Public Affairs

On this month's Municipal Matters we're exploring housing and affordability in the City of Rifle and checking in with Leadville after the election.

Recovery Resources operates the only homeless shelter in the Roaring Fork Valley; River Bridge in Glenwood supports interventions with abused children; Mountain Valley Developmental Services gives meaning and community to the region’s developmentally disabled. Valley Voices learns more about all three, with host Marilyn Gleason.

Welcome to Municipal Matters on KDNK, your public affairs show to get in the know about what’s going on in your town, county, and across the state. Today we have an episode of Purplish from CPR News and the Colorado Capitol News Alliance on election results and the 2026 midterms which will decide control of Congress and the next leader of our state.

Kirk Siegler is NPR's go-to guy when stories of the West rise to national attention. He got his start in public radio in Colorado, as a reporter for two years in the Roaring Fork Valley at Aspen Public Radio, and 7 years reporting from Colorado stations including KUNC.Kirk Siegler talked to KDNK’s Amy Hadden Marsh about life as a roving reporter for NPR covering the vast Western landscape and the stories behind the stories you hear on NPR.

The Bureau of Land Management has cancelled its contract with the Department of Corrections, effectively shutting down the Wild Horse Inmate Program by the end of November. Amy Hadden Marsh speaks with Carol Walker, a longtime wild horse advocate, on what this means for the far and immediate future.

There are just two statewide questions on the ballot this year, and both are related to a universal school meals program intended to feed all public school students in the state regardless of income.Three years ago, voters approved a tax on wealthier Coloradans to fund the Healthy School Meals program for All. That original measure set out to do several things, with the marquee item being to provide free breakfast and lunch for all K-12 public school students in Colorado. But it’s running short on cash, and lawmakers are going back the ballot again, asking voters to increase that tax to fully fund the program.

This episode of Municipal Matters is an excerpt from the Issues and Answers forum with the RFSD board candidates. Early in-person voting begins October 27th.

Audubon chair Delia Malone discusses coexisting with wolves and bird migration.

Carter Niemeyer is a wolf expert with more than 40 years of experience. He was part of the federal team that reintroduced wolves to Yellowstone National Park and Central Idaho in the '90s and was on the Technical Working Group that advised Colorado Parks and Wildlife during the Wolf Restoration and Management Plan process. He has written two award-winning memoirs about his career with U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services and will be in Carbondale this weekend for workshops and a book signing. He sat down with KDNK's Amy Hadden Marsh earlier this week to talk about wolves among humans and what made him go from Wildlife Services to wolf advocacy.

September's Muni Matters features two Colorado state officials. Attorney General Phil Weiser is running to be our next governor in 2026, and Secretary of State Jena Griswold is vying to be the next AG out of a wide pool of Democrats. They both spoke with KDNK about their experience in office, priorities for our future, and how they plan to represent the Western Slope's best interests.