Strengthening regional partnerships and reaffirming CPR’s commitment to collaborative public media
Centennial, Colo., Sept. 24, 2025 - Colorado Public Radio announced it is joining the Mountain West News Bureau, a regional newsroom that unites public media organizations across seven Western states. The collaboration expands CPR’s role as a leader in the regional news ecosystem and supports its strategic goal of deepening partnerships to sustain high-impact journalism at a time when public media organizations face increasing financial challenges and growing news gaps.
The Mountain West News Bureau is a partnership of public radio stations producing fact-based reporting on issues facing the Intermountain West, such as water and energy, public lands, rural economies and Indigenous affairs. CPR joins the bureau as an associate partner.
“This partnership reflects CPR’s long-standing commitment to collaboration,” said Stewart Vanderwilt, president and CEO of Colorado Public Radio. “At a time when local journalism is under pressure, it is more important than ever that public media organizations work together to ensure people in our region have access to trusted and essential news.”
Founded in 2018 with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Mountain West News Bureau currently includes six managing partner stations: Boise State Public Radio, KANW in New Mexico, KUNC in Colorado, KUNR Public Radio in Nevada, Nevada Public Radio and Wyoming Public Media – along with nearly a dozen other affiliated stations and NPR. The addition of CPR builds on this foundation by expanding the bureau’s editorial capacity and broadening its reach across the Mountain West.
"In an era of tightening resources, crossing state lines to collaborate is essential for sustaining strong, community-focused journalism,” Vanderwilt said. “By joining the Mountain West News Bureau, CPR is investing in shared editorial strength and ensuring that critical stories from our communities are told with depth and context. This model helps fulfill our responsibility to serve Colorado and contribute meaningfully to journalism across the region.”
The regional newsroom model enables public media organizations to share reporting and editing resources, coordinate coverage and produce journalism that reflects the complexities of the West while maintaining strong local connections.
“Joining the news bureau will be key for our audiences and for the audiences of the stations in the group,” said Kevin Dale, CPR News executive editor. “We know together that we can provide the urgent news our communities need and the deeper reporting they want. We have already worked with many stations in the bureau, and we’re excited to see what comes next.”
Stories produced as part of the Mountain West News Bureau can be found on CPR’s website and the sites of each of the partners.
Media inquiries: [email protected]
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About Colorado Public Radio
Colorado Public Radio is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization delivering meaningful news, music, and cultural experiences to everyone in Colorado using the power of the human voice in all its forms. More than 95 percent of CPR’s funds come from the private support of listeners, businesses and foundations. For more information, visit www.cpr.org.
- CPR News delivers in-depth, insightful and impartial news and information from around the world, across the nation and throughout Colorado, examining its relevance to our state and connecting it to our community.
- CPR Classical takes listeners on an in-depth exploration of thoughtfully curated music – with an emphasis on Colorado’s classical community – providing context to a broad range of meaningful and compelling works from past to present.
- Indie 102.3 takes listeners inside the world of new and independent music – exposing them to up-and-coming artists and highlighting Colorado’s local music scene.
- Denverite is an online news source dedicated to Denver's curious and concerned.
- KRCC is a public radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, serving Southern Colorado. KRCC is operated by Colorado Public Radio in partnership with Colorado College.
