Many rural towns across the Mountain West are experiencing a moment of crisis — water scarcity and the threat of wildfire, as well as extreme income inequality and a shortage of workers, in part, because the cost of living is often incredibly high. We speak with veteran ski journalist Heather Hansman, who covers these issues in her new book. And we hear about efforts to ban a common but potentially unsafe series of chemicals known as PFAS from ski wax products.

Many rural towns across the Mountain West are experiencing a moment of crisis — water scarcity and the threat of wildfire, as well as extreme income inequality and a shortage of workers, in part, because the cost of living is often incredibly high. We speak with veteran ski journalist Heather Hansman, who covers these issues in her new book, Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns, and the Future of Chasing Snow.

Today on Colorado Edition, we explore local and statewide efforts to prevent overdose deaths and reduce harm. We also hear about a report commissioned by the Interior Department that outlines serious problems at tribal jails.

Last November, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that for the first time, drug overdose deaths topped 100,000 annually. In Colorado, nearly 1,500 people died from drug-related overdose deaths in 2020. We explore local and statewide efforts to prevent overdose deaths and reduce harm.

Today on Colorado Edition, we hear about Marshall Fire survivors who are struggling with a challenging housing market and a strong desire to stay put. We also talk with journalist Lisa Napoli about four women who were foundational to the early days of NPR.

Colorado Edition’s Erin O’Toole moderated a keynote discussion on politics, polarization and the state of journalism, here and abroad, with former NPR journalist and Weekend Edition Sunday host Lulu Garcia-Navarro.

In the first year of the pandemic, Colorado’s kindergarten enrollment plummeted. A year later, many young students are back in public schools, with statewide kindergarten enrollment trending back up.

Today on Colorado Edition, we hear why Colorado kindergarten enrollment is increasing after plummeting due to the pandemic last year. We also learn why the way we understand the impact of snow totals on drought is changing. And, we listen back to a conversation with Wilma Webb, the first Black first lady of Denver, as her husband and former mayor Wellington Webb is set to be honored with a sculpture.

Today on Colorado Edition: We hear from members of Colorado’s Ukrainian community who gathered for a church service over the weekend. We also examine Colorado’s move to add a public option insurance program and what lessons we can take away from Washington’s public option rollout; and we revisit a conversation about the history and future of Black cowboys in the American west.

On recent Sundays, at Transfiguration of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church in northwest Denver, congregants have prayed for their country and loved ones back home. Whether they moved from Ukraine themselves or were born in the United States, they share the same concern over the future of their homeland.