The misunderstood, often-maligned mining town helps itself.
Economy
Posted inArticles
How U.S. guns fuel violence south of the border
As Trump pressures Mexico to address drugs and migration, an expert says border security goes both ways.
Posted inArticles
As Colorado closes its coal plants, some schools neglect to prepare
The state’s closures can mean less funding for education and fewer jobs for graduates.
Posted inMay 2025: The Art of the Cruise
Losing more than a Forest Service job
Trail work, though underappreciated, made for a life well-lived in the woods.
Posted inMarch 2025: The Berry Pickers
As the Great Salt Lake recedes, industry rises
Utah’s Inland Port Authority works with local officials to boost development, but residents feel ignored.
Posted inMarch 2025: The Berry Pickers
The rise of the recreation economy
Public-lands tourism outpaces mining and drilling in much of the West.
Posted inArticles
Trump and Musk take aim at the rural West
Spending cuts hurt communities, economies and public lands.
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Many renters are struggling after fleeing LA County wildfires
For many in the county, recovery requires a new lease, a new landlord, new schools and possibly a new state.
Posted inIssues
What happens after Utah’s coal-fired power plants close?
Department of Energy grants are helping eastern Utah plan for the energy transition.
Posted inArticles
How luxury real estate benefits from Montana’s agricultural tax code
Key takeaways from our investigation revealing how expensive properties use a system meant to help farmers and ranchers.
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How the Park City ski patrol won concessions from Vail
As patrollers and management reach an agreement, other ski patrols are learning from Park City’s example.
Posted inArticles
Montana’s ag tax slashes bills for thousands of million-dollar homes
Properties classified ‘agricultural’ get a tax break despite no bona fide operations. Can lawmakers’ new proposals tighten qualifications?
Posted inArticles
Who’s against wind development in ‘The Crazies’?
Amy Gamerman’s new book examines attempts to block the energy transition in Montana’s Crazy Mountains.
Posted inArticles
How Utah’s Christmas Festival has buoyed a changing coal community
Thirty-five years ago, Helper was nearly a ghost town. Now, art and tourism are providing new paths forward.
Posted inMarch 2025: The Berry Pickers
Utah’s coal mines can’t find enough workers
A mine just reopened in eastern Utah, but the industry has changed.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
Legal weed entrepreneurs promised a windfall from tribal lands. Then it fell apart.
The Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone are still picking up the pieces from the failed cannabis cultivation venture.
Posted inDecember 2024: Land as Reparations
Can land repair the nation’s racist past?
California’s approach to Black reparations shifts toward land access, ownership and stewardship.
Posted inDecember 2024: Land as Reparations
Is your pension fund liquidating Oregon’s forests?
Lax state regulations create a timber bonanza for institutional investors.
Posted inArticles
Montana’s Jon Tester might lose. Here’s why that matters
What the Senate contest says about the unexpected shift in Western politics.