David Condos

Why the fires in the Southwest like the one by the North Rim aren’t going away. Hot dry windy index for today.

NEW: The NWS has received permission to hire up to 450 meteorologists/hydrologists/radar technicians after DOGE-related cuts. Agency also given a public safety exemption from federal hiring freeze after losing more than 550 people in those cuts. (1/2)

@kuer.org is looking for a Politics & Government Reporter!
#hiring
cpb.org/jobline/KUER...

Map of Red Flag Warnings across Utah, western Colorado, Wyoming and southeast Idaho for Monday, August 4.

Red Flag Warnings are in effect today (August 4) across Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. These conditions will linger across portions of the western U.S. on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yosemite employees worked for weeks with no pay before the government hired them Seasonal employees counting on housing at Yosemite were asked to volunteer for the park while the government was unable to onboard them at the start of the summer.

Seasonal employees counting on housing at Yosemite were asked to volunteer for the park while the government was unable to onboard them at the start of the summer.

Adopt A Station - Rescue Public Media Help preserve independent journalism and community programming across America by adopting a public media station. Congress has voted to rescind public media's funding.

Maybe I’m preaching to the choir on Bluesky, but I’m just so worried about what America looks like without local journalism. Public media was a rare sustainable model for local news and now it’s not. If you’re a listener or just a civic minded person, go to adoptastation.org

New: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it is shutting down

cpb.org/pressroom/Co...

One Utah man’s quest to track the bugs fighting invasive trees on the Colorado River Tamarisk trees are a scourge on riverside ecosystems across southern Utah. Scientists hope their natural enemies, tamarisk beetles, can help local ecosystems fight back.

Utah has pitted tamarisk beetles against the invasive tamarisk tree for 2 decades. If you were curious how it was going, for many years, the guy to ask was scientist Tim Graham.

WQED to lay off 35% of staff due to federal funding cuts The organization laid off 19 employees, primarily in its marketing, membership and production departments.

More public media cuts: WQED, the Pittsburgh PBS affiliate which housed Mister Rogers Neighborhood for decades and where Michael Keaton got his start, will lay off 35% of its staff - 19 people - thanks to the government's move to end funding. https://loom.ly/Q879CWM

7 Utah sheriff’s offices now have ICE agreements. Here’s what to know There are different levels of participation, but under the Task Force Model, certain deputies have the power to enforce some immigration laws. Only four sheriff’s departments in Utah have signed that ...

Four counties (Tooele, Utah, Washington, Weber) have signed onto the Task Force Model, which gives designated deputies some power to enforce immigration laws. Weber County Sheriff Ryan Arbon said they're not planning to use those powers, at least for now.

www.kuer.org/politics-gov...

“We should expect the drought to continue, and we should expect it to get more severe. Current projections are not getting how big this drought is going to be.”

My latest @kuer.org story on a new megadrought study and what it means for the already-parched Colorado River.

Read it here ⤵️

I’m touched that the good people at RadioWest put together this long interview about my books. Listen and hear me talk about the damage extremism reporting can have on one’s mind, why I wrote about the New Age and how similar Amy Carlson was to Lori Vallow.

radiowest.kuer.org/show/radiowe...

What Trump’s higher national park fees for foreign tourists could mean for Utah An executive order from President Donald Trump calls on the National Park Service to increase entry fees for visitors from abroad. In Utah, international tourism is big business, but local officials…

Today’s political climate has some tourism officials less concerned about higher fees deterring foreign visitors, and more worried about them avoiding the U.S. altogether.

The Forest Service Claims It’s Fully Staffed for a Worsening Fire Season. Data Shows Thousands of Unfilled Jobs. DOGE cuts and voluntary resignations have severely hampered the agency as the nation enters the peak of fire season, with more than 1 million acres burning across 10 Western states.

NEW: According to data not previously reported, thousands of firefighting jobs — as many as 27% of them — remain vacant as the nation enters the peak of fire season, with more than 1 million acres burning across 10 Western states.

By @abestreep.bsky.social

Meet the Utah harpist with a ‘meaningful responsibility’ to play for the dying “If I can bring something beautiful to them, it tells them they matter,” said music thanatologist and Zion National Park artist-in-residence Catharine DeLong. “It tells them that they are alive.”

With Thanatos, the Greek god of death, as its namesake, music thanatology is basically what it sounds like – playing music for someone who’s dying.

Public Media's Peril In an interview with Status, NPR chief Katherine Maher responds to the GOP-led decision to defund public broadcasters, calling the move “devastating” and disclosing that some stations are already prep...

I spoke to NPR CEO Katherine Maher about the impact the GOP-led funding cut will have on public media.

Maher didn't mince words, saying the "political" decision will be "devastating," with some rural stations "already pulling shutdown plans out of their desks."

www.status.news/p/npr-kather...

Below are prices for different streaming services. Subscriptions range from $7.99/month to $95.99/month. These are *required* payments.

YOU CAN DONATE ANY AMOUNT YOU WANT TO YOUR NPR/PBS STATIONS. YOU’LL GET WAY MORE FROM THEM. THEY ARE PUBLIC SERVICES. INVEST IN YOUR COMMUNITY, NOT BILLIONAIRES.

Today and every day, I’m proud to make public radio and be part of a team @kuer.org that serves Utah communities with fact-based local journalism.

And now, your support is more vital than ever for helping us continue that mission.

Please give today at www.kuer.org

How bipartisan support for public media unraveled in the Trump era "It will test every single shred of creativity we have to continue to try to serve our mission," says one public media executive, as Congress ends federal funding for public broadcasting.

"It will test every single shred of creativity we have to continue to try to serve our mission," says one public media executive, as Congress prepares to end federal funding for public broadcasting.

Where Congress’s Cuts Threaten Access to PBS and NPR The loss of federal funding threatens scores of public TV and radio stations across the United States.

New: I teamed up with @elenashao.bsky.social
and nytgraphics to map more than 100 public TV and radio stations that are at risk of closing as a result of tonight's vote:

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This is a time bomb that will go off in the fall, when the last federal grants run out.

Hello just wanted to say:

Public media is a useful public good. It is a source of great local news at a time when local news is being decimated. Also, in my 10 years in public media, I can say people who work here do it because they believe in the mission of informing people.

Just noting.

What RECA’s expansion means to the Navajo Nation and downwinders in Utah On July 16, 1945, the U.S. detonated the first nuclear bomb. In the years that followed, other tests led to a wave of health problems in Utah and across the West. Now, advocates are celebrating the…

It’s been 80 years since Oppenheimer’s Trinity Test. Communities still feel the impacts of our history of nuclear weapons testing.

Senate advances deep cuts to public media funding - Poynter The $1 billion cut would strip two years of federal support from NPR, PBS and more than 1,500 local stations, many of which could go dark

The Senate voted early Thursday, largely along party lines, to cut $1 billion dollars in already approved funding for NPR, PBS and more than 1,500 local stations, many of which could go dark.

The amended bill now requires final approval from the House.

www.poynter.org/business-wor...

Native American radio stations at risk as Congress looks to cut $1B in public broadcasting funding Native American radio stations could face shutdowns if Congress cuts over $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

"Fear is growing that most of the 59 tribal radio stations that receive the funding will go dark, depriving isolated populations of news, local events and critical weather alerts. The House already approved the cuts last month."

apnews.com/article/nati...

Utah is among the states where immigration judges were fired in the past week: apnews.com/article/immi...

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City has issued a Red Flag Warning for wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from noon to 11 PM MDT Tuesday. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 495 Color Country West Desert, Fire Weather Zone 496 Color Country Mountains (especially for the Pine Valley Mountains), Fire Weather Zone 497 Mojave Desert and Fire Weather Zone 498 Grand Staircase. * WINDS...Southwest 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 10 percent. * IMPACTS...Critical fire weather conditions are expected. Any new fire starts or existing fires may spread rapidly.

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City has issued a Red Flag Warning for wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from noon to 11 PM MDT Tuesday. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 492 Central Utah West Desert and Fire Weather Zone 493 Central Utah Mountains. * WINDS...Southwest 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 9 percent. * IMPACTS...Critical fire weather conditions are expected. Any new fire starts or existing fires may spread rapidly.

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City has issued a Red Flag Warning for scattered dry thunderstorms following an extended dry period, which is in effect from noon to 9 PM MDT Tuesday. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 478 Salt Lake Desert and Fire Weather Zone 479 Wasatch Mountains. * THUNDERSTORMS...Scattered dry thunderstorms are expected to develop during the afternoon hours on Tuesday, bringing potential for frequent lightning strikes from storms producing little to no rainfall. * OUTFLOW WINDS...A dry low level environment will promote potential for storms to produce strong outflow wind gusts in excess of 30-35 mph with around a 40-50 percent chance of gusts exceeding 45 mph. * IMPACTS...Critical fire weather conditions are expected. Any new fire starts or existing fires may spread rapidly.

🚨 Red Flag Warning issued July 14 at 2:28PM MDT until July 15 at 11:00PM MDT by NWS Salt Lake City UT 🚨
Additional Details Here.

Historic lodge on Grand Canyon North Rim destroyed by wildfire The Grand Canyon Lodge opened in 1937 and was the only hotel located inside Grand Canyon National Park on the North Rim.

‘Historic lodge on Grand Canyon North Rim destroyed by wildfire’ by @reycjraz.bsky.social and Perry Vandell

Coyotes remain as wily as ever, even as Utah has paid millions in bounties “For a long time, we've had bounties and government agents out after them, trying to kill them. It never works,” one researcher said, describing the coyote’s resilience to hunting.

Utah’s modern-day struggle to lower coyote numbers isn't anything new. Attempts to curb the population of these hardy canines date way back to the pioneer days.

The France Canyon Fire threatened the state fish. So Utah rode to the rescue As the wildfire approached Blubber Creek near Bryce Canyon National Park, nearly 100 native Bonneville cutthroat trout were caught with nets and hauled out of harm’s way.

Pop quiz, hot shot: What's the state fish of Utah? 🤔

It wasn't just Washington that was buzzing over Lee's response to the tragedy. It also set off a debate in Salt Lake City. At the global headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a discussion over how to respond - if at all - began in earnest, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. Several of the church's senior leaders saw the posts and were concerned. Lee is a prominent Latter-day Saint, arguably the best-known elected Church member in the nation. His insensitive words were reflecting poorly on the faith at large. One church official estimated the backlash from Lee's posts would have severe repercussions for the church's public image, the first person said.

Incredible reporting from Politico here on Mike Lee and his relationship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This passage alone is a journalistic feat — I’ve never seen a reporter get this kind of church insider info the before. www.politico.com/news/magazin...