Last week we talked about the key components of a retreat and today we're going to talk about the benefits. Retreats are one of the many ways that I feed my soul and reconnect with my heart. They take us out of our habitual thinking, doing, pursuing, perceiving and place us in a whole new context completely geard towards peace, intention, healing and insight. They have the ability to get us unstuck from tough places by shifting our environment and routine, and surrounding us with symbols, sounds, movements and people that represent a pure and supportive energy.

Have you traveled along a dark road and been temporarily blinded by bright oncoming headlights? I think we all can relate.Vehicle headlights are among the most widespread and least regulated sources of artificial light at night. A full moon produces roughly 0.1–0.3 lux. Lux measures how bright light appears on a surface, specifically the amount of light that falls on a given surface. One lux equals one lumen per square meter. Lumens measure the total light output from a source. Lux depends on distance and beam focus: the closer you are to a light source or the more focused the light beam, the higher the lux reading.

Paramedic David Jepsen discusses upcoming training for EMS personnel in Hinsdale County and the challenges the agency is facing.

Colorado voters will decide 14 statewide ballot measures on Nov. 3. For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, KOTO's Julia Caulfield talks with Bente Birkeland of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance about all of them, from fentanyl penalties and immigration reporting to income taxes and the right to hunt and fish.

KVNF's weekly call-in gardening show. As the Worm Turns is now on Wednesday's @ 5 PM.

When fire commanders try to figure out how to contain a major wildfire, the last thing you might expect them to deploy is a herd of beef cattle. But on the recent Gold Mountain Fire in western Colorado, cows are eating the “fine fuels” along a three-mile fire line on the Big Cimarron River.Putting that idea into practice five years ago would have required miles of electric fencing and a range rider to gather strays. Now, new technology has changed the game for cattle grazing by putting electronic collars — all solar-powered — on cows and linking them by satellite.

State air regulators say the West Elk coal mine near Somerset put out nearly four times the volatile organic compounds its permit allows, and sanctions may follow. KVNF talked with the Colorado Sun reporter who covered the story and with a North Fork methane-burning entrepreneur.

Many of us have heard about or participated in a mindfulness or meditation retreat. Retreats vary in length, cost and content and it can be overwhelming to deciding which one, if any, would benefit us. I do believe that retreats are very beneficial but I don't believe they have to be organized or costly in order to be so. Some of my most beneficial retreats have been those that I have done for free on my own in nature. Today we'll talk about the key components of a retreat and next week, we'll talk more about the benefits.

Your weekly Regional Science Update.