KZMU News

A mosquito that can transmit diseases like Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever has once again been detected in the Moab area. The local mosquito abatement district is planning an ultra-low volume fogging for the downtown corridor on Tuesday night. The district manager says they hope this aggressive action prevents the mosquito from becoming established. Plus, the Bureau of Land Management offered as much land as possible for lease to the oil and gas industry under the former presidential administration’s strategy of ‘energy dominance.’ KZMU’s Justin Higginbottom checks in on public land leasing under Biden. And, a famous ‘free box’ in our region reopens after closing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Show Notes:

Moab Mosquito Abatement District: Notice of Fogging

Moab Mosquito Abatement District: Aedes Aegypti in Moab

To get on the Moab Mosquito Abatement’s ‘No Spray’ List email:

[email protected] with your address

At five years old, George Takei was classified as an ‘enemy alien’ and sent to live in confinement with 120,000 other Japanese civilians for the duration of WWII. Since that time, Takei has made it his life’s mission to speak out about this personal experience so it will never happen again in our American democracy. This mission brings him to the Moab Music Festival, where he will perform ‘Lost Freedom: A Memory’ based on his personal writings. Today on the news, Takei speaks about the importance of participation in democracy to combat racism and hysteria in our modern world.

And, our Weekly News Reel where we highlight stories from our media partners. Doug McMurdo of The Times-Independent discusses rewards for information in the recent double homicide, local election coverage, flooding mitigation, and the ‘last first’ middle school dance. Ali Hartford of the Moab Sun News discusses her Q&A with the new parks, rec, and trails director as well as some upcoming events from a filmmaking challenge, free concert, and the first annual Red Sand Powwow.

Show Notes:

Photo: The Takei Family, Courtesy Moab Music Festival

Moab Music Festival: George Takei Makes Moab Music Festival Debut in Newly-Commissioned Work By Kenji Bunch

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/George-Takei-Premieres-New-Work-by-Kenji-Bunch-on-WWII-Confinement.html?soid=1103584053506&aid=HeCi4cCLDzM

Moab Music Festival

https://moabmusicfest.org/

Weekly News Reel Mentions –

The Times-Independent: GCSO looks for tips in double murder

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/gcso-looks-for-tips-in-double-murder/

The Times-Independent: What will the next city council do about housing in Moab?

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/what-will-the-next-city-council-do-about-housing-in-moab/

The Times-Independent: How much time will the next mayor spend on the job?

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/how-much-time-will-the-next-mayor-spend-on-the-job/

The Times-Independent: County looks to mitigate future flooding problems

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/county-looks-to-mitigate-future-flooding-problems/

The Times-Independent: First Dance

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/first-dance/

Moab Sun News: Q& A with new Parks, Recreation, and Trails Director Annie McVay: McVay is two months into her job with the City of Moab

https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_09e3cf36-0c2c-11ec-9246-7366ff36479b.html

Moab Sun News: Moab Film Commission introduces a new filmmaking challenge – Registration for the ‘Moab Monster Mash’ challenge opens on Sept 6

https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_c49a2a02-0c1b-11ec-a58d-136c6e23df79.html

Moab Sun News: Get a free taste of the Moab Music Festival at their annual community concert – A variety of musicians will play at the concert on September 6

https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_9a21cafc-0c1e-11ec-9e0b-c3c7deb9b115.html

Moab Sun News: Red Sand Powwow will be Moab’s first ¬– SLC Air Protectors and Full Circle Intertribal Center hold event Sept. 11 – 12

https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_80753fc0-0c1f-11ec-b7d9-8b2aead6a127.html

Almost 80 years ago, in the midst of racist wartime hysteria, the US government rounded up Japanese Americans and unjustly imprisoned them for the duration of WWII. Japanese American composer Kenji Bunch points out that if he was alive back then, he would have been one of the 120,000 people forcibly confined. Bunch is the composer of ‘Lost Freedom: A Memory,’ a highly anticipated new work that debuts at the Moab Music Festival on Saturday. It features the memories of actor George Takei, who was confined as a child. Today on the news, we speak with Bunch about being an ‘artist activist,’ and connecting the lessons of our brutal history to contemporary times.

Show Notes:

Moab Music Festival: George Takei Makes Moab Music Festival Debut in Newly-Commissioned Work By Kenji Bunch

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/George-Takei-Premieres-New-Work-by-Kenji-Bunch-on-WWII-Confinement.html?soid=1103584053506&aid=HeCi4cCLDzM

Moab Music Festival Website

https://moabmusicfest.org

The author of ‘Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West,’ spent five years researching the ultra-wealthy of Teton County, Wyoming. Our partners at KHOL Jackson attended a recent author lecture. Today on the news, they report on mind-boggling wealth, and its impacts on the Mountain West. Plus, Governor Spencer Cox has pledged that Utah will accept refugees fleeing Afghanistan. Our partners at UPR report on the Governor’s recent visit to a refugee and immigrant center where he discussed the issue.

Show Notes:

Photo: Social scientist, Yale University professor and native Wyomingite Justin Farrell speaks at Jackson’s Center for the Arts earlier this summer. Kyle S. Mackie/KHOL

Utah Gov. Talks Immigration, Refugee Resettlement During Visit to Logan

https://www.upr.org/post/utah-gov-talks-immigration-refugee-resettlement-during-visit-logan

KHOL: ‘Billionaire Wilderness’ Author and Local Residents Weigh in on How Wealth is Transforming Teton County

https://891khol.org/billionaire-wilderness-author-and-local-residents-weigh-in-on-how-wealth-is-transforming-teton-county/

Friends and co-workers of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner are still grieving their deaths. Reporter Ashley Bunton takes us to a memorial that was held at McDonalds on Sunday, where Crystal was employed. And, the Department of Energy is launching a new research lab in Colorado to build a better understanding of drought. Plus, the federal government is trying to save wild horses from drought by rounding up thousands and sending them to new homes. But as our radio partners report, some wild horse advocates say the animals aren’t going to happy homes – they’re going to slaughter.

Show Notes:

Photo: Flowers and pictures of Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner make up a memorial for the couple at Moab’s McDonald's, where Crystal was employed

If you have information relevant to the recent double homicide, please call the Grand County Sheriff’s Office at 435-259-8115. According to GCSO, a local person has anonymously offered a $10,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) involved.

8/24/21 Grand County Sheriff’s Office Press Conference (transcript)

https://www.kzmu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/8-24-21-GCSO-Press-Conference-Transcript-1.pdf

Mountain West News Bureau: Feds Rounding Up Thousands of Wild Horses Threatened By Drought

https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/environment/2021-08-27/feds-rounding-up-thousands-of-wild-horses-to-save-them-from-drought

Salt Lake Tribune journalists Alastair Lee Bitsóí and Courtney Tanner broke a story last week when they reported that bodies of Paiute children are likely buried at the site of a former Indigenous boarding school those children were forced to attend in Panguitch, Utah. Today on the news, we speak with Bitsóí, who is Diné, on how they approached this reporting. He says it’s vital to work slowly, while putting the needs of tribal communities first.

Show Notes:

Photo: Panguitch, Utah. Although the Panguitch boarding school was open just five years from 1904 to 1909, it will be the first in the state to confirm that children died and were buried on-site.

The Salt Lake Tribune: Bodies of Paiute children believed to be buried at site of former Utah Indigenous boarding school

https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2021/08/23/bodies-paiute-children/

Many Moabites are experiencing grief, fear, and anger in the wake of the double homicide of two local women. Today on the news, we speak with Abigail Taylor, executive director of Seekhaven Family Crisis & Resource Center. She offers several tools the community can use right now to help with grief and move towards healing.

And later, our Weekly News Reel where we highlight local stories with the reporters who covered them. The Times-Independent’s Doug McMurdo (16:00) discusses discontent at city hall around the property tax issue, 2021 candidates for mayor and city council, as well as the recent double homicide. Alison Harford of the Moab Sun News (27:00) reports that property tax might still be on the table for a future city council and highlights several upcoming community events.

Show Notes:

Weekly News Reel Mentions –

The Times-Independent: No property tax for Moab

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/no-property-tax-for-moab/

The Times-Independent: 2021 candidates for mayor

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/no-property-tax-for-moab/

The Times-Independent: 2021 candidates for city council

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/2021-candidates-for-city-council/

The Times-Independent: Sheriff vows public safety ‘paramount’ following double killing

https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/friend-who-found-couples-bodies-speaks-to-the-t-i/

Moab Sun News: Few fast answers in Moab couple’s deaths

https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_0cd8f2f4-0761-11ec-b6d6-5f8dcfb01f7d.html

*other mentions from the Moab Sun News will be added when available online*

The powerhouse outdoor retailer Patagonia is pulling its products from the world-renowned Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The move comes after one of the owners of the resort co-hosted a fundraiser for the far-right House Freedom Fund earlier this month. Our partners at KHOL spoke with the reporter who broke the story. And, Utah is one of 19 states designated to receive Afghan refugees in the coming weeks and months.

Show Notes:

Photo: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was Patagonia's largest customer in Teton County, Wyoming, according to a company spokesperson. Courtesy of VisitJacksonHole

KHOL: Patagonia to Pull Products from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Over Far-Right Fundraiser

https://891khol.org/patagonia-to-pull-products-from-jackson-hole-mountain-resort-over-far-right-fundraiser/

WyoFile: Patagonia dumps Jackson Hole ski resort after far-right fundraiser

https://www.wyofile.com/patagonia-dumps-jackson-hole-ski-resort-after-far-right-fundraiser/

Utah Gov. Cox: Update on Afghan Refugees Coming to Utah

https://governor.utah.gov/2021/08/25/cox-provides-update-on-afghani-refugees-coming-to-utah/

In a press conference outside the Grand County Sheriff’s Office yesterday, law enforcement said they have not yet identified a suspect in the double homicide of two local women. Agents from the State Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting Grand County with the case. Sheriff Steve White says they have stepped up patrols in the La Sal Mountains in response to community safety concerns. Plus, Moab City will not institute a property tax increase after elected officials say they failed to adequately communicate what projects that revenue could fund. And, a report on mining clean-up on Navajo and Hopi lands from our radio partners.

Show Notes:

Photo: Captain Shan Hackwell reads a statement regarding the double homicide in the La Sal Mountains, standing outside the Grand County Sheriff’s Office on August 24th. Visible behind him (from left) are Sheriff Steve White, FBI special agent Rachel Butler, and Grand County Attorney Christina Sloan. Anthony Militano/KZMU News

If you have information relevant to the recent double homicide, please call the Grand County Sheriff’s Office at 435-259-8115

8/24/21 Grand County Sheriff’s Office Press Conference (video)

https://www.facebook.com/utahgrandcountysheriff/videos/269801227998223

8/24/21 Grand County Sheriff’s Office Press Conference (transcript)

https://www.kzmu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/8-24-21-GCSO-Press-Conference-Transcript.pdf

Moab Property Tax Info

https://moabcity.org/582/Property-Taxes

KJZZ: Years After Coal Mines Close On Navajo And Hopi Land, Some Are Concerned About Cleanup

https://fronterasdesk.org/content/1706997/years-after-coal-mines-close-navajo-and-hopi-land-some-are-concerned-about-cleanup?_ga=2.9001653.1615904818.1628797415-384238978.1615335712

The U.S. Interior Department recently announced oil and gas leasing will resume on federal lands. As our radio partners report, many advocates across the West say the entire system of federal energy development is in desperate need of reform. Plus, the Biden administration has nominated Chuck Sams to become the nation’s next National Park Service director. If confirmed, he would be the first Indigenous person to run the agency. And, The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the bodies of Paiute children are likely buried at the site of a former Indigenous boarding school in Panguitch, Utah.

Show Notes:

KHOL: Western Advocates Call to Reform Oil and Gas Leasing System as Legal Battle Intesifies

https://891khol.org/western-advocates-call-to-reform-oil-and-gas-leasing-system-as-legal-battle-intensifies/

DOI: White House Announces Nomination of Charles F. Sams III as National Park Service Director

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/white-house-announces-nomination-charles-f-sams-iii-national-park-service-director

The Salt Lake Tribune: Bodies of Paiute children believed to be buried at site of former Utah Indigenous boarding school

https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2021/08/23/bodies-paiute-children/