Ziyi Xu

1 week ago | rmpbs.org | Cormac McCrimmon |Andrea Kramar |Ziyi Xu

GLENDO, Wyo. — The rules of steer wrestling are simple enough: chase a runaway steer, leap off your horse and muscle the animal to the ground. “You better have your hammer cocked and like a little bit of contact,” said professional steer wrestler Austin Eller, 31, who began competing at 16 years old. But finding steers to wrestle is getting harder. The best steers come from Mexico.

2 weeks ago | rmpbs.org | Ziyi Xu |Cormac McCrimmon |Alec Berg |Carly Rose

DURANGO, Colo. — Heirs of more than 17,000 deceased Individual Indian Money account holders have until June 30, 2025, to submit probate documents and claim compensation from a federal class action settlement. Roughly $38 million remains unclaimed. The funds are part of the 2009 Cobell v. Salazar lawsuit, which determined the federal government mismanaged more than 300,000 trust accounts for Native American individuals.

4 weeks ago | rmpbs.org | Cormac McCrimmon |Andrea Kramar |Alec Berg |Ziyi Xu

LAFAYETTE, Colo. — Since Centaurus High School banned cell phones in January, principal Carlyn Carroll said she can hear the difference. At lunchtime on May 6, Jenga blocks crashed to the ground, pucks whistled across air hockey tables and chatter rebounded off the walls of one of the school’s activity rooms. “It used to be really quiet. Kids would be on their phones. They’d be sitting at a table, and every single one of them would have a screen up,” said Carroll.

1 month ago | rmpbs.org | Ziyi Xu |Andrea Kramar |Amanda Horvath |Cormac McCrimmon

CORTEZ, Colo. — A pink warehouse with colorful murals and large windows sits at the corner of an intersection. Inside, people moved quickly — too fast to be on foot. On nice days, the garage door is open, and the sound of squeaky wheels and music can be heard from a block away. Two years ago, a group of local skaters created Beech St. Skatepark to have a place to skate during the winter. They found the warehouse, which houses a few nonprofit organizations, including the Good Samaritan Food Pantry.

1 month ago | rmpbs.org | Andrea Kramar |Alec Berg |Ziyi Xu |Chase McCleary

DENVER — Carpool looks a little different this year at some of Denver’s elementary schools. Instead of parents dropping off their kids by car, they’ve been doing it by bike. On a brisk, sunny spring morning in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, Rocky Mountain PBS joined Park Hill Elementary School’s bike buses. About 70 kids clad in bright helmets and spunky backpacks sojourned together — with parental supervision — on a 1 mile-long bike route to school, picking up kids and parents along the way.