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Apr. 9: What Mass Bee Die-Offs Look Like In The Central Valley

We just wrapped up the most deadly winter on record for commercial honeybees: a survey by the non-profit research organization “Project Apis m.” estimated that 62% of commercial bees died between fall and spring. These bees not only make honey but also pollinate more than 100 U.S. crops - contributing to a total of $18 billion dollars in agricultural revenue. What did these losses mean to commercial beekeepers – and the local ag industry that depends so much on them? On today’s episode, we talk about these sudden, massive die-offs with KVPR reporter Kerry Klein.

Plus, the latest news headlines: A news investigation digs up details of January’s border patrol operation in Kern County, and some Central Valley students are losing their student visas.

A Valley native, Elizabeth earned her bachelor's degree in English Language Literatures from the University of California, Santa Cruz and her master's degree in journalism from New York University. She has covered a range of beats. Her agriculture reporting for the Turlock Journal earned her a first place award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
Kerry Klein is an award-winning reporter whose coverage of public health, air pollution, drinking water access and wildfires in the San Joaquin Valley has been featured on NPR, KQED, Science Friday and Kaiser Health News. Her work has earned numerous regional Edward R. Murrow and Golden Mike Awards and has been recognized by the Association of Health Care Journalists and Society of Environmental Journalists. Her podcast Escape From Mammoth Pool was named a podcast “listeners couldn’t get enough of in 2021” by the radio aggregator NPR One.
Jonathan Linden is a podcast producer at KVPR. Born and raised in Riverside, he's a Southern California native. Jonathan's passion for public radio began at a young age when his brother would play NPR while driving him home from middle school. He earned his B.A. in journalism from Biola University in 2019.