Jackson Unpacked

A cowboy suddenly finds himself at-odds with Grand Teton National Park. Ski patrollers across the Mountain West fight for better pay. And why Wyoming’s Supreme Court upheld abortion access. Music from The Buckskin Boys, recorded at KHOL. Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

A theater educator checks her new healthcare premium estimates for the first time. With Affordable Care Act price hikes around the corner, Jacksonites and their healthcare providers wonder what to do. Ski and music legend Bill Briggs shares some wisdom learned over 93 years. And the United States Forest Service is building affordable workforce rentals on public land on Jackson’s eastern edge. Town councilors and county commissioners may buy in. The debate now is how much to pay. Plus, how one billionaire Jackson couple is investing in Wyoming press, philanthropy and politics.  Music from Bill Briggs. Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

In the midst of war, Ukrainian civilians are redefining the meaning of van life. After his death, a Cody-based country star lives on through newly-released music and the mental health work of his family, including Jackson’s former mayor. A leading state lawmaker takes us to church, a place that inspires his political vision and that of many fellow Freedom Caucus members. Music is “The King is Back” by Luke Bell, released by music label Thirty Tigers. Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

One Jackson woman shares the aftermath of her husband's detention and three-month stay in ICE custody. A group of men over 57 talk about friends and how to find them. We remember former Vice President Dick Cheney, who lived in Teton County for over 30 years, with an archived interview from 1989. Two friends reflect on how they came to run a 45-year-old balloon rally in Teton Valley. StoryCorps conversation produced by Emily Cohen. Music from Clay Humphrey @yourhumphrey.Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

We learn about the work of a mental health therapist in town supporting community members struggling with the increased presence of ICE in town. A public record request shows voter complaints about the state’s election laws. The longest land-based migration route in the lower-48 is at odds with the state’s energy goals. And we hear another conversation from our collaboration with Storycorps between two neighbors reflecting on their families' multi-generational ranches.StoryCorps conversation produced by Emily Cohen. And we share the local music teacher Missy Joe’s latest single, Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

Dual-seasonal workers are among those facing diminishing healthcare options and potentially triple-digit price increases. We talk to a climbing and ski guide wondering what to do and seek some practical advice from experts. As Israel and Hamas take steps toward ending a two-year war, we hear from people in Jackson who are celebrating, mourning and wondering what's next. Novelist Tea Obrecht and poet Matt Daly share their thoughts on writing in the age of AI and autogeneration. And we hear a conversation between Priscilla Marden and Cara Galleni about a Teton County program using horses to build leadership skills. StoryCorps conversation produced by Emily Cohen. Featuring music from VaMoose. Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

A novel workforce housing project just outside Jackson is slated for construction next spring on leased land within the Bridger-Teton National Forest. We hear from one of the project’s leaders at a time when public land and housing are at the forefront of national land use debates. A local legend, Jay Pistono, recently died at 67. We remember the man who preserved skiing on Teton Pass. Plus, we get a taste of how Jackson’s Center for the Arts is becoming more accessible to Spanish-first speakers. And we listen to a conversation between Jackson theatre professional Andy Munz and writer Claudia Mauro on being queer in Wyoming. Featuring music from Aaron Davis @aarondavisongs.Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

When the state cut property taxes this year, it hit organizations doing some pretty gritty work. We head to the banks of the Snake River to meet up with a team that’s still sniffing out weeds… literally. No shade on wildlife art, but we hear from artists working to bring work to Jackson Hole that’s a little weirder. Jaelin Kauf is the region’s top hope for Olympic gold in Italy this winter. We hear from her parents as the freestyle skier waves goodbye to her home mountain, Grand Targhee. And from the StoryCorps archives, we bring you to a conversation with Irene Beardsley. She and her climbing partner became the first women to summit one of the world’s tallest mountains, Annapurna, in 1978. StoryCorps conversation produced by Emily Cohen. Music this week is from Casper the duo Pleasure People. Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

The hottest party invite in Jackson this summer is a quinceañera; we have the last in a series following one 15-year-old on her journey to this coming-of-age milestone. In Rock Springs, a community reckons with the memory of a 19th-century massacre of Chinese immigrant workers. We also share a snippet of a StoryCorps conversation with Jackson resident Curt Parker about resilience after tragedy. Lastly, we visit a new locals-only housing complex that tests what trade-offs some people are willing to make to live here. Featuring music from Jackson band Cache Funk @cachefunkmusic. Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

This week we have another bonus episode from “The Modern West,” a production of PRX and our friends over at Wyoming Public Media. In the podcast’s 10th season, “The Gray in Between,” reporters tackle stories from a wolf incident in Sublette County last year that gained worldwide attention, to creative solutions to the affordable housing crisis, to the inevitable death of elk in the Jackson Herd, right here, in our backyard.Today’s episode is titled “I Am What I Choose To Become” reported and produced by KHOL’s Chris Clements. Five years ago, a Northern Arapaho judge was sent to prison. Now, she helps keep Wind River residents from going back into custody. 

Some would box sailing in, say there’s no way the sport could exist in landlocked Wyoming. We travel to Fremont Lake south of town and find that’s not the case at all. Also, the evolution of a town-wide group chat that shows Jackson’s good, bad and at times, downright ugly. We take a tour of a Jackson nonprofit lab working on brain disease research and we check in on the state of journalism in the Cowboy State after being dealt some recent blows. Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

This week we have another bonus episode from “The Modern West,” a production of PRX and our friends over at Wyoming Public Media. In the podcast’s 10th season, “The Gray in Between,” reporters tackle stories from a wolf incident in Sublette County last year that gained worldwide attention, to creative solutions to the affordable housing crisis, to the inevitable death of elk in the Jackson Herd, right here, in our backyard.Today’s episode is titled “Home Again,” reported and produced by Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann. Back in the 1930s, a trading post swapped Northern Arapaho artifacts for food and other basic necessities. Decades later, a descendant opened boxes in a storage room of the Episcopal Church in Laramie, Wyoming. 80 years later, the church has finally returned the artifacts to the tribe. We attend the ceremony.

We head to an archaeological dig in Rock Springs that’s leading to discoveries about the town's former Chinatown and a massacre that took place there over a century ago. Then, we get inside the concert halls in Teton Village where the Grand Teton Music Festival is trying to prove its music isn’t just for the highbrow listener. We hear about how a photo camp on the Wind River reservation is becoming a mental health solution for men, and sit down with economist and Jackson Town Councilor Jonathan Schechter to hear why he’s holding on to hope for shrinking Jackson’s wealth gap following the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.Mid-episode music this week is “Fountains of Rome,” a tone poem from 20th century composer Ottorino Respighi and performed by the Grand Teton Music Festival orchestra.Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

This week, we have a bonus episode from “The Modern West,” a production of PRX and our friends over at Wyoming Public Media. In the podcasts’ 10th season, “The Gray in Between,” reporters tackle stories from a wolf incident in Sublette County last year that gained worldwide attention, to creative solutions to the affordable housing crisis, to the inevitable death of elk in the Jackson Herd, right here, in our backyard.Join Wyoming Public Radio’s Melodie Edwards as she heads down to Pinedale to hear what it was like for a newspaper editor to cover the infamous wolf incident by herself after her entire staff was laid off by her corporate publisher.

After federal workers were fired in February, many warned it would be much harder to keep the over 3 million acres in the Bridger-Teton National Forest clean, accessible and safe this summer. We check in. Also, what the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” may mean for rural hospitals like St. John’s here in Jackson, a chat with a four-member bluegrass band from Victor and a high alpine lake in the southern end of the Wind River Range is the nation's poopiest.Mid-episode music this week is from the Balsamroots, a four-member band based in Victor, Idaho, that has been playing in and around the Tetons since forming in 2018.Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

This week, we have a BONUS episode from “The Modern West,” a production of PRX and our friends over at Wyoming Public Media. In the podcast's 10th season, “The Gray in Between,” reporters tackle stories from a wolf incident in Sublette County last year that gained worldwide attention, to creative solutions to the affordable housing crisis, to the inevitable death of elk in the Jackson Herd, right here, in our backyard.Join Wyoming Public Radio’s Caitlin Tan as she takes us to Sublette County, where it’s been over a year since a man brought an injured wolf into a bar.

We learn how more immigrants in Teton County are being transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A new state law could continue the trend. We’ll hear more about how parents are talking with t heir kids about antisemitism, a look at Teton Science School’s efforts to keep students around after some tough years for enrollment. And, there’s lots of talk right now about selling off federal land. What might it look like if states take over management?Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

This is a bonus episode from “The Modern West,” a production of PRX and our friends over at Wyoming Public Media. In the podcast's 10th season, “The Gray in Between,” reporters tackle stories from a wolf incident in Sublette County last year that gained worldwide attention, to creative solutions to the affordable housing crisis, to the inevitable death of elk in the Jackson Herd, right here, in our backyard.This week: People are solving the affordable housing shortage in the American West by building unusual homes like straw bale or modular.

Take a trip to Grand Teton National Park’s most popular trail where an adaptive athlete from Jackson is advising Grand Teton National Park on how to make it more accessible. We remember a beloved mother, photographer and Jacksonite that died in a tragic accident earlier this month. We unpack a threat to public media, including KHOL, being considered by federal lawmakers and we have a conversation with the founder of the Targhee Music camp, a bluegrass sanctuary of sorts.Jackson Unpacked airs locally at 89.1 FM or via live-stream Mondays at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Support Jackson’s only nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member of KHOL today.

This week, we have a bonus episode from “The Modern West,” a production of PRX and our friends over at Wyoming Public Media. In the podcasts 10th season, “The Gray in Between,” reporters tackle stories from a wolf incident in Sublette County last year that gained worldwide attention, to creative solutions to the affordable housing crisis, to the inevitable death of elk in the Jackson Herd, right here, in our backyard.Reported and produced by KHOL’s Dante Filpula Ankney, hop in a pickup as we head out into the National Elk Refuge just outside Jackson, to hear all about the debate over whether to wean elk off winter feeding before chronic wasting disease strikes.