Small Town, Internet Company Partner to Bring Wi-Fi to City Park
Boyle Park in Mancos, Colorado. (Photo by Mark Duggan)Many rural and Native American communities are said to be on the wrong side of the digital divide. That refers to the stark inequalities in broadband between urban and rural areas. It's not just a matter of speed...
The Legendary Colorado Orange Apple Returns
The Colorado Orange apple has been rediscovered after nearly a century. Growers hope to have it available to consumers in the next few years.(Credit: Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project)Imagine an apple so tasty that it invokes fond memories 80 years after it...
Officials Hope Remote-Controlled Avalanches on Lizard Head Pass Will Help Keep Vital Byway Open During Snow Slide Season
The steep slopes above Highway 145 near Rico are notorious for being prone to avalanches. A series of newly-installed towers that can set off explosives will let crews trigger slides on these slopes remotely. (Photo by Wyssen Avalanche Control Co.)Every winter,...
Navajo Water Project Brings Running Water to Off-Grid Households on Navajo Nation
A woman uses a newly-installed faucet in her home on the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Water Project installs self-contained water systems that include a sink, a cistern, pump, heater, and plumbing. (Photo by Dig Deep)Emma Robbins oversees one of them. The Navajo Water...
COVID-19 in Colorado and the Four Corners: August and July, by the Numbers
A comparison of infection rates from the past two months shows steady increases in positive cases. Small rural counties continue to have low numbers.I’m reporting on local and regional news in the Four Corners region for KSUT Public Radio. Stories and audio previously...
A TV Tale of “Badwater,” to be Filmed in Montezuma County
A large crowd of people recently attended a casting call in Mancos for a TV pilot that will be shot in Montezuma County.(Photo by Mark Duggan)Novelist Chuck Greaves, who lives southwest of Cortez, and director, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, a recent transplant to Mancos,...
An Exploration of Arizona Astronomy
Special Series: Copper at the Crossroads
Copper: The Miracle Metal
Tucson, Ariz. - I became interested in exploring copper mining in Arizona when I saw several photographs of the Tucson skyline from the 1940s. The images showed a smoky haze hanging in the sky, completely obscuring the view of the Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains....
“I’m Not a Miner, I’m a Provider”
Tucson, Ariz. - When the San Manuel Mine northeast of Tucson closed in 1999, it was the largest underground copper mine in the U.S., with more than 2,000 people working in 350+ miles of tunnels and a nearby smelter. The copper market had just gone bust, and...
Some Thrived, Some Died
Tucson, Ariz. - The names stand out on early maps of the Arizona Territory: Hamlets like Ruby and Silver Bell. Mines named The World's Fair, Old Dominion and The Heavy Weight. But they're not to be found on modern maps of Arizona. When the copper booms of the...
Stories From the Archives
Making Mirrors
Tucson, Ariz. - A recipe for how to make a 8.4-meter telescope mirror: Ingredient: About 44,000 pounds of glass chunks. Instructions: Load all glass chunks into 27-foot diameter mold. Place mold in giant spinning oven and set for 5 revolutions-per-minute. Cook for...
“The Kinds of Things He Believed, He Tried to Live…”
Tucson, Ariz. - Longtime Tucsonans remember the area as Prison Camp. From 1939 to 1973, it was the Catalina Federal Prison Camp. The inmates who built the Catalina Highway were the original occupants. Conscientious objectors were also housed there during WW II. Today,...
Tom Russell and the Vanishing Poetry of ‘The Old, Weird America’
My first attempt at interviewing Tom Russell was stymied by a bad cell phone connection. He was driving around the edge of Ft. Worth, trying to find his hotel. The signal was so bad that we agreed to wait until he'd checked in. My second attempt to interview Tom...
Re-enacting the Civil War in the Southwest
Picacho Pass, Ariz. - On April 15, 1862, two small groups of Union and Confederate soldiers fought a battle in central Arizona. The engagement left several Union troops dead, including the detachment's commanding officer, and wounded several men on each side. It was...
A Kartchner Caverns Tour With Gary Tenan
Benson, Ariz. - About 40 miles southeast of Tucson, under the limestone rock of the Whetstone Mountains, lies a vast, living cave called Kartchner Caverns. It was discovered in 1974 by Gary Tenan and Randy Tufts, two amateur cavers from Tucson. A small cleft in the...
Author Byrd Baylor Celebrates the Desert
Arivaca, Ariz. - Byrd Baylor's love of the desert serves as both setting and subject for her writing. She's best known for her children's books, mostly set in the Southwest and populated with Native Americans and desert creatures. After years in Tucson writing for...