Writers on the Range
Mondays at 10:00 AM and Saturdays at 2:30 PM
Writers on the Range is a Western opinion service, providing content to newspapers across the West. An independent nonprofit, Writers on the Range is dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. Each week on KVNF a new short feature, read either by the author or by Editor Betsy Marston.
To find out more, or to sign up for the Writers on the Range newsletter, visitwritersontherange.org If you’ve thought about it, we’ve probably written about it.
Latest Episodes
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Burning Man was back in the news last month as fires, protests and rainstorms disrupted the decades-old counterculture event. Yet even as storms and mud overtook the Black Rock Desert, the community prevailed, forging connections amidst the muck, writes contributor Dennis Hinkamp. -
Marjorie "Slim" Woodruff can't figure out why some visitors to the West work hard to duplicate a photo they've seen on Instagram. Whatever happened to spontaneity, she asks? If she were an "influencer," Slim says, she'd share a photo of herself after a tough hike that left her sweaty and hair a mess: "Think is could catch on?" -
Writers on the Range Editor Betsy Marston pays tribute to iconic nature photographer John Fielder. -
This week, writer Crista Worthy tells how her state of Idaho has made it almost impossible for women to get medical care for an abortion, a right that for 49 years was taken for granted. If men got pregnant, she says, none of this would be happening. -
This week, contributor Pepper Trail tells us about the Joshua tree, an iconic symbol of the American West facing dire challenges. Threatened by development, invasive plants, and climate change-driven fires, these unique trees are in catastrophic decline after surviving the Mojave Desert for millions of years. -
Wildland firefighters deserve a living wage, says writer Gregory McNamee, and there's a bipartisan bill working its way through Congress to do exactly that. But it's sure to be controversial, he adds, even though everyone knows that ever more destructive and frequent wildfires are here to stay. -
We're bringing you two columns this week. First, publisher Dave Marston profiles Allen Best, a one-man journalism shop whose coverage of Colorado energy has become essential reading. Then, editor Betsy Marston provides Western transplants some quick tips for adjusting to the rural life. -
Writer Stephen Trimble writes about a problem that has never been solved in this country: How to care for the chronically mentally ill. His mother, he says, learned from the Denver Post that her schizophrenic son, Mike Trimble, had died at 33, alone in a "care home" that failed to deliver proper care. For decades, Trimble says, we've known that we must do better.
