An Ashland school trains bike mechanics for a changing industry
At the United Bicycle Institute campus in Ashland, students are hunched over their work tables, closely examining the spokes of bike wheels.
Audio
Volunteer diver searches not for bodies — but 'sons or daughters'
By day, he’s a mortgage broker in Stockton. In his free time, he helps families. “First of all, I don't search for bodies,” Heredia said. “I search for sons and daughters."
A longterm homeless encampment in Yreka is cleared. Some find relief; others lose a home
It’s 11 a.m. and already getting hot in Yreka. For the first time in two years, Roy Newsom doesn’t know where he’ll sleep tonight.
Riding the rapids on a free-flowing Klamath River after dam removal
What makes this trip special is that, until recently, the section of river we were on didn’t exist.
Lions, guns and meth: Inside the takedown of an Oregon roadside zoo
Late at night, Amanda Zamora often heard a lion’s roar cut through the coastal breeze. The sound came from West Coast Game Park Safari, down the street. The roadside zoo billed itself as “America’s largest wild animal petting park.”
Pineros in Southern Oregon: How Jackson County became a center for guest workers in forestry
Non-logging forestry work, like planting trees or fuels reduction, is big business in Oregon. But if you’re picturing those doing this work as classic lumberjacks — plaid shirts, big beards, white guys — think again. Foreign guest workers make up much of this labor. And Jackson County is a national center for the industry.
50 years in the woods: How Oregon's forestry workforce has evolved
Since the 1970s, billions of dollars in federal contracts have gone to forestry work like replanting trees or fuels reduction. Oregon has long been a center for businesses getting those contracts. But that industry looked a lot different 50 years ago.
Chillin' at Oregon's 'first legal psilocybin concert'
Oregon’s first psilocybin service centers opened around a year ago, providing psychedelic mushrooms to treat conditions like PTSD. One center in Southern Oregon is trying to increase access with group-psychedelic experiences — like a magic mushroom concert.
Can an 'America First' board fix a troubled rural transportation district?
The Umpqua Public Transportation District serves over 20,000 riders. It’s a new district, only formed in 2019, but important in a region with elderly and low-income residents, many left behind after the timber industry declined. Lately, some have been worried about the district's future.
From train history to train hopping, a California town celebrates America’s rails
The town of Dunsmuir in far Northern California hosted its first Railroad Days in 1941. But the town’s relationship with the railroad industry has changed over the decades. And a subculture of train enthusiasts now celebrate alongside the town — in their own way.
Mothers struggling with addiction find an oasis in Southern Oregon
The opioid epidemic, boosted by the arrival of the drug fentanyl, has torn through communities in Southern Oregon. It’s also having a devastating impact on mothers struggling with addiction. An innovative facility in the Rogue Valley is helping those parents and their children.
California mobile home park residents face persistent PFAS water contamination
Man-made chemicals known as PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are used to make a lot of modern products. They’ve also been linked to health impacts including cancer. Despite legislation, addressing PFAS contamination at small water systems remains a challenge in California.
Tree sitters protest old-growth logging from 100 feet above the forest floor
Old-growth trees provide vital wildlife habitat, help forest ecosystems and store massive amounts of carbon. But some activists in Southern Oregon claim the Bureau of Land Management is allowing the logging of old-growth trees despite recent calls by the Biden administration for protection.
A death doula keeps legacies alive in rural Oregon
“I spend my week reminding this group of people that they matter. That their life's work is just not going to disappear,” she says. “I think that's what we all want — for someone to be able to remember our names.”
Broken dreams in Sagaing
Myanmar's democratically elected government was ousted in a military coup in 2021. Since then, ethnic minority armed groups and pro-democracy fighters have been battling against the junta's forces. Millions of people are displaced.
Staying Alive in Chin State
More than two and a half years ago, the military in Myanmar ousted a democratically elected government. Attacks on civilians still continue. We hear from people in Chin state in western Myanmar.
Finding Love in a Myanmar Scam Center
Crime enclaves have grown along Myanmar's border since the coup in 2021. These new cities are hubs for online gambling, drugs and lately online cryptocurrency scams. It's big money for criminal syndicates and the Myanmar military's allies who control the territory. How are the scams playing out and how are they linked to human trafficking?
Myanmar's Former Political Prisoners Find Healing Through Resistance
Since the military coup in Myanmar over two years ago that ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, the ruling military regime has arrested tens of thousands of people. We hear from former political prisoners, talk about the targeted killings of civilians and hear from displaced Rohingya in camps in Bangladesh.
The Life and Death of Esther Nakajjigo
In 2020 a horrible accident occurred in Arches National Park. One woman was left dead. A husband and family left grieving. And at the heart of a trial related to that incident — it’s not so much about that death, but about the life that was lost.
San Juan Horse Massacre
Dozens of wild horses have been found shot in San Juan County as drought exacerbates conflict over the area’s limited grazing feed.
Four Years After a Murder, a Rural Utah Navajo Community Looks for Closure
In 2018 a murder shocked a small Navajo community near Bluff, UT. Federal agents arrested a suspect later that year. But since then the victim’s family has lived without closure — and in fear.
Benefits for Those Harmed by the Nuclear Industry Are Expiring. Advocates Are Racing to Help as Many as They Can
Uranium created a lot of wealth in this region while helping the country build its nuclear arsenal during the Cold War. But it came at a price.
Audio Portrait: The Last Free Man
“I often say my life seems to revolve around three things – my dog, my bike and my laptop…And that’s the way I want it,” says Mike Mewborn, known to locals as Marlow.
Chasing Sunlight: Inside the Growing Field of Archaeoastronomy
There’s a growing number of observers finding a connection with solar events and some rock-art panels. The study of these interactions is called archeo-astronomy… or cultural astronomy… or ancient astronomy. And the field relies on the work of amateurs scouring the Southwest for examples. For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, Justin Higginbottom reports from Moab.
Rory Tyler wasn’t in Moab for long before he had a hunch about “The Snake.” He had moved from Oregon in 1993 and soon after hiked with
Rory Tyler wasn’t in Moab for long before he had a hunch about “The Snake.” He had moved from Oregon in 1993 and soon after hiked with
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