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Old-Time Contra Dances Build New Sense Of Community

When you walk into a room full of people you don’t know, you may pull out your phone and avoid eye contact. If you’re at a contra dance, you might as well smile, because the odds are good that you’ll have do-see-doed with most of the room by the night’s end. Contra is a traditional community dance. It's social, done with both big groups and partners. Its modern followers in the Roaring Fork Valley see it as an antidote for an increasingly isolated world.

Astronomer Aims To 'Demystify' Climate Change

By Elizabeth Stewart-Severy • Oct 3, 2018

Astronomer and educator Dr. Jeffrey Bennett believes we can find consensus on one of the most divisive issues of our time. In a presentation Thursday, he aims to break down political barriers surrounding climate change.

Switching The Focus: Motives Of Domestic Offenders

By Alycin Bektesh • Oct 3, 2018

This week, a talk on Domestic Violence offers a glimpse into the “minds of angry and abusive men.” It’s led by Jason Brewer, whose patients are convicted offenders, ordered by a judge to attend counseling.

Roaring Fork Apartments Evacuated

By Wyatt Orme • Oct 2, 2018

All residents of the Roaring Fork Apartments in Basalt were evacuated Tuesday. A water line broke and flooded the first floor of the building, according to Basalt Town Manager, Ryan Mahoney.

He reported seeing water damage to at least one apartment, but said no one was hurt.

2018 Is 2nd Driest Year In CO Records

By Elizabeth Stewart-Severy • Oct 2, 2018

Courtesy of Natural Resources Conservation Service

A winter with low snowpack and a dry, hot summer combined to create the second-worst water year on record for Colorado.

50 Years Of Wild And Scenic Rivers, But Still Only One In CO

By Elizabeth Stewart-Severy • Oct 1, 2018

Only one river in Colorado is designated Wild and Scenic, the nation’s highest protection for rivers. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which ensures that designated rivers remain free-flowing, celebrates 50 years today.

Amb. Chris Hill Discusses US-North Korea Relations

By Christin Kay • Oct 1, 2018

The U.S.-North Korean summit this summer was unprecedented. But did it lead to North Korea winding down their nuclear program? Chris Hill, a former ambassador to South Korea, says no; even though North Korea isn’t in the headlines right now, the regime is still a threat.

Snowmass Candidate Petitions Due Monday

By Zoë Rom • Oct 1, 2018

Monday is the deadline to file a nomination petition to run for mayor of Snowmass or city council.

First Draft: Bernice McFadden

By mitzi@aspenpublicradio.org • Oct 1, 2018

Bernice McFadden is the author of nine critically acclaimed novels including Sugar, Loving Donovan, Nowhere Is a Place, The Warmest December, Gathering of Waters (a New York Times Editors’ Choice and one of the 100 Notable Books of 2012), Glorious, and The Book of Harlan (winner of a 2017 American Book Award and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction). She is a four-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist, as well as the recipient of three awards from the BCALA. Praise Song for the Butterflies is her latest novel.

Eagle County To Update Disaster Plan

By Elizabeth Stewart-Severy • Sep 28, 2018

The Lake Christine Fire tested how prepared Eagle County is for natural disasters, and now the county is updating its hazard mitigation plan.

Week In The Arts: Oct. 1 - 7

By Christin Kay • Sep 28, 2018

Welcome to the beginning of another week in the Roaring Fork Valley! This is Week in the Arts, a curated list of upcoming exhibitions and events.

Special Event

ARTS & CULTURE

Week In The Arts: Oct. 15 - 21

By Christin Kay • 4 hours ago

Welcome to the beginning of another week in the Roaring Fork Valley! This is Week in the Arts, a curated list of upcoming exhibitions and events.

Old-Time Contra Dances Build New Sense Of Community

By Christin Kay • Oct 11, 2018

Local Author Renee Linnell Finds Strength After Leaving 'The Burn Zone'

By Christin Kay • Oct 8, 2018

Snowmass resident Renee Linnell’s new memoir, "The Burn Zone," explores why a worldly, well-educated person would join a cult.

Environment

Eagle County Voters Asked To Continue Open Space Tax

By Elizabeth Stewart-Severy • 4 hours ago

www.pitkincounty.com/1103/Glassier-Open-Space

Eagle County’s open space program is asking for continued support this election. The program is funded through 2025; ballot measure 1A asks voters to extend the property tax through 2040.

PitCo Open Space Board Agrees To Funding Wildlife Studies

By Elizabeth Stewart-Severy • Oct 9, 2018

Elizabeth Stewart-Severy / Aspen Public Radio

Pitkin County has committed to using science to protect wildlife and habitat on the 5,000 acres of open space property it owns, and last week, the Open Space and Trails Board recommended spending more than $200,000 studying area wildlife.

Indy Pass Cleanup Is Regional Mule Team's Swan Song

By Elizabeth Stewart-Severy • Oct 8, 2018

Up high in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, there’s an abandoned metal snow fence — well, there used to be. A diverse group of volunteers joined a team of mules and horses to haul tons of rebar out of the backcountry last month. Pack strings are one of the few ways to get heavy work done in protected wilderness areas, but their future is uncertain.