skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

A Contest to Change Glen Canyon Dam, 'Re-Wild' Colorado River

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 9, 2022   

A contest to "Re-Wild the Colorado River" is seeking engineering alternatives from the public for the future of Glen Canyon Dam.

Conservation groups have maintained for years that Glen Canyon Dam is no longer useful and should be re-engineered to allow the Colorado River to flow freely again along the Arizona-Utah border. Daniel Beard, a former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said the massive structure has outlived its usefulness.

"Because of climate change, the nature and distribution of precipitation in the Colorado River Basin has changed," he said. "Water is distributed from Lake Mead for a purpose - for drinking water supply, meeting international commitments and so forth. But Glen Canyon doesn't have a purpose like that."

The dam was completed in the 1960s for water storage and power generation. Over time, water levels have dropped and the river's ecology has been degraded. However, powerful interests, including seven states and the federal government, want the multimillion-dollar structure to stay right where it is.

In addition to restoring proper river flows, Beard said, bypassing Glen Canyon Dam could begin refilling Lake Mead, which is at the lowest level in its history.

"Dams are not permanent features on the landscape," he said. "They change, they deteriorate with age, they silt up - and they outlive their usefulness. And in the case of Glen Canyon Dam, it has no purpose in today's world."

Gary Wockner, executive director of Save the Colorado, also a contest sponsor, said he hopes the competition can draw sharp minds that will produce an elegant solution.

"Ideally," he said, "engineering students across the United States embrace the idea of putting in a proposal to either tear down Glen Canyon Dam or tunnel through Glen Canyon Dam, or tunnel around Glen Canyon Dam - some way to get the river flowing more freely."

Along with Beard and Wockner, contest sponsors include Clark County, Nev., Commissioner Tick Segerblom and groups such as the Great Basin Water Network and Living Rivers. Organizers have said they're also looking for donations to increase the prize fund by the time the contest closes in November.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021