Backstory

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn reflects on helping to create this podcast series and signs off to close this particular chapter.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn goes galactic with the SonofaGunn 2022 cast, director and one of the original writers of Gunnison's yearly satire.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn decides it's time to learn about one of the valley's most beloved winter sports: hockey. Coburn and producer of the "No Handlebars" podcast Tori Jarosh talk about the game's origins, rules and even smells at Jorgensen Ice Rink.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn explores the subject of art and artists often overlooked after speaking with welder and musician Brian Stewart. Who would think to look down at a barstool and consider it art?

In this week's episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn asks about the unique nature of Monarch Mountain, the neighboring ski resort east of the Gunnison Valley on the Continental Divide.

In this week's episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn sits down with Achilles Johnson, a sophomore at Gunnison High School and executive director of the Gunnison Project, to talk about two big initiatives the student-centric group has brought to the school board.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn pays a visit to the new peace museum on Main Street and speaks to some of the organizers behind it: Liska Blodgett, Jeff Taylor and Bernadette Salem.

In this week's episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn set out to find New Year's resolutions, only to realize the valley may need time to reflect, as well as resolve. Send your reflections and resolutions to anna@gunnisontimes.com.

In this week's episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn takes a seat next to local legend and weather enthusiast Billy Barr on a bench outside of Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic to talk about the valley's future climate and his future after almost 50 years of research.

In this week's episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn saws down a Christmas tree from national forest land and asks, “Where did this strange tradition of Christmas trees come from?”

In this week's episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn attends Opening Day at Crested Butte Mountain Resort and explores the inevitable changes this season brings.

In this week's episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn talks with Katie Dix, executive director of the Gunnison Country Food Pantry about hunger in the Gunnison Valley — and what the food bank is doing about it.

In this week's episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn journeys to the Jurassic, uncovering secrets of some of the oldest Gunnison locals: dinosaurs.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn visits Goodday Bikes and Curiosity Bags on Gunnison's south side. Arly Landry and Chris Besnia own so much more than a bicycle and gear company. The entrepreneurs are artists — and they hope to give the Gunnison Valley a unique aesthetic with every bike.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn takes a field trip with local historians David Primus, Mike Pelletier and Gary Steffens in search of what may be the very first oil well drilled in Colorado west of the Continental Divide — in the Ohio Creek valley of Gunnison County.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn trades in her autumn slippers and sweaters for a day in the woods helping a friend pack out a newly-harvested elk. The experience opens her eyes to new ways of seeing the mountain culture of the hunt.

BackStory is a production of the Gunnison Country Times. In this week's episode, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn takes a field trip to meet the members of the local U.S. Forest Service woodland firefighting crew named Sentinel. She learns about chainsaws named for favorite songs, how to make MREs taste better — and a lot more.

BackStory is a production of the Gunnison Country Times. In this week's episode, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn takes us along on her recent flight lesson — to experience the magic of flying and the beauty of the Gunnison Valley from the air.

BackStory is a production of the Gunnison Country Times. In this week's episode, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn takes a field trip to Blue Mesa Reservoir with Gunnison historian Dave Primus. With water levels at historic lows, much of the area's pre-reservoir history lies exposed, revealing the human cost of dam-building.

BackStory is a production of the Gunnison Country Times. In this week's episode, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn talks with Marcie Telander about the roots and the meaning of a unique Crested Butte, Colorado celebration — Vinotok.

BackStory is a production of the Gunnison Country Times. In this week's episode, Times podcast producer attends a Together Again Community Celebration organized by the Gunnison Chamber of Commerce. It was an eclectic party featuring a snowdance, singalong, ribbon cutting to officially open the renovated IOOF Park in Gunnison, and a lot more!

BackStory is a production of the Gunnison Country Times. In this week's episode, Times podcast producer visits the sawmill of Montrose Forest Products to get a tour — and to talk about proposed timber harvest changes in the draft forest plan under consideration by the U.S. Forest Service.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn discovers the mental health-enhancing properties of skating — and hanging out with supportive and caring people — at the Jorgensen Skate Park in Gunnison, Colorado. The Mental Madness project is the brainchild of Gunnison resident Maddie McCarthy.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn explores the green thumb magic of Ginny Thomas — a resident of the Mountain View Apartments who has made it her mission to beautify the outdoor spaces around the senior housing units. Thomas wouldn't "toot her own horn" so Coburn does it for her. Give a listen!

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn talks with Western Colorado University geologist Allen Stork and Emeritus professor of Geology Bruce Bartleson — about the explosive and violent history of the Gunnison neighborhood.

In this episode of BackStory, Times podcast producer Anna Coburn pays a visit to 85-year-old Sidney Plotts on the eve of the Gunnison Car Show, where Plotts will display several of his vintage cars. But the tour revealed his collection of a lot more than automobiles. Give a listen!

In this episode of Backstory, Gunnison Country Times staff writer and podcast producer Anna Coburn reports on a traffic accident in Gunnison that ended with a yellow Jeep through the bedroom wall of Katherine Liberatos.

Gunnison Country Times staff writer and podcast producer Anna Coburn spent a July weekend at the 121st annual running of the Cattlemen's Days Rodeo in Gunnison, Colorado. A self-proclaimed "tree hugger," Coburn says she quickly forgot she was on assignment and felt swept away by the sights and sounds — and most of all, the people — of the rodeo.