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The Weekly News Brief

New art museum for Carbondale?

March 29, 2013
Carbondale gets a new 13,000 square foot library this summer, leaving the old library building at the corner of 4th and Main open for new uses. On this week's news brief, KDNK's Eric Skalac talks to Lynn Burton of the Sopris Sun about an interesting proposal from one famous, local artist.

Local News

Parachute Creek, groundwater contaminated by hydrocarbon spill (Updated 5/1)

March 27, 2013
Investigation continues into the source of a spill of liquid hydrocarbons near Parachute Creek, but Williams officials now believe the source to be a failed pressure guage on a pipeline owned by Williams Partners. 

Several monitoring wells around the creek have shown benzene levels greatly exceeding the EPA standards for drinking water. 

KDNK News has provided ongoing coverage of the spill, which you can listen to in our news archives.

Interviews

New advances in technology may bring extinct species back to life

March 27, 2013
It's been almost 20 years since scientists cloned a sheep named Dolly, and since then, technological breakthroughs have made cloning more viable than ever before. And those breakthroughs have made it possible to consider reviving extinct plant and animal species like passenger pigeons and woolly mammoths.

In April's issue of National Geographic, science reporter and frequent Radiolab contributor Carl Zimmer writes about the scientific, ethical and conservation issues emerging from this new, groundbreaking field of science.

KDNK's Eric Skalac spoke to Zimmer to find out what's changed in the technology world to make this extraordinary field a reality.

(Zimmer had much more to say about de-extinction--including how some researchers in Korea and Siberia hope to clone the woolly mammoth, an animal who once played a vital role in the Siberian ecosystem. You can hear the full, unedited interview in our news archives.)

Local News

Jobs still tough to come by despite improving market

March 25, 2013
A few bright spots are emerging in the Roaring Fork Valley's economy: local unemployment rates have fallen in the last two years, and in some towns, like Carbondale, permit applications for new construction are picking up.

But how does the valley's economy look from the bottom of the labor market ladder? KDNK's Nelson Harvey caught up with some day laborers in Carbondale recently to find out.

Station News

KDNK 30th Birthday Celebration

March 25, 2013

All current members are invited to attend the KDNK 30th anniversary party at KDNK on Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m.

The Weekly News Brief

Spill near Parachute raises information transparency questions

March 22, 2013
For this week's news brief, KDNK's Ed Williams talks to Bruce Finley of the Denver Post about the ongoing natural gas spill near Parachute.

Related: Groundwater contaminated by hydrocarbon spill near Parachute Creek (Updated)

Local News

Public involvement important to CDale code rewrite

March 20, 2013
Carbondale's planning and zoning commission outlined their plan for the town's coming development code rewrite, emphasizing the public's role in the process. KDNK's Eric Skalac spoke to the commission chair Charlie Kees to find out more.

Amendment 64: Communities in Transition

The environmental impact of marijuana

March 19, 2013
As Colorado's legal marijuana industry grows in the coming years, one issue likely to get increased attention is the environmental impact of growing pot. And if the drug's price falls as the market expands, growers may be scrambling to reduce both their environmental footprint and their hefty energy bills.

In the latest installment of KDNK's "Communities in Transition" series, Nelson Harvey looked into the environmental cost of marijuana cultivation, and what might be done to make the process of growing the green stuff just a little bit greener.

(Click through to hear parts one and two)

NRG with MG

CORE working to increase energy efficiency in the Roaring Fork Valley

March 19, 2013
Remember the stimulus package? Pitkin County collaborated with Gunnison and Eagle Counties to haul in almost $5 million federal dollars. Since then, the three counties have shared the money to make energy efficiency improvements possible for residents in their homes. The community office for resource efficiency, or CORE, administers the Energy Smart program in the Roaring Fork Valley.

On this episode of NRG with MG, Pitkin County Program Manager Tyler Ruggles tells KDNK's Marilyn Gleason how locals can get those federal dollars into their homes before most of the money runs out later this year.

Sounds of the High Country

Public lands key to Western identity

March 18, 2013
It's spring, and with the first taste of warm weather many people get the urge at this time of year to hit the road in search of adventure. So, this week, here's an ode to wild lands.

In the latest edition of Sounds of the High Country, our collaboration with the Paonia-based environmental magazine High Country News, KDNK's Nelson Harvey brings you a taste of the magazine's annual Travel Issue. In the issue, Craig Childs writes about his adventures in some of the west's forgotten public lands, and why vast and open places are so important to our sense of western identity.

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