KZMU News

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It’s a KZMU News Extra! Moab City Mayor Joette Langianese and City Manager Carly Castle jumped on the airwaves during This Week in Moab on Monday to discuss the major flooding event that disrupted local infrastructure. Learn more about the incident response, as well as their thoughts on the future. “All the climate models indicate there will be more severe storms [and] that we’ll get our precipitation kind of all at once,” says Castle. “So we might be reckoning with a new normal. And that means we need to take a hard look at our infrastructure – both natural infrastructure and built infrastructure – to determine what kind of mitigation we could develop in order to keep the floods from being so devastating.” Tune in.

// Music in this News Extra is Holizna Raps by Holizna

Local volunteers spread out over Moab’s streets on Sunday, cleaning up after a major flood event that caused Mill Creek to overtop some downtown bridges and send water into properties around Main Street. Using shovels, wheelbarrows and their own hands, community members moved debris in hard hit areas. Moab City and Grand County have each made emergency declarations, which could help make funding available for those affected. Public works employees, along with local city and county officials, held an emergency meeting over the weekend to assess the damages and discuss the next steps to address this local disaster.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Volunteers helped clean debris from Moab properties and streets after a major flood event. One city council member called this grassroots volunteer effort “the true spirit of Moab.” KZMU/Molly Marcello

// (8/21/22) City of Moab & Grand County: Flood Cleanup Update for Residents

https://moabcity.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=396

With his white van full of cat supplies, local Travis Garcia looks out for community cats living in and around the Walnut Lane trailer park. He feels for these animals, especially those who have suffered from disease or infection. “As I get older, I sympathize with everything a little bit better, you know? I got a real tender heart.” Today on the news, we have an audio portrait of Garcia, also known as ‘Cat Daddy.’

// Plus, the Weekly News Reel! Doug McMurdo of The Times-Independent discusses last week’s big monsoonal storm, road work along Highway 191 and a local judge suppressing evidence in a drug case after finding an officer did not properly get consent for a search. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News discusses soon-to-be-filled historic uranium mines in San Juan County, the results of the latest USU wellbeing study and the upcoming Moab Music Festival.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Travis ‘Cat Daddy’ Garcia cares for the community cats living in and around Walnut Lane. “I just love animals,” he says. “And I just can’t stand to see them suffering.”

// Want to help or have ideas? Contact Travis Garcia at 435-260-9428

// If you think there’s someone or somewhere we should profile with an audio portrait, please reach out to [email protected]

// Humane Society of Moab Valley: Community Cats

https://moabpets.org/what-we-do/programs/community-cats.html

// Alley Cat Allies: Community Cats

https://www.alleycat.org/resources/how-to-help-community-cats-a-step-by-step-guide-to-trap-neuter-return/

// Sounds In Today’s Audio Portrait: 407747_170048-virtualwindo-co-za_cat-eating, 632414_jkata_catmoanspurrs, 33657_tim-kahn_meow, 268778_yurkobb_cats-eating, 345983_philllchabb_cat-licking-water-in-cup

// Music in Today’s Audio Portrait: Theatre of Being by Siddartha Corsus, Save The Cat by One Man Book, Me And God by HoliznaCC)

// Weekly News Reel Mentions

// The Times-Independent: A postmortem on Moab’s Aug. 11 storm

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/a-postmortem-on-moabs-aug-11-storm/

// The Times-Independent: Washed out at Church Rock

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/washed-out-at-church-rock/

// The Times-Independent: Storms delay UDOT repaving

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/storms-delay-udot-repaving/

// The Times-Independent: Judge finds officer had no right to search suspect

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/judge-finds-officer-had-no-right-to-search-suspect/

// Moab Sun News: BLM to fill in 74 mines in Kane Creek area

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/08/18/blm-to-fill-in-mines/

// Moab Sun News: Analyzing results from the USU Wellbeing Survey

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/08/18/usu-wellbeing-survey/

// Moab Sun News: Moab Music Festival celebrates 30 years

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/08/18/moab-music-festival-celebrates-30-years/

With drought and increased risk of wildfire in our region, restoration work has never been more important. That includes seeding native plants or improving the health of wetlands. It turns out that Utah does restoration a bit differently than the rest of the country. And our state’s model could be the future. Plus, water cuts are coming to some users along the Colorado River next year. They’re not enough to keep the river’s largest reservoirs from declining though. The federal government promises to take action to keep water flowing to 40 million people in the southwest. But without firm agreements to conserve among the states that rely on it, what comes next for the river remains unclear.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: A beaver dam beaver dam analogue is seen at Dugout Ranch. Workers there hope to fund more using Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative. KZMU/Justin Higginbottom

// Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative

https://wri.utah.gov/wri/

// Information on Dugout Ranch

https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/dugout-ranch/

// KUNC: Colorado River states fail to meet federal deadline on restricting water use

https://www.kunc.org/environment/2022-08-16/colorado-river-states-fail-to-meet-federal-deadline-on-restricting-water-use

Nutrition advocates say the nationwide ‘free meals for all’ program helped address food insecurity and childhood hunger for millions during the first two years of the pandemic. But that’s going away this school year. Now families who are above certain federal income thresholds will once again have to pay for their children’s lunches. And experts say that can be tricky in Moab, where these income thresholds don’t necessarily reflect the cost of living here. Plus, ancient human footprints were recently discovered in the Great Salt Lake Desert by two archaeologists on their way to an excavation site.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Margaret L Hopkin Middle School. As students return to school this week, nutrition advocates worry that the expiration of the ‘free meals for all’ program will leave some families falling through the cracks – making too much money to qualify for free and reduced lunch, but not enough to comfortably afford the meals.

// Grand County School District Meal info Sheet

https://www.grandschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1653097&type=d&pREC_ID=1798917

// Need Help Applying for Free/Reduced Lunch?

Call Alysha Packard at 435-259-2757

// UPR: Twelve-thousand-year-old footprints were discovered in the Great Salt Lake Desert

https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2022-08-16/twelve-thousand-year-old-footprints-were-discovered-in-the-great-salt-lake-desert

Over the weekend, a group traveled into the La Sal Mountains to observe one year passing since the murder of Moab locals Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner. A suspect has been named in that case, but the investigation is still open. As we report in today’s news, some are still looking for closure. Plus, an environmental nonprofit is offering Utahns a new perspective on the challenges facing Great Salt Lake by giving them a birds eye view of its shrinking shoreline. And, a new push to further Native storytelling in popular media.

// Photo: A cross marks the turnoff where Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner were found murdered in August 2021. Over the weekend, a group visited their campsite to observe a year passing since their deaths.

// Show Notes:

// Utah Public Radio: Flyover of Great Salt Lake underscores the environmental challenges it faces

https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2022-08-11/flyover-of-great-salt-lake-underscores-environmental-challenges-it-faces

In June, the Department of the Interior told states that use the Colorado River’s water they had to save two-to-four-million-acre feet within months. Now, tribes are asking for a bigger say in the negotiations over how to do it. Although they are senior water rights holders along the Colorado, they have historically been left out of decision making about it. Plus, now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, and some states in our region are moving to ban abortion, some young women are more seriously considering permanent solutions to birth control.

// Show Notes:

// Arizona Republic: Their pleas for water were long ignored. Now tribes are gaining a voice on the Colorado River

https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/local/arizona/2022/08/08/century-after-colorado-river-divided-tribes-gain-voice/7792315001/

// KUER: In a post-Roe world, Utah women are considering sterilization as a form of protection

https://www.kuer.org/race-religion-social-justice/2022-08-04/in-a-post-roe-world-these-utah-women-are-considering-sterilization-as-a-form-of-protection

Maybe nothing can unite a community quite like fury against a common enemy. For Moab, that enemy is known as the goathead. “This is nature at war with anything that is able to carry these little these little puncture sticker weeds,” says goathead slayer Randall Lewis. He and others are part of a grassroots community effort to control this invasive plant in common spaces. Armed with their favorite gardening tools and a passionate fury, local goathead slayers fight every season in the name of bike tubes, bare feet and dog paws. Today on the news, a profile on the battle against this formidable noxious weed.

// Plus, the Weekly News Reel! Sophia Fisher of The Times-Independent discusses a pending lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department, out of town interests probing the county attorney, and an ancient cooking vessel undergoing restoration at the Moab Museum. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News discusses Moab Solutions’ request for a local recycling specialist, the Dark Sky Discovery Night and the upcoming Helper Arts Festival.

// Show Notes:

// Photo: Do nature's thumbtacks inspire internal fury? You might be ready to join a grassroots community effort to control Moab’s most formidable opponent, the goathead.

// 2022 Goathead Gala Registration

https://www.grandcountyutah.net/FormCenter/Weeds-22/Goathead-Gala-2022-137

// Moab Goatheads Gone

https://www.facebook.com/groups/588711382481055

//Music in the Goathead Story is ‘Free Canjon Guitar’ by Lobo Loco, ‘Western Show Down’ by Holizna CC, ‘Silky’ by Alex Figueira and ‘Good Boy’ by Lobo Loco

// Weekly News Reel Mentions:

// The Times-Independent: Petito’s parents notify MPD of pending lawsuit

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/petitos-parents-notify-mpd-of-pending-lawsuit/

// The Times-Independent: Out-of-town interests probe Sloan, attorney race

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/out-of-town-interests-probe-sloan-attorney-race/

// The Times-Independent: Realtor – Price ‘not out of the ordinary’ for Walnut Lane property

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/realtor-price-not-out-of-the-ordinary-for-walnut-lane-property/

// The Times-Independent: Ancient jug showcases museum’s modern approach

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/ancient-jug-showcases-museums-modern-approach/

// Moab Sun News: Moab Solutions asks city, county, service district to support new recycling specialist role

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/08/11/new-recycling-specialist-role/

// Moab Sun News: Explore the solar system during Dark Sky Discovery Night

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/08/11/dark-sky-discovery-night/

// Moab Sun News: Helper Arts Festival includes live artwork, music, vendors

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/08/11/helper-arts-festival/

Moab Community Childcare has really taken off this year. Aiming to improve the availability of high-quality childcare in the valley, the nonprofit is opening new infant care services while also supporting other childcare providers in Moab. “The speed at which we've been running is because people keep giving us water and cheering us on,” says board chair Rob Walker. “The support has been awesome.” Plus, an annual report on childhood well-being rates Utah among the best in the country. But advocates warn that the report also points to a growing mental-health crisis. And later, journalists join the trend of unionization across the country and a report on a proposal that could help restore wolf and beaver populations.

// Show Notes:

// Moab Community Childcare

https://www.moabchildcare.org

// Moab Sun News: Urgent need for childcare

https://moabsunnews.com/2022/07/21/urgent-need-for-childcare/

// The Annie E Casey Foundation: 2022 Kids Count Data Book

https://www.aecf.org/resources/2022-kids-count-data-book