
A 2015 spill that turned the waterway orange is a reminder of mining’s disastrous legacy.
In this issue, two stories peer into the West's turbulent, exploitative, hubris-fueled past. Excerpted from his new book "The River of Lost Souls," Contributing Editor Jonathan Thompson reminds us of the toxic legacy of mining in southwest Colorado and how our collective limited memory continues to impact communities there today. In his series, "Civil Conversations," Wayne Hare explores a tiny corner of Portland, where discriminatory practices against African-Americans persisted until the far-too recent past.