Crossing the Divide

This add-on to Ep 14 is a recording of the Q & A session between our live audience and panelists that followed our discussion.

In 2019, for the first time in our nation's history, power generated from renewable energy surpassed that of coal, the result of a continued downward trend in the demand for coal-fired electricity driven largely by market forces reducing the cost of renewable energy production.  For rural communities built on extractive industries, the potential impacts of a renewable energy future could be devast...

Open spaces open minds and soothe the soul. Yet increasing demands on our time and continued economic disparity prevent many of us from enjoying the recreational offerings of our public lands. And a population disconnected from its natural landscapes is less likely to grasp the interplay between environmental health and human well-being. In 2010 Colorado Canyons Association was born with a vision...

If you've been harboring thoughts of major life changes, this conversation with Grand Junction philanthropist and entrepreneur Jen Taylor will give you the kick in the pants you need to make them happen. A master of re[invention], Jen has been carving out unique niches for herself on this earth since before she left home. It's a craft she continues to hone with her latest venture, El Jet's Cantina...

Part 2 of Development in Bloom/s/ features a conversation with Bennett Boeschenstein, who, in his former role as Community Development Director for the City of Grand Junction, was intricately involved in the planning and development of the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens.  Bennett reflects on the poor state of the riverfront upon his arrival in the early 1980's and the critical flood mitigation...

Sue and John Harris remember their mother, Elizabeth Harris, founder of Grand Junction's Western Colorado Botanical Gardens and a visionary in the movement to reclaim the Colorado Riverfront from decades of pollution and neglect. They detail her passion for promoting our unique history and riparian habitat by connecting access to the river with the heart of downtown.  This interview was recorded a...

A profile of Hilltop's Latimer House program, Safe House features Program Director Jackie Sievers detailing the critical services provided to victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault throughout a four county region. Jackie sheds light on the scope and spectrum of domestic violence in our community and on the difficulties associated with leaving an abusive situation. She'll take us through the...

Our final, full-length podcast on the Old Spanish Trail has arrived. Put on your hiking shoes, saddle up your horse or hop on your bike to travel the arduous lengths of the Old Spanish Trail. Old Spanish Trail Association President and Grand Junction local Vicki Felmee details fascinating aspects of a historic trade route that wends its way westward from Santa Fe, New Mexico through portions of Me...

Long before it earned the name Old Spanish Trail, this 2700 mile trade route was one of numerous trails traversed by Native Americans moving across the western landscape. In this PopUp prelude to our full-length podcast on the history and preservation of the Old Spanish Trail, Carl Conner of the Dominguez Archaeological Research Group discusses how the study of Wickiup villages led to the Ute Trai...

A tie-in to our upcoming full-length podcast on the Old Spanish Trail, this PopUp is one of many figurative road trips for the taking along this historic 2,700 mile trade route. It features Old Spanish Trail Association President and Grand Valley resident Vicki Felmlee discussing the global phenomenon of Culturally Modified Trees. Click play now for a quick introduction to a fascinating form of co...

Katherine Bedell, owner of Roan Creek Ranch, discusses mounting threats to modern day ranching and details her efforts to transform the cattle industry here on the Western Slope by utilizing sustainable practices that benefit the animal, the ecosystem and the consumer. Katherine's vision encompasses a cooperative farm-to-table effort on the part of 500 area ranchers that could rescue this iconic w...

While conventional rock stars are busy fighting Foo...the rock stars at Mesa County Public Health are hard at work fighting Flu. Epidemiology Program Manager Heidi Dragoo puts all that ails us under a conversational microscope in an effort to mitigate cold and flu season for Mesa County residents.

Introducing Crossing the Divide "PopUps," content quickies that quell the cravings of curious minds. These could include informal conversations with area notables; interviews with intriguing individuals; or portions of podcasts that don't make the final cut. Our first PopUp, "Just Say No(ro)" was lifted from our soon-to-be-released podcast with Mesa County Health on surviving cold and flu season....

Historical perspective on Coates Creek School, the last remaining example of a one-room, log cabin schoolhouse in the United States, and the center of life for ranching families on Colorado's Western Slope throughout much of the 20th century. Featuring Gateway Canyons' "Curator of Curiosity" Zebulon Miracle and members of the Roehm family, former Glade Park ranchers whose personal stories of life...

An interview with local author Heather Portenier sheds light on a writer's life in Western Colorado and the exciting opportunities - and daunting challenges - presented by emerging platforms for self-published works. Exploring the creative process through the eyes of a homegrown writer, this podcast edition contributes local flavor to the ongoing PBS series "The Great American Read," a nationwide...

A sit-down with D51 Foundation Executive Director Angela Christensen, who updates us on progress made since the passage of last year's bond measure and mill levy; provides some perspective on the recent controversy over the school district reorganization; and educates us on the Foundation's mission to support teacher development and student success.

Inspired to explore the ill effects of excess sugar in the American diet after viewing Colorado Experience's "White Gold," (written and directed by CMU Producer in Residence Dan Garrison) I sit down with Community Hospital's VP of Business Development Tawny Espinoza to discuss improving health outcomes through simple dietary and lifestyle changes. 

Part 2 of our conversation with CMU Mass Communications Instructor Elaine Venter about #MeToo and the social media impact on the fight to end sexual harassment. Here we examine how to utilize social media technology to create social movements and what, if any, continued role online media will play in the ongoing evolution of the struggle for women's rights.

CMU Instructor of Mass Communications Elaine Venter sits in for a discussion of how and why social media encourages expression of moral outrage and how this reality propelled the #MeToo movement into a legitimate force of change.