KNAU update for Sept. 20 — Pledge Drive Lite, Arizona Helium, and more

Immediately following Morning Edition today we will draw for the Shonto Begay giclee print “Water is Life”. Contribute now for a chance to win this amazing print at KNAU.org.

We are wrapping up week one of KNAU’s Fall Fundraiser- thank you to all the listeners from across the region who have called, gone online and sent back their mailer. Because of your support we have under 78K to go to reach the $185K goal before October 4th. This goal directly reflects the costs to bring you the programming you turn to daily.

Want to make a donation in person? Be sure to stop by KNAU’s “Silent Science” table at the Festival of Science in Wheeler Park tomorrow from 10-2. You will have a chance to listen to KNAU science stories, share reflections with your friends and make a contribution towards another year of the quality, dependable programming.

Veteran journalist Cokie Roberts, who joined an upstart NPR in 1978 and left an indelible imprint on the growing network with her coverage of Washington politics before later going to ABC News, has died. She was 75. Learn more at NPR’s Political blog.

July 21st, 1969, the day after the historic Apollo moon landing, The New York Times printed a poem by Archibald MacLeish on the front page; the only time a poem has ever graced the cover. Learn more at KNAU.org.

A preliminary report by investigators on the Museum Fire shows no negligence by the contractor conducting forest thinning operations. Learn more at KNAU.org.

This week Arizona Encore presents four compositions by contemporary American composers. One, “Auditorium” by Mason Bates, was commissioned by the San Francisco Orchestra just a few years ago. The piece is meant to evoke a “haunted 18th-century orchestra” as explained here by the composer. Arizona Encore, Sunday at noon on Classical KNAU with a repeat Tuesday evening at seven.

Symphony Night with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra continues Monday at 7 pm. Conductor Edo de Waart’s program offers two by Mozart: the “Prague Symphony” and the “Horn Concerto No. 3” (with soloist CSO Acting Principal Daniel Gingrich) as well as Beethoven’s “Second Symphony”. Also on the program is haunting wartime “Metamorphosen” by Richard Strauss, composed in the closing months of World War II. Tune in Monday evening at seven for the Chicago Symphony on the stations of Classical KNAU.

And finally, we’re looking forward to NAU faculty clarinetist Cris Inguanti’s recital Sunday, September 29th at Kitt Recital Hall.

Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe. But here on Earth, it’s in much shorter supply. As demand has increased, companies have aggressively ramped up helium exploration in the U.S.—including northern Arizona. Learn more at KNAU.org.