- Afghan refugees are arriving in Colorado from military bases around the country. Among the first of those refugees arrived this week. An estimated 865 Afghans are expected to arrive in the state in the coming weeks and months. Jaime Koehler Blanchard works with Lutheran Family Services on refugee resettlement. And Dr. Vinh Chung from Colorado Springs shares his perspective on the challenges and opportunities ahead; he arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam more that forty years ago.
- Nurses are the backbone of a hospital. And nurses say the pandemic has led to a staffing crisis. It means the level of patient care just can't be the same. And the nurses who remain risk burning out. The incoming president of the Colorado Nurses Association is Laura Rosenthal, who's a nurse in Metro Denver. The association's Executive Director is Colleen Casper, who is also a nurse. They share their insight and perspective on the realities of what's happening.
- When a doctor, teacher or therapists suspects child abuse, Colorado requires they report their suspicions to authorities. But the person in charge of child protection for the state is worried many are confused about how exactly they're supposed to do that. Recently, child protection ombudsman Stephanie Villafuerte detailed those concerns in a report she released to the public.
- Mirwais Hotak was young when 9/11 happened, but it shaped the trajectory of his life and led him to Littleton, Colorado, where he settled and opened a restaurant.
- The film "Black Ice" follows a group of young people heading from Memphis to Montana to try ice-climbing. But it's really about being young and Black in America today. The film is directed by Zachary Barr with Boulder-based Reel Rock, a documentary production house. Malik Martin is featured in "Black Ice" and helped with cinematography. They spoke with Andrea Dukakis in June.
- A former internment camp in Southeast Colorado that housed Japanese-Americans during World War II is closer to becoming part of the National Park System. The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Thursday supporting that designation for Camp Amache. The vote was 416 to 2.
- An obsession with the Rocky Mountains drives Heather Mateus Sappenfield to write. An obsession not just with the topography but with the people of the Rockies who have to navigate economic, social, and racial disparities. Sappenfield lives in Vail. Her collection of short stories is called "Lyrics for Rock Stars."
- Artist Keith Haring first made his mark with chalk drawings of figures on the walls of New York subway stations. He moved on to large murals in his distinct pop art style. One of his works was a mural painted along the walls of a stairwell in a former youth center in New York. Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art transported the original wall panels to the museum. The museum's director Nora Burnett Abrams took CPR's Andrea Dukakis on a tour.
- The play "Harvey" premiered on Broadway in 1944. Audiences went gaga. It features a man named Elwood Dowd whose best friend is a large rabbit. The catch is: no one but Elwood can see the rabbit. Harvey became a feature film-- starring Jimmy Stewart. Playwright Mary Chase won a Pulitzer Prize for Harvey. She was a life-long Denverite who grew up in a working-class Irish family. There's a new biography of Chase, who died in 1981. It's called "Pulling Harvey Out of Her Hat." Author Mimi Pockross spoke with CPR's Andrea Dukakis.
- Now that summer's officially here, we asked two booksellers for their recommendations for good reads with Western themes or by Colorado authors. Margie Wilson owns Grand Valley Books in Grand Junction and Revati Kilaparti does community outreach for Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins.
- There's a lot riding on Colorado's new public option; but what does accountability look like, and will there be quality health care at a lower cost? Then, Reps. Ken Buck and Joe Neguse lead the fight to rein in big tech companies. Plus, we invite some book experts to give us their summer reading picks; navigating DIA and “responsibly sourced” natural gas.
- Last month, Children’s Hospital Colorado declared a “State of Emergency” for youth mental health. Here's how the state is responding.
- Mesa County’s vaccination rate remains low, Colorado continues to try to increase the vaccination rate among Latinos, we've got a new $1 million vaccine winner and the Delta COVID-19 variant is now a "variant of concern." Here's a breakdown of where thing are at this week.
- As Juneteenth approaches this weekend, organizers in Denver, which holds one of the largest celebrations in the country, are determined to make it a national holiday.
- this week, Mesa County is seeing a surge of COVID cases from the highly contagious Delta variant and the state released info about infections among the vaccinated. Also, what is the pandemic's toll on kids?
- About 25 years ago in Lima, Peru, an American woman named Lori Berenson was sentenced to 20 years in prison. It was for collaborating with a terrorist organization. The case enraged many Peruvians who saw her as meddling in the country's unrest at the time. In the United States, Berenson became a cause celebre for U.S. officials who fought for years for her release. Andrew Altschul teaches creative writing at Colorado State University. His novel, "The Gringa," is based on Berenson's story. It's a finalist for a Colorado Book Award in the Literary Fiction Category.
