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Haven Coleman perched on the steps of the Colorado state capitol in a puffy jacket and hat. The 12-year-old looked tiny against the gray stone columns rising up at her back. With her mom standing nearby, she held up a simple sign. On it, she had written the words “School Strike for Climate” in big black magic-markered letters.

Starting in the late 80s, rainbow trout in Colorado began dying off because of a parasite that causes whirling disease. By 1997, wild rainbows in the state had all but vanished. The disease is caused by a water-borne parasite that infects young trout and some species of salmon, causing deformities of the skull and spinal column. The infected fish swim in circles, hence the name whirling disease. Ultimately, it leads to death.

A new multimillion-dollar recreation master plan for the Arkansas River levee in Pueblo is complete. The goal of the process, according to the document, was to come up with ways to increase river recreation, improve connectivity to the river as well as its ecology, and provide for more economic development opportunities.

The Fine Arts Center at Colorado College is 100 years old this year. It began in the former home of philanthropists Julie and Spencer Penrose in 1919 as the Broadmoor Art Academy. By the 1930s, what was initially a local art colony had become a major force in the art world.

Public libraries are a place to find answers—maybe for a research question or a book recommendation. But they’re increasingly places where people seek help locating social services, benefits and housing. And to better meet those needs, libraries across the country are adding social workers to their payroll. As of October, that includes the Pikes Peak Library District.

Last year the nation was shocked when a 9-year-old Colorado boy took his own life. A recent report says youth suicide is a public health crisis in Colorado and the numbers in the Mountain West as a whole are staggering, with some of the highest rates in the nation . At the same time, there’s a significant shortage of mental health professionals -- at crisis levels in some communities. Often, it’s mental health workers in schools who work on the front lines of this crisis.

Colorado Springs has completed its first ever Tree Canopy Assessment. The city used aerial imagery to map its trees and found that the canopy covers roughly 17 percent of Colorado Springs. The study also identified parts of the city that could benefit from more trees, including parks, medians, and the area surrounding a planned sports complex and the under-construction Olympic Museum near downtown Colorado Springs.

For our fourth episode of the Converge Lecture Series Podcast , we're joined by writer Karen Russell. A novelist and short story writer, Russell is perhaps best known for her novel, " Swamplandia!" Set in the waterlogged wilderness of south Florida, it tells the story of a family of alligator wrestlers struggling to cope with tragedy and dealing with a string of bad luck that threatens their roadside theme park. It’s a book about grief and survival, and a haunting, deeply affecting coming-of-age

The battle over a controversial citizenship question on the 2020 census may have profound economic implications for the Mountain West.

As the partial government shutdown continues, it's clear that communities and individuals across the country are being affected. That includes southern Colorado and Colorado Springs. Dr. Tatiana Bailey, director of the UCCS Economic Forum, came to 91.5 KRCC to discuss the local implications of the shutdown both now and in the long-term.