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SPR's Inland Journal for November 3, 2024

Eastern Washington University President Shari McMahan talks about rebranding Eastern as the "Region's Polytechnic.” A Whitworth professor and two students head soon to Azerbaijan for the U.N. climate conference. We learn about WSU research into cooling fruit to avoid sunburn. Producer Katie McCutcheon tells the story about the Spokane Tribe's ancestral ties to the Spokane River in part 6 of her "Echoes of Expo" series.

Eastern Washington University has adopted "The Region's Polytechnic" as its new positioning statement.
Screenshot from EWU YouTube video
Eastern Washington University has adopted "The Region's Polytechnic" as its new positioning statement.

Eastern Washington University was founded in the 1880s as a school where teachers were trained. It was initially a quote-unquote “Normal school,” which is what teacher training institutions were once called. In 1937, it was renamed the Eastern Washington College of Education.

Eastern is still a place where students learn how to teach others. But university leaders, including President Shari McMahan, want it to be known for more than that, so they’ve rebranded EWU as “The Region’s Polytechnic.”

20241103_Inland Journal.McMahan.mp3

Whitworth students Ziona Rose and Dylan Richardson and Professor Aaron Hitefield (right) will soon attend COP 29, the U.N. climate conference in Azerbaijan.
Photo by Doug Nadvornick
Whitworth students Ziona Rose and Dylan Richardson and Professor Aaron Hitefield (right) will soon attend COP 29, the U.N. climate conference in Azerbaijan.

Aaron Hitefield, Ziona Rose and Dylan Richardson will soon take the trip of a lifetime to Azerbaijan, site of the next United Nations climate summit, COP 29. COP stands for “conference of the parties.” Officials from U.N. member nations talk about issues related to climate change and the human contribution to it. Hitefield, Rose and Richardson will attend as observers.

20241103_Inland Journal_Whitworth_COP 29.mp3

Courtesy Washington Apple Commission

When it gets really not, we know from experience that human beings’ bodies become stressed. Turns out, it’s the same for farm crops too. Fruits such as apples can get sunburned. Orchard owners sometimes take extra measures, such as misting and shading their fruit, to keep that from happening.

Washington State University researcher Kirti Rajagopalan studies how heat changes growing plants’ need for water.

Rajagopalan and her team recently received a $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to, among other things, investigate the best ways to cool fruit in the heat.

20241103_Inland Journal_fruit_heat.mp3

Courtesy of Echoes of Expo

Producer Katie McCutcheon created a seven-part documentary series to mark the 50th anniversary of Spokane’s Expo ’74. We aired the first five programs over the summer. You can hear them here, or access them through QR codes on the kiosks at Riverfront Park. Today, part six, which focuses on the Spokane Tribe and its ancestral relationship with the Spokane River.

Next week on Inland Journal, we’ll present part seven, the final installment.

20241103_Inland Journal_Echoes of Expo.mp3

Doug Nadvornick has spent most of his 30+-year radio career at Spokane Public Radio and filled a variety of positions. He is currently the program director and news director. Through the years, he has also been the local Morning Edition and All Things Considered host (not at the same time). He served as the Inland Northwest correspondent for the Northwest News Network, based in Coeur d’Alene. He created the original program grid for KSFC. He has also served for several years as a board member for Public Media Journalists Association. During his years away from SPR, he worked at The Pacific Northwest Inlander, Washington State University in Spokane and KXLY Radio.