Michael Sakas is a general assignment reporter and producer for CPR News. She joined Colorado Public Radio in 2016 after receiving one of CPR’s year-long fellowships.
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in English education; Michael is currently working on her master’s degree in technical communication at Colorado State University.
Professional background:
Michael came to Colorado Public Radio in 2016 after receiving one of the organization’s year-long fellowships. Through that program, she worked in various areas of the newsroom learning and honing her reporting skills before earning a permanent position as general assignment reporter and producer.
Michael got her start in journalism at the radio station at Colorado State University where she worked on-air shifts and was later named station manager. During her tenure as a student at CSU, she served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper and led the school’s reporting efforts during the Aurora theater shooting.
After President Donald Trump revoked California's wavier of the Clean Air Act, Colorado and other states joined a multistate lawsuit against the changes.
"Aspen are incredibly important for the economic engines of many mountain communities," said the lead author of a study that modeled the effects of climate change on the famous fall trees.
A new analysis from the University of Colorado Boulder finds humans were responsible for igniting 97 percent of home-threatening wildfires between 1992 and 2015.
"Each month that passes where we shatter another record like that, just further confirms that we are experiencing the climate change that we've been warned about," said assistant state climatologist Becky Bolinger.
The shortest gap between a 100-degree day and measurable snow is five days, set by South Dakota. Colorado could steal that title if it snows in Denver on Tuesday.
Climate change in Colorado will mean hotter and drier conditions, which are just right for fires like the Grizzly Creek, Pine Gulch and other wildfires. And it could get worse.
The state has issued an air quality alert for the Front Range and many northwest counties, especially for children, older adults and those with heart or lung disease.