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August 12th, 2016

Melodie Edwards

Listen to the whole show here.

Overcrowded Lives: The First In a Series On the Reservation Housing Shortage

The two tribes on the Wind River Indian Reservation are growing and prospering...the Northern Arapaho is expected to reach 11,000 this year, the Eastern Shoshone is almost 5,000 strong. But while the number of people has been expanding, the number of homes where all those people can live has not. As the first part in her series on the reservation housing shortage, Wyoming Public Radio’s Melodie Edwards reports that the situation has led to severe overcrowding...and the social problems that come with that. 

Coal Companies Have Mined An Area The Size Of NYC, Now They Have To Clean It Up

Glance at a satellite image of northeast Wyoming, and you can’t miss the coal mines. The square-cornered grey blotches stretch north to south over more than 70 miles. But if all goes according to plan, someday, when the mining is done, those scars will disappear, erased from the landscape by intensive reclamation efforts. Coal companies are on the hook for that cleanup, but the industry’s recent collapse has raised questions about whether they will actually come through. How big of a problem would it be if they didn’t? Wyoming Public Radio’s Stephanie Joyce takes us behind of the scenes of the complex, expensive process of cleaning up mining’s legacy.

Wyoming Officials To Hear From Experts About State Savings And Investments

Every year a forum in honor of former Ambassador Tom Stroock delves into an issue facing Wyoming. This year the focus will be on sovereign wealth funds such as Wyoming’s permanent mineral trust fund and rainy day accounts. State Treasurer Mark Gordon and University of Wyoming Stroock professor Jason Shogren join me to discuss the upcoming Stroock Sovereign wealth forum that will be held in Jackson. Shogren says they are bringing in experts to answer some important questions. 

Wyoming's Grizzly Delisting Efforts Continue To Move Forward

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department continues to put the finishing touches on the plan for how Wyoming will manage the grizzly bear. This week Game and Fish Commissioners voted to approve a three state agreement concerning how Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana would manage grizzlies when they come off the endangered species list. Wyoming Game and Fish Chief Game Warden Brian Nesvik joins us to provide an update on where those delisting efforts stand. 

Fact Check: U.S. House Candidates On Energy

Wyoming is facing a primary election on Tuesday amid a historic downturn in the state's energy industry. In recent weeks, candidates for a variety of offices, including those running for the U.S. House of Representatives, have weighed in on the current energy situation, and how they would fix it. Our energy reporter, Stephanie Joyce, joins us now to fact-check some of those claims.

University Of Wyoming Football Players Say They Are Much Improved

It’s safe to say that 2015 was a terrible year for the University of Wyoming football team. A slew of key injuries, coupled with inexperience on the defensive end saw the Cowboys finish with a horrific 2-10 record.  The good news is that Wyoming returns 18 starters from last year’s team and the hope is that they will be much improved. Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck reports.

Country And Western: One Label, Two Kinds Of Music

There’s an old joke from the movie The Blues Brothers:

"'What kind of music do you usually have here?' 'Oh, we got both kinds: we got Country AND Western!'"

But it turns out, there is a difference between Country and Western. Musicologist Ariel Downing is giving a presentation on cowboy music later this month at the Brinton Museum in Bighorn. As Downing explained to Wyoming Public Radio’s Micah Schweizer, the ‘country’ side of the term has its roots with southern Appalachian hillbillies.

Bob Beck retired from Wyoming Public Media after serving as News Director of Wyoming Public Radio for 34 years. During his time as News Director WPR has won over 100 national, regional and state news awards.
Melodie Edwards is the host and producer of WPM's award-winning podcast The Modern West. Her Ghost Town(ing) series looks at rural despair and resilience through the lens of her hometown of Walden, Colorado. She has been a radio reporter at WPM since 2013, covering topics from wildlife to Native American issues to agriculture.