Colorado Matters

Colorado lawmakers start their 2017 session on Wednesday, with plans to tackle transportation funding, affordable housing, the state budget and more. Two legislative leaders talked with Colorado Matters: incoming Senate President Republican Kevin Grantham, who’s the first rural Coloradan in the post in many years, and Democrat Crisanta Duran, who will soon become the first Latina to serve as Speaker of the House. Then, a new play called “Boat Person” about a couple who came to the U.S. with just the clothes on their backs. And hear the National Anthem sung by a 15-year-old who won the chance to perform tonight at the National Western Stock Show.

Lawmakers will return to the State Capitol next week for the new legislative session, perhaps pledging to work together. But a study says Colorado is the most polarized legislature in the country. Then, the Denver Post hired Ricardo Baca as its first marijuana editor three years ago. Now Baca is leaving his post and will work for a marijuana technology startup. And mounted shooting is the next big equine sport. It will be on display at the National Western Stock Show.

With Donald Trump’s energy agenda taking shape, state lawmakers have formed a new committee to consider local impacts. Steamboat plans to charge skiers $500 if they need rescuing out-of-bounds. NASA is set to launch a five-year study of Colorado’s snowpack beginning in February. It’ll provide information about weather and snow, and also help with space exploration. Also, tips on driving in the winter.

There have been multiple hate crimes in Colorado over the past six months, including swastikas carved into a playground in Longmont found earlier this week. We check in with the Anti-Defamation League to understand what happens after an act like this and how an incident is designated a hate crime. Then, a bug that once ravaged European vineyards has come to the Grand Valley. We’ll talk about what the arrival of Phylloxera means for Colorado’s biggest wine-producing region. And, the Winter Park Ski Train rides again, beginning this Saturday with service between the ski resort and Denver’s Union Station. But is the price tag too steep for skiers? Plus, the story behind Colorado place names — from Alamosa to Zirkel.

It’s time to become transpartisan, says Boulder mediator Mark Gerzon. He’s spent his career working with Congress, the UN and developing countries to resolve disputes. His latest book is called “The Reunited States of America.” Then, there’s a widely held belief that undocumented immigrants in the United States steal identities so they can work. The trouble is: that ignores the role employers play in helping workers get IDs that don’t belong to them. It’s a practice a CU-Denver anthropologist investigated when she was doing research in the farm fields. She also got acquainted with a phenomenon known as “trabajando fantasma” — the working ghost. And, after recording a record with the Colorado Symphony Boulder folk singer Gregory Alan Isakov prepares to perform live with them.

It’s no accident Denver is growing as fast as it is. It’s the result of city leaders going back decades. They laid plans for things like a rail system and public spaces that would lure and serve more people. But something else added fuel to the fire: the Internet. Today, listen to “Denver Rising,” a discussion organized by The New York Times about the metro area’s gifts and its curses. Speakers include former mayor, now governor, John Hickenlooper and preservationist Dana Crawford, who shaped downtown. Then, Tami Simon’s Louisville-based audio book company Sounds True and the audio clips that have changed the way she looks at life.

As 2016 comes to a close, we’re listening back to some favorite conversations from the year. This includes a fictional character who’s loved on the page and on the screen: Western sheriff Walt Longmire. He’s the creation of Wyoming author Craig Johnson. Then, after decades of hosting guests from around the world, the Cascade Cottages at Rocky Mountain National Park are no more.

University of Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam was at the top of his game when he won the Heisman Trophy in 1994, but the Boulder County coroner has ruled his recent death a suicide. A close friend reflects on Salaam’s life, and what role football may have played in his death. Then, a man who carved into Colorado trees to pass his time while herding sheep. Art critics call him a master. And, more of our favorite stories from 2016, with a visit to Victor, Colorado, where we got to see a historic spot before it became off-limits forever. Plus, a tribute to singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, who died this year.