Luke Runyon is a reporter covering the Colorado River Basin for public radio station KUNC in Greeley, CO. His investigations show how water issues can both unite and divide communities throughout the Western U.S. Luke produces feature stories for KUNC and a network of public media stations in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Kansas, Arizona, California and Nevada. Before covering water at KUNC, Luke covered the agriculture and food beat for five years as the station’s Harvest Public Media reporter. He has also reported for Aspen Public Radio in Aspen, Colo. and Illinois Public Radio in Springfield, Ill. His reports have been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Here & Now and APM’s Marketplace. He’s a graduate of the University of Illinois’ Public Affairs Reporting program. Luke’s work has been recognized by the Society of Environmental Journalists, Radio Television Digital News Association, the Colorado Broadcasters Association and the Public Media Journalists Association.
Title: Uniting and Dividing: How Water Can Bring Western Communities Together or Drive Them Apart –
Conflict among water users is nothing new in the West. But for as many stories there are about people coming to blows over the resource, there are just as many about strange bedfellows working on interesting solutions and forming unique coalitions. That’s true today, where water scarcity is driving a fair amount of conflict, but collaboration as well, as people try to figure out how to live with less.