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In Brief: Murrow awards for Aspen Public Radio; Doug Peacock at Explore; Sunlight aims to replace chairlift

Halle Zander's reporting in 2022 earned Aspen Public Radio two of its three Murrow Awards.
Aspen Public Radio/Courtesy photo

Aspen Public Radio cleans up with big broadcast awards

Aspen Public Radio has won three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, among the most prestigious in broadcast and digital news, for stories in 2022 by Eleanor Bennett and Halle Zander.

Bennett won in Feature Reporting for “Jahir Rodas Cuts His First Christmas Tree and Keeps His Grandmother’s Memory Alive.”

Zander won in Hard News for “Teen Rescues and Resuscitates Friend Caught in the Cascades on Independence Pass, Credits CPR Training” and in Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for “Uneven Landscapes: Spanish Emergency Alerts in the Roaring Fork Valley.” 



Eleanor Bennett’s work in 2022 earned Aspen Public radio a covert Murrow Award for feature reporting.
Aspen Public Radio/Courtesy photo

The Radio Television Digital News Association has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Regional Murrow Awards are presented to small and large radio, television, and digital outlets based on 14 geographic regions. Regional winners are automatically considered for a National award. Network competitors are judged at the national level. Region 3 is: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming

In Radio Small Market, there are 13 categories, and Aspen Public Radio won three of them. Only one other station in Colorado took home one award. 




Zander is the afternoon anchor on Aspen Public Radio during “All Things Considered,” and Bennett is the local “Morning Edition” anchor.

Aspen Public Radio was founded in 1980 as Roaring Fork Public Radio. The NPR member station can be found at 91.5 FM and 88.9 FM, along with other repeater signals depending on location throughout the Roaring Fork Valley or by streaming the station at aspenpublicradio.org.

Wilderness warrior’s tale at 4:30 Saturday at Explore Booksellers

Legendary wildlife activist Doug Peacock, also the model for friend Edward Abbey’s “Hayduke” character, will share tales from his new memoir, “Was It Worth It? A Wilderness Warrior’s Long Trail Home,” at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Explorer Booksellers.

Reaching back decades, he included stories he hadn’t yet published in previous books. The essays recount significant events that “punctuate how I felt about the world,” he says.

More information: explorebooksellers.com and savetheyellowstonegrizzly.org

U.S. Forest Service taking comments on Sunlight chairlift replacement

The White River National Forest seeks public comments on Sunlight Mountain Resort’s proposal to replace the Segundo chairlift, a 1950s-era lift. 

Sunlight is proposing to replace the existing Segundo double-chair, which has a capacity of 970 people per hour, with a modern triple-chair with a capacity of 1,400 people per hour. 

The new lift would be constructed within the existing lift corridor and would continue to use the existing top and bottom terminal locations. The upper 1,700 feet of the lift corridor is on the White River National Forest, with the remaining on private land.

Sunlight Mountain Resort operates on this forest under a special-use permit. The replacement of the lift is within their permitted area.  

The first phase of the replacement would begin this summer and would include removing trees to widen the lift corridor, constructing retaining walls at the top and bottom terminals, and constructing some new tower foundations. The second phase would begin in spring 2024 and would include removing the existing Segundo lift, completing the tower foundations, and installing the new Segundo lift. All disturbed areas would be revegetated. 

“Before any work on the ground can begin, the Forest Service needs to complete an environmental review of this proposal,” said Aspen-Sopris District Ranger Kevin Warner. “Public comments about this proposal are a key part of the environmental review.”  

More information: fs.usda.gov/project/whiteriver/?project=64138. USFS asks for comments before June 16.

Aspen recognizes Building Safety Month

The city of Aspen is celebrating national Building Safety Month, which recognizes the adoption of modern, regularly-updated building codes, as well as the professionals who work year-round to ensure the safe construction of buildings, the city said.

“The resilience of the buildings that make up our community exists because of the devotion of vigilant guardians like building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, engineers, builders, tradespeople, design professionals, laborers, plumbers, and others in the construction industry,” the city said in a statement.

The progressive building and energy code amendments passed by City Council in January have attracted local and statewide attention. The council also adopted the 2021 International Codes (I-Codes), developed by the International Code Council. The I-Codes are developed through a governmental consensus process and is a system that has provided the highest level of safety in the world for more than 90 years.

The new codes, have wildfire resiliency requirements, along with requiring fire sprinklers regardless of square footage for new R3 single family homes. The codes also have aggressive energy conservation measures in line with council’s goals to reduce emissions.

The City Council is expected to recognize Building Safety Month via proclamation on May 23, recognizing the role of local code officials to ensure safe, sustainable and affordable buildings, city officials said.