Living the not-so-quiet life in the rural West.
Rants from the Hill: Desert Insomnia
Posted inArticles
What 4-H teaches 7 million kids about food
A new book explores what the century-old organization looks like today.
Posted inArticles
Nevada wilderness bill is wilderness in name only
The U.S. Senate is set to take up a deeply flawed Nevada wilderness bill in the November lame-duck session. If passed, it would set terrible precedents for all future wilderness bills. The bill, HR 5205, introduced by Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., bundles together seven separate Nevada lands bills, and after being amended by the House […]
Posted inArticles
Plans for the Village at Wolf Creek move forward
Controversial southern Colorado resort takes another step toward construction.
Posted inArticles
Why are Hopi rangers impounding sheep at Black Mesa?
The latest in a fraught relationship between Navajo and Hopi in northern Arizona.
Posted inArticles
New Mexico commission votes to divert Gila River
Decision greenlights contentious multi-million dollar diversion project.
Posted inArticles
Don’t think of the Keystone oil pipeline as inevitable
I’ve usually admired David Brooks, New York Times columnist, and Mark Shields, campaign strategist and analyst, for their smart political opinions on public television. So it was sad recently to see their heads stuck in Alberta’s tar sands over the highly controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which will surely be reintroduced in Congress next year. Pipeline […]
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Gentrification comes to Denver
With the right policies, the city can be desirable and affordable.
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
Light rail enters the West’s most sprawling metropolis
New transportation sparked a renaissance in Denver. Can it do the same for Phoenix?
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
Trains carrying oil raise tough questions in Northwest
As crude oil rail shipments increase, residents fear derailments and explosions.
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
Talking with kids about grizzlies
A volunteer educator reflects on teaching kids about conservation, and learning from them.
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
State the obvious
I can’t decide if High Country News is part of the problem or not (“House of Misrepresentatives,” 10/27/14). You seem to be deathly afraid of offending Republicans; every time you publish something like this, it’s always “Congress” doing it, never “Republicans in Congress.” At least you used the “R,” and I noticed it’s all “R”s. […]
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
Spending at windmills
About two-thirds of Utah’s legislators are tied to banking, insurance, land title, development, real estate or other firms that would benefit from the transfer of lands to the state (“Bad medicine,” HCN, 10/27/14). Utah’s Legislature is over 80 percent Republican, with highly gerrymandered districts to ensure that the 30 percent or so of Utahns who […]
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
Solace at the end of Homer Spit
When I quit my job and joined a pilgrimage of heartbroken dreamers staggering toward Alaska.
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
Social work blues
Review of ‘Fourth of July Creek’ by Smith Henderson.
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
Selfies with bears, a stolen train in Wyoming, a loose bull and more.
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
In the footsteps of a roving genius
Photographs and an interview from high peaks of the Alaska Range.
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
Less name-calling
“Bad Medicine” makes some valid points, but it turns me cold when it starts out with name calling, specifically “ultra-right” and later in the article “ultra-conservative.” Simply disagreeing with the author’s point of view seems to make people extreme, in the author’s opinion. If you want to draw people towards your point of view, then don’t call them inflammatory names. At best, it […]
Posted inNovember 24, 2014: Transportation Transformation
Latest: New air quality requirements for Utah oil & gas
Operators must install low or no-bleed valves on tanks to curb venting into the air.