KZMU News

Looking to include your dog in your mountain biking? There’s a growing sport that could be for you. Called bikejor, it’s like dog sledding without the snow. Today on the news, we visit the country’s first-ever singletrack bikejor race here in Moab. Plus, the Moab City Council is refining an ordinance that would require developers incorporate workforce housing in new multifamily developments. They’re under pressure to finish the ordinance as more high-end development threatens existing residential housing. Plus, a recent congressional hearing discussed the disproportionate rate of women and girls of color who go missing in the U.S.

// Show Notes

// Photo: Lark, a German Shorthaired Pointer, takes off during the first-ever singletrack bikejor race in the United States. The race was held in Moab last weekend. KZMU/Justin Higginbottom

// Active Employment Units Draft Ordinance

https://moabcity.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/4699?fileID=5671

// Lost Springs Apartments Site Plan Application

https://moabcity.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/4717?fileID=5686

// Moab City Public Hearing re: Active Employment Units Ordinance

https://moabcity.org/civicalerts.aspx?AID=375

Rural Utah now has more than natural scenery to attract big film productions to the area. For the next two years, they have a new financial tool. Film productions can now receive a rebate if they produce 75 percent of their project in a rural county. According to state film industry reps, that means big productions – like Kevin Costner’s civil-war era project – will likely come to rural Utah. Plus, reverberations from Russia's invasion of Ukraine are being felt around the world, even the rural West. Our radio partners spoke with rural Coloradans from Ukraine and Russia about the invasion and what it’s like being far from home at this time.

// Show Notes

// Photo: A film production on location at Parry Lodge in Kanab, Utah, date unknown. Lawmakers recently passed new incentives to bring more film production to rural Utah. Courtesy Utah Film Commission.

// Senate Bill 49 State Film Production Incentives Amendments

https://le.utah.gov/~2022/bills/static/SB0049.html

// Motion Picture Association of Utah: Economic Impact of Utah’s Motion Picture Incentive Program

https://www.mpau.org/economic-impact-study.html

// Do Movie Production Incentives Generate Economic Development? (2018 Study)

https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=123003017068028113065001103007091002035005000074066087090121008004123085030027020119100028043014103061021010000027068006077089000053057080086028019069106111073005091063028037025080085088125068075103114121072082007111127064126068121124122112004000099124&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE

// Do State Corporate Tax Incentives Create Jobs? Quasi-experimental Evidence from the Entertainment Industry (2019 Study)

https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/UVNGRDZI6JADTRHH3NWY/full#_i14

// Deadline: Kevin Costner Sets Late Summer Start For His Passion Film ‘Horizon,’ Epic Period Western

https://deadline.com/2022/01/kevin-costner-horizon-western-movie-direct-star-august-29-start-date-1234921230/

// KOTO: Locals from Ukraine and Russia Reflect on War

https://www.koto.org/featured-news-stories/2022/3/3/locals-from-ukraine-and-russia-reflect-on-war

Many popular outdoors communities in the West are facing a housing crisis. Soaring prices and a limited housing stock can make finding a place to call home difficult. But as our partners at KOTO report, the town of Telluride, Colorado is trying something new – RV parking. Plus, winter is a critical window for water in the West, and the way we understand snow totals is changing.

// Show Notes

// Photo: Simon Perkovich is living in Telluride’s Town Park as part of a pilot program to provide RV housing for the winter. The program is housing 12 individuals who pay $300 per month in rent. KOTO/Julia Caulfield

// KOTO: Home Is Where The Parking Is

https://www.koto.org/featured-news-stories/2022/3/3/home-is-where-the-parking-is

// KUNC: The Colorado River starts as snow, and the way we understand it is changing

https://www.kunc.org/environment/2022-02-28/the-colorado-river-starts-as-snow-and-the-way-we-understand-it-is-changing

Around the country, Native groups and supporters have joined prayer runs to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous people. A multi-day run over hundreds of miles ended last weekend in San Juan County. Today on the news, we speak with participants about the crisis. Plus, state lawmakers approved a bill blocking local government from specially regulating ATV-related businesses. The moves comes as Moab-based ATV companies begin litigation against Grand County for its noise ordinance and other regulations.

// Plus, the Weekly News Reel, where we check in with reporters on their latest stories of the Moab area. The Times-Independent’s Sophia Fisher talks state-level bans on ATV business regulation, the county’s new interim clerk-auditor, and Grand County’s refusal of a settlement related to the opioid crisis. The Moab Sun News’ Alison Harford discusses new metrics related to COVID-19, an ‘adventure’ afterschool group at the middle school, and 2022 community-focused programming at the Moab Museum.

// Show Notes

// Photo: Participants and supporters of a 232-mile prayer run raising awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous people in Montezuma Creek on February 27, 2022. Justin Higginbottom/KZMU

// San Juan Record: 232 mile prayer run scheduled for February 24

https://sjrnews.com/life-san-juan/232-mile-prayer-run-scheduled-february-24

// Reporting & Investigating Missing Persons: A Background Paper On How To Frame The Issue

https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/255934.pdf

// HB 146 Local Licensing Amendments

https://le.utah.gov/~2022/bills/static/HB0146.html

// 03-02-22 Notice of Claim

https://www.kzmu.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Notice-of-Claim-03.02.22.pdf

// Weekly News Reel Mentions

// The Times-Independent: Bill would ban locals from regulating OHVs

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/bill-would-ban-locals-from-regulating-ohvs/

// The Times-Independent: Woytek appointed interim clerk-auditor

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/woytek-appointed-interim-clerk-auditor/

// The Times-Independent: ‘An offensive gesture’

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/an-offensive-gesture/

// Moab Sun News: COVID-19 has ebbed again

https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_fa143ec8-9b24-11ec-a7d2-afe1c2a6c5a3.html

// Moab Sun News: Middle school introduces new ‘adventure’ after school group

https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_489e45da-9b1f-11ec-856c-63818e7ea115.html

// Moab Sun News: Moab Museum continues its evolution into modernity with its 2022 programming

https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_d116d052-9b20-11ec-968a-2f1de226783c.html

On the south end of town, an old Volkswagen Beetle has a new paint job. Sunflowers and roses – favorites of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner – memorialize the couple, whose deaths in the La Sal Mountains last summer are still unsolved. Visible from Highway 191, the painted VW is linked to another effort to draw attention to the case – a future billboard.  Plus, a recent study finds sandstone towers and fins resonate much like beams in buildings. 

// Show Notes

// Photo: Sunflowers and roses on a VW Beetle, recently painted by local artist Pete Apicella, symbolize locals Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner, who were found murdered in the La Sal Mountains in August 2021.

// KZMU: ‘In Memory of Kylen and Crystal,’ Sculpture Ceremony Held in Moab

https://www.kzmu.org/in-memory-of-kylen-and-crystal-sculpture-ceremony-held-in-moab/

// If you have any information related to the murders of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner, contact the Grand County Sheriff’s Office directly at 435-259-8115 or 435-259-1397.

// For billboard information, contact Elise Kohls: 435-695-8695 or

// The University of Utah: Measuring the tempo of Utah’s red rock towers

https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/measuring-the-tempo-of-utahs-red-rock-towers/

A late-stage amendment to HB 146 would prohibit Grand County and Moab City from regulating ATV-related businesses. For weeks, the county’s elected officials have warned that this amendment might appear, which they say directly targets the Moab community. If passed as written, the legislation would essentially strip all local 2021 ordinances related to ATV businesses, including requirements related to noise. Today on the news, we speak with county attorney Christina Sloan, who is fighting this legislation.

// Photo: Grand County’s law enforcement check an ATV for noise ordinance compliance on February 16, 2022. If HB 146 passes as written, it would strip local government’s ability to regulate ATV-related businesses.

// Show Notes

// HB 146: Local Licensing Amendments

https://le.utah.gov/~2022/bills/static/HB0146.html

// HB 146 March 1st Amendments

https://le.utah.gov/~2022/bills/hbillint/HB0146S01_ComparedWith_HB0146.pdf

The sculptor Ekaterina Tatarovich uses every material she can from her rustic workshop in old La Sal. And she hopes to one day turn her studio into an artist retreat for those interested in learning sculpting. For our latest audio portrait we hear her journey as an artist, from escaping the Soviet Union to working in Moab.

// Show Notes

// Photo: Sculptor Ekaterina Tatarovich in her workshop. She hopes to one day turn her studio into an artist retreat for those interested in learning sculpting.

// Music In Today’s Audio Portrait

Polkavant by Polkavant

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Pedro_Santiago/vol-4/polkavant

// Listener, if you have an idea for someone we should profile with an audio portrait, reach out to [email protected].

After a lot of public feedback, two noise demonstrations and a more accurate financial outlook, the Moab City Council is backing off from building pickleball courts at Old City Park. Said first-term mayor Joette Langianese, “I never thought in my wildest dreams that the first controversial issue that we'd be dealing with was pickleball.” Plus, a bill that would have eliminated Utah’s vote by mail system failed in committee last week. And, a new initiative in the Colorado Legislature would shift communities away from tourism marketing.

// Show Notes

// Photo: Pickleball players demonstrate the style of play at Old City Park as staff takes a sound reading. Two noise demonstrations were held after community members voiced concerns about pickleball disturbing the atmosphere of the park.

// Moab City (2/24/22): Update – No Pickleball Courts at Old City Park

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=319333430229429&set=a.250773093752130

// KZMU (2/4/22): ‘It’ll Go Bananas,’ Pickleball Players, City Support Courts in Moab

https://www.kzmu.org/itll-go-bananas-pickleball-players-city-support-courts-in-moab/

// KZMU (2/16/22): Wednesday February 16, 2022

https://www.kzmu.org/wednesday-february-16-2022/

‘Let’s put the play in radio play.’ That’s been the unofficial motto of KZMU station manager Serah Mead as she created the concept for this year’s Radio Play Festival. It’s something new the station is trying for its 30th anniversary. Today on the news, we learn more about this effort to increase accessibility to the fun, quirky and artistic medium of radio.

// And the Weekly News Reel, where we check in with reporters on their latest stories of the Moab area. Doug McMurdo and Sophia Fisher from The Times-Independent (18:00) discuss a new local water coalition, two internet scams with local connections and a winter outlook on mosquito season. Alison Harford from the Moab Sun News (28:00) discusses adjusting to a drier future, the first-ever singletrack bikejor race in Moab and a workshop aiming to create safer workforces for the outdoor industry.

// Show Notes

// Photo: Foley artist Josie Kovash creates soundscapes during Choreomania, KZMU’s 2021 radio play. This year, the station is taking submissions for a Radio Play Festival.

// KZMU Radio Play Festival Info

https://www.kzmu.org/radio-drama/2022radioplayfest/

// Weekly News Reel Mentions

// The Times-Independent: Moab, Grand, SJC to form water coalition

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/moab-grand-sjc-to-form-water-coalition/

// The Times-Independent: A tale of two grifts

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/a-tale-of-two-grifts/

// The Times-Independent: Head of mosquito district talks all things ‘skeeter’

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/head-of-mosquito-district-talks-all-things-skeeter/

// Moab Sun News: What does the West’s megadrought mean for Moab?

https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_a11954ee-95bf-11ec-ad53-838083d8f705.html

// Moab Sun News: Moab will host the nation’s first-ever singletrack bikejor race

https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_3fa842b6-95be-11ec-854f-cb6fa71c05f4.html

// Moab Sun News: Ensuring safe workspaces in the outdoor industry

https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_bb332448-95bc-11ec-a3b8-93e91397abc1.html

A local mining company is looking to recover a copper deposit in the Lisbon Valley. But they need to pump chemicals through an aquifer to do it, and those living above the groundwater are opposed to this method. A public comment period for the company’s proposal ended earlier this month. Today on the news, we visit a resident in the area to talk about what's at stake. Plus, the Ute Mountain Ute tribe is moving towards an economy driven by renewable energy production after historically relying on fossil fuels.

// Show Notes //

Photo: Scott Stevenson points toward a well used by his neighbor that is within an aquifer exemption proposed by Lisbon Valley Mining Company. The company’s open-pit copper mine is located about 5 miles north of Stevenson's property. KZMU/Justin Higginbottom

// State of Utah Underground Injection Control Program Aquifer Exemption Request (draft from 12/8/21)

https://documents.deq.utah.gov/water-quality/facilities/lisbon-valley-copper/DWQ-2021-030502.pdf

// KSJD: The Ute Mountain Ute tribe plans to build a 600-megawatt hydroelectric pump

https://www.ksjd.org/podcast/ksjd-local-newscasts/2022-02-03/the-ute-mountain-ute-tribe-plans-to-build-a-600-megawatt-hydroelectric-pump