Regan Mertz
Arts & Culture ReporterRegan is a journalist for Aspen Public Radio’s Arts & Culture Desk. Regan moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in July 2024 for a job as a reporter at The Aspen Times. While she had never been to Colorado before moving for the job, Regan has now lived in ten different states due to growing up an Army brat. She considers Missouri home, and before moving West, she lived there and worked at a TV station.
Regan graduated from the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism, earning a Master of Arts in Documentary and Photojournalism in December 2022. She received her Bachelor of Journalism in Radio and Convergence Journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in May 2021. Throughout college, Regan worked at every Missouri School of Journalism publication, including the local NPR station.
She spent her summers working as a fellow for the Reynolds Journalism Institute, where she worked on a podcast with The Oregonian and audio stories for South Dakota Public Radio. She has also worked in Washington, D.C., at the Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and Symposium and at the Library of Congress as a research assistant.
Regan is a White House Correspondents’ Association scholarship recipient and has won awards from the Missouri Broadcasters Association and a Missouri Press Association, along with receiving an Edward R. Murrow in 2021.
When not reporting, she enjoys trying out new hikes with her dog and reading with her cat. Regan is also learning to ski for the first time this winter.
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One performance combines climbing and dancing — and will take place on the exterior walls of the Wheeler Opera House this weekend. BANDALOOP Artistic Director Melecio Estrella said all art transcends political divides. -
Panels in this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival will use art and music to highlight America’s past, while the world’s top thought leaders will discuss the country’s future. -
Some vendors dropped out of the festival last year, in part due to the financial pressure of tariffs. While some can return for 2026, economic uncertainty remains as refunds stall and potential new tariffs loom. -
The county claims the city filed an incomplete land use application, but Glenwood says it doesn’t need to file one at all. -
Meghan Umber will succeed Alan Fletcher as president and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Umber will bring two decades of experience at the Los Angeles Philharmonic to the Roaring Fork Valley. -
Some Rifle city councilors see it as a way to improve connectivity in Garfield County. But transportation challenges remain if RFTA shuts down the Hogback bus route this fall. -
Healthcare workers use resource directories to direct people to the help they need. Now, the nonprofit West Mountain Regional Health Alliance has one for a range of Pitkin, Garfield and Eagle Counties’ organizations. This story is part of our “On the Ground” radio series that highlights solutions to local and global issues from Roaring Fork and Colorado River valley organizations. -
Four Galena Street intersections will receive a new paint job. It is a part of an effort to beautify an area of town undergoing construction, while making pedestrian walkways more visible. -
La organización sin fines de lucro Youthentity, con sede en Carbondale, organizó esta semana su primer concurso de conocimientos cívicos para estudiantes de secundaria del Western Slope. Otros concursos similares, como los de ortografía (spelling bees), han ayudado a las escuelas a alcanzar ciertos objetivos de aprendizaje. Esta historia forma parte de nuestra serie de radio "On the Ground", que destaca soluciones a problemas locales y globales propuestas por organizaciones de Roaring Fork y del valle del río Colorado. -
Over 7,000 animals were killed in wildlife-vehicle collisions on Colorado roads in 2025. Local nonprofit Roaring Fork Safe Passages has worked since 2022 to make Highway 82 safer. This story is part of our “On the Ground” radio series that highlights solutions to local and global issues from Roaring Fork and Colorado River valley organizations.
