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September 2nd, 2016

Bob Beck

Listen to the full show here.

UW Athletics Budget Becomes A Hot Button Issue

Many programs on the University of Wyoming campus are facing budget cuts, but there are those who believe that academics is suffering more than it should. That’s especially when compared to athletics. In public forums several faculty and staff members say they want athletics de-emphasized at the University. Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck took a look at the athletic department budget and has this report.  

Solutions To The Reservation Housing Shortage Blocked By Many Obstacles

Overcrowding in homes on the Wind River Reservation is a real problem. In the early 2000’s, the number of homes with more than six people living in them grew by almost 10 percent there. And the reason is, there just aren’t enough houses on the reservation. And as Wyoming Public Radio’s Melodie Edwards reports as part of her series on the reservation housing shortage, there are a lot of hurdles for how housing developments are funded.

Questions Loom As National Park Service Looks To Next 100 Years

The National Park Service celebrated its 100th year of existence recently. Now the beloved federal agency is trying to figure out how to make it through the next century, while protecting the national parks “unimpaired for future generations”. Penny Preston reports some are concerned new funding sources may put corporate logos in the parks.

Inside Wyoming's Last Fire Lookouts

Yellowstone has seen extreme fire danger this summer, and crews are using everything at their disposal to manage them. Fighting wildfires increasingly relies on new technology like drones and a web program that traces every lightning strike in real time. But in the Black Hills of Northeastern Wyoming, the most basic of technology is still relied on...The human eye. Wyoming Public Radio's Maggie Mullen visited some of the few remaining fire lookout towers in the state.

Why North Dakota Coal Is The Last Man Standing

Bankruptcies and layoffs plague the coal industry from West Virginia to Wyoming. But in one place -- on the Northern Plains -- coal’s still alive and well. That’s in North Dakota, where power plants burn a different kind of coal than in other parts of the United States. And coal still provides 75 percent of the state’s electricity needs. Yet even the industry there feels mounting pressure. Inside Energy’s Amy Sisk has more.

Donald Trump's Energy Whisperers

Donald Trump is wooing energy-state voters by promising a presidency that will champion coal, promote drilling and free frackers from federal regulations limiting oil and gas development. As StateImpact journalist Joe Wertz reports for Inside Energy, oil-state influencers are helping shape the platform of the Republican presidential candidate

Fossil Fuel Roots Inform Clinton's Energy Adviser

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has energy whisperers with roots in fossil fuel country as well. Trevor Houser grew up in coal-rich Wyoming. He's part of a small team behind Clinton’s energy strategy. Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson spoke with Houser about crafting energy policy in the middle of an energy bust. 

University Of Wyoming Cultural Programs Kicks Off Fall Season

The University of Wyoming is kicking off another school year, and with it comes a new season of visiting performers through the school’s Cultural Programs. Janelle Fletcher is the Director of Fine Arts Outreach & Cultural Programs, and she joined me to preview some of the fall season acts.

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.
Joe was a founding reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma (2011-2019) covering the intersection of economic policy, energy and environment, and the residents of the state. He previously served as Managing Editor of Urban Tulsa Weekly, as the Arts & Entertainment Editor at Oklahoma Gazette and worked as a Staff Writer for The Oklahoman. Joe was a weekly arts and entertainment correspondent for KGOU from 2007-2010. He grew up in Bartlesville, Okla. and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Email: lpaterson@insideenergy.org; leighpaterson@rmpbs.org
Maggie Mullen is Wyoming Public Radio's regional reporter with the Mountain West News Bureau. Her work has aired on NPR, Marketplace, Science Friday, and Here and Now. She was awarded a 2019 regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her story on the Black 14.
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.
When Penny Preston came to Cody, Wyoming, in 1998, she was already an award winning broadcast journalist, with big market experience. She had anchored in Dallas, Denver, Nashville, Tulsa, and Fayetteville. She’s been a news director in Dallas and Cody, and a bureau chief in Fayetteville, AR. She’s won statewide awards for her television and radio stories in Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming. Her stories also air on CBS, NBC, NBC Today Show, and CNN network news.