Colorado Matters

On the last day of action this year at the state Capitol, we speak with Governor John Hickenlooper about the key issues under the dome — and about the debate over health care in Washington. Also, a new play in Aurora — if you can call it that — takes its audience deep into the Lost Dimension, but exactly where is that dimension? Plus, how the state can stop oil and gas related accidents like the one that recently blew up a home in Weld County.

Homeowners in Colorado got something in the mail recently that may have made their eyes widen. It’s what local assessors think their properties are worth. In some parts of the state, the jump in value was as much as 35 percent. What that means for your community and your property taxes. Then, there’s a little known valley in Rocky Mountain National Park; it’s where you’ll find the headwaters of the Colorado River. The Kawuneechee Valley can tell us a lot about natural and human history. American Indians learned to live in its harsh winter climate, and later, miners established towns there. Also, how the Nederland folk act Elephant Revival keeps the peace.

The recent explosion of a home in Northwest Colorado — which killed two people — intensifies the debate over how close homes and oil and gas operations should be to each other. We’ll talk about what the event means for the industry, public safety, and government oversight. Then, how to turn a skyscraper into a solar power plant. And, Newbery Medal-winning children’s author Avi, of Steamboat Springs, was delighted to meet the sixth-grade reader who we brought in to help interview him about his new book. Then, artists who don’t let their disabilities limit them, including photographers who are blind.

Denver’s hometown airline, Frontier, is considering going public. Profits are up but its customer service rating is way down. Could that scare off investors? Then, the lead poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan moved a Boulder woman to write a new choral work based on the experiences of some of the youngest victims. The piece will be performed in Colorado this weekend. And, as a farm crop, Colorado hemp has more in common with corn than cannabis. But it still suffers from guilt by association. Now, a state agency hopes to change that. Plus, why so many of us are socially awkward.

After a man died in a bathroom, the Denver Public Library became one of the first libraries in the country to dispense a medication that reverses opioid overdoses. And, it’s a year of transition for Molson Coors after an acquisition that made it the world’s third-largest brewer. Then, Estes Park climber Tommy Caldwell scaled Yosemite’s Dawn Wall. His new memoir chronicles intense childhood training, his kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan and his climbs around the world.

Colorado State University in Fort Collins has broken ground on a $20 million center for its burgeoning meat science program. Sixty thousand people have signed a petition to block it, but supporters say it offers hands-on experience for future agriculture workers. Then, two high school students from the city spend a week on a cattle ranch on Colorado’s eastern Plains. They say one of the highlights was witnessing the birth of a calf. And, a Denver farm that’s not what you might expect. We talk to a cricket farmer who raises insects for human consumption. Plus, for his forthcoming book, Colorado writer Craig Childs traces the first people to come to the Americas. He says their journey wasn’t easy since passage required crossing a land bridge.

Is the United Methodist Church headed towards a schism? A church court ruled that the recent consecration of an openly gay bishop, whose territory includes Colorado, violates church law, but she may keep her appointment. Then, western mystery writer Craig Johnson, whose books inspired the TV show “Longmire,” on his ghost story now out in paperback. Also, Durango author Blake Crouch’s latest book, “Dark Matter” dives into alternate realities — even quantum mechanics — to explore “the path not taken.” And, Opera Colorado’s production “As One” breaks a lot of rules in the opera world.

There are so many opioid-hooked babies born at one Pueblo hospital that nurses asked the community for help. The call went out for volunteer cuddlers. Then Lt. Governor Donna Lynne, in her first year on the job, has traveled to every Colorado county to hear what’s on people’s minds. And, a huge swath of downtown Denver was demolished 50 years ago. Finally, a Denver poet reflects on what comes after – after violence, after death, after birth.