High Country News October 29, 2012
Feature
How the Mormon GOP runs Utah with a collectivist touch
One of the most conservative states in the nation has built one of the healthiest economies not with purely laissez-faire policies, but with a dose of federal dollars and central planning.
Current
As goes Nevada, so goes the nation?
As Nevada sinks deeper into decline, party politics give way to pragmatism.
Westerners' presidential proclivities
Red-blue swings in presidential elections since 1960 show the region’s political landscape has always been dynamic.
Is the Latino electorate finally beginning to make its mark?
If Democrats succeed in an improbable coup -- winning a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, and making the state competitive for Obama -- they’ll have Latino voters to thank.
Voters shape energy policy by choosing utility regulators
Races for seats on state commissions that oversee utilities are among the most important elections you’ve never heard of. They could decide the future of renewable energy in Montana and Arizona this year.
Utah's Bob Bennett on the Tea Party, wilderness and life after Congress
The Republican senator got booted from office in the 2010 Tea Party surge, after supporting wilderness legislation. HCN interviewed him about the prospects for public lands bills in the next Congress.
Wyoming Conservation Voters closes after 11 years
It’s not easy doing environmental policy work and politicking in Wyoming.
2012 Western ballot initiatives
Important and intriguing measures on the ballot this year across the West.
Redistricting pains in California and other states
Many congressional races are up for grabs in California, thanks to a depoliticized redistricting process and less partisan primary system.
Races where the environment matters. Sort of.
Though environmental issues won't be decisive at the ballot box, candidates' green records could still matter -- if environmental super PACs have their way.
Editor's Note
Economic engineering in the New West
The West is built on many cooperative and collectivist agreements; Utah's booming economy, boosted by Mormon politics, illustrates how these work.
Essays
Fire Wall: Escaping Four Mile Canyon
It took the author 18 minutes to evacuate her cabin when the fire came. When she returned, she built a fire wall.
