During the late 1800s The Old Fort Lewis was a military fort and Federal Indian Boarding School. Today the land supports Fort Lewis College's Farmer Training and incubator programs. Brandon Francis, a scientist and seed keeper reflects on the Old Fort, the land and the significance of blue corn to Diné people.

This story was originally produced for KDUR Durango by Jamie Wanzek.

• (00:00:19) - Introduction at the Old Fort in Hesperus
• (00:01:27) - A Sacred, Tragic History of Resilience
• (00:02:17) - The 4,000-Year Tradition of Blue Corn
• (00:02:58) - The Bluebird Legend and Planting with Family
• (00:03:40) - Snow, Sprouting Seeds, and Faith

Several decades ago, working class neighborhoods lined the Animas River in Durango. Today, these spaces are parks and pickle ball courts. But during the 1950s this was once a hub of industry including uranium milling. One family shares how their story connects to the toxic legacy of Durango’s industrial past.

• (00:00:01) - Finding La Planta's old neighborhood
• (00:01:42) - Life in a working-class riverside community
• (00:03:42) - Displacement and demolition of the neighborhoods
• (00:06:13) - A family history of cancer
• (00:08:15) - Questioning the cause: cancer clusters and suspicion
• (00:10:13) - Durango's industrial and uranium mill legacy
• (00:12:07) - Public health findings and radioactive contamination
• (00:13:00) - Environmental racism and nuclear colonialism
• (00:15:05) - Downwinders, compensation, and unrecognized victims
• (00:16:27) - From toxic sites to parks: erasure and amnesia
• (00:17:51) - Fighting for justice and remembering the past
• (00:20:03) - Credits and closing

Advocates say Immigration and Customs Enforcement is abusing loopholes in a Colorado law, SB20-83, which limits where ICE agents can make arrests connected to courthouses.

This story was originally produced for KDUR Durango and Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

• (00:00:00) - Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition says ICE is making arrests at courth

Rhubarb is all over the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado. Where did it come from? And what does an abandoned road in producer Jamie Wanzek's backyard have to do with it?

Content warning: This story mentions suicide ideation.

Reported, written, and produced by Jamie Wanzek

Edited by Kirbie Bennett

Music:

You'll Never Catch Me Crawling Back to You Roy Williams

The Poppy Red Garden

Loner on a Cliff

The High Lonesome

Hearth

© The Magic Southwest LLC

• (00:00:00) - Silverton's International Rhubarb Festival
• (00:07:43) - Old Rhubarb Plants in Silverton
• (00:12:27) - The woman from the Rhubarb Cookbook
• (00:15:21) - The Old Road From Durango to Silverton
• (00:22:10) - From the Trail: A Wagon Road Through the Mountains

Fort Lewis is a former federal Indian boarding school, making the appointment of President Heather Shotton significant because she is a descendant of boarding school survivors.

This story was originally produced for KDUR Durango and Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

Jamie Wanzek is an employee of Fort Lewis College

• (00:00:00) - Fort Lewis College Welcomes New President Heather Shotton During Investiture

"This anthology is a portal," says Kinsale Drake. "Art, poetry, songs, stories - those things are both ancient and alive right now, and those are our superpowers."

In this episode of The Magic Southwest, co-host Kirbie Bennett speaks with Kinsale Drake and Darcie Little Badger, co-editors of a book titled Beyond the Glittering World: An Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms. Throughout the interview, they discuss the importance of highlighting underrepresented Indigenous voices, as well as anti-DEI backlash they've encountered while promoting the collection.

Written and produced by Kirbie Bennett.

Music provided by Alex Kehm.

© Magic Southwest LLC

• (00:00:00) - Beyond the Glittering: Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms
• (00:02:47) - Interviews: Beyond the Glittering World
• (00:08:02) - The COVID Anthology
• (00:12:06) - The Making of This Anthology
• (00:17:13) - On The Synthology
• (00:19:48) - Beyond the Glittering World: The Controversy
• (00:26:21) - The Voices of Native Americans: A Selection
• (00:30:31) - Are You Working On Any Projects?
• (00:31:53) - Poems about History in the Southwest

Today, Durango Fiesta Days is popular for its late-summer rodeos. When the event started in 1935, it was called the Spanish Trails Fiesta.

On this episode of The Magic Southwest, Kirbie travels back to the 1950s and explores what the fiesta looked like, including stories about Indigenous people camping along the Animas River. What was the Spanish Trails Fiesta like for them?

Written and produced by Kirbie Bennett.

Music provided by River Foxcroft

• (00:00:14) - The Story of Durango Fiesta
• (00:08:49) - Byron Frost's story of the Spanish Trail Fiesta

Print newspapers are becoming increasingly hard to keep alive. But for Maggie McGurie, print media isn't going anywhere in Southeastern Utah.

This story was produced for the Transom Traveling Workshop in Moab. Special thanks to KZMU Moab Community Radio, KDUR Durango, KikiBouba Press, The Moab Sun News, and Transom.

Music:
Martin Landström
Anna Ash

• (00:00:08) - The last locally-owned newspaper in Moab