Overview:
The November Bucket List radio show spotlights veterans, RiNo’s grocery gap, lion cubs and Denver’s cultural life.
The November edition of the Bucket List Community News radio show aired this week on KGNU, marking the fifth episode of the monthly program that highlights the stories shaping life across the Denver metro. Hosted by Bucket List editor Toni Tresca and powered by a newsroom of student and early-career journalists, the Bucket List radio show weaves together reporting on veterans’ housing, neighborhood access, wildlife conservation and cultural heritage.
The show begins by honoring Veterans Day with a feature from reporter Rowen Kennedy on the Veterans Community Project (VCP) in Longmont. Founded by combat veterans in Kansas City and expanded to Longmont in 2020, VCP provides transitional housing in a village of tiny homes designed specifically for veterans navigating homelessness and post-service instability. The segment underscores a central theme of the show: community-driven solutions work best when the communities most affected shape them.
The episode continues with a look at Denver Veterans Day events, from the annual City Park run and parade to the community festival that follows. Then, Tresca is joined in the studio by community member Carol McKinley, who discusses her tradition of spending Veterans Day at Fort Logan National Cemetery in honor of her father, Cameron McKinley.
Neighborhood access and equity issues take center stage in the second segment. First, reporter PJ Guidry stops by to discuss the ongoing BRT construction on East Colfax. We look into what the city is doing to assist businesses and how long construction will last. Then we move on to Denver’s River North (RiNo) district, where residents still struggle to find a reliable grocery store. Reporter Ryland Scholes traces a decades-long history of failed grocery proposals and explains why many residents continue to travel outside the neighborhood for basic food access.
On the arts and culture front, Tresca reports on the four new lion cubs at the Denver Zoo who made their public debut on October 9. The episode also features reporter Maxx Goodman on the opening of a new Wax Trax location in the Highland neighborhood, marking the latest chapter in the 50-year legacy of Colorado’s oldest record store.
Publisher Vicky Collins drops by to share information about the #newsCOneeds fundraising campaign. And to close, reporter Daniel Montoya takes listeners inside MSU Denver’s new Mariachi major. Through interviews underscored by live rehearsal audio, the segment highlights how the ensemble is keeping cultural tradition alive within a university setting.
The next episode of the Bucket List Community News radio show airs Thursday, December 4, on KGNU. Listen to all of our previous Bucket List radio show episodes by clicking here.
