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KUNC's Colorado Edition: I'm On The Hunt, I'm After You Stinky Flower

Scott Dressel-Martin
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Courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens
This is a flower that smells very, very, very, very, very, very, very bad. But we still love it.

On this week's Colorado Edition, stories of hunting: Scientists search for methane leaks, talent agents look outside Hollywood for the next big star, and people hunting for a rare horticultural experience get more than they may want, courtesy of a flower with a very unlikely fragrance.

Hard to believe, but it's back-to-school time around Colorado. At the start of summer, we asked teachers to tell us what they do to make ends meet over summer break. We got a lot of interesting answers - including this one from Sarah Weeks, a STEM teacher and media specialist in Fort Collins.

In the midst of another hot, dry summer, Colorado farmers are looking to stretch their dollars -- and their water -- even further. Esther Honig went to Greeley to check out some new, aerial technology that researchers with the USDA have been developing to help.

When it comes to spending ahead of the November election -- Colorado's race for governor is like no other. The Democratic and Republican candidates are both wealthy and they've shattered all previous records for giving to their own campaigns. Which leads us to ask: Can someone become governor if they're NOT a millionaire? KUNC's Michael de Yoanna searched for answers.

States like Wyoming, Colorado and Utah produce a lot of natural gas. But a lot of that gas is lost due to leaks that a recent study showed were worse than previously thought. That may be because those leaks can be hard to detect. Rae Ellen Bichell headed out on a treasure hunt (of sorts) with scientists working on a better way to track them down.

Colorado is a long way from Hollywood. But when it comes to television and commercials, it's getting a lot closer. KUNC arts and culture reporter Stacy Nick checked out an audition - not to get herself on the silver screen, but for a first-person look at the effort to get Coloradans more exposure.

The new movie Skate Kitchen is about a group of young women skate boarders in New York. KUNC film critic Howie Movshovitz, who teaches film and television at CU Denver, says that the film gives a rare and generous view of its young women characters.

Finally, the Denver Botanic Gardens' beloved corpse flower may be getting ready to do its thing again. Horticulturists are predicting the rare bloom to occur in early to mid-September. The 18-year-old plant first bloomed three years ago to massive crowds -- who for some reason wanted to smell a plant that stinks like rotting meat. (Yeah, we don't know either, but we want to be there.)

Our intro music is "Remember Me" by Colorado musician Kalatana. Our outro is "Good Grief" by Ryan Little. Other music this week:

  • "Mandelbrots in Winter" by Forest Robots
  • "High Altitude Cocktails" by Robbie Reverb
  • "Nothing Like Captain Crunch" by Broke For Free
  • "End of an Hour" by Art of Escapism

This episode is hosted and produced by Erin O'Toole and Karlie Huckels. Editors Ashley Jefcoat and Brian Larson contributed to our show. Ashley also manages digital.

KUNC's Colorado Edition is a weekly look at the top stories from our newsroom. It's available every Friday on our website, as well as on  iTunes,  Google Play,  Stitcher or  wherever (RSS)  you get your podcasts. You can hear it on the air every Sunday at 9 p.m. on KUNC.