Colorado Matters

Make a mud pie. Find a four-leaf clover. They’re two things you should do before you’re 12, according to a new ad campaign in Colorado that’s designed to get kids outside. On average, kids spend only about four to seven minutes of unstructured time outdoors. Paleontologist and TV host Scott Samson, formerly of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, is on a similar mission, so we listened back to our conversation about his book, “How To Raise A Wild Child.”

In this politically charged environment, what’s it like to be a political cartoonist? We talked with two: Ed Stein, in Denver, had given up the art, but came back to weigh in on President Trump. And on the Western Slope, Paul Snover’s billboard of Trump slaying a liberal dragon got national attention. Then, Dead and Company play in Colorado this weekend, and this week, the Colorado Music Hall of Fame will celebrate the Grateful Dead. Many consider a show at Red Rocks in 1978 one of their best — and helped establish the band as a group worth following.

Want to know how many explosions and fires there have been at oil and gas operations in Colorado? How many people have died or been injured? It’s not easy to find this information because the state doesn’t require detailed reporting. But researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health dug deep, and have a new study out. Then, the governor has just signed the first state law dealing with driverless cars. Why lawmakers put only a “light touch” on regulations. And only 17 American artists landed a spot in the Venice Biennale, the prestigious art exhibition that takes place every two years in Italy. One of the 17 is a Colorado Springs sculptor who uses pantyhose — and other everyday objects — in her work. This honor comes late in Senga Nengudi’s career.

If you don’t think of surfing as a Colorado thing — think again. There’s a new park on the South Platte River in suburban Denver where you can catch a wave. Backers hope the sport will spawn a renaissance in the neighborhood. And, two deadly explosions in two months have led to new questions about how close oil and gas development should be to residential areas. Then, Denver students recently won first, second and third places in a national cursive writing contest. It’s a skill their teachers at Stanley British Primary school think is essential — and brain science backs them up. Plus, a Denver artist who turned penmanship into a career.

Denver Public Schools is one of only a handful of districts in the country, off of a reservation, that teaches Lakota, an indigenous language. One of Denver’s two Lakota teachers is from the Standing Rock Reservation, where she took her students this year. Then, the story of the giant steel plant in Pueblo that helped forge America.

Some of the fastest-changing neighborhoods in Denver are along I-70 north of downtown, in part because of a major overhaul planned for the National Western Stock Show complex. The former agriculture secretary under President Obama, Tom Vilsack, is helping shape what’s coming. Also in North Denver, a high school podcast focuses on neighborhood pollution. Then, Colorado was one of the first states in the country to make student improvement a main factor in evaluating educators’ job performance, but it’s not clear whether those reviews are actually helpful. Also unclear is what impact those evaluations will have on the gubernatorial hopes of the politician who created them. And, an engineering feat — creating a suit that would allow a man to freefall from the edge of space –and land safely with a parachute.

Very few ace fighter pilots are still alive, so a Denver photographer rushed to take their pictures. We hear some of their stories, including one from a graduate from the Air Force Academy who still wonders why he survived as a pilot in Vietnam while his good friend didn’t. Then, the Honor Bell rings at Fort Logan National Cemetery when veterans are buried. A Denver man had the bell made out of frustration. And, hiking through the woods back home, an Afghanistan veteran had a flashback that inspired him to write about his service.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock speaks to CPR News about the city’s homeless problems, including issues at the Denver Public Library, along with a possible $900 million bond issue, and local immigration policies. Plus, new poet laureates for Denver and Aurora on how their poetry reflects their cities, and how they’ll share their truths — diplomatically. And, recommendations for summer books with a Western flair.