Features

A 17th-century book known as the Baumfylde Manuscript is giving insight into the lives and priorities of people of the past. Wyoming Public Radio's Ivy Engel spoke to UW professor Peter Parolin who analyzed the manuscript.

Grady Kirkpatrick recently spoke with Shawn Day from the Sheridan-based band Wyoming. They talk about the new song and video "9 - 5" and also about a University of Wyoming reunion at a renowned studio in Laurel Canyon, California.

Grady Kirkpatrick talked with Joachim Cooder about his new album "Over That Road I'm Bound: the Songs of Uncle Dave Macon."

Many people think of science and art as complete opposites, but one University of Wyoming researcher is working to combine the two. Wyoming Public Radio's Ashley Piccone spoke with Karen Vaughan, a pedology professor who is using the soil in her research to make watercolor paint. She said soil is more important than you would think.

Lunar New Year begins on February 12, 2021. And usually, the holiday involves huge festivities with fireworks, dancing, and family reunions. But as the pandemic continues into this year, the celebration will look and feel different this new year. Wyoming Public Radio's Naina Rao reports this story.

Grady Kirkpatrick spoke with Jerry Mitchell of from the Casper-based band Red Butte. They talk about the origins of the band and recent new recordings plus a new video of the song "Cincinnati."

When an insurrection mob violently pushed through the entrance of the Capitol building on January 6, the American Alliance of Museums issued a statement condemning the violence that occurred. They did so because the Capitol is more than a workplace, it's a living museum.

Wyoming Public Radio's Naina Rao spoke to University of Wyoming's Art Museum director, Nicole Crawford, on her perspective regarding the aftermath and effects the insurrection has made on art, history, and museums.

In 2018, the Ucross artist residency program in Northern Wyoming hosted its first fellows for its Native American fellowship for visual artists to have the space and time to focus solely on their art. This past fall, the program extended the opportunity to its first Native American writing fellow.

Wyoming Public Radio's Catherine Wheeler spoke with Diné writer and teacher Brendan Basham about his forthcoming debut novel, Swim Home to the Vanished, and his time at Ucross while on his fellowship.

In 1978, one of Wyoming's most infamous killings took place in Rock Springs. Rock Springs Director of Safety Ed Cantrell shot his deputy Michael Rosa, who was in the backseat of a car. Cantrell said he shot Rosa in self-defense, while others suggested that Cantrell was trying to keep Rosa from testifying about local corruption he had witnessed.

Cantrell hired Wyoming Attorney Gerry Spence and was acquitted of first-degree murder in Pinedale. Award-winning investigative journalist Rone Tempest has written about the incident in his new book, The Last Western. He sets the stage by describing Rock Springs at the time.

In 2018, a Wyoming research scientist ran 92 miles in just three days. His goal? Highlight the challenges of the seasonal migration for mule deer; a well-known species in Wyoming, but also one that's been in decline. A movie called 92 Miles is set to come out in the next few months about his journey. Wyoming Public Radio's Cooper McKim spoke with Wyoming Migration Initiative research scientist and runner Pat Rodgers on the importance of his trek.

In 2016, the national park system celebrated its hundredth birthday. When poet karla k. morton learned that there had never been a complete book of poetry written to celebrate all 62 national parks, she decided to do just that, along with her friend and fellow Texas poet laureate Alan Birkelbach.

Wyoming Public Radio's Micah Schweizer spoke to the two poets about how their new book, The National Parks: A Century of Grace, came to be.

It's safe to say that 2020 has been a very difficult, trying year for a lot of people across the world. Wyoming's Poet Laureate, Eugene Gagliano, agrees. But the pandemic also made him realize a different perspective—how grateful he was to be living in the state of Wyoming.

He shared his perspective by writing a poem, called The Blessing of Wyoming. And it got published in the New York Times. He recited the poem during his conversation with Wyoming Public Radio's Naina Rao.

Early one morning, eight volunteers surrounded a table with a 400 pound grizzly bear carcass in its center. Draper Natural History Museum Assistant curator Corey Anco said they are defleshing the animal.

"They are removing all of the meat around the bones, all the meat around the ribs, all the meat around the vertebrae," said Anco. "And they're trying to get this as clean as we can reasonably so."

The holiday season is upon us and with it comes the Festival of Lights, better known as Hanukkah. Folks around the country are lighting their menorahs, including here in Wyoming. Cooper McKim spoke with Seth Ward, University of Wyoming professor of religious studies, about the holiday's special meaning this year.

In some Native communities getting to a grocery store can take up to an hour and requires access to a vehicle. And there is no guarantee that the food there is fresh, often being trucked in from days away. Tsanavi Spoonhunter is the director of Crow Country: Our Right to Food Sovereignty.

The documentary explores food insecurity on the Crow Reservation in Montana. Wyoming Public Radio's Taylar Stagner spoke with her about the award-winning film and the inspiration that brought her to Montana.

A new military vehicle museum in Dubois opened to the public in August. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska spoke to owner and founder of the National Museum of Military Vehicles Dan Starks on how he started his private collection with a tank that needed to be restored.

Riverton Library is quiet today. And sure, libraries are supposed to be quiet places but right now it's extra quiet. Before COVID-19 heath restrictions the Riverton Library was seeing 450 people on average per day with a staff of ten assistant librarians.

You've probably read poems like sonnets or haiku. This year, a new form of poetry was invented. In a matter of months, poets adopted the new form, and a new journal has been created to showcase it. We're joined now by one of its inventors, poet Lori Howe.

She teaches at the University of Wyoming and is editor in chief of GLEAM: The Journal of the Cadralor. Howe explained to Wyoming Public Radio's Micah Schweizer how this type of poem came about and why it's called a cadralor.