairs. KZMU/Serah Mead

// Grand County Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation Plan 2018

https://moabcity.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/5213?fileID=6162

// Grand County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management Director

https://grandcountyutah.net/Jobs.aspx?UniqueId=97&From=All&CommunityJobs=False&JobID=GCSO-EMERGENCY-MANAGEMENT-DIRECTOR-182

// KUNC: As the Colorado River shrinks, water managers see promise in recycling sewage

https://www.kunc.org/environment/2022-09-14/as-the-colorado-river-shrinks-water-managers-see-promise-in-recycling-sewage

The Interior Department has approved a list of replacement names for nearly 650 geographic sites – including 50 in Utah – that included a racist and sexist slur. In her comments on the name changes, Secretary Deb Haaland said she felt obligated to use her platform to ensure public lands are ‘accessible and welcoming.’ The Moab area has new geographic names in the Manti La Sal National Forest, Canyonlands National Park and near the confluence of the Dolores and Colorado Rivers. Plus, players willing to predict monsoon precipitation levels in five major cities will soon find out who won the Southwest Monsoon Fantasy Forecasts game. And later, as climate change brings longer and more severe drought to the American Southwest, a community-led coalition is celebrating new protections streams in Colorado.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Tukuhnikivatz Spring in the La Sal Mountains replaces a trail name that once included a racist slur. The Interior Department changed nearly 650 geographic site names across the country / Credit Ken Lund

// USGS: New Names (Map)

https://geonarrative.usgs.gov/names_taskforce/

// USGS: New Names (List)

https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/all-official-sq-names

// Interior Dept Completes Removal of ‘Sq_’ from Federal Use

https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/all-official-sq-names

// Southwest Monsoon Fantasy Forecasts

https://monsoonfantasy.arizona.edu/home

Representative John Curtis visited Moab over the weekend. He represents Utah's 3rd Congressional District which includes Grand and San Juan County. The occasion was a candidate meet and greet for Republican and independent candidates. The representative took some time to chat with KZMU about what impact Congress can have in rural Utah. Plus, our partners report on the Ute Mountain Ute’s annual Bear Dance held at White Mesa.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Representative John Curtis spoke at the Grand Center in Moab on September 10th, 2022. KZMU

// Representative John Curtis

https://curtis.house.gov/

// KSJD: The Bear Dance season ends with a celebration at White Mesa, Utah

https://www.ksjd.org/2022-09-12/the-bear-dance-season-ends-with-a-celebration-at-white-mesa-utah

For a growing number of people, Labor Day means more than just time off work. According to an August Gallup poll, 71 percent of Americans now approve of labor unions – the highest approval rating since 1965. Labor is having a moment, including here in Utah, where two Starbucks have unionized in the state. Today on the news, we chat with organizer Jacob Lawson on lunch break at Starbucks in Cottonwood Heights.

// Plus, the Weekly News Reel! Sophia Fisher of The Times-Independent discusses flood trail damage beyond the parkway and a new improvement district for Kane Creek development. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News talks flood restoration, an upcoming ‘Nights of Grief and Mystery’ performance and Green River’s 116th Melon Days.

// Photo: Jacob Lawson (center) helped unionize a Starbucks in Cottonwood Heights. This location was the first to organize in Utah. Courtesy Jacob Lawson

// U.S. Approval of Labor Unions at Highest Point Since 1965

https://news.gallup.com/poll/398303/approval-labor-unions-highest-point-1965.aspx

// Starbucks Workers United

https://sbworkersunited.org/

// Weekly News Reel Mentions:

// The Times-Independent: Flood’s trail damage extended beyond the parkway

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/floods-trail-damage-extended-beyond-the-parkway/

// The Times-Independent: County opts to ‘keep thumbs’ on Kane Creek development

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/county-opts-to-keep-thumbs-on-kane-creek-development/

// The Times-Independent: McGann – ‘I’ve been very effective’

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/mcgann-ive-been-very-effective/

// The Times-Independent: McFarland – ‘I bring a moderate voice’

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/mcfarland-i-bring-a-moderate-voice/

// Moab Sun News: Environmental flood restoration begins

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/08/environmental-flood-restoration-begins/

// Moab Sun News: Upcoming Nights of Grief and Mystery performance will explore our relationship with dying

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/08/nights-of-grief-and-mystery-explores-our-relationship-with-dying/

// Moab Sun News: Q&A with author, activist Stephen Jenkinson

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/08/qa-with-author-activist-stephen-jenkinson/

// Moab Sun News: Green River Melon Days marks 116 years

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/09/08/green-river-melon-days-marks-116-years/