Lucas Turner

  Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers was originally founded to build and restore trails. In 2012, they also started an in-school K-12 education program, teaching everything from snowshoeing to gardening. But now with in-person classes canceled, they’re coming up with new ways to keep students engaged with the outdoors. KDNK's Lucas Turner spoke to Jacob Baker, Communications and Outreach Coordinator for Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers about their new initiative “My Window, Our World.”

The Town of Carbondale has thrown its support behind the 9th Judicial District’s suspension of rental eviction proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic. KDNK’s Lucas Turner has more details.

According to the US Census Bureau, as of Wednesday, 40.3% of Colorado households have self-responded to the 2020 Census. The national self-response rate is 38.4%.  In Garfield County, a little more than 37% of households have responded, 24.2% in Lake County, 16.7% in Pitkin County, and 9.8% in Eagle County. The self-response questionnaire is at 2020census.gov and takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

The Carbondale Emergency Taskforce (CETF) is seeking volunteers and directing those who need assistance to the correct resources. AZYEP News Team’s Mountain Maes explains more about volunteering and requesting help.

Regional health officials in Garfield, Eagle, and Pitkin counties are asking residents to self-report their symptoms as a way of measuring and responding to the spread of COVID-19. KDNK’s Lucas Turner spoke with Becky Larson, Epidemiologist for Eagle County Public Health and Environment to learn more about how these tools work.

In partnership with Carbondale Arts, The Town of Carbondale has been awarded a 35,000 dollar Mini Local Park and Outdoor Recreation grant from the Board of Great Outdoors Colorado. The funds will be used to build the Youth Art Park, the third and final park along the town’s one-mile Rio Grande ARTway. KDNK’s Lucas Turner has more.

Roaring Fork School district is now offering free, nutritious meals to children under 18. They can receive one breakfast and one lunch per day, regardless of or where they attend school or, household income status. Parents and legal guardians can pick up meals without children present. More information, including a schedule and a list of pickup locations, roaringforkschools.com

The entire state of Colorado is now under a stay at home order, but the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been felt for weeks. In response, organizations up and down the valley have been coordinating to respond to the crisis. KDNK’s Lucas Turner spoke with Kris Mattera, Executive Director of the Basalt Chamber of Commerce about the role the chamber is playing to help small businesses and provide a hub of online information for the community.

A Garfield County woman in her 70s who tested positive for COVID-19 died Saturday. Garfield County Health officials say the woman had other significant health conditions, and that more countywide test results are pending. Pitkin and Eagle Counties also reported COVID-19 deaths on Friday, both have now reported two each. Click the headline for more details.

With libraries and schools closed, the Internet Archive is expanding access to digital books of all genres with the National Emergency Library, which was launched globally this week. All waitlists for books will be suspended and readers can borrow up to ten volumes at a time from the Phillips Acamedy Andover, Marygrove College, and Trent University collections, along a million other books donated from other libraries.

The Carbondale Emergency Taskforce (CETF) is a newly formed group of volunteers and organizations and public officials with an important role, to provide support and guidance to the Town of Carbondale in key areas of potential impact from the COVID-19 crisis. KDNK’s Lucas Turner spoke to Carbondale Mayor Dan Richardson to learn more about how the task force will operate, its vision, and what it means for the community.

A new analysis of Google data shows the number of predatory and misleading websites has increased by 350% since January. KDNK’s Lucas Turner has more.

On Wednesday Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed executive order D2020-017, ordering all Colorado Residents to stay-at-home unless absolutely necessary. Click the headline to hear the full audio.

Shale drilling in the US has produced record volumes of oil and natural gas in the last decade, but the industry and struggled to achieve profitability, racking up billions of dollars in debt. Now in midst of an international price war and global pandemic, the financial future of shale looks uncertain. To find out more, KDNK’s Lucas Turner spoke to attorney and freelance reporter Sharon Kelly about her recent article in Desmog Blog, titled Stock Market Turmoil Undermines Claimed Energy Dominance Benefits of US Shale Drilling

Garfield County Commissioners unanimously approved a 100 thousand dollar emergency grant Monday to local food assistance non-profit LIFT-UP. KDNK’s Lucas Turner reports on what the funding means for local food access during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted 2-1 Thursday to approve the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas project in Oregon, but it still has some barriers in its way. KDNK’s Lucas Turner has more.

Glenwood Springs Fire Department and Carbondale Rural Fire Protection District responded to a brush fire on Old Highway 82 earlier this afternoon. The fire broke out near Flying Fish Road, about 5 miles east of Carbondale.

According to the Pitkin County Incident Management Team, as of 4:00 this afternoon, there are 17 negative and 14 positive COVID-19 test results in the county, with four new negative and one new positive result added today. 

Last week YouthZone, the Colorado Workforce Center and Department of Vocational Rehabilitation announced a partnership with the goal of giving teens at YouthZone guidance and help on their career path and first steps into adulthood. KDNK’s Lucas Turner has this story.

Garfield RE-2 is providing breakfast and lunch for anyone 18 and under at no charge. KDNK’s Lucas Turner has more.

All Garfield County Libraries are closed through April 8th. All library book drops are also closed, and there will be no overdue fines during this time. Librarians are asking the public to hold on to your library materials.

Local public health officials say the response to COVID-19 is now shifting gears. One of the key strategies is called social distancing. KDNK’s Lucas Turner explains why this strategy is important to understand, and how it reduces the spread of the virus.

UPDATED MARCH 14 - 1pm MST:

Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) has advised the Pitkin County Public Health Department that one test for COVID-19 is presumptively positive for the virus. Pitkin County now has 11 presumptive positive cases with results from 23 tests still pending. Officials say a contact tracing investigation is underway to determine whether community transmission is taking place in Pitkin County.

The Garfield County Recycling Center along Highway 6 in Rifle is closed until further notice. According to a press release issued by the county Thursday, biohazardous waste was illegally dumped at the site, forcing the closure.

Eagle, Garfield, and Pitkin County issued a public health order Thursday to minimize the impacts and spread of COVID-19 in the region. The order is effective immediately and will be revisited on April 8th, 2020.