Colorado Matters

A Boulder man dropped everything to help refugees in Greece after hearing an account of the crisis on CPR’s Colorado Matters. Then, it’s not clear what drugs terminally ill patients would use under Colorado’s new aid in dying law. We hear about experiments in other states. Also, a new play about transgender women stars a Colorado reporter. Plus, the mechanical issues that plagued RTD’s Train to the Plane last year are largely resolved but the A Line is still dogged by crossing gates that don’t work. And, a new satellite built in Colorado promises to improve weather forecasting and is now sending back it’s first pictures.

Female entrepreneurs in Colorado have a tough time getting money to grow their businesses. Two Boulder investors are betting that helping women scale up will pay off. Then, a Colorado sculptor says as she’s gotten older, people treat her differently. She explores that in her latest show. And, Denver architect Curt Fentress, who designed the iconic terminal at Denver International Airport, is being inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame. A look back at Fentress’ 2010 book, “Touchstones of Design: Redefining Public Architecture.” Plus, the Colorado Department of Transportation is experimenting with a tax based on miles driven.

Colorado has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the country. We hear the reasons, and talk solutions. Then, a Denver Post reporter was one of the few journalists inside the White House on President Trump’s first Monday in office. And, much of agriculture is suffering in Colorado, thanks to stubbornly low prices from corn and wheat, to cattle and oil and gas. Colorado’s farm and ranch income has hit its lowest level since 1986. Plus, Kit Winger fronted his own 80’s metal band– now the former Coloradan has turned his attention to classical music, and is nominated for a Grammy.

On Christmas Eve six years ago, Chauncey and Kelli Johnson lost their young daughter in a skiing accident with a snowboarder. The Johnsons have now created a skier safety campaign. Then, asthma is a common disease but a new study finds it’s also commonly misdiagnosed. An article in the most recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association says a third of adults who are told they have asthma actually don’t. Also, a paraplegic athlete from Denver has found a new way to get around the rugged trails of Colorado — she recently started using a new chair that she says has reintroduced her to the world of hiking. And there’s a new musical feature coming to some long-distance passenger trains in the U.S. … a singing troubadour.

An organizer of the Women’s March on Denver was pleasantly surprised by Saturday’s turnout, but knows it won’t be easy to create a sustained movement. Then, a discussion on the future of underground art spaces in Denver after two venues were closed. Plus, protesters hope to shut down a talk by Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulus at CU Boulder this week. We meet a student who invited Yiannopolus to campus.

The day before Donald Trump’s inauguration, high school students from across the state talk about their hopes and concerns, and what responsibility they feel toward their country and community. Then, artists take on the topic of religion in a new show in Denver. One piece is a collection of crosses made from everyday objects like salt shakers and remote controls. And, a Boulder man’s brush with heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali — which took a very stellar turn.

NASA wants to know more about asteroids, which are remnants of an earlier time in the solar system. A Colorado team was just chosen to develop a spacecraft that will spend nearly two decades exploring Trojan asteroids. Then, there’s a new documentary about Clara Brown, a slave torn apart from her children. When Brown was freed, she came to Colorado to look for her children and became a successful businesswoman. Plus, Troy Walker got his law degree from the University of Denver and then turned to stand-up comedy. Now, his career is taking off.

The idea that humans could become a multi-planetary species is not as far-fetched as you might think. But where would they go? Sending people to Mars is within the grasp of science today, says Leonard David, an award-winning space journalist from Golden, and the author of “MARS: Our Future on the Red Planet.” Amanda Hendrix, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Niwot, and co-author of “Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets,” says Titan, a moon of Saturn, has an accommodating atmosphere. The duo joined Colorado Matters at the University of Denver, along with aerospace engineer Andrzej Stewart, who lived for a year in a NASA-sponsored Mars simulation habitat in Hawaii.