Michael de Yoanna
Reporter, Investigative and Veterans’ IssuesEmail: michael@kunc.org
As investigative reporter for KUNC, I take tips from our audience and, well, investigate them. I strive to go beyond the obvious, to reveal new facts, to go in-depth and to bring new perspectives and personalities to light.
KUNC's newsroom has always stood out for asking critical questions while striving for fairness and accuracy while promoting conversation. Colorado deserves nothing less. My stories sometimes air on NPR or programs like "Reveal," but my starting point is always right here, with real people from our community.
I got my first job as a print reporter for publications in Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and Denver. Later, I freelanced for local and national media organizations, including "60 Minutes." I even directed an indie documentary in the two years I worked as an investigative producer in local television. Finally, I settled in at public radio.
I've been honored with two national Edward R. Murrow Awards for my reporting with KUNC, most recently in 2019. As an editor, I shared in a national Sigma Delta Chi investigative award in 2018 from the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2017, I won the Columbia-duPont Award for my co-reporting with NPR’s Investigations Desk. I have received numerous other regional and statewide awards.
When I'm not at work, I play a loud and ferocious electric guitar with my band, enjoy epic weekend road bicycle trek that begin with coffee and end with beer and laughs or watch soccer with my mates, especially if they're supporters of Manchester United or the Colorado Rapids.
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A congressman and community supporters are rallying behind the idea of naming a Veterans Affairs health clinic after John Mosley, a Denver native who became one of the military’s first Black pilots as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II.
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This week, dozens of health organizations — from the American Medical Association to the American Nurses Association — said they support mandates that require health care workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The mandates are starting to trickle into Colorado.
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A report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or UAPs, released last month by national intelligence officials didn’t say anything about last year's drone sightings in Colorado. So KUNC asked whether anyone ever solved the mystery about what the objects were and, if they were drones, who was flying them. The short answer: no.
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Colorado’s public health department issued an order Wednesday that prevents paramedics from using ketamine to sedate people in situations like the one involving Elijah McClain. The change came just hours after Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1251, which he said in a statement is meant to “restore trust in law enforcement.”
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In the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency, the Air Force announced that the headquarters for the U.S. Space Command should be located in Alabama. The decision meant that the command must be pulled out of Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs in the coming years and has spawned allegations of political favoritism from members of Colorado’s congressional delegation.
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On a sunny morning under the shade of a big tree just north of the Regis University campus in Denver, a small group of people gathered around 102-year-old Edward Flaherty on Friday to honor him for what he did when he was young. They came to give him the medals he earned in World War II, but never received.
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The bill, dubbed the “Ketamine Restriction Act,” would require local and state law enforcement agencies around the country to certify that they prohibit the use of ketamine for arrest or detention. The bill aims to prevent its use in the field by paramedics. It would allow ketamine’s use in a hospital.
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A bill crafted partly in response to the death of Elijah McClain that places limits on when paramedics can sedate people with ketamine is on the desk of Gov. Jared Polis for his consideration. Yet House Bill 1251 faces ongoing opposition from police, fire and emergency services groups. Supporters say it will ban paramedics from using the powerful drug in situations where officers wrongfully seek to subdue people.
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In another sign the pandemic is starting to end, people at hundreds of residential care facilities across Colorado no longer have to wear masks. The caveat is the same as the one for the general public: the rule applies only to those who are vaccinated.
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Is it possible to know how your state representative will vote on a bill before it gets debated? What started off as a casual bet between two reporters has shed light on a little-known tool that can pretty accurately predict such outcomes.