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We caught up with our colleagues at the Colorado Sun this week to find out what stories are crossing their reporting desks. Sun editor Larry Rickman joined KUNC's Beau Baker to talk through some of the news they're following.

Paul Martin, an administrator for the Wyoming Department of Corrections, said it’s challenging for prisons to compete with other jobs that pay more.

Imprisonment rates are markedly higher in communities of color across the U.S., according to the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit group that advocates for criminal justice reform. And its work to spotlight what it calls "the geography of mass incarceration" has recently focused on parts of the Mountain West.

Incarcerated individuals in Colorado have numerous creative opportunities, including arts education. Over the past several years, inmates have produced plays, written poems and made music together. Their newest creative project sounds a bit different.

A new initiative out of the Attorney General's office aims to lower recidivism rates by forming a network of employers willing to hire formerly incarcerated people.

Today on Colorado Edition, we hear why some Coloradans are returning to the small farming communities they planned to leave behind. And, we learn about a new initiative to increase the hiring rates for formerly incarcerated individuals.

The lawyers for Adree Edmo, the first incarcerated person to receive federally court-ordered gender confirmation surgery, are asking Idaho to pay back $2.82 million in attorneys fees.

Racial disparities are deeply pronounced in state prisons across the nation – and some Western states top the list.

On today’s episode of Colorado Edition, we revisit some of our favorite stories. We hear how wildfire smoke is impacting air quality and learn about recently unearthed documents at a former tuberculosis treatment center in Colorado Springs. We also check in with activist Buck Adams to learn about his artistic approach in calling for prison reform.

Colorado Edition's Alana Schreiber meets up with Buck Adams, a veteran, entrepreneur and formerly incarcerated individual who founded the organization Art for Redemption, which aims to help inmates by promoting the artwork they make while in prison.