Local Motion

Meet Colorado College student Anya Steinberg, named a grand prize winner in NPR's Student Podcast Challenge for exploring the impact of learning her biological father, a sperm donor she'd been told was a doctor, was in fact a jazz musician. Plus, journalism professor Corey Hutchins on the Grand Junction Sentinel retiring its 40-year old printing press, and a racial reckoning at 9News and The Denver Post.

This week we hear from Carlton Mason, CEO for CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates of the 7th Judicial District, helping to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect through prevention, advocacy, and interaction. Then blogger JoAnn Kalenak of the nonprofit Delta County Citizen Report talks about the future of the Delta library, recycling, junkyards, transparency, the mask mandate, and other stories she covers in her newsletter.

On this week's Local Motion, KVNF's Kate Redmond speaks with High Country News correspondent Nick Bowlin about his article on energy companies leaving Colorado with billions of dollars in oil and gas cleanup. Plus, KVNF's Gavin Dahl hears from HCN associate editor Paige Blankenbuehler about the ideas suburban second graders have for helping CPW manage the reintroduction of wolves.

This week's show comes courtesy of the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program, based in the Roaring Fork Valley. A Basalt high school student and AZYEP DJ named Connor Hoffman is building an electric snowmobile with his Dad for the Aspen Skiing Company. AZYEP project coordinator and podcast producer Halle Zander speaks to him, as well as SkiCo's vice president of sustainability Auden Schendler about why they're fighting the climate crisis with electrification.

After a full year of social distancing and facing social isolation Western Slope organizations are getting even more creative with their offerings for local Seniors.

This week on Local Motion, news director Gavin Dahl speaks with Erin McIntyre, co-publisher of the Ouray County Plaindealer newspaper, and Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition executive director Jeff Roberts. Together they explore the significance of the "reverse" CORA filed in district court by Ouray County administrator Connie Hunt and county attorney Carol Viner after they declined an open records request by the newspaper for personnel files about public health staffers responding to the coronavirus pandemic. KVNF News requested an interview or statement from the county officials with more than 24 hours notice, but received no response before airtime. 

On this week's Local Motion, KVNF news director Gavin Dahl speaks with Telluride Foundation CEO Paul Major and Telluride Daily Planet contributor Amy M. Peters about plans to build 55 to 60 new homes in Nucla, Norwood, and Ridgway. The two-year affordable housing initiative is called Rural Homes: For Sale, For Locals.

The magnetic north pole is moving. It has, in fact crossed the prime meridian. The British Geological Survey and the U.S. National Geophysical Data Center, which update the World's Magnetic Model, have had to accelerate their process in order to keep up because magnetic north has accelerated to moving 37 miles a year. On this week’s Local Motion KVNF’s Kate Redmond speaks with Greg Baker, assistant professor of geology at Colorado Mesa University and also Dr. Dave Noe, a professional geologist and lecturer living in Paonia.

On this week's Local Motion, Gavin Dahl hosts a reporter roundtable with two of the area's most prolific journalists, Katharhynn Heidelberg from Montrose Press and Lisa Young from Delta County Independent. The trio discuss a dozen stories covered recently in the local papers. 

KVNF's Kate Redmond speaks with a local woman about Bosnian weaving. Claire Noone, an attorney in Paonia, not only works on asylum cases for survivors of the Balkan war, she also brings their handicrafts to market.

The 9th Annual Western Colorado Food and Farm Forum was held virtually on January 23nd - 23rd. This year's Keynote Speaker was Zimbabwean Ecologist Allan Savory of the Savory Institute.

This week on Local Motion, KVNF's Gavin Dahl speaks with two reporters at nonprofit magazine High Country News about their latest stories focused on specific communities in Colorado.

This week we check out The Tactile Traveler, hosted by blind journalist Nick Isenberg and produced by Lucas Turner at KDNK. Today’s show explores PPE questions like how hearing impaired Americans who rely on lip reading can keep communicating effectively with so many people wearing masks, plus voting while blind, and making Amtrak more enjoyable for travelers with special needs. The show seeks to empower blind and low vision people to explore the world and help the sighted to see the world in a new way.

The RNA-based COVID-19 vaccine is a technology that has not been used with inoculations before. It is not, however, a new technology. KVNF's Kate Redmond speaks with Dr. Anuj Mehta, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Denver Health and chair of the Governor's medical advisory group on vaccine allocation, about the new vaccine. She also talks to molecular biologist and registered nurse Glen Courson about the structure and function of mRNA technology.

On this week’s show we have highlights from the 5th and 6th episodes of Wildish, a new podcast from High Country News.  Host Anna Coburn learns about federal mustang management in the not so wild West, introducing us to wildlife managers, landowners and wild horse advocates. Her guests provide various perspectives on how to work together to manage wild horse and burro populations.  Listen in to learn about a prison program where inmates train wild burros for adoption, and to meet a Montana couple who adopted a wild horse. 

Chad Reich is back on KVNF for this week's Local Motion to go deeper into the story of 'The North Fork Exception.' Mountain Coal Company wants to expand into lands on The Gunnison National Forest's roadless areas and environmental groups want to stop them. The story involves ongoing battles in the courts over roads and drilling pads. The mine hasn't responded to emails or phone calls since July so they couldn't be included in the story. Instead, Chad shares the voices of coal advocates, conservation groups, and government officials.

This week, KVNF's Gavin Dahl asked two Democrats, Representative Barbara McLachlan who lives in Durango, and Ian Silverii the executive director of Progress Now and a Denver Post columnist, to reflect on the Special Session, the 2020 election, and the coronavirus pandemic. Last week we heard from two Republicans.

This week on Local Motion, news director Gavin Dahl speaks with two Republicans about the 2020 Election, the Special Session, and COVID-19. Next week, we'll hear from two Democrats. State Senator Don Coram represents District 6 which includes Montrose County, Ouray County, and San Miguel County. Ray Langston is chair of the Montrose County Republican Party. 

On this week's Local Motion Gavin Dahl speaks with Chalkbeat Colorado bureau chief Erica Meltzer about how school districts are managing coronavirus outbreaks statewide. Plus, Kori Stanton speaks to Paonia Experiential Leadership Academy senior Liza Eller, who wrote and directed 2020 The Musical, produced with fellow students. 

On this week’s show, we have highlights from the third and fourth episodes of "Wildish," a new podcast from High Country News. Host Anna Coburn learns about federal mustang management in the not-so-wild West, introducing us to wildlife managers, landowners, and wild horse advocates. Her guests provide various perspectives on how to work together to manage wild horse and burro populations.

KVNF's Gavin Dahl explores broadband developments in rural Colorado with Virgil Turner, regional broadband project director for the nonprofit Region 10, and Colorado Sun reporter Tamara Chuang.

KVNF discusses the impacts of continuous hot and dry weather in Western Colorado with Reagan Waskom, Director, Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University, Harrison Topp, Topp Fruits, Kate Greenberg, Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture, and rancher, Cynthia Houseweart, Princess Beef.

Gavin Dahl speaks with data journalist Sandra Fish about covering campaign spending for The Colorado Sun, and Colorado College professor Corey Hutchins who publishes a must-read newsletter each week that's available through

On this edition of Local Motion, we’ll discuss two Delta County ballot measures. Delta County residents are being asked to vote on a Back the Badge measure that would institute a special public safety tax to help fund law enforcement. And the  towns of Paonia and Cedaredge are each considering allowing sales of medical and recreational marijuana, and taxing those sales to create additional revenue. 

On this edition of Local Motion we hear a debate produced as part of Colorado Decides by PBS12, CBS4, and The Colorado Sun. Proposition 117 would establish a requirement of voter approval before the state can collect new enterprise funds of a certain size. 

On this week’s edition, we’re taking a look at how the school year is going so far. The COVID-19  pandemic has upended so much of our daily life, and that’s especially evident in education, where schools, teachers, parents and students have had to adjust to new procedures, changed expectations and different ways of learning.

On this week's edition of Local Motion we hear highlights from the first two episodes of Wildish, a new podcast from High Country News. Host Anna Coburn learns about federal mustang management in the not-so-wild west, introducing us to wildlife managers, landowners, and wild horse advocates. The Wild Horse and Burro Program could soon reach a breaking point. You can learn more about the series here.

Colorado’s North Fork Valley is well known for its small farms, producing some of the state’s finest fruits, vegetables, and meats. KVNF visited one such small farm earlier this summer,  DeerTree Farm near Hotchkiss. It’s owned by AJ and Nicole Carrillo, a couple in their early 30s.

Colorado's Commissioner of Agriculture, Kate Greenberg, talks with KVNF's Kori Stanton on August 26th, 2020. Greenberg gives KVNF listeners an  update on what's going on at the Colorado Department of Agriculture in the middle of the pandemic and answers questions from Western Slope farmers, ranchers and producers.

This week's program is a special documentary from Making Contact. In LA 50 years ago, 30,000 mostly Chicanos peacefully protested the disproportionate number of Latinos dying on the frontlines in Vietnam. They came from across the country to also protest substandard education, racism, police violence, and other issues negatively affecting Latinos. What started out as a peaceful march ended with an attack by riot-clad police, 400 arrests, and the deaths of four people.