Colorado Matters

Students across Colorado are getting ready to “Trash the Runway”… on purpose. They’re learning about fashion and sustainability by using the stuff we throw out to create high-end design. They’re also learning critical problem solving and confidence at the same time. Then, thousands of skiers and snowboarders of color are hitting the slopes of Keystone starting this weekend, to support diversity in snow sports, along with future Olympians.

United Airlines has a huge presence in Denver. DIA is the carrier’s second-busiest hub behind Chicago. All its pilots train here. And United bought a chunk of land near the airport last year that it plans to develop. The question is: might its headquarters move to Denver? Then, 80 years ago, the 10th Mountain Division fought a battle that was pivotal to winning World War II. Colorado was the training ground for troops.

State lawmakers are faced with closing a potentially billion dollar budget gap; Purplish explores how Colorado got here and possible solutions. Then, the CEO of VENU, which built the Ford Amphitheatre in Colorado Springs, answers questions about its success, and the noise complaints it’s generated. Plus, we salute a 101-year-old Tuskegee airman in Colorado for Black History Month.

Not that long ago, women seeking a loan or line of credit faced invasive questions from bankers. “Are you planning on having children?” “What type of birth control are you using?” “Where’s your husband?” Against that backdrop, in the 1970s, The Women’s Bank of Denver was founded.

Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic could reduce the urge to drink. It’s one of several novel approaches Colorado researchers are studying for alcohol use disorder. Then, Colorado firefighters return home after helping in California. Also, if today’s world feels more anxious, a doctor has ways to decompress. Plus, a new exhibit at the Denver Art Museum elevates the Indigenous viewpoint. And for Valentine’s Day, “Pitch a Friend.”

Sex trafficking is a growing problem in Colorado — the state now ranks 10th for the most reported cases. We hear from a survivor who shares how she took back control of her life. Then, imagine driving along a rough road when two of your tires pop. It happened to one Colorado driver — and Colorado Wonders about the state paying for the damage. Also, her mother marched on Washington more than 60 years ago with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We’ll re-share her daughter’s journey back to D.C. for Black History Month. And History Colorado incorporates works by living artists — to connect past and present.

White settlers wiped out Colorado’s wolf population. In 2020, voters required them to be reintroduced. There are now 29 wolves here. Ranchers — worried about their livestock and livelihoods — must adapt. CPR Climate and Environment Reporter Sam Brasch hosts a discussion at Loveland’s Rialto Theater about the past, present, and future of wolf restoration.

A Black middle school dean says she was fired by a school district in Colorado for objecting to a book ban. Now she’s filed a civil rights complaint. Then, President Trump has told the Treasury Department to stop making pennies. They’re minted in Denver. We’ll talk about the history and cost of the one cent coin. Plus, Chandra tries to up her “Colorado street cred” by taking on skiing thanks the BIPoC Mountain Collective. And author Laura Krantz asks, “Do you believe in magic?”