Our favorite stories from 2025
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DENVER — This year brought with it several milestones for Rocky Mountain PBS.
In July, Congress voted to rescind more than $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public media stations across the country, including RMPBS.
That same month, we celebrated 17 Heartland Emmy nominations and six wins, with producers and journalists bringing home a record number of statues for the station.
Throughout the ups and downs of 2025, our journalism team has continued to report from our own communities and across the state to bring you stories about your neighbors, both near and far. Thank you for engaging with and supporting our work.
Our newsroom will observe a publishing pause between Dec. 24 and Dec. 31. In preparation for the break, we asked our staff to pick the favorite story they reported in 2025.
You can explore the highlights below.
The diamond offers refuge for migrant kids in Denver
My favorite story from this year was a feature about a group of recently arrived Venezuelan children and their passion for baseball. We know from stories from their parents and coach that their journey to the U.S. was not an easy one, but being with these kids playing a game with such joy on their faces will be something I never forget.
- Amanda Horvath
‘I’m going to call ICE on you’: Inside Colorado schools during Trump’s second term
Reporting this story revealed how much of an influence Trump has had on the behaviors of students in elementary and high schools and how hard it is to be an immigrant in school today. The level of name calling I uncovered was appalling — but it seems like teachers are doing everything they can to make their classroom environments safe and welcoming.
- Andrea Kramar
This doctor flies himself to some of the most remote hospitals in Colorado
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to spend the day with Dr. Charles Frankum, a Denver-based physician who flies his personal airplane to visit patients in some of Colorado's most remote hospitals.
Multiple times a week, Frankum commutes by air to small Eastern Plains towns like Burlington, Springfield and Yuma, where he fills gaps in some of the many understaffed hospitals and clinics dotting rural Colorado.
In a time when healthcare is growing increasingly expensive, and, for some, increasingly hard to find, Frankum showcases the great lengths (literally) that healthcare workers across the state go to in order to serve their communities.
- Chase McCleary
Goodnight, yarn: How two Colorado artists recreated a beloved children’s book
My favorite story is the feature on the local art installation of fiber Goodnight, Moon. It was my second assignment here, and I'll never forget how teary-eyed I got walking into the room and seeing it for the first time. Cormac shot amazing video for this and it was a true highlight of my time here.
- Sarah Shoen
Tarantulas bring tourism to rural La Junta
My favorite story to report on was the tarantula festival. I enjoyed meeting the people in La Junta. It was hard not to get a beautiful shot because we were in the middle of the Comanche National Grasslands as the sun was setting. It was so interesting to learn more about the creepy crawlers and how they influence the small town of La Junta.
- Chelsea Casabona
All guts and no glory for Colorado's teen bull riders
I traveled to meet a group of high school bull riders at a rodeo clinic in Byers, Colorado. As I pulled into the rodeo grounds, teenagers warmed up on a bucking barrel — a see-saw like contraption made from a 55-gallon drum. The boys switched to real bulls as the sun set, each sneering more violently than the last.
What sticks with me is the confidence each young man feigned as he gripped the rope and nodded for the chute to open. The cowboys spun stories of life on the road, traveling from rodeo to rodeo — sleeping in their cars and eating from a jar of peanut butter when they didn’t win.
Towards the end of the night, champion bull rider Jason McClain offered to throw an old dairy cow in the chute for me to ride.
I declined. I couldn’t figure out what I’d possibly tell HR when I fell. Next time, Mr. McClain.
- Cormac McCrimmon
Pregnant women in rural Colorado rely on helicopters, hours-long drives to access higher-level care
My favorite story this year highlights how limited access to care in the Eastern's Plains leaves women navigating their pregnancy journeys in extreme ways.
- Priya Shahi
You’ll never see us: Projectionists are still rolling
My favorite story is a feature on film projectionists. This story was done for my “You’ll Never See Us” series and features such passionate people talking about an antiquated process that still resonates with so many film lovers today. I also got to spend time watching part of a 35mm film, which is always a bonus.
- Peter Vo
In Denver’s Ballpark district, a homemade device chirps at the homeless
My favorite story this year was a report on a relatively new anti-homeless technology called The Blue Chirper.
I think our reporters' strongest stories come from the things they notice in their day-to-day life, and that's what happened in this piece. I was walking to the post office near the Buell Public Media Center and heard some relentless chirping. It took me a second to figure it out, but I learned it was coming from a small box bolted to the side of an apartment building.
I ended up speaking to residents, pedestrians, the building's landlord and the inventor of The Blue Chirper, and was proud that it turned into a thorough report about something that many passersby might consider innocuous.
- Kyle Cooke
How Kristal Puente built a bull riding show on the Navajo Nation
It made me very emotional seeing how Kristal has changed from the first time I saw her, but at the same time, her spirit hasn’t changed. Knowing that she is fighting hard to achieve her dream truly warms my heart.
- Ziyi Xu
Senior women sparkle at this Colorado pageant
My favorite story from this year is a feature on the Ms. Colorado Senior America pageant. I joined the contestants for their final rehearsal and on the big day at the pageant. I felt so inspired by the women’s confidence in themselves and friendships with each other. Several of the women shared with me that as they’ve aged, they’ve often felt invisible. I hope my coverage helped them feel more seen.
- Carly Rose
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.