Friday April 9, 2021

A natural gas plant operator in Utah has started mining a novel resource: cryptocurrency. KZMU’s Justin Higginbottom looks at a new type of extraction happening just outside of Moab. Plus, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is on the ground in Utah to visit Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments and meet with stakeholders. As our radio partners report, Haaland has only been in office for a few weeks – and she isn’t wasting time.

Plus, our Weekly News Reel where we speak with newspaper reporters and editors about the stories they most recently covered in our area. The Times-Independent’s Doug McMurdo (7:00)discusses retention issues at Moab’s police force, overuse impacts to the wetlands preserve, as well as vaccines and COVID-19. The Moab Sun News’ Maggie McGuire (16:00) talks ‘bypass blues’ as local elected officials want to remove the bypass from a regional transportation plan. And, the Community Artist in the Parks program has a new artist for 2021.

Show Notes:

Photo: A ‘Mobile Mining Unit’ from company EZ Blockchain. About the size of a shipping container, the units contain an off-the-grid mobile data center, a wall of fans, and a number of computers running complex algorithms. Courtesy EZ Blockchain.

Weekly News Reel Mentions –

The Times-Independent: Moab PD loses 25% of officers
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/moab-pd-loses-25-of-officers/
The Times-Independent: Another impact of tourism
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/another-impact-of-tourism/
The Times-Independent: Pavilion, acre of land burn at wetlands preserve
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/pavilion-acre-of-land-burn-at-wetlands-preserve/
The Times-Independent: Vaccinated people can continue testing for COVID-19 virus
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/vaccinated-people-can-continue-testing-for-covid-19-virus/

*Moab Sun News articles will be posted once available online*