So NPR this week dispatched two of their hosts – Steve Inskeep and Ari Shapiro – to spend some time talking to voters. Inskeep is in Charlotte, N.C., and Shapiro is in Pueblo. Yes, The Steel City.
This radio platform is calling this project Where Voters Are. With Super Tuesday right around the corner for Colorado voters (and North Carolina voters, too), it taps into our consciousness.
I’ve caught bits and pieces of Shapiro’s interviews while I’ve been driving, and it’s interesting. NPR calls them their adopted cities. They’re not big states, and not really big cities, but just people who have thoughts and concerns.
The kick-off on Thursday, February 26, began like this:
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Well, vast parts of the country will soon make their presidential preferences known. Fourteen states vote all at once next week on Super Tuesday. NPR has teams spending time in some key communities this election year. In selected cities, we’re asking Where Voters Are – where they are on the issues, the candidates or just where they are because your community can often shape your political views. Steve Inskeep begins this series on the streets of Charlotte, N.C.
STEVE INSKEEP, BYLINE: We are in the biggest city in this state that will vote on Super Tuesday, the place where Republicans hold their convention this summer and also a presidential swing state this fall. This is one of our adopted cities where we hear from voters starting today. Another adopted city is Pueblo, Colo., which is where we’ve called a team with Ari Shapiro of NPR’s All Things Considered, who’s on the line. Hey there, Ari.
ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.
INSKEEP: Where are you in Pueblo?
SHAPIRO: We are right in front of the plant that gives Pueblo its nickname, Steel City. There’s a sign right here that says, 140 years, steel strong. But even though Pueblo was built on steel, today this plant is owned by a Russian company. And at this point, less than 10% of Pueblo’s population works in manufacturing. I met a guy named Chuck Perko, who told me he’s one of the lucky few. He’s president of one of the local steelwo
The voting day — March 3 — is 4 days away. Yes, it’s time.
The photo at the top of this blog shows Pueblo’s Arkansas River Walk, from the website for the City of Pueblo. Links below lead to NPR’s introduction and some interviews, and then CPR has included some of this material in Colorado Matters.
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/26/809530224/spotlighting-voters-in-charlotte-n-c-and-pueblo-colo
Chandler in Denver 