Rocky Mountain Community Radio Coalition

KVNF is one of 20 stations across the Mountain West that works closely with Rocky Mountain Community Radio. The radio coalition that supports regional reporting recently made a new hire.

KVNF staff members recently took a road trip to the Four Corners region to participate in the annual Rocky Mountain Community Radio Conference.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently identified several cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza, in free ranging wildlife, including a black bear in Huerfano County, and a mountain lion in Gunnison County.

Rocky Mountain Community Radio stations across the western states are joining together to broadcast a song and spoken word piece in solidarity with LGBTQIA communities in Colorado Springs and beyond, in the wake of the Club Q Shooting last Saturday. Tune in to KVNF on Friday, November 25th at 9 am and take a moment to honor those affected by this tragedy.

After a canceled 2020 and a scaled back 2021, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival is back in full force this weekend. The 49th annual festival runs today through Sunday with 12,000 attendees daily. But the festivities were already underway a few days before the official start as throngs filled the Telluride Town Park Campground. KOTO's Matt Hoisch spoke with campers about what they're excited for and how it feels to be back.

This week we hear from reporter Will Walkey at our RMCR partner station KHOL in Jackson about a controversy examining the very core of what it means for humans to interact with public lands. A small population of bighorn sheep persists in the Teton range during the winter under impossible conditions, often above 10,000 feet. Local wildlife biologists, who have been painstakingly tracking the population for decades, say the herd is in danger and are proposing backcountry closures to try and give the sheep some space. This effort to conserve the herd is pitting some skiers against conservationists in emotional public discourse. This podcast is part of a series from KHOL and Stio called Facets: Voices of the Mountain Life.

Ballots for Colorado’s upcoming primary election are being mailed out starting today. As Scott Franz reports, voters also face a deadline today to switch their party affiliation. Plus, some states will quickly restrict abortion if Roe versus Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Robyn Vincent reports the fight to preserve abortion access in our region reflects a divided nation.

The latest podcast distributed by Kaya Wright and Alicea Manzanares, students from the Paw Print at Delta High School, offers a glimpse into summer plans. Plus, backcountry flying is taking off. And a small but growing number of pilots are helping to upkeep historic dirt runways that dot southeastern Utah. Justin Higginbottom takes to the skies to learn about the growing hobby for Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

Congressmember Lauren Boebert and State Senator Don Coram clashed in a Republican primary debate in Ignacio on Thursday. The wide-ranging forum included personal attacks and calls to arm school teachers. KSUT's Mark Duggan reports. Plus, Grand Junction Sentinel reporter Charles Ashby attended a CD3 candidate forum on Wednesday hosted by the Mesa County Democratic Party. He writes the candidates, Sol Sandoval, Alex Walker, and Adam Frisch spent more time attacking Boebert than each other.

It's been a hard couple of years. Many people are struggling with mental health or addictions. Kate Redmond speaks with Kathleen Burnell, a Center for Mental Health clinician in the area, who offers an innovative program. Plus, Eric Galatas reports Colorado officials say now is the time to prepare for wildfires in your neighborhood.