Western Skies: June 2012, “Mining”

This month we’re taking a look at mining, the history of it in Colorado, and how towns have evolved as the ebb and flow of the industry cycles through.

You can hear the full episode here, or download by right-clicking this link:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

You can also head to the individual segments for full audio, photos, and more by clicking any of the following links:

Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine
Roundtable: The Past, Present, and Future
Examining the Relationship between Gaming and Mining
Leadville: Climax Mine Reopens
Old Man Stratton

Western Skies is a Collaboration between KRCC News and the Big Something.

Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine

Cripple Creek and Victor Mine Trip

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Roundtable: Past, Present, and Future

Listen to the edited version here (about 20 minutes):

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

You can also hear the full version here (about 26 minutes):

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Examining the Relationship between Gaming and Mining

Cripple Creek is a gold-mining town, since the first lodes were found in the 1890s until the present day. It’s also a gaming town, with limited-stakes gambling approved by voters in 1991. KRCC’s Kate Jonuska investigates these two industries’ complex relationship with the city and with each other.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Leadville: Climax Mine Reopens

For Leadville in Central Colorado, it’s the beginning of a new era. The Climax mine just north of town recently reopened for the first time in nearly two decades. It used to be something of a beating heart for Leadville, with thousands of jobs. When it closed, the town struggled to stay alive. Climax is up and running again, but this time with a lot fewer workers, and the town’s economy has largely moved away from the mining industry. KRCC’s Elise Thatcher went to Leadville to find out what it means to have the Climax mine open again.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Old Man Stratton

Few rags-to-riches stories are as American as the story of Winfield Scott Stratton. His name now adorns street signs, buildings and parks throughout the Pikes Peak Region, but the story of just how hard he worked to become the working man’s gold baron is a true Cripple Creek melodrama.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.