Legislature At Half Time, Women’s Hall Of Fame, Colorado At SXSW
At the state Capitol, a lot is in limbo. Lawmakers are holding off on tackling some of the biggest issues because a giant question mark looms: How much money the state can spend. Halfway through the session, we talk to two Capitol reporters about what’s in store. Then, the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame inducts 10 new members this week. We’ll meet one of them; she has spent her career fighting child abuse. Plus, bands that want to make a splash in the music industry flock each year to SXSW in Austin, Texas. This year, the State of Colorado isn’t funding a showcase there to show off its homegrown talent. But that doesn’t mean Colorado acts aren’t down there.
Spotlight On Superdelegates, Construction Booms, Sunshine Week, Crane Festival
Powerful Democrats known as superdelegates are in the Colorado spotlight because even though Sen. Bernie Sanders won this state’s caucuses, he could end up tied with Hillary Clinton when it comes to Colorado delegates at the Democratic National Convention this summer. We talk to Elaine Kamarck about that. She wrote the book “Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates.”
Then, we hear feedback on our interview with Holocaust survivor Walter Plywaski. Ben Markus reports as Colorado construction booms, there’s no sign the state’s in a bubble. As we mark Sunshine Week, the Independence Institute’s Todd Shepherd questions whether the state does enough to archive the email of public officials. And we visit the crane migration near Monte Vista in the San Luis Valley.
Tourists Flock To Monte Vista (And So Do The Cranes)
The 33rd Monte Vista Crane Festival took place over the weekend in the San Luis Valley.
Walter Plywaski’s Journey From Poland To Auschwitz To Boulder
Today, the story of Holocaust survivor Walter Plywaski. He’s 86 years old and lives in Boulder — now. His happy childhood in Poland was turned upside down the day his father’s friends turned on the family and ordered them into a ghetto: “Here we were in the stinkiest, oldest, rottenest, barbed-wire surrounded environment with not enough food, not enough education, not enough of anything.” Then, it was onto the camps. Plywaski made it out Auschwitz and eventually made it to the U.S. by stowing away on a ship. He tells us his story.
Following The ISIS Money Trail, Denver Clears Homeless Camps, Congressmen Question The Need For Selective Service, A Play About Hispanic Veterans
Terrorists have to find a way to pay the bills, and a Colorado-based company tracks how ISIS gets and spends its money — even down to the salaries of fighters. Also, Denver clears a homeless camp it says threatened people’s health and safety. And, now that combat roles are open to women, Congress is weighing whether they should have to register with the Selective Service as men do. But two Colorado congressmen say want to do away with selective service entirely. And, we go inside a play about three generations of Hispanic military veterans.
Legal Marijuana ‘Narconomics’ In Colorado, Young Farmers Make A Go Of It, Aurora’s Greg Bird On His Yankees Ups And Downs
The black market for marijuana has shrunk considerably in Colorado since the drug became legal here. But less so in Washington State, where recreational sales are also legal. So what’s the difference? We’ll talk with an editor at The Economist who’s dug into “narconomics.” Then, the challenges of being a young farmer in the West. We’ll hear from one who’s making a go of it. And, it’s been a real rollercoaster ride for Yankees first baseman Greg Bird, who went to high school in Aurora. He talks about the highs of being called a “phenomenon” while he substituted in the majors, and the lows of an injury and being sent back to the minors.
Undocumented Immigrant Drivers Licenses, Gender Pay Equity At CSU, Taking On TABOR, Afghan Climbers
Colorado created drivers licenses for immigrants living in the country illegally several years ago. But the issue is hardly settled, with Republicans at the state Capitol calling it backdoor amnesty and limiting the program. We’ll debate its future. Then, a report last spring showed that male full professors at Colorado State University made 16 percent more than their female counterparts. While investigating this issue, Nick Coltrain of the Coloradoan in Fort Collins also raised questions about above-average raises for administrators.
Caucus Night Lessons, Overtaxed Immigration Court, Thrift Store Job Training, Tiny Desk Competitors
After voters vented on the CPR News Facebook page about long lines and other frustrations Tuesday night, we spoke with the leader of the Democratic Party in Colorado, Rick Palacio about what happened. He says Colorado may have outgrown presidential caucuses, and he will continue to push for a primary. Then, immigrants in Colorado can expect to wait 933 days for a hearing at Denver’s immigration court. Why? And, what does it mean for people whose cases may not be heard for years. Also, a new thrift store has opened in Denver, staffed by teens who used to be homeless. Finally, we hear about Colorado bands in NPR’s Tiny Desk Competition, and an encore piece about a local boy’s lemonade stand business.
Coloradans Take Up Challenge To Beat Cancer, Documenting ‘The Cannabist,’ Architectural Salvage Closes Its Doors
President Obama gave Americans a mission in his final State of the Union address: Find a cure for cancer. It got us wondering about the scientists in Colorado already at work on exactly that, and their outlook. Then, the Denver Post’s Ricardo Baca, editor of “The Cannibist,” is the subject of a new documentary about the first year of legal recreational marijuana in Colorado. And, when owners of old homes needed to replace old fixtures, they turned to “Architectural Salvage” in Denver. After almost 30 years, it’s going out of business. We talk to the owners.
A Driverless Car Ride, Newfangled Traffic Configurations, Coyote Research And Conflicts
When it comes to self-driving cars, the future may be now: We take a spin in a Tesla to see it drive and switch lanes on its own, plus accelerate very quickly. Will these cars and new road designs be enough to get traffic flowing in the decades ahead? Then, humans and their pets are having more run-ins with coyotes across Colorado — some of them violent. We’ll look at why, and how to avoid them.
Columbine Victim’s Daughters Speak Out, Election Ad Dollars In Colorado, Fiscal Cliff Law, Photographer’s Activism
The daughters of a Columbine shooting victim talk about the new book from Sue Klebold, mother of gunman Dylan Klebold. Then, as we near the caucuses, Democrat Bernie Sanders is beating Hillary Clinton in Colorado when it comes to TV ads. Also, when is a pay raise a bad thing? When it makes it harder to afford child care. And a Colorado photographer says a photo can change the world.
Americans For Prosperity’s Colorado Goals, Heavenly Music From An Abandoned Tank, Cheecake In A Jar
The Koch brothers’ political action committee, Americans for Prosperity, doesn’t flex its conservative muscle in every state. But it came to Colorado early because it is seen as such a critical swing state. AFP strategists tell us what they’re after, and how they intend to go about it. Then, the story of a musical wonder in the Western Slope town of Rangely: a giant, abandoned tank known for its heavenly acoustics. And, how Lee Mathis came to put cheesecake in a jar — and use it as a springboard to a new business.
Colorado Caucus Skeptics, Being ‘Arab-American’ In Colorado, Buffalo Bill Tales, A Poem For Winter
Excitement is building ahead of Colorado’s caucuses March 1, at least among the voters who can participate. More than a third of registered voters in the state are excluded because they’re unaffiliated. We talk to a political scientist who wants to change that. We’ll also hear about a potential ballot measure that would create a hybrid here — of caucuses and a primary. Then, we talk to a Colorado filmmaker who moved to the U.S. from Iraq and who contemplates what it is to be “Arab-American.”
Colorado Caucuses Explained, Cat Bigney’s ‘Great Human Race, Colorado Symphony Goes Global
Today, we hear what you need to know about the upcoming Colorado caucuses, including the fact that many Coloradans who’d like to participate won’t be able to because of the rules over how and when voters needed to register. Then, survival expert Cat Bigney, who grew up in the West, says her upbringing prepared her for “The Great Human Race,” a new show on The National Geographic Channel that forced her to live as our ancestors did millions of years ago. And, new recordings mean the Colorado Symphony grabs a global audience.
Drug Counselors In Denver Schools, Botanic Gardens’ Iconic Conservatory, McGyver Of The Woods
Drug use is such a big problem among teenagers that addiction counselors are working at three Denver schools. We’ll meet one of them. Then CPR News health reporter John Daley visits a morgue to see the problem of drug overdoses up close. Then, what do Woody Allen, Jack Kerouac and Frank Lloyd Wright have in common? The conservatory at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It’s turning 50 years old. Also, calling Doug Hill of Lafayette an outdoorsman would be an understatement. He’s the founder of a primitive skills school and he’ll teach us the big three “musts” for surviving in the wild.
Banning Campus Bloggers, Sculpting An Iceman, DeBeque’s Weed Windfall, Author Colleen Oakes Goes Hollywood
Should Colorado’s public universities be allowed to ban whoever they want from campus? The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado doesn’t think so. Then, Gary Stabb usually sculpts prehistoric beasts like dinosaurs, but he finally got access to an elusive stone age mummy for a project for Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science. Also, taxes on marijuana sales in tiny DeBeque brought a windfall — more money than the town sees in overall sales tax and energy impact fees combined. Now, how to spend it? And, Hollywood has taken interest in Broomfield author Colleen Oakes’ trilogy “Queen of Hearts,” which explores how the queen in “Alice in Wonderland” became a villain.
