Four Corners News Coverage
Stories produced for KSUT Public Radio
Gold King Mine Spill: Five Years on, Are We Any Closer to Cleaning up Old Mines?
This week was the fifth anniversary of the Gold King Mine spill. The disaster ignited hope that the many old and abandoned mines around Silverton would finally be cleaned up. But a closer look is showing that, at the government level, progress is moving very slowly, if at all..
COVID-19 Case Counts in Colorado and the Four Corners: By the Numbers
What’s the data behind coronavirus case counts in Colorado and the region? Here’s the latest numbers, as of August 1, 2020 and compared with our last measurement July 7. County numbers indicate total positive COVID cases.
Four Corners Organization Supporting Needy Families With School supplies
With unemployment rates skyrocketing, more families are facing economic hardship. That means some can’t afford to give their children basic school supplies. One group in Montezuma County is trying to help.
Artbot Army Fills Social Media With Art
If you have a social media feed, chances are you’ve seen something that was automatically posted by a “bot.” Sometimes they publish highly-polarizing political content. Sometimes it’s just a sales pitch. But one Colorado man is using them to spread art across the internet.
Monsoon Starts Wet For Southwest Colorado, But Long-Term Outlook Calls for Warm, Dry Weather
The rains are welcome but may not be enough to help ease the drought. The Climate Prediction Center’s 3-6 month predictions call for warmer and drier than normal conditions.
Loans for Native Entrepreneurs a Way of Growing Community
A new program called “Kinship Lending” seeks to connect Navajo and Hopi entrepreneurs with micro-loans to help them through the pandemic. A conversation with Jessica Stago of Change Lab, a Native business incubator that runs the loan program.
An Exploration of Arizona Astronomy
A five-part audio series examining professional and amateur astronomy.
Explore Episodes
Special Series: Copper at the Crossroads
Copper: The Miracle Metal
Copper mining in Arizona is a tale of both fortune and failure. A look at the past, present and future of an industry at the crossroads.
“I’m Not a Miner, I’m a Provider”
Onofre Tafoya spent 40 years moving the earth in an underground copper mine near Tucson. But it was more than hard work. It was the place where, as he says, he “became a man.”
Some Thrived, Some Died
Tracking the history of Arizona’s boom and bust towns. Bisbee and Globe survived, Helvetia and Ruby didn’t.
Stories From the Archives
Making Mirrors
It takes years to cast a large telescope mirror at theSteward Observatory Mirror Lab. But the race to build ever larger “eyes” is leading to new discoveries in astronomy.
“The Kinds of Things He Believed, He Tried to Live…”
Gordon Hirabayashi objected to the way Japanese-Americans were treated in World War II. His fight took him from the Supreme Court to a prison camp in Arizona.
Tom Russell and the Vanishing Poetry of ‘The Old, Weird America’
Tom Russell writes songs about champion fighting cocks, Edward Abbey, the Watts riots, Nina Simone, and the day Frank Sinatra played Juarez. For him, it’s all part of a grand tradition of American storytelling.
Re-enacting the Civil War in the Southwest
The Battle of Picacho Pass on April 15, 1862 was the western-most engagement of the Civil War. Some say it was just a “skirmish,” but each year it’s brought back to life a dedicated group of re-enactors.
A Kartchner Caverns Tour With Gary Tenan
Most people see Kartchner Caverns as part of a tour guided by a volunteer docent. The experience is a little different for the man who discovered the cave.
Author Byrd Baylor Celebrates the Desert
Author Byrd Baylor still writes by candlelight in her rural desert home. It’s just enough light, she says, to see the ink on the page.