Colorado Matters

Democrat Mike Johnston goes on the record in the first of our series of interviews with the men and women who want to replace Gov. John Hickenlooper. The Washington Post’s Executive Editor, Marty Baron, will be recognized this week by the Denver Press Club for his long history as an ethical journalist who holds the powerful accountable. And we meet Ignacio Chef Karlos Baca, an indigenous food activist who says the loss of traditional foods threatens the very lives of his people.

State lawmakers are still wrestling with what to do about Colorado’s public pension fund. Sen. Cory Gardner suggested the U.S. name Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution tells is what that might mean. Alan Cass was an announcer for CU football and basketball games, but he was also behind an idea that grew into the Glenn Miller Archive. “Just Elliot’ tells the story of a young boy with autism. And we look at whether the Front Range is prepared for floods.

At least 23 American Indian students died at a boarding school in Grand Junction at the turn of the last century. Where are their remains? War veteran Mark Fitzsimmons uses conceptual art to make connections and change perceptions. Seed specialist John Coykendall talks about the alarming disappearance of vegetable crop varieties in the past 100 years. And the latest adventure for Nick Petrie’s ex-Marine Peter Ash rolls from the mountains to downtown Denver.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright joins us to talk about troubling political times, as well as developments in North Korea and Syria. She has a new book, called “Fascism: A Warning.” Then, we speak with a reporter who covered both the Columbine and Parkland school shootings about how the responses to such events have changed over time.

The Parkland students are not the first to become active and fight for new gun laws after a shooting rocked their community. A student inspired by Columbine, nearly 20 years ago, shares his experiences with a current student at Columbine. Then, even Colorado’s landmark efforts to detect methane gas leaks haven’t meant they can be contained.

Sydney Kennett tells us about indoor skydiving, and why she does it so well. But first, he City of Denver is thinks it has a workable way to boost its affordable housing fund. The Food and Drug Administration may allow a product derived from cannabis to be considered legal medicine, and meet two Colorado teenagers who are among the nation’s top scientists.

Teachers in Colorado are gathering at the state Capitol on Monday to lobby and then attend a rally. The primary ballots for Democrats and Republicans started firming up this past weekend at the state assemblies. Why the Google-Oracle Java battle matters in Colorado. Can home ice help the Colorado Avalanche turn around the Stanley Cup playoffs? And, have you heard about the 6-year-old elk bugler from Fruita? We’ve got you covered.

A new book puts the Gold King Mine spill within the long history of mining and pollution in Southwest Colorado. An inner-city youth program near the Denver-Aurora border aims to change the lives of young men. Then, one quarter of rural households in the state go without high speed internet. A new subsidy aims to change that. And preview of a moving new violin concerto by Colorado composer Jeffrey Nytch about a violinist hero in an Italian cruise ship disaster called “Costa Concordia.”