
Israel’s Water Solutions For Colorado, The Federal Balancing Act Tool, And ‘Geezer Dad’
Israel, which has an arid climate covering much of the country, has avoided a water crisis. A look what Colorado can learn from Israel — and what it might cost. Then, the Federal Balancing Act tool gives you a hands-on experience with the federal budget and challenges you to balance it. And, Lakewood author Tom Lamarr writes about trying to have a child later in life in a memoir called “Geezer Dad.”

By Ryan Warner

Olympic Hopeful Turned Sculptor, Rockies’ Opening Day, Scratch And Sniff Whiskey
After Martha Russo’s Olympic hopes, died she turned disappointment to inspiration and became a sculptor. Her first solo museum exhibition is at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. Then, it’s opening day for the Colorado Rockies who made a major change to Coors Field during the offseason. The result, according to one expert, will be fewer home runs at a field that’s notoriously produced many. Plus, a wine expert embraces whiskey.

By Ryan Warner

Prison Gangs, Alzheimer’s and Newsies
A prison gang is suspected in the murder of Colorado’s corrections chief, but three years later, no members have been charged. We learn what kind of power these gangs wield inside prisons and out from an anthropologist who has interviewed many, many inmates. Then, a Colorado theater company that hires actors with disabilities expands its mission to welcome audiences with disabilities. And, the musical “Newsies” is in town, offering a chance to dig into the history of newspaper delivery boys in Denver. Then, what happens when you take people with dementia to a concert?

By Ryan Warner

‘Aerotropolis’ Or Eyesore? Why The Hospital Provider Fee Matters, Boulder Ends GMO Crops On Its Land
Train service between Denver’s Union Station and DIA starts in less than a month. It is a key step in making the airport the heart of a second city center, but will it form in an intelligent manner? “Much of the development we’ve seen around airports to date has been spontaneous, haphazard,” says author John Kasarda. He talks about that with us. Then, how the thorniest issue at the state Capitol came to be this year: the hospital provider fee. We hear from its godfather. Then, Boulder County ends the battle over GMOs on its public lands, and KUNC’s Luke Runyon joins us to sort through the matter.

By Ryan Warner

Legal Battles Over Pot Are Over For Now, Cesar Chavez In Colorado, Tax Inversions, ‘Feed Zone Table’ Recipes
The Supreme Court handed Colorado a victory last week when it refused to hear a lawsuit from Oklahoma and Nebraska over legal marijuana. We have an update on that and other suits triggered by Colorado’s pot laws, with Sam Kamin, who teaches criminal and constitutional law at the University of Denver. Then, to mark the birthday of labor activist Cesar Chavez, we hear about his time in Colorado fighting for farm workers from Metro State’s Ramon del Castillo. Also, a big Colorado company, IHS, is moving its headquarters to London and in the process will save hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate taxes. We’ll dive into “inversions” with a Washington Post reporter. And, we talk to a Denver curry chef who wants to fuel your workouts.

By Ryan Warner

Breakthroughs In Schizophrenia Research, Denver Iranian-Americans Celebrate Noruz, Feedback On The State Of Medicine
Today, a friendship forged because of schizophrenia. Roberta Payne, of Denver, has sought to understand her disease for decades, ever since she thought aliens from outer space were inhabiting her thoughts. Dr. Robert Freedman, head of psychiatry at CU-Denver, has helped her gain more understanding. We’ll talk to them about recent breakthroughs in schizophrenia research. Then, Happy New Year to you, if you celebrate the Persian holiday of Noruz. We’ll hear about the holiday’s traditions and food from an Iranian-American living in Denver. And, we hear your feedback today in our Loud and Clear segment. Our interview about the state of medicine drew lots of comments.

By Ryan Warner

Doctor Calls For The ‘Renewal’ Of Medicine, Satellites Made By Kids, And Needle-less Knitting With Denver’s Anne Weil
When physicians look at patients, too often they see body parts and money, according to Dr. Abraham Nussbaum, of Denver Health. In a new book he calls for a renewal of medicine; he wouldn’t recommend the profession to young people right now. Then, tiny satellites are aboard the International Space Station — ones even kids can, and did, build. And Denver craft blogger and Martha Stewart contributor Anne Weil talks about knitting without needles, and he first book.

By Ryan Warner

Coloradans With Roots In Cuba Reflect On Obama’s Visit; Women Legislators Featured In New Documentary
Before this morning’s attacks in Brussels, the big international news was President Obama’s visit to Cuba. We speak with Colorado U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, who’s traveling with the president, and with some Cuban-Americans who want to make life better on the island. Then, Colorado’s a leader when it comes to electing women to political office — women make up a bigger proportion of our legislature than any other state. But a new documentary shows that it’s not always easy for them when they get there. Pat Schroeder, the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado, remembers the committee chairman who considered her a half-person.

By Ryan Warner

A ‘Fugly’ Denver Construction Boom? And, A CSU Alum’s Bagpipes In Space
Is good design suffering in Denver’s construction boom? We’ll ask a developer and an architect who thinks this is a great city, with some bad buildings — maybe even a “plywood city” that won’t stand the test of time, let alone aesthetics. Then, astronaut Kjall Lindgren is back from space, where he could be quite clumsy.”Eating can be a really big mess if you’re not careful, and so, you know trail mix will go everywhere,” he says. And then there’s the challenge of playing bagpipes.

By Ryan Warner

What It’s Like To Be Muslim In Colorado, An Irish Music Obsession Gets Serious, How Fraud May Delay Tax Returns
The terrorist attacks last year in Paris and the mass shootings in San Bernadino, Calif. led to an immediate rise in anti-Muslin threats and hate crimes. Muslims have also been singled out in the presidential campaign — with Republican candidate Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the US. We asked Colorado Muslims to tell us what they want others to know about them. Three of them joined us in the studio: One attended school in Saudi Arabia, another is a Pakistani-American who grew up in Wyoming, and a third is a former president of The Colorado Muslim Society. Then, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we hear from a Denver Musician and how his obsession with Irish folk music has become more than a hobby. And, we learn how tax return fraud might keep you from getting your refund checks in a timely matter.

By Ryan Warner

Publicly Financing Congressional Campaigns, County Commissioners Ditch GOP, Dangers For Environmentalists, County Health Rankings
Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, of Denver, thinks people will be so sickened by the money spent this election that they’ll support public financing of congressional campaigns. She has signed onto a plan that she says will take away the influence of the largest donors. Then, why three prominent Republicans in central Colorado defected from the GOP. Also, in some countries being an environmentalist is risky business, according to a Boulder group still reeling from the death of Honduran activist Berta Caceres. And, we have a county-by-county breakdown of people’s health.

By Ryan Warner

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.

By Ryan Warner

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.

By Ryan Warner

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.

By Ryan Warner

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.

By Ryan Warner

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.

By Ryan Warner