Today on Colorado Edition: We speak with Colorado's Secretary of State about election security. Plus, we take a look the new Monet exhibit in Denver, learn about a much-coveted career watching over mountain resevoirs, and explore one person's pursuit to create the next Yellowstone.
News Of The Day:
- Adams 14 Lawsuit - A Denver district court judge dismissed lawsuits from the Adams 14 and Pueblo teachers’ unions last week. Chalkbeat Colorado reports the lawsuits challenged state orders requiring the school districts to hire outside management due to ongoing poor academic performance. The unions claimed that violates the state constitution, which grants local school boards the authority to make most decisions. The judge ruled that the unions failed to establish injury based on the state order.
- Park County Strike - Classes have resumed in Park County schools south of Denver despite a teacher strike now in its second week. The Denver Post reports that classrooms will be staffed by teachers who chose to come back to work, licensed substitute teachers and other staffers. Teachers went on strike over salary increases and other issues. It is the third teachers' strike in Colorado in the last 18 months.
- Colorado Avalanche - After two weeks of play, the Colorado Avalanche are the only undefeated NHL team. The Avalanche has scored a franchise record 15 goals in their first eight games. The catch? It’s nearly impossible to watch them on TV this year, following a contract dispute with regional sports network Altitude and the three main distributors, Comcast, Dish Network and Direct TV. The Denver Nuggets are in the same bind, with their season set to start Wednesday. Both teams made the playoffs last year.
Election Security In Colorado
Since the 2016 presidential election, there has been concern over the security of elections here in the United States. But The Washington Post has heralded Colorado as “the safest state to cast a vote,” which got us wondering how Colorado earned that distinction.
To learn more about election security in the state, we spoke with Colorado’s Secretary of State, Jena Griswold.
The Next Yellowstone: Part 1
We’re living in a time of shrinking national monuments, the extinction of species and, from some, the denial of climate change. All of this has one ex-Silicon Valley entrepreneur on a mission to build the next Yellowstone. With support from the Pulitzer Center, reporter Nate Hegyi has more on the American Prairie Reserve for KUNC. Join us tomorrow as we continue the story in our series, “The Next Yellowstone."
One Of Colorado's Most Coveted Careers
There’s an extremely remote reservoir 15 miles southeast of Aspen called the Grizzly Reservoir. It holds the water for Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Aurora. And there’s a couple, Glenn and Kim Schryver, who are among a select group of people who help maintain these remote mountain reservoirs.
They are the subject of Jason Blevins’ new article for The Colorado Sun. He joined us to tell us more.
Show Me The Monet
On Monday, the Denver Art Museum opened a comprehensive exhibition of Claude Monet’s paintings, spanning his entire career of work. It features more than 120 paintings by the French impressionist, and KUNC’s arts and culture reporter Stacy Nick attended a preview of the exhibit. She joined us to fill us in on the exhibit. You can read more here.
The exhibit, “Claude Monet: The Truth of Nature,” will be on view through Feb. 2. Denver is the only site in the U.S. for this new exhibit.
Colorado Edition is made possible with support from our KUNC members. Thank you!
Our theme music was composed by Colorado musicians Briana Harris and Johnny Burroughs. Other music this week by Blue Dot Sessions:
- "Great is the Contessa" by The Contessa
- "Greylock" by Skittle
- "Tar and Spackle" by Vacant Distillery
- "The Molerat" by Little Rock
- "Great Great Lengths" by Little Rock
Colorado Edition is hosted by Erin O'Toole (@ErinOtoole1) and Henry Zimmerman @HWZimmerman), and produced by Lily Tyson. The web was edited by digital editor Jackie Hai. Managing editor Brian Larson contributed to this episode.
KUNC's Colorado Edition is a daily news magazine taking an in-depth look at the issues and culture of Northern Colorado. It's available on our website, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can hear the show on KUNC's air, Monday through Thursday at 6:30 p.m.