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Colorado Edition: Farmers try to reduce reliance on Republican River; changes in visibility open the door for local drag classes

A wheat and corn farm in northeastern Colorado.
Photo by Kirk Siegler
A wheat and corn farm in northeastern Colorado.

When it comes to saving the Republican River basin from losing its water, and its ability to be an agricultural powerhouse, there are a lot of ideas. Farmers are trying some of them, like switching to less water-dependent crops, and alternative growing methods. KUNC’s Adam Rayes explores the impact these potential solutions could have in Colorado and the two other states that depend on water from the river.

In 1954, Denver passed an ordinance that made it illegal for "any member of the male sex" to appear in public "in the dress of the opposite sex." This meant that drag queens were arrested for simply appearing in public. Denver stopped jailing drag queens in 1973. And in more recent years, drag events have moved from counterculture to more mainstream life. We speak with Denver drag queen Diamond Starr about her performance career, changes in drag visibility in the media, and a series of classes they are running for teens and tweens to learns the ins and outs of drag. We also speak with one of the students taking part in the classes, Sam Charney, a 15-year-old theater major at the Denver School of the Arts.

Colorado Edition is hosted by Erin O'Toole (@ErinOtoole1) and edited by Henry Zimmerman (@kombuchacowboy). Our production team includes Tess Novotny (@tess_novotny). KUNC news director Brian Larson is our executive producer. Web was edited by digital editor Jackie Hai.

The mission of Colorado Edition is to deepen understanding of life in Northern Colorado through authentic conversation and storytelling. It's available as a podcast on iTunesSpotifyGoogle PlayStitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can hear the show on KUNC, Monday through Friday at 2:30 and at 6:30 p.m.   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 in the show by Blue Dot Sessions.

KUNC's Colorado Edition is a daily look at the stories, news, people and issues important to you. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains.