KSJD Local News: Recent Episodes
Lucas Brady Woods
Approximately 750 people joined in a peaceful rally Saturday on Cortez’s Main Street to protest the policies of the Trump administration.
More than 3 million acres of federal public lands in the West could be put up for sale under the latest budget reconciliation proposal put forth by the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
The Montezuma County commissioners have scheduled a second public hearing June 24 on a proposal to place a Dollar General store at Highway 145 and County Road N.
Cortez has hit the jackpot for two months in a row in terms of much-needed precipitation.
As it has in previous years, the Cortez City Council last week passed a proclamation declaring June as Pride Month for LGBTQS+ people. This time, however, the proclamation drew objections from two council members.
The Cortez City Council approved a resolution Tuesday night that commits to the goal of ending traffic fatalities and serious injuries on the city’s streets.
Cortez police continue to investigate a fatal hit-and-run that reportedly took place late the night of May 18 in downtown Cortez.
Supporters of public lands are breathing a sigh of relief after a proposal to sell off some lands in Nevada and Utah was removed from the federal budget reconciliation bill.In other news, Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have reintroduced legislation to protect more than 68,000 acres along the lower Dolores River.
Nine people, including seven students, voiced concerns about teacher turnover and curriculum issues at Tuesday’s meeting of the Montezuma-Cortez School Board.
A proposal to restructure two elementary schools in Cortez drew many concerned comments from an audience of about two dozen at a town hall Monday night.
Conservation groups are alarmed about a provision currently in Republicans’ tax-cut package that would allow for the sale of hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in two Western states.
The Cortez Farmers Market has found a new home – the parking lot of the Children’s Kiva Montessori School at Mildred Avenue and Empire Street.
Recent stormy weather in the Four Corners has brought welcome relief to a parched landscape. Unfortunately, the precipitation wasn’t enough to lift the area out of its lingering drought.
The beauty of trees is now on the minds of many of Cortez’s residents and library patrons, as a beloved willow just outside the library is set to be removed.
The Washington Post is reporting that officials with the Interior Department are considering shrinking at least six national monuments in the West. According to the Post, the monuments that may see their acreage reduced dramatically include Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in southern Utah.
The Montezuma County commissioners are considering implementing a permit system for short-term rentals.
On Tuesday, the Montezuma-Cortez District Re-1 School Board is set to take up the issue of how to handle allegations made against its personnel.
A legal battle between the Montezuma County commissioners and the Georgia-based corporation Leaf Properties is not over.
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin recognized ten employees of the sheriff’s office Monday night at the department’s second annual awards ceremony.
Whether a Dollar General store will eventually be built on Road N just off Highway 145 in Montezuma County remains up in the air.
Montezuma County attorney Ian MacLaren is leaving that position to become the Montezuma County Court judge.
Just 1 percent of all the traffic crashes that happened in Cortez during the five-year period from 2018 through 2022 involved fatalities.
Montezuma County voters were generous to the Cortez Fire Protection District and two school districts on Election Day. However, they were stingy with the sheriff’s office.
The Montezuma County commissioners and Sheriff Steve Nowlin clashed over the sheriff’s budget at a special meeting Thursday.
Women ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s spoke in support of a popular doctor at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Southwest Health System board in Cortez.
A Cortez man facing federal charges for allegedly making online threats against public officials has pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting interstate threats.
The U.S. Forest Service is working diligently to see that the issue of who owns a 1460-acre parcel in the San Juan National Forest near Mancos is resolved.
A question about a mill-levy override for the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school district is missing from the ballots mailed to a portion of voters in the school district.
Proponents for a public safety sales tax in Montezuma County made their case Tuesday at a League of Women Voters presentation in Cortez.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is planning to designate a new school zone on a portion of U.S. Highway 491 and Main Street at the west end of Cortez.
A chunk of a controversial barbed-wire fence around some 1,400 acres on the San Juan National Forest north of Mancos was taken down Thursday afternoon.
Bark beetles are devouring trees in the San Juan National Forest, and this may ultimately mean less shade for recreationists in the popular Boggy Draw area near Dolores.
Cortez’s monsoon season ended, as the saying goes, not with a bang but a whimper. Cortez Animal Shelter kennel supervisor Jennifer Crouse says the shelter has been inundated with cats.
The Cortez Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday gave a unanimous thumbs-up to a proposal for a log-home-manufacturing operation near the west entrance to the Carpenter Natural Area off Lebanon Road.
A sharply divided Cortez City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposed ordinance that would have allowed people to bring firearms to council meetings.
The Montezuma-Cortez School District drew enthusiastic accolades last week from the director of accountability pathways for the Colorado Department of Education. And work on an overlook to the Cliff Palace site will obstruct a trail and thus prevent Mesa Verde National Park from holding a luminaria-lighting event this winter.
An investigation is ongoing into a report of a student with a gun in the vicinity of Montezuma-Cortez High School on Tuesday. Cortez police are asking local high-school students and their parents for help in the matter.
Montezuma-Cortez High School and Southwest Open School were placed on lockdown Tuesday after a report of a man with a weapon in the vicinity of the high school. However, no potential shooter was found.
A legislative proposal before the Navajo Nation Council that could have led to changing the name of that nation has been withdrawn.
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin gave a grim report Monday on the current state of his office.
A Cortez man facing federal charges for reportedly threatening public servants has been ordered to remain in custody until the case is resolved.
Although Montezuma-Cortez School District Superintendent Tom Burris did not report allegations he heard about an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and student, disciplinary action against him isn’t merited at this point.
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper answered questions about protections for the Dolores River corridor and numerous other issues at a town hall in Cortez Tuesday night. And the Montezuma-Cortez District Re-1 school board on Wednesday issued a statement saying it is waiting for the result of legal proceedings against the district superintendent before “making any assumptions.”
A Cortez man who faces federal charges for allegedly threatening election officials, law-enforcement agents, and others is scheduled for a detention hearing on Wednesday.
Montezuma-Cortez School Superintendent Tom Burris faces a misdemeanor charge for allegedly failing to report possible child sexual abuse.
In an effort to gain control of Bureau of Land Management lands within its borders, the State of Utah has filed a lawsuit directly with the U.S. Supreme Court.
A proposal for a thousand-acre solar farm in the Lewis-Arriola area of Montezuma County drew about two dozen concerned residents to an open house Thursday.
Recent rains prompted the Montezuma County commissioners Tuesday to choose not to reinstate a county fire ban at present. And a lawsuit over Montezuma County’s rejection of a high-impact permit for a Dollar General store on Road N is moving forward.
The Montezuma County commissioners have voted to join several other counties in suing the state of Colorado over its use of the severance-tax fund.
Montezuma County voters will be making decisions on four local revenue questions in the upcoming Nov. 5 general election.
The presence of zebra-mussel veligers in the Upper Colorado River near Grand Junction has water managers concerned but not panicked.
The future of the Dolores River and its surrounding landscape remains a topic of widespread disagreement.
Local residents who have been waiting for weeks to resume recycling their cardboard and plastic will have to wait a bit longer.
By a margin of just three votes, former Montezuma County Commissioner Larry Don Suckla has officially won the Republican primary for state House District 58. And the City of Cortez and Cortez Police Department have launched a project to improve safety for all forms of transportation in the city.
Local weather has been "manic," and Utah’s Phil Lyman is seeking to show that incumbent Governor Spencer Cox did not legitimately defeat Lyman in the June 25 Republican primary for governor.
Whether a Dollar General store can be built just off Highway 1`45 between Dolores and Cortez is still undecided.
A half-dozen residents of Cortez sharply criticized new water rates in the city during Tuesday’s meeting of the city council.
Critics of a planned biochar facility at the former Ironwood plant southwest of Dolores voiced blistering criticism of both Ironwood and the Montezuma County commissioners at Tuesday’s commission meeting.
Thursday night's massive Fourth of July fireworks display by the City of Cortez ended abruptly because of gunfire in the middle of the celebration. According to the Cortez Police Department, a 17-year-old has been arrested in the incident.
The Pretrial Services program offered by the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office has ended as of July 1.
With city staff facing a continuing deluge of open-records requests, the Cortez City Council voted 6 to 1 at its meeting July 25 to raise the hourly fee that is charged for fulfilling such requests.
The biggest housing challenge in Montezuma County is not that there are too few houses but that many available homes are fairly old.
Montezuma County and the commissioners are being sued over the denial of a high-impact permit for a Dollar General store to be built at Highway 145 and Road N.
Plans appear to be in the works to create a short trail from a parking lot at Sand Canyon west of Cortez to a historic house nearby.
Plans for a biochar facility at the former Ironwood mill site got a thumbs-up Thursday night from the Montezuma County Planning and Zoning Commission. In other news, a local man whose actions sparked concern early this month when he twice approached children in Cortez and offered them money has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
According to the Cortez Police Department, a man has reportedly admitted to contacting children in Cortez and offering them money, but says he did not mean to intimidate or scare anyone.
Vandalism, drug use, and other undesirable activities at the public restroom in Cortez’s Veterans Park have led the city to close the aging facility. It will likely remain that way and eventually be torn down.
Is there any positive aspect to the fact that the Four Corners area is in moderate drought? Well, there may be one silver lining to the shortage of rain clouds: There shouldn’t be an abundance of mosquitoes.
It’s drier than normal in the Four Corners area and it will probably remain that way at least until the summer monsoons.
How to turn outdoor recreation into more money for Montezuma County. That was the focus of a presentation Monday at the county commissioners’ workshop.
Much local recycling remains on hold even as Montezuma County moves forward with efforts to repair the baler the county landfill uses to handle recycled materials.
A lengthy and contentious public hearing Thursday night on high-impact and special-use permits for new operators at the Ironwood mill site ended with the Montezuma County Planning and Zoning Commission continuing the hearing to June 13.
Montezuma County attorney Ian MacLaren has been appointed judge for the Dolores County Court, and wolverines may return to Colorado.
With a 2-to-1 vote, the Montezuma County commissioners on Tuesday denied a high-impact permit for a Dollar General store at Highway 145 and Road N
Does art with a political message belong on a public building? Mancos locals voiced different views on that topic at Thursday night’s meeting of the Mancos Library Board.
Following a two-hour public hearing, the Montezuma County commissioners on Tuesday delayed deciding whether to approve a controversial high-impact permit for a Dollar General store at Highway 145 and Road N between Cortez and Dolores
The Mancos Conservation District is opposing a proposal for exploratory mineral drilling in the La Plata Mountains because of concerns about possible effects on the Mancos watershed and river.
Montezuma County and the Ironwood mill remain in a legal dispute over waste wood on Ironwood's property at Road T and Highway 145.M
Arguments continue to rage over whether President Biden should designate a national monument on lands along the Dolores River.
The Montezuma County commissioners have settled on a rate of 1 percent for a proposed public-safety sales tax that would fund the sheriff’s office and detention center, and Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder Kim Percell tells the county commissioners that using full hand counts to tabulate ballots during elections would take more time, cost more money, and be more complex and confusing than fully automated counts.
Two people died outside in the elements in Cortez this winter, but neither was actually homeless. That’s according to Montezuma County Coroner George Deavers.
A bill that would implement a fee on alcohol manufacturers and wholesalers in Colorado prompted a lengthy discussion among Montezuma County commissioners and health officials Tuesday.
Fewer than 800 ballots for municipal elections in Montezuma County had been returned as of Thursday morning, and schools in Cortez were put on “secure” status briefly Thursday morning after a report of shots fired near Por Dia Preschool on South Oak Street.
Troubled by the possibility of a new national monument along the Lower Dolores River, county commissioners for both Montezuma and Dolores counties met Tuesday and voiced support for creating a National Conservation Area instead.
Voters in Montezuma County may have the opportunity in November to decide whether to adopt what’s being called a “public-safety sales tax.”
Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez is holding its own financially, but to keep it viable over the long term, people need to use it for as many services as possible. That was one message officials gave Thursday during a talk about the annual report for the private not-for-profit that operates the hospital, Southwest Health System.
20 years after the murder of a Native American man on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation, the FBI says it’s offering a new $10,000 reward for any information about the crime. On January 31, 2004, a Towaoc resident named Avery Whiteskunk went missing and was later found dead near County Road G. An FBI bulletin released on Monday said anyone with information about the individual responsible should contact its Denver field office. Whiteskunk is one of 27 cold case homicides involving tribal citizens in Colorado, according to statistics from a newly-created state office. And the Rico Board of Trustees is considering pursuing dark sky certification for the town. At a trustee meeting earlier this month, a representative from Dark Sky Colorado said that the certification could preserve Rico residents’ views of the starry night sky by changing the land-use code or ordinance that regulates lighting in the town, according to the Ore Cart.
Farmers, landowners and local government agencies will come together on Wednesday in Towaoc for the latest listening session on a plan to protect and manage the Mancos River. The group behind the plan is made up of municipalities and organizations that lie along the river, like Mesa Verde National Park, the Mancos Conservation District and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, that have voluntarily joined together to coordinate on management. The listening session is intended for tribal members and ag producers who rely on the river to give feedback on a new watershed stream management plan. It’ll serve as a guide for communities to better use and conserve water resources, and could include voluntary or compensated changes to irrigation rules during drier years. More outreach sessions will take place starting this spring and summer for feedback on the first draft. And the Bureau of Land Management says it plans to remove roughly 91 wild burros from rangelands near Canyonlands National Park.
A new skate park in downtown Cortez held its first public skate session on Tuesday. The Beech Street Skate Park was created and funded by residents and local businesses in Cortez so that skateboarders would have a chance to practice their tricks even during the winter months, when another skate park in town is closed. Annie Seder, a volunteer at the park, says the park operates in a shared warehouse with different pieces that can be set up and put away quickly. Seder says the skate park gives young people and adults in rural Montezuma County the chance to meet up, make friends and do some serious kickflips. And this week, a resident of Ridgway, Colorado was cited by the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly stealing newspapers that published a story on sexual assault allegations. The weekly edition of the Ouray County Plaindealer featured a story on a sexual assault that occurred in the home of the Ouray County chief of police. After hundreds of copies of the newspaper were taken, a local business owner came forward and returned them to the paper’s office.
As many as 15 gray wolves could be reintroduced to Colorado’s Western Slope next winter, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. It’s a move that concerns the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in southwest Colorado. CPW reached an agreement with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation last week to collect the wolves on the tribes’ land in eastern Washington. 10 wolves from Oregon were released in Colorado last month, the first batch under the state’s reintroduction plan. However, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe says they were never properly consulted about the decision to reintroduce wolves to the state or the potential impacts it could have on the sovereign nation. And Mesa Verde National Park is asking for the public’s help in locating a 73-year-old man who went missing while hiking on a trail last week. Thomas Irwin was last seen hiking Petroglyph Point Trail last Monday.
The U.S. EPA has announced that it reached a settlement with the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority that means the NTUA has agreed to improve wastewater treatment facilities in three communities in northern Arizona. The Department of Justice filed a complaint on behalf of the EPA that says the facilities violated Clean Water Act permits meant to protect human health and the environment by discharging wastewater not treated to proper levels into washes across the tribal nation. It also says the NTUA failed to maintain their facilities’ sewage systems and prevent sewage spills. The roughly $100 million settlement will mean some short-term and long-term upgrades to facilities in Chinle, Kayenta and Tuba City that serve about 20,000 people, mostly Navajo citizens. And four seats on the Cortez City Council are open in the upcoming election on April 2. Nomination packets are available at City Hall, and are due this Monday, January 22.
On Friday, a Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council member was indicted by a grand jury for 12 counts of alleged sexual abuse and assault that took place on the reservation. In a special meeting held on Saturday, the Tribal Council moved to place Lyndreth Hemp Wall on unpaid administrative leave indefinitely if he doesn’t quickly resign. They also removed Wall from his appointments to boards and commissions and issued a formal reprimand. Wall is a former Montezuma-Cortez school board member and a well-known figure in the area. If he’s convicted of a felony, he could be removed from the Council by a two-thirds vote that would also bar him from serving on it again. And this weekend, a mainstay of local journalism in southwestern Colorado, the Four Corners Free Press, will print its final issue.
Last month, the Montezuma County Board of Commissioners voted to cut 10 positions from the Sheriff’s Office. In response, employees have petitioned the state of Colorado to begin the process of collective bargaining in the new year. Allen Phelps is a detective at the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office and the president of Mesa Verde Lodge 74 Fraternal Order of Police. Without proper staffing levels, Phelps says the office is unable to adequately deal with the number of homicides, sexual assaults and property crimes that occur in the county. Phelps says 70 of 72 employees at the office signed petitions in favor of collective bargaining, which will now initiate a ballot election. And a plane crash in a forest north of Dolores resulted in two deaths this past weekend.
At a Shiprock Chapter meeting this Wednesday, officials will vote on a resolution that calls for independent oversight of cleanup efforts after an oil spill north of town. Residents held a meeting on Saturday to discuss the ramifications of the spill and the community-drafted resolution, which also requests an investigation into the cause of the incident by both the U.S. EPA and the New Mexico Environment Department. Last month, a pipeline that transports crude oil from New Mexico to Aneth, Utah, was breached by a grading truck on agricultural land. The pipeline is operated by a subsidiary of Navajo Nation Oil and Gas, which is a tribal enterprise. Beverly Maxwell and other Navajo residents who live near the spill are frustrated with what they describe as a lack of communication from local and national tribal authorities about details of the still-ongoing cleanup.
The city of Cortez is participating in a grant from the U.S. EPA to identify so-called brownfield properties for potential reuse and revitalization. Brownfield sites are properties where expansion or development may be complicated by the presence of pollutants or hazardous waste. In 2022, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment awarded Cortez, Firestone, Longmont, and Lyons a collective $2 million brownfields grant to cover the costs of initial site assessments and studies. Some properties in Cortez – like KSJD’s own Sunflower Theatre – have benefited from brownfield cleanup and community revitalization in the past. And a preliminary settlement was reached late Tuesday in a lawsuit over alleged transparency violations in the Colorado State House of Representatives.
The creative writing department at Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona, will hold a virtual writing discussion on Wednesday led by freelance journalist Cyrus Norcross. Norcross is a writer and creative writing student from the Navajo Nation whose reporting has so far focused on missing and murdered Indigenous people. At the Zoom discussion, he says he’ll read from a memoir-in-progress about his time as an activist at the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests. The memoir traces Norcross’s progression as a writer starting with his time at the Standing Rock protests, an experience that inspired him to pursue a career as a journalist, he says. The event will go from 5-6 p.m. on Wednesday. And Democrats in the Colorado Senate chose a new Majority Leader last week.
A new seed store and bakery is opening its doors in Cortez for the first time on Saturday. Pueblo Seed & Food Company sells seeds that originated in and are adapted to the desert Southwest, as well as curated seeds from different arid regions all over the world. The company’s farm is located in McElmo Canyon on land protected by a Montezuma Land Conservancy easement, and grows crops like heritage wheat, rye and barley. Nanna Meyer, a baker and co-owner of Pueblo Seed & Food Company, says that she hopes the store will help provide a return to food culture for the residents of Montezuma County after years of isolation during the pandemic. And a new Colorado gun-control law that’s on hold due to a court challenge won’t be going into effect anytime soon.
Kathleen Curry, a Democrat from Gunnison, announced this month she’s running for Colorado House District 58. Curry previously served three terms as a representative in the State Legislature, changing her party affiliation in 2009 from Democrat to unaffiliated. She later lost reelection. Curry told Colorado Politics that when she left the Democratic Party in 2009 she was frustrated with the party system in general. In June, Curry changed her voter registration back to Democrat and subsequently began a bid for House District 58. If elected, Curry says changing her party affiliation will help her constituents, in part because of the realities of where the legislature is at in terms of party control.
The Montezuma Land Conservancy, or MLC, announced the conservation of two new parcels of land in Montezuma County on Monday, including one bordering Mesa Verde National Park. The other parcel is located near the Boggy Draw trail system. MLC is a nonprofit trust that works to protect land in southwest Colorado for its wildlife habitat, agricultural potential or public trails. Travis Custer, executive director of MLC, says that the addition of the conserved private land near Mesa Verde to an already existing public lands corridor in the area means more habitat protection for mule deer and certain species of birds listed on the state’s threatened and endangered list. And Colorado state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and their caucuses have more time to respond to alleged violations of open meeting laws.
On Thursday, a coalition of local government agencies and nonprofits is dedicating a park bench to those in the Cortez community who have passed away in the area while experiencing homelessness. The Montezuma County Homelessness Prevention Coalition is a collaboration between groups like The Piñon Project Family Resource Center and the city of Cortez to help unhoused residents of Montezuma County. Lucia Bueno-Valdez is the homelessness prevention coordinator for The Piñon Project and a key member of the coalition. She says one of the problems the group faces in assisting unhoused people is a lack of available data on how many have lived in Montezuma County, historically. And Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is speaking out against a proposed merger between grocery store giants Kroger and Albertsons.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun using new cleanup technology to remove radioactive soil from areas around Cove, Arizona. Since the 1950s, uranium mining has occurred in the Lukachukai Mountains, leading to the contamination of waterways and livestock in the region. The EPA is now using soil sorting technology to remove waste rock from two areas in Cove that had previously served as transfer stations, or sites where uranium ore was piled and eventually trucked off. Krista Brown is a remedial project manager for the EPA, and says that the soil sorter has so far been successful in separating native soil from uranium waste. And Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board is considering capping the price of a life-saving medication for cystic fibrosis.
Environmental activists and tribal leaders in Arizona are welcoming the news that President Biden could designate land surrounding the Grand Canyon as a new national moment this week. The Washington Post reported on Friday that federal officials have begun telling tribal groups to be ready for a potential Grand Canyon monument announcement sometime during Biden’s visit to Arizona. New polling results released last week by Impact Research show that voters in Arizona overwhelmingly support the designation of the monument, which would protect the region from further uranium mining. Carletta Tilousi, a Havasupai tribal council member who spoke at a meeting after the polling was released, says that the creation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument will help protect the Colorado River for future generations. And the Colorado Republican Party rejected a change to its bylaws that would have made it easier to opt out of next year’s primary elections.
A group dedicated to protecting water sources on Black Mesa, Arizona, has filed resolutions from eighteen different Navajo chapter houses to a federal agency in opposition to proposed water storage projects. Tó Nizhóní Ání, or Sacred Water Speaks, is a Navajo Nation nonprofit that works to protect water sources on Black Mesa from misuse and contamination by energy companies. Adrian Herder, a campaign lead for Sacred Water Speaks, says that his organization has submitted resolutions to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission opposing the three Black Mesa Pumped Storage projects. And more money than ever before is being spent on lobbying in Colorado. The Colorado Sun reports more than $50M went to lobbyists from July 1, 2022 to the end of June this year.
In the last month, an advocate for Indigenous people who’ve been targeted by fraudulent sober living facilities says she’s helped dozens of displaced victims from tribal communities like the Navajo Nation return home. In May, the governor of Arizona announced the state would crack down on these fake sober living homes in coordination with the Navajo Nation government, which launched an effort to return Navajo citizens from the Phoenix area to their homes. Since many of the fraudulent facilities are now shutting down, victims advocates in the Phoenix area have noticed an increase in the number of unsheltered Indigenous people who have needed bus fare to return to their communities. And two new state laws that give Colorado renters extra protections go into effect this month.
Colorado’s Division of Water Resources held a meeting in Cortez on Wednesday to seek input from irrigators on the division’s proposed water measurement rules. The rules would mean that farmers in the San Juan and Dolores River basins must begin using measurement methods in order to better record the storage and releases of their water. The Division of Water Resources meeting comes after the Yampa and White basins went through a similar rule-making process to crack down on water users diverting from streams without proper measuring devices. And Congress is considering eliminating federal funding for public media. A House subcommittee recently approved legislation that would zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
On Tuesday, the Cortez city council will hold a meeting and make a decision about a rezoning application for a parcel of land near Carpenter Natural Area. The parcel to be discussed during Tuesday’s meeting is located off of Highway 491 and is owned by Independent Log Company. The land does not border residential properties but is adjacent to the park. And Indigenous communities are calling for a million acres of land surrounding the Grand Canyon to be declared a national monument. The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni national monument would leave in place a moratorium on uranium mining in the region that tribes like the Havasupai say is important to protect sacred sites like nearby Red Butte.
On Saturday, Navajo families held a walk in remembrance of the largest release of radioactive material in U.S. history. In July of 1979, a dam holding back uranium mill waste in Church Rock, New Mexico, broke and released millions of gallons of radioactive water and debris into the Puerco River. The Red Water Pond Road community is made up of Navajo families who live in the Church Rock mining area, where the uranium waste spill occurred. They say they’re still suffering from the impacts of the disaster 44 years later. And Governor Jared Polis will serve as vice-chair of the National Governors Association.
Last Wednesday, the Montezuma Land Conservancy, or MLC, was awarded a grant to help protect a 3,000 acre ranch in Dolores County. The grant from the nonprofit Great Outdoors Colorado will help with the costs associated with conserving land like the Ivins Ranch, which is located near Groundhog Reservoir. The conserved land would directly border public lands like the Lone Cone State Wildlife Area and the McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area. According to James Reimann, the conservation director for MLC, the newly protected area could help provide wildlife like elk and lynx with a corridor to safely travel across.
On Friday, a home health care company held an informational meeting in Tuba City, Arizona, on the federal benefits available to some Navajo coal miners who have black lung disease. The meeting, hosted by Positive Nature Homecare, was the latest on the subject of black lung among coal miners in the Navajo Nation. Willa Mae Jones is a member of the Navajo Nation and a health outreach worker at Canyonlands Healthcare in Chilchinbeto. She attended Friday’s meeting to meet with coal miners who largely worked at the Kayenta and Black Mesa mines in northeastern Arizona. Jones says her husband was a dragline operator at the Kayenta coal mine. When her son was growing up, she says she advised him not to follow in his father’s footsteps. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering grants for people that experienced discrimination in the agency’s farm loan programs.
In Cortez, residents are expressing concern about the potential environmental impacts of rezoning land next to the Carpenter Natural Area. The parcel of land is owned by Independent Log Company, which recently submitted an application to the city of Cortez to change the zoning of the land from commercial to heavy industrial use. If the land is rezoned, it will mean large industrial equipment and chemicals can be stored on the premises. M. Waldron, a resident of Cortez and a representative for a community group advocating on behalf of the Carpenter area, says concerned Cortez residents can attend the city’s planning and zoning commission meeting on July 18 to make public comments, in addition to the next city council meeting on July 25. And new privacy protections for consumers in Colorado took effect over the weekend.
Last month, United States Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper of Colorado wrote a letter requesting a hearing for their Dolores River conservation area bill in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The committee has agreed to hold a hearing on the legislation during their next meeting on July 12. The bill would protect 68,000 acres of public lands along the river in southwest Colorado. But now, in addition to the NCA Act, community organizations that advocate on behalf of the Dolores River are discussing the idea of President Joseph Biden designating some areas not covered by the bill as a national monument. And ten new state laws took effect on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the Department of Labor held an outreach event in Shiprock, New Mexico on the benefits available to some coal and uranium miners in the Navajo Nation. Current and former uranium miners attended the meeting to get more information about accessing benefits through the Energy Workers Program. Coal miners went to the meeting to learn more about their eligibility for federal black lung benefits. Justin Tsosie, a former coal miner and union representative who worked at the Kayenta surface Mine in Arizona, says he frequently encountered dust when he worked as a serviceman at the mine. And the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said on Tuesday that a resident of Montezuma County has tested positive for the plague.
The Southwest Health System (SHS) board of directors announced Monday that they will not be closing the family birthing center. This comes after a contentious special board meeting last Thursday where several community members shared their concerns about the possible closure. Hospital officials previously said they’re temporarily closing the birthing center on July 1 in order to keep the organization financially stable. A press release from the hospital announcing their decision to reconsider was released on Monday. About 60 people, including several mothers, showed up to the board meeting last week near the hospital’s emergency services wing to voice their deep concern over the future of maternity care at SHS.
On Friday of last week, a community meeting was held on black lung disease among retired Navajo coal miners in Farmington, New Mexico. The meeting was hosted by Positive Nature Homecare, a home healthcare company which primarily assists uranium miners. Laurence Bekise is a former coal miner who worked at the San Juan and Navajo mines for decades. He says he hopes he doesn’t have black lung from exposure to coal dust in the mines, but that he isn’t sure. And Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is urging the federal government to keep a close eye on artificial intelligence.
In Cortez, Southwest Memorial Hospital announced last week it will temporarily close its family birthing center on July 1. In a press release, the hospital said it needed to close the center in order to ensure the financial stability of the organization. Dr. Jessica Kaplan, an obstetrics specialist who works at the birthing center, says that women seeking care in rural areas across the nation face higher risks of pregnancy-related complications, and are more likely to die during pregnancy. And Colorado is offering almost $30 million in grant money to mobile home residents who want to purchase their mobile home parks.
On Friday, elections for the Empire Electric Association’s board of directors will come to a close. David Sitton is a Cortez resident and a long-term incumbent running against Jennifer Magnuson in the utility cooperative’s sixth district, which includes parts of Cortez and Mancos. Sitton, who first ran for his board seat in 1996, says that one of the biggest challenges the cooperative faces is the need for additional infrastructure in order to handle higher demand for electricity. Sitton also says he doesn’t see the board as having political issues that need to be resolved, and that he views its main role as being to provide oversight of the business. And Governor Jared Polis vetoed several bills Tuesday that had previously passed the state legislature.
Last month, Navajo Nation officials launched Operation Rainbow Bridge, a program designed to help Navajo citizens caught up in fraudulent rehab centers that cheated Arizona’s Medicaid program millions of dollars by preying on and scamming Indigenous people. Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch says that in Navajo culture, a rainbow is used to indicate movement from place to place, hence the operation’s name. Governor Katie Hobbs announced in May that the state would take action against over 100 of these predatory sober living homes, which have sent recruiters to tribal communities across the western United States, targeting the unhoused and those struggling with substance abuse, and taking them to facilities in the Phoenix area. And the Colorado Board of Education informally chose the state’s new education commissioner last week.
Next week, elections for the Empire Electric Association’s two open board seats will wrap up. Kent Lindsay is a resident of Cortez, and an incumbent running against Elise Goggin for the open board of directors seat in the utility cooperative’s fifth district, which includes parts of Cortez and Towaoc. Lindsay says he and the rest of the board have helped add three new solar energy fields to the area, which he says could have an impact on utility rates for the community. And Colorado is taking new steps to expand treatment for eating disorders. Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera signed two bills into law Tuesday.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday making it harder for the federal government to enforce clean water rules has New Mexico environmental groups urging Congress to take the lead. The five-to-four opinion by conservative justices, minus Bret Kavanaugh, is a blow to the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate wetlands and waterways. And public buildings in Colorado will be required to include all-gender restrooms later this year. That’s thanks to a new law signed by Governor Jared Polis this week.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Cove Chapter of the Navajo Nation and the Environmental Protection Agency held a community meeting on the EPA’s proposal to add nearby uranium mines to its Superfund National Priorities List. The mines are located in the Lukachukai Mountain Mining District in northeastern Arizona. According to Kenyon Larsen, a remedial project manager for the EPA, for years, they’ve been working to address the dozens of uranium waste piles in the district, which have contaminated groundwater and killed livestock in Cove and surrounding areas. And Governor Polis signed two measures into law Wednesday that will impact property taxes in the state.
Elections for the Empire Electric Association’s board of directors are underway. Elise Goggin is a resident of Cortez and is running for a board seat against incumbent Kent Lindsay in the utility cooperative’s fifth district, which includes McElmo Canyon, Towaoc and parts of Cortez. Board members are elected by the members of the cooperative in a democratic election, and can play a role in determining what utility rates will be. And Governor Jared Polis signed a bill last week that supports the practice of agrivoltaics.
On Thursday evening, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser visited Cortez as part of a listening session tour concerning the proposed Albertsons-Kroger merger. In the meeting, Weiser fielded questions on how this merger would impact southwest Coloradans. And Governor Jared Polis signed a bill into law Friday that creates a nontoxic bullet replacement program for hunters. The pilot program will provide vouchers for purchasing non-lead bullets. It will also focus on educating hunters.
On Tuesday evening, the Montezuma-Cortez School District held a board meeting where parents and educators voiced concerns on staffing upheaval and a subsequent student protest. Though the latest conflict in the district wasn’t officially on the agenda, about 25 people showed up to the meeting. Jarrett Watkins, a teacher at the high school who spoke at the meeting, says many other educators and staff are afraid to openly discuss the concerns they have around the dismissal of their principal.
The Montezuma-Cortez School District will hold its next school board meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. It’s expected that the recent conflict around staff changes in the district will be discussed during the public comment portion of the meeting. On April 20, students at the high school held a walk out in response to the dismissal of the school principal by Superintendent Tom Burris. Staff and students allege that Burris has a history of mistreatment of students in the district. According to Jake Myers, who was in 7th grade at the time, in August of 1998, then-Vice Principal Burris instructed him to sit on a large bucket in the multipurpose fields until the end of the school day as punishment for being disruptive in a band class.
Last Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency held an informational meeting in northeastern Arizona on the first area in the Navajo Nation to be added to the Superfund National Priorities List. The EPA has proposed adding the Lukachukai Mountain Mining District to the national list, which is made up of sites in the United States that are highly contaminated and require long-term remediation. And Colorado is one step closer to ensuring all kids can access healthy food at school regardless of their ability to pay after Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 221 into law last month.
On Friday, victims advocates held a walk in downtown Phoenix to raise awareness about predatory sober living homes targeting Indigenous communities like the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute tribe in Colorado. Advocate Reva Stewart, whose cousin was taken by a group home recruiter from New Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona, says that recruiters often look for unhoused people in tribal communities, or those struggling with substance abuse. But Stewart says that a change made last week to Arizona’s Medicaid program closed a loophole that the group homes were exploiting. And today is the last day of Colorado’s legislative session.
Last month, Montezuma-Cortez Middle School was named as one of the top schools for music in the United States for its commitment to music education. The National Association of Music Merchants Foundation selected only 78 elementary, middle or high schools in the entire country for their music merit award. The school was one of only two in Colorado that made the list. And Governor Jared Polis and Democratic lawmakers’ ten-year plan to reduce property taxes cleared its first legislative committee Tuesday.
In Four Corners tribal communities like the Navajo Nation, scammers working for predatory treatment homes are targeting Indigenous people, taking them to pop-up rehabs in Arizona. Victims advocates like Reva Stewart are trying to raise awareness about this issue by holding a walk in downtown Phoenix on Friday, May 5.The rehabs, which are supposed to be regulated by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or “Access,” (AHCCCS) target vulnerable individuals in tribal communities, like those who are struggling with substance and alcohol abuse, or who are unsheltered.
A farmer in southwest Colorado is helping administer a federal water conservation program that pays water users in the Upper Basin to curb their use. Greg Vlaming, who’s working to promote the System Conservation Pilot Program to farmers in the Dolores Water Conservancy District area, says those in his region who opt in won’t necessarily be forced to not farm their land in order to save water, and, therefore, earn money from the program. Instead, farmers in the drought-stricken area have a different option: plant crops that need less water in order to conserve, like “forage crops,” which are plants destined to be used as feed for animals.
Last week, the Upper Colorado River Commission held a virtual meeting on developments concerning a controversial government program designed to pay water users to curb their use. The System Conservation Pilot Program, or SCPP, is intended to help boost flagging water levels in Lake Powell. Some farmers and irrigators in southwest Colorado – and in other Upper Basin states like New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming – had reservations about applying, concerned about deliberately not farming their land in order to save water. Chuck Cullom, the executive director of the commission, says the process leading up to this iteration of the SCPP was rushed, something he says the commission takes responsibility for. And a set of bills that would expand treatment for people with eating disorders passed the state Senate Tuesday.
The city of Cortez is holding several listening sessions starting on Tuesday as part of the next steps in updating the land use code for the city, which was first adopted 27 years ago. Rachael Marchbanks, the city’s community and economic development director, says that the listening sessions are organized by Logan Simpson, the consultant company for the city. The eventual changes to the land use code will factor in the need for affordable housing in Cortez, she says. And a bill that would make changes to Colorado’s election system was approved by the state Senate last week.
On Thursday morning, students walked out of Montezuma-Cortez High School in protest of the recent changes to administrators and staff. The principal of Montezuma-Cortez, Emily Moreland, was placed on administrative leave following a meeting with Superintendent Tom Burris on Tuesday afternoon. Another administrator, Assistant Principal Lauren White, who was also in the meeting, quit. It’s still unclear as to exactly why Moreland was put on administrative leave. But three current teachers at Montezuma-Cortez – who spoke with KSJD under the condition of anonymity in case of reprisals – say that the swift departure of Moreland and White ultimately occurred because of a larger pattern of disrespect and bullying from Burris.
A pulmonologist at Miners’ Colfax Medical Center in New Mexico says there’s a statewide shortage of health professionals who are involved in the care of coal miners, especially those who have black lung disease. According to Dr. Akshay Sood, the Miners’ Colfax Medical Center Endowed Chair at the University of New Mexico, he is the state’s only Department of Labor 413(b) physician. That means he’s the only one authorized to evaluate whether or not coal miners in New Mexico are disabled enough by black lung disease to pass those findings on to a claims examiner, so they have a chance to get compensation.
This Thursday, the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Program and Kayenta Unified School District are teaming up to host a Navajo Food Summit at Monument Valley High School in Kayenta, Arizona. Former President of the Navajo Nation Jonathan Nez will kick the summit off with a keynote address on Thursday morning. And a bill to expand substance abuse treatment in Colorado schools has been approved by both the state House and Senate.
The Farm Bill is up for renewal this year, and lawmakers in Congress have been holding hearings on this massive once-every-five-years piece of legislation. Democratic United States Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado says he has high hopes for the bill. And Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo of Colorado’s new 8th Congressional District, introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would protect access to abortion medication.
In Dolores, unusually high amounts of winter snowpack are rapidly melting and causing severe flooding throughout town. Vicki Shaffer, the public information officer for Montezuma County, says that the snowmelt is mainly coming from nearby Granath Mesa. And lawmakers moved forward on Tuesday with a bill that would change how the government deals with disease outbreaks among livestock.
An informational meeting was held on Friday in Upper Fruitland, New Mexico, on the federal benefits available to retired Navajo miners who have black lung disease. Some of the miners suspect they have black lung from their time working at coal mines like the Navajo Mine in San Juan County. Alex Osif, who is Navajo, Hopi, Pima, and a former miner and black lung benefits counselor, says that miners have been mistreated by coal companies for decades. And several bills dealing with substance use are on the agenda at the state Capitol this week.
Democratic United States Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado has reintroduced legislation to protect the Dolores River. Along with Colorado’s other senator, John Hickenlooper, Bennet reintroduced the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act, a bill aimed at protecting 68,000 acres of land in southwest Colorado. And lawmakers want to streamline how the state oversees safety in Colorado’s public schools.
Last week, the Colorado Department of Agriculture hosted a virtual town hall on new water regulations from the Food and Drug Administration. The meeting covered new harvest and post-harvest water requirements for farmers across the state, including those in southwest Colorado. And several politically-charged bills are headed to Governor Jared Polis’ desk. Two of them are Democrat-sponsored gun-control measures.
Canyonlands Healthcare in Page, Arizona says that they’re finding more and more patients who have health issues related to working in coal mines throughout the Navajo Nation and surrounding areas. Michelle Carter, a nurse who leads the black lung clinic program at Canyonlands, says that based on miners they’ve screened in the last year, around 12% have the potential to have black lung disease. And state lawmakers are moving forward with a bipartisan bill that would boost funding for special education.
In southwest Colorado, rain and snowmelt are projected to fill McPhee Reservoir and result in a scheduled release of water, known as a “spill.” According to Ken Curtis, the general manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy District, the spill will likely occur in early May, and will benefit water users and irrigators along the Dolores River. And state lawmakers are moving forward with efforts to mitigate negative impacts of wolf reintroduction.
A coalition of organizations in southwest Colorado is holding a year-long study that will seek to remove barriers to land access in the region. The three organizations are La Plata Open Space Conservancy, Montezuma Land Conservancy, and the Old Fort of Fort Lewis College. And the state budget for next year was introduced Monday. It totals 38.5 billion dollars.
In the Navajo Nation and surrounding areas, health professionals from National Jewish Health are working with local hospitals and clinics to test retired coal miners for black lung disease. Cecile Rose, a pulmonologist and environmental medicine physician at National Jewish Health, says that black lung, otherwise known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, is present among retired miners living in towns like Page, Arizona, and Montrose, Colorado. And three bills expanding and protecting access to reproductive healthcare got final approval from the state Senate Wednesday. One would shield out-of-state patients seeking abortions or gender-affirming care in Colorado.
Since 2017, a Mancos resident named Rosa Sabido has been facing the threat of deportation by Immigration Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Sabido – who is originally from Mexico – says she’s lived in the United States since she was 23 years old, but has had to seek sanctuary at a local church while she works to remain in her community. And a bipartisan bill to expand Coloradans’ access to prosthetic devices moved forward at the State Capitol Tuesday.
This summer, Mesa Verde National Park will embark on a mission to bolster the health and resilience of the Mancos River. The park will start implementing restoration efforts in the stretch of the river south of the Mancos Valley. And a bill that would expand child labor protections cleared its vote in the state House of Representatives Friday.
On Thursday morning, a sinkhole opened up on County Road P north of Cortez. Rob Englehart, superintendent of the county’s road and bridge department, says that the sinkhole was created from days of rain and the melting of snowmelt. And a bill to help farmers and ranchers repair their own equipment got final approval by the state Senate Thursday. The bill would require agriculture equipment manufacturers hand over parts, software, instructions, and other tools necessary for owners to make repairs.
The Cortez City Council has unanimously approved a plan to rewrite the city’s land use code. In order to improve affordable housing options available for those looking to move or build homes in Cortez, the city applied for a grant from the Colorado State Department of Local Affairs to fund a land use code project. And state lawmakers want oil and gas companies to conserve more water. A new bill would require companies to report their water use for increased transparency.
Democratic United States Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado reintroduced legislation to protect the Dolores River earlier this month. Colorado’s other senator, Michael Bennet, joined Hickenlooper in sponsoring the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act. And Governor Jared Polis signed four bills into law on Friday. That included one that will make it easier for out-of-state teachers to work in Colorado.
In Farmington, retired coal miners suffering from the effects of black lung disease will hold an informational meeting on opportunities for compensation and other benefits through the Department of Labor on Friday, April 7. The meetings are hosted by Orphelia Thomas, a member of the Navajo Nation and community liaison for Positive Nature Homecare, LLC.
In Mancos, a new program is giving students the opportunity to explore entrepreneurial endeavors while earning college credit. The Mancos Career Pathways program is led by Todd Cordrey, superintendent of the Mancos School District, and Jason Armstrong, the town’s community and economic development coordinator and local champion for the program. And a bill advancing at the State Capitol to limit the price of Epinephrine auto-injectors, or EpiPens, passed a preliminary vote in the House Tuesday.
A new report by Todd Cordrey, superintendent of the Mancos School District, shows that there are major issues with teacher retention and recruitment in Mancos. And bills dealing with gun waiting periods, controlled substances and school discipline are getting their first hearings Monday.
On Thursday, the Utah Shakespeare Festival visited Montezuma-Cortez High School to perform and lead acting workshops with students. Festival actors led workshops in improvisation, how to perform Shakespearean texts, and fight choreography. And a bill that would make it easier for out-of-state teachers to work in Colorado is one step away from Governor Jared Polis’ desk.
In a meeting on Tuesday night, the Cortez City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to authorize a lease of the city’s fiber optic communications network to Vero Broadband, LLC. And a new bill at the State Capitol would make it easier for local governments to turn existing properties into affordable housing.
The use of Narcan – a life-saving drug that reverses opioid overdoses – has gone up in Cortez in the last year. That’s according to Dennis Delaney, a paramedic at Southwest Memorial Hospital. And lawmakers have been appointed to a new state committee looking at rising utility rates.
Some Colorado families will see a reduction in federal food assistance this month. A temporary increase during the COVID-19 pandemic of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, ended officially on February 19. And a bill to add protections for overdose reporting cleared its first hurdle at the State Capitol yesterday.
Less than a week after announcing that he will run again in 2024 in Colorado's third congressional district race, Adam Frisch, a Democrat from Aspen, has raised more than half a million dollars for his campaign. And lawmakers are considering two measures this week that would address the opioid crisis in Colorado.
A new bill approved at the Colorado State House would give psychologists the power to prescribe medication to patients. House Bill 1071 is sponsored by Republican State Senator Cleave Simpson, who represents House District 6. And state regulators say there are almost 500 orphan wells across Colorado. The abandoned drilling sites continue to release greenhouse gas emissions.
The Upper Colorado River Commission has extended the deadline for water users to enroll in the rebooted System Conservation Pilot Program, which pays farmers to curb their use. And housing is a major priority for Democrats at the State Capitol. That includes a new bill that would add eviction protections for Coloradans who get public assistance or disability benefits.
The Cortez City Council will vote on an ordinance Tuesday night that will determine if a property located on the southwest corner of North Chestnut Street and West Empire Street will be rezoned from residential single family, to residential multi-family. And state lawmakers want to give local authorities the power to outlaw gunfire in densely populated areas.
Colorado State Senator Cleave Simpson, a Republican from Alamosa who represents District 6, is sponsoring legislation to provide opportunities for those looking to reduce their emissions in agriculture. And fifteen Native American tribes will get a total of $580 million in federal money this year for water rights settlements.
The recent winter storms that have blanketed the Four Corners have meant some outdoor trails have not been accessible for recreation. And an effort at the statehouse aims to mandate all-gender bathrooms in public buildings.
In Dolores, a group of residents is working to fundraise for a bike and skate park to be constructed nearby. And state lawmakers are trying to tackle the high costs of epinephrine auto-injectors, or EpiPens.
The Dolores Affordable Housing Task Force moved forward with plans to build residences on two pieces of town-owned land Tuesday night. And Colorado lawmakers want to lower the disability requirements veterans need to receive property tax exemptions.
A group of local community members in Montezuma County are working with doctors from the Indian Health Service to provide medical support for the unhoused. And a new bipartisan bill could make it easier for children going into foster care to be placed with relatives.
Water users in southwest Colorado are not opting in to a federal program designed to reduce water consumption. And a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the statehouse are trying to launch a new wildfire detection system for the second year in a row, with the goal of identifying wildfires as early as possible.
The point in time count, or “pit count,” is an annual count of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January across the United States. And on Tuesday night, the Cortez City Council passed an ordinance that will allow food trucks to operate in the Cortez Central Business District.
The Montezuma County Board of Commissioners held a public workshop on Monday to discuss plowing and maintenance at Chicken Creek near Mancos. And legislation to create a task force for high-altitude water storage was put on hold Monday afternoon during the state legislature’s Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee hearing.
The Colorado State University Extension is hosting a three-day discussion-based retreat on women in agriculture in the town of Dolores. And Attorney General Phil Weiser said this week he wants to expand Colorado’s red flag gun law.
A snowstorm over the weekend closed schools Monday in the Cortez, Dolores and Dove Creek school districts, according to The Journal. And the Colorado General Assembly passed a resolution honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A coalition of community and local government agencies wants to continue use of the warming centers first implemented outside The Bridge Shelter in Cortez over the holidays. And the first week of the legislative session is almost over, and more than one hundred new bills have been introduced for consideration.
A new grant is expected to help tie up the deal to protect key parcels of land close to Mesa Verde National Park, according to the Public News Service. And January measurements show snowpack is above average for the Colorado River basin for this time of year.
Marijuana sales in Colorado were down in 2022, according to data from the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division. And organizations around the world have a chance to win funding for climate solutions from an Aspen-based nonprofit.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued avalanche warnings for much of Colorado on Sunday. And an avalanche near Breckenridge Ski Resort resulted in the death of a skier on Saturday.
Power outages were reported in the Empire Electric Association service area on Wednesday morning. And new regulations going into effect on January 1 will impact the kind of eggs that can be sold in Colorado.
Colorado is considering changing its Red Flag law after the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs. And the state Joint Budget Committee continues to review next year’s spending plan.
Montezuma-Cortez Middle School closed Monday morning due to water flooding caused by a burst pipe. And the main branch of the Boulder Public Library closed Monday afternoon, to allow for testing related to methamphetamine contamination.
Protesters across the country on Saturday demanded US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack revoke permits for the Uinta Basin Railway—an 88-mile railroad that would connect oil fields in Utah to existing rail lines. And Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold officially certified the results of the 2022 midterm elections on Monday.
At Fort Lewis College, a new project is underway to relabel bathrooms without mentioning gender expression.And in Cortez, local businesses like WildEdge Brewing Collective and the ZU Gallery are coordinating on ‘Fa La La La Local,’ a shopping event organized by the Cortez Retail Enhancement Organization, or CREA.
Kaiser Permanente and other healthcare providers are expanding abortion services in Colorado. And in Cortez, The Good Samaritan Food Center helps combat hunger in the Four Corners region.
Governor Jared Polis is taking a hard look at why Colorado’s red flag gun law wasn’t used in advance of the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs. And in the Four Corners region, Representative Barbara McLachlan said one of her priorities heading into the next legislative session is increased water literacy for kids in school K-12.
The Carbondale Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution last week to support a federal designation of the Crystal River as Wild & Scenic. And in Montezuma County, District Attorney Matthew Margeson said his office has been encountering problems with hiring and retaining prosecutors in recent years.
The 22-year-old accused of carrying out a mass shooting over the weekend at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs appeared in court Wednesday afternoon. And Colorado State Representative Barbara McLachlan says the escalating anti-LGBTQ rhetoric we've been seeing is extremely dangerous.
A mass shooting over the weekend at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs killed five people and injured dozens. And the 2022 midterm elections wrapped up last week as Colorado Clerk and Recorders submitted their final tallies to the Secretary of State's office.
The 2022 midterm elections drew to a close in Colorado and the Four Corners in all but a few key races.
U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert is facing off against Democratic challenger Adam Frisch for Colorado's Third Congressional District.
Colorado lawmakers are meeting Thursday to edit the state’s voting guide. And Colorado Republicans trying to oust a state senator who left their party to join the Democrats are cheering a legal opinion that will likely boost their recall effort.
The Colorado Secretary of state’s office is done checking the signatures for all of the ballot initiatives submitted for the November election. And a strong monsoon season continues to bring drought relief to much of the Colorado River basin.
Colorado is launching a new financial aid program to help students who want to become health care workers. And the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona announced it will abandon a multi-state deal on the Colorado River to keep its biggest reservoir from declining.
Conservatives in northern Colorado are trying to recall a state senator who left the Republican party this week to become a Democrat. And seven water utilities from across the Colorado River basin released a new commitment for conservation on Wednesday, but their efforts will be a small part of helping a region strained by drought and overuse.
A state commission in Utah will now determine sport participation for transgender athletes on a case-by-case basis after a judge paused the state’s ban on transgender girls competing in girl’s school sports.
With water supply is dwindling in the West, Utah is Utah trying to figure out who can divert water from streams and rivers — and when they can do it. But there isn’t a consistent statewide distribution system in place, and without it, celebrated changes to water law fall flat.
A Republican Colorado state Senator from Adams County says he is switching to the Democratic party because the GOP is embracing false claims the last presidential election was stolen. And a woman has been missing for three days in Zion National Park after she was most likely caught in a flash flood.
Federal officials aren’t ready to give states along the Colorado River a new deadline for water conservation goals. And an initiative that would create a state affordable housing fund in Colorado will be on the ballot in November.
Summertime in Southwest Colorado means spending time on the water. The regions lakes, reservoirs, rivers and creeks provide a ton of outdoor recreation opportunities, but they also are rich ecosystems. One thing that grows in them is algae, which can sometimes be toxic for people and animals.
A gun rights group is taking two more northern Colorado cities to court over firearm restrictions passed in response to the Boulder King Soopers shooting. And a judge in Fort Collins has ordered a legal adviser to former president Donald Trump’s campaign to testify in front of a grand jury.
A new round of cutbacks is coming for some water users on the Colorado River. And a new poll shows a majority of Arizonans support permanently banning uranium mining around the Grand Canyon.
States in the Colorado River Basin failed to meet a federal deadline Tuesday to conserve an unprecedented amount of water. And Colorado lawmakers will pursue at least ten wildfire prevention programs when they kick off their legislative session in January.
Colorado’s economy is growing faster than most states in the nation. And LGBT adults in the Utah are more likely to experience food insecurity than their non-LGBT counterparts.
Colorado voters will decide in November whether to legalize the use of psychedelic mushrooms. And the window to apply for Utah’s one-time child care worker bonus closes in three weeks.
Conservation groups are praising a scientific proposal to protect a large swath of Western land that could help restore wolf and beaver populations. And new legislation has been introduced in the US Senate that would protect parts of the Dolores River Canyon as a National Conservation Area.
A new law taking effect Wednesday will help protect Colorado’s hospital patients from surprise medical bills. And a public event yesterday about a proposed solar project near Pleasant View grew contentious at times.
Colorado is ramping up its efforts to distribute the monkeypox vaccine after President Biden declared it a health emergency. And fourteen tribes in the Colorado River basin say they’re being kept “largely in the dark” about plans to conserve an unprecedented amount of water amid historic drought.
A statewide recount in Colorado confirms that Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters lost her primary race for Secretary of State by about 90,000 votes. And parts of Montezuma County experienced widespread power outages on Thursday.
Colorado River activists are calling on the federal government to rework the plumbing on one of its biggest dams. And President Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that he says will make it easier for people to travel to other states for abortions.
Colorado secretary of State Jena Griswold says recounts requested by election deniers in two primary races will be done by Thursday. And August is forecast to be wetter than normal for much of the Colorado River basin, especially in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.
The US House of Representatives passed legislation that may help provide Arizona with more water. And the Colorado Department of Natural Resources recently awarded a one million dollar grant to the Ute Mountain Ute tribe and three local conservation groups.
The housing markets are slowing in Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. And the principal of Montezuma-Cortez High School is leaving his position after only a few weeks on the job.
Five conservation groups filed a lawsuit last week against the state of Colorado out of a district court in Gunnison. And Utahns are about evenly split on their approval of Republican Senator Mitt Romney.
Two Colorado Republicans who lost their primary races last month are raising unfounded claims of voter fraud and renewing their requests for recounts. And the U.S. house is considering a package of bills related to wildfire and drought this week.
One of Colorado’s top water officials says he can’t enforce recent federal demands to start conserving more on the Colorado River. And Colorado Parks and Wildlife is enacting voluntary fishing closures in Southwest Colorado.
Nearly 400 tourism industry groups have sent a letter to the National Park Service asking for changes to reservation systems at parks to better accommodate international travelers.
Three wildland fires were ignited by lightning on Friday in Mesa Verde National Park. And the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School District will be cracking down on student attendance and discipline this year.
Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters has been arrested. And the Navajo Nation Council accepted funding for the first large-scale fiber-optic communications network for the tribe.
Colorado is launching a one point eight million dollar grant program aimed at getting youth from underserved communities into the great outdoors. And fire crews in Gunnison County this week were able to subdue a wildfire caused by flames in an underground coal mine.
Temperatures across the Four Corners are expected to reach 104 degrees this weekend, and extreme heat like this is no joke. It can cause serious health issues, even death.
A fire broke out at Hoover Dam on Tuesday morning. And states in the Upper Colorado River Basin aren’t ready to commit to federal water conservation targets.
Utah is defending its ban on transgender girls competing in school athletics. And some fourteen conservation groups have unveiled an alternative proposal for wolf reintroduction ahead of a Colorado Parks and Wildlife meeting this week.
Republican Heidi Ganahl has picked a running mate in her campaign for the Colorado governor’s office. And the Navajo Nation Council signed a historic funding bill on Friday.
After NASA unveiled the first images this week from the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers in Utah are gearing up for a world of discoveries.
Utah child care employees are now eligible for a one-time 2-thousand dollar bonus. And inflation may drive up Utah fishing and hunting license fees.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late last month that Canadian-based Resolution Mining Company can build a copper mine on sacred Native American land east of Phoenix. And Utah has opened a new state office dedicated to professional licenses.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis was in Southwest Colorado on Tuesday, including a stop in Rico where he met with the town’s volunteer fire department.
It’s wildfire season across the Four Corners, and peak wildfire season in some places. KUER’s Lexi Peery has more on how people in Utah and others in the region can be prepared.
The Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite near Moab was damaged by construction earlier this year, and the Bureau of Land Management wants public input on the site’s future.
An update this week to Colorado's water plan finds shortages are likely to intensify in Colorado as temperatures get warmer due to climate change. Colorado’s updated water plan comes as the southwestern part of the state actually got some drought relief thanks to an unusually wet June.
Several new laws are taking effect on Friday in Colorado. And the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School Board voted to close two district schools at a special meeting on Wednesday.
The results of Colorado’s primary election are in: Republicans embraced moderates and rejected two candidates who ran on unfounded voter fraud allegations. Lauren Boebert defeated State Senator Don Coram in the state's third Congressional district.
Polls will close in Colorado’s primary election Tuesday night. And dozens of people gathered outside the Colorado state Capitol on Friday to protest the Supreme Court’s decision to end federal abortion protections.
Researchers say a bipartisan gun control bill at the U-S- Capitol could boost Colorado’s efforts to reduce gun violence. And the San Juan National Forest moved into Stage I Fire Restrictions, a step down from the previous Stage II.
Economists at the state Capitol say Coloradans will get bigger tax refunds this summer than they originally expected. And Colorado’s public swimming pools are having a hard time staying open this summer because there aren’t enough lifeguards.
Cortez Mayor Rachel Medina made a statement at Tuesday’s city council meeting about the recent cancellation of a local LGBTQ pride event. The council also approved Juneteenth as an official city holiday gave the go ahead for the Fourth of July fireworks show in Parque De Vida.
The Supreme Court ruled this week that Native Americans who are prosecuted in some tribal courts can also be prosecuted for the same incident in federal court. And the Pipeline Fire continues to burn about five miles north of downtown Flagstaff.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality recently granted an aquifer protection permit for a uranium mine near from a tribal community in the Grand Canyon, but the Havasupai Tribe still has concerns about the quality of its water. And avian influenza is suspected in Montezuma County.
The three Republican primary candidates for Montezuma County Commissioner participated in a forum on Thursday.
New Mexico’s primary Election was on Tuesday. Utah’s primary election is coming up as well, on June 28th. And a new study that looks at nearly two thousand years of climate conditions in the Colorado River has identified the worst drought in the recorded history of our region.
The candidates running in Colorado’s Third Congressional District primary answered questions at a public forum on Wednesday hosted by the League of Women Voters.
Research shows that LGBTQ+ youth have higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicide than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. On this week’s health and prevention report, KSJD’s Lucas Brady Woods talked to Liz Filas, a mental health therapist with the Four Corners Child Advocacy Center, to break down what that correlation means and why it's important to understand.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has vetoed a bill that would have required developers to include electric vehicle chargers in new building projects. And lawmakers in Washington, D.C. discussed the Western water crisis on Tuesday.
An in-person performance celebrating LGBTQ pride month in Cortez has been canceled due to intimidation attempts and security concerns.
Primary ballots are being sent out to Colorado voters this week. That includes in the state’s third congressional district, where primary candidates are meeting Wednesday at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Colorado. The organization’s board president, Karen Sheek, talks about what to expect from the event.
U-S Forest Service investigators say the east troublesome fire that killed two people and destroyed hundreds of homes in twenty twenty was human caused. And Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed a bill to stop charging state sales taxes on menstrual products and diapers.
Ballots for Colorado’s upcoming primary election are being mailed out starting Monday and voters face a deadline to switch their party affiliation. And a wildfire broke out on Friday near Ignacio on the Southern Ute Reservation.
The non-violent crime records of more than a million Coloradans will soon be sealed thanks to a new law Governor Jared Polis signed this week. And two Utah families are challenging the recent state bill that bars trans girls from competing in school sports.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed a bill to spend one hundred million dollars on programs to reduce homelessness. And avian flu is spreading throughout Utah.
After last week’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, one Utah lawmaker wants to introduce what he calls modest gun reform.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed a bill to cover college tuition for the state’s foster youth. And Colorado has launched a new bus service connecting the Front Range to the mountains.
Thousands of Coloradans are getting ready to flock to the mountains for the long Memorial Day Weekend, and meteorologists say travelers should be vigilant about increased fire danger. And leaders from the Navajo Nation, the federal government and the state of Utah signed a water rights agreement on Friday.
Local Roma-inspired band Carute Roma will soon be releasing their newest album, Roma Road - with release parties in Durango and Mancos next week.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has issued an executive order he says will help residents endure the nationwide shortage of baby formula. Governor Polis also signed a bill on Wednesday he says will prevent people from dying of fentanyl poisoning.
A controversial proposal to bring water from the San Luis Valley to Douglas County is now unlikely to become a reality. And the Perins Peak fire broke out late Tuesday just northwest of Durango.
Governor Jared Polis has signed a bill to mail Colorado taxpayers a refund check in August. And the birth rate in Utah is quickly falling, according to a new report from the Utah Foundation focusing on the state's investment in the next generation.
Colorado is preparing to spend one point five million dollars on a variety of programs aimed at getting youth from underserved communities into the great outdoors. And a federal judge has vacated a plan for drilling and fracking in the North Fork and Thompson Divide areas of Colorado.
A new bill in the U.S. House aims to expand the use of data to understand and manage water nationwide. And a domestic cat in San Miguel County has tested positive for the plague, but there have been no human cases to-date.
Colorado is experiencing another uptick in coronavirus cases. And a new Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives will be housed in the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
COVID-19 cases are increasing once again in Southwest Colorado, but the spread is different this time around. For one, the cases are more difficult to track. But people here in Montezuma County are still getting sick, and dying.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed a fifty six million dollar wildfire prevention program into law. And the Plumtaw Fire is burning about seven miles north of Pagosa Springs in the San Juan National Forest.
The Four Corners region is known for it’s piñon and juniper trees. But those trees are being threatened by lack of water, and their future is unclear as drought conditions persist. For KSJD News, Gail Binkley reports.
Two recent moves aim to benefit water access for tribal communities in the Colorado River basin. And the League of Women Voters of Utah is standing by its lawsuit challenging the state’s new congressional maps.
Dozens of abortion rights supporters gathered in Cortez over the weekend. And the Ute Pass Fire broke out late Friday afternoon a few miles northeast of Durango, but is at least 80% contained.
The Ute Mountain Ute tribe is raising money to open a grocery store on its reservation. Federal COVID-19 waivers for free school lunch will end when the school year is over. And summer water restrictions in Cortez take effect on Sunday and will remain in place until September 15.
Bark beetles are common across the Western US. They’re tiny insects that burrow into the bark of pine trees to lay their eggs, often killing the tree in the process. They can also spread across huge areas of woodland. One way to mitigate beetle outbreaks is through prescribed burns. But as KSJD’s Lucas Brady Woods reports, the drought conditions fueling their spread aren’t so easy to address.
The dust is starting to settle at the Colorado State Capitol after the legislative session ended late last night. And Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources has confirmed avian flu in a deceased great horned owl.
A new report by the US Interior Department is sharply critical of the Indian boarding school system used as a tool to assimilate indigenous people during the 19th and early 20th centuries. KSJD's Lucas Brady Woods reports.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced a new round of funding for water projects this week. And Democrats at the Colorado state Capitol have passed a bill they say will protect elections from insider threats.
Colorado lawmakers have passed a bill they say includes the most money they have ever spent on affordable housing projects. And they have rejected an effort to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products.
Arizona is among the states to see cuts to its water reserves this year, thanks to a federal plan to hold back water in Lake Powell, and state officials say while they’re prepared for a drier future, more work needs to be done. And Colorado lawmakers are quickly advancing a bill they say will save residents seven hundred million dollars in property taxes over the next two years.
Colorado lawmakers are on the verge of passing a bill to address a spike in fentanyl overdose deaths. And the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is allocating 4 million dollars to fund habitat restoration across the state.
The dissolution of Roe v. Wade would have major implications in Utah. National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness day was marked by a march in Kayenta on Thursday. And there will be a new farmers market in Mancos starting next month.
The Colorado House has passed a bill to ban sales of flavored tobacco products. And the US Department of Agriculture announced it will be investing thirty million dollars in the San Juan National Forest.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is locking in plans to add more water to Lake Powell. And the US Senate unanimously approved an extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.
Colorado lawmakers say they will pass a bill to provide hundreds of millions in property tax relief over the next two years. And the Ute Mountain Ute tribe is receiving a grant worth one and a half million dollars from the Colorado Housing and Finance authority.
A bill aiming to prevent fentanyl overdoses barely survived its first test in the Colorado Senate. And Colorado health officials say a person working on a farm with infected poultry tested positive for avian influenza this week, but officials also say there is little risk to public health.
The Colorado Senate has passed a bill to make oil and gas companies start paying fees to help clean up abandoned wells. And the US Department of Agriculture announced it will be investing millions of dollars in the San Juan National Forest over the next ten years.
The postpartum period, after childbirth, is a critical time for the health and well being of the mom, her new baby, and her family. On today’s Health and Prevention Report, KSJD’s Tom Yoder spoke with Certified Birth Doula and Childbirth Educator Nikki Gillespie about the nature of postpartum and why it’s a time when the whole community can help new moms get a healthy start.
The Colorado senate has started debating a bill aiming to prevent fentanyl overdoses. The City of Cortez has a new city council and mayor. And, looking at water conditions as summer approaches, the picture across the Southwest doesn’t look good.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill Monday to roll out free preschool classes starting next year. Governor Polis also signed a $36 billion dollar state budget for next year. And the Montezuma County Fairgrounds Racetrack has a new promoter.
Colorado has been collecting more taxes than it can legally spend in recent years. And the seven states in the Colorado River basin are giving their approval to a proposed set of water cutbacks from the federal government.
Governor Jared Polis says Colorado will spend twenty million dollars to better prepare for wildfires this summer. And avian influenza has been detected in multiple counties across the Western Slope.
Stella Prince is a 17-year-old folk artist who recently released her first radio single, "Crying on a Saturday Night." Music Director LP McKay sat down with Prince to talk about the song's inspirations, and her upcoming international tour.
Colorado lawmakers have unveiled a bill to make large manufacturers pay for a new statewide recycling program. Utah is joining 20 other states in suing to end the federal transportation mask mandate.
The Colorado House has passed a $36 billion budget for next year, but no Republicans are supporting it. Utah’s new law banning transgender girls from competing in girls school sports has led to speculation about losing out on economic opportunities.
It is now a crime to openly carry firearms near polling places in Colorado. And Ironwood Mill near Dolores is violating state regulations for waste disposal.
Colorado’s top water agency is pausing investigations into “demand management,” a program that would pay people to use less water and send it to Lake Powell for storage. And the Colorado Senate has approved a bill that would force hospitals to allow visitors during future public health emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox vetoed a bill last week that bans transgender girls from competing in girls sports, but state lawmakers voted to override that veto on Friday.
Colorado lawmakers have overwhelmingly rejected a bill aiming to protect workers who use marijuana off the clock. And a highly contagious strain of avian flu has been discovered in wild birds in Colorado.
Colorado lawmakers are unveiling a bipartisan bill they say will help prevent deaths from fentanyl. And the Ute Mountain Ute tribe has moved down on its COVID-19 risk scale.
Colorado Democrats are sending Governor Jared Polis a bill that aims to protect unrestricted access to abortions. And troubles continue for Mind Springs Health, which provides behavioral health services in ten counties on the west slope.
A report released Monday says Lake Powell has lost four percent of its storage capacity since 1986. And federal funding for a central sewer system in Rico was approved by Congress, although there are concerns the town won’t meet the deadline to use them.
Colorado lawmakers have passed a bill to ban people from openly carrying guns near polling places. And the League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and others are suing the state of Utah over the new Congressional map.
A Telluride was killed by an avalanche while snowboarding in the backcountry this week.
Colorado lawmakers are advancing a measure to restrict the sale of flavored tobacco. And Vail Resorts announced it will increase its minimum wage next winter to $20 per hour at its North American resorts.
Overdoses and overdose deaths are on the rise in Southwest Colorado, including here in Montezuma County. Many of the overdoses are the result of the opioid fentanyl, which is often mixed with illicit street drugs. To get a better picture of what these overdoses look like, and what they mean for the larger community, KSJD's Lucas Brady Woods spoke to Jessica Borden, the risk reduction officer with the Cortez Fire Protection District.
Colorado lawmakers are advancing a bill to make sure people displaced by natural disasters can continue voting in their hometown elections while their houses are being rebuilt. And U-S Senate candidate Ally Isom submitted more than 28,000 signatures this week to secure her spot on Utah’s Republican primary ballot.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is having ripple effects across the globe, including right here in Southwest Colorado. Natasha Erlandson is originally from Ukraine, but now lives with her husband Todd here in Montezuma County. Until a few days ago, her parents were still living in one of the cities hardest hit by Russian forces. Now, they're refugees, and with the help Natasha and Todd, they're working their way across Europe and eventually to Southwest Colorado.
A new report paints a bleak picture of radioactive waste at the White Mesa Uranium Mill in Southeast Utah. And Utah Senator Mitt Romney is looking for people to join a federal wildland fire commission.
Democrats at the Colorado state Capitol are unveiling a bill they say will improve election security and protect against threats from the people who run them. And in Rico, the Planning Commission recommended last week that the town’s Board of Trustees place a moratorium on short term rental applications.
Colorado lawmakers are advancing a bill to give tax credits to small businesses that advertise in local newspapers and radio stations. And candidates for Cortez City Council answered questions in a public forum on Thursday evening.
Hundreds of people traveled to the Colorado state Capitol on Wednesday to weigh in on a bill aiming to protect the state’s unrestricted access to abortion. And some COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation.
Colorado lawmakers are debating a bill that would maintain the state’s unrestricted access to abortions. And Montezuma County posted some clarifying information about the site of the old M&M building on South Broadway in Cortez.
Some Colorado lawmakers want to make it easier for residents to see how the state is spending their tax money, but the state would still be able to hide some data from its online checkbook. And the two candidates for Dolores mayor spoke at a candidate forum on Monday night.
Last week’s winter storm brought snowpack levels up to 85% of the seasonal median in the Dolores River Basin and the storm this weekend could bring levels up to 100% of the median. And law enforcement has detected a “particularly deadly” batch of the synthetic opioid Fentanyl circulating in San Miguel county.
A local man was attacked by a mountain lion this week in Montezuma County. And Colorado lawmakers are advancing a plan to install a network of cameras to constantly monitor for the start of wildfires.
COVID-19 can be a very dangerous virus for pregnant women who have not been vaccinated against it. Unvaccinated pregnant women are at especially high risk of severe complications, which can affect both the mother and her unborn child. Experts say the vaccine is completely safe to take, but here in Montezuma County, vaccination rates among pregnant women remain low.
A new report from the United Nations’ panel on climate change lays out a grim picture of the future that includes more shortages for the already-dry Colorado River basin. A republican bill in Utah banning pornographic materials in schools passed the state’s House on Tuesday. And, the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School Board appointed Harry Tom Burrus as the district’s interim superintendent.
Coloradans who want to replace their water-hungry lawns to save money and fight drought conditions are on the verge of getting more help from the state. And as spring approaches, Utah wildlife officials are asking boaters to plan ahead before visiting Lake Powell.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis says the state is moving to a new, less restrictive phase of the pandemic response because of rapidly dropping case numbers. And the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School District is holding a special board meeting on Tuesday with only one action item on the agenda: to appoint an interim superintendent for the school district.
A federal appeals court ruled this week against environmental groups and an Arizona tribe in their bid to keep a uranium mine south of the Grand Canyon from operating. And in Colorado, a proposed diversion to carry water out of the San Luis Valley and into Douglas County is drawing opposition from farmers, environmentalists, and politicians.
The Bureau of Land Management wants to expand environmental protections around Chaco Canyon in New Mexico after the Biden Administration first announced the plan last year. In the process, it would restrict new fossil fuel extraction over hundreds of thousands of acres. This week , it held the first public meetings about its proposal and is already hearing from concerned community members.
Democrats at the Colorado statehouse are blocking new Republican efforts to ban abortions. The City of Cortez and Montezuma County have announced their choice for Cortez Municipal Airport’s new airline. And one of the candidates for Cortez City Council has dropped out of the race.
Tribal communities will receive one-point-seven-billion dollars from the Department of the Interior to develop water infrastructure projects. And the town of Rico is holding two public meetings this week on the town’s program to clean up lead contamination in the soil.
Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would protect workers who consume marijuana outside of the workplace. And the Cortez City Council and Montezuma County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday to discuss a new dedicated airline for the Cortez Municipal Airport.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is up for re-election this year. On top of that, he’s helping lead a new inter-agency task force meant to address conservation issues across borders in the West. It’s called the Task Force on Collaborative Conservation, and it’s being led by the Western Governors Association in partnership with the federal Departments of the Interior and Agriculture. KSJD’s Lucas Brady Woods spoke to Governor Polis remotely to find out what the task force means for the Four Corners Region, and how the governor plans to reach voters in Southwest Colorado.
Investing unspent federal relief dollars in public schools could help with a staffing-shortage crisis, according to a new report. And the Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners will attend the Cortez City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss the Essential Air Services at the Cortez Municipal Airport.
There will soon be a new forum for Western states and federal agencies to coordinate environmental conservation across borders and jurisdictions. KSJD's Lucas Brady Woods reports.
Colorado lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have banned the hunting and trapping of bobcats and mountain lions. And the Ute Mountain Ute reservation moved to Code Red for COVID-19 guidelines Thursday.
The Ute Mountain Ute tribe is moving towards an economy driven by renewable energy production after historically relying on fossil fuels. For instance, the tribe already supplements its electricity with solar power. And now, the tribe is also looking into hydroelectric projects too.
The Colorado state Senate leader is resigning to take a job at the Pentagon. And the U.S. announced 83 million dollars in the latest round of tribal housing grants.
Colorado lawmakers are debating a bill to force hospitals and nursing homes to allow IN PERSON visitation during pandemics. And there was a massive police response at Montrose High School on Wednesday after law enforcement received a tip that there was a gun on campus.
Election season has officially begun in Cortez! And city officials randomly drew names at the City Hall Monday Evening to determine name placement on the ballot. And heavy snow accumulations are expected for all mountain ranges in the Four Corners region.
A new report sent to state lawmakers this week reveals the scope of Colorado’s housing crisis. And the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School Board confirmed over the weekend that district superintendent Risha VanderWey has resigned.
Colorado Democrats want to permanently extend a law passed at the beginning of the pandemic to protect people who report unsafe working conditions. And Gerald Koppenhafer was selected by the Republican Central Committee to complete the term of office of the late Commissioner Joel Stevenson.
The Kayenta Animal Control center is temporarily closed due to a Parvo and Giardia outbreak in the kennels. And the Bureau of Land Management’s new Director Tracy Stone-Manning says the agency plans to permanently remove at least 19,000 wild horses and burros this year from western public lands.
Several Colorado lawmakers are working from home this week. But party leaders cannot say whether the higher rate of VIRTUAL participation is because of a COVID outbreak at the Capitol. And two Montezuma County Commissioners will attend a meeting by the Republican Central Committee on Thursday evening in Cortez.
One hospital in Utah is treating 140 children under five with very serious COVID-19 infections. And the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission heard from members of the public on its financial assurance rulemaking last week.
Utah lawmakers voted mostly along party lines last week to officially end the Test to Stay program in schools. And three people were found dead at a house in Cortez.
In the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School District, superintendent Risha VanderWey has been placed on administrative leave by the school board, and COVID-19 contact tracing has been suspended.
Colorado lawmakers have introduced more than one hundred and sixty bills in the first week of their new session. And Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert has been elected by members of the House Freedom Caucus to serve as their Communications Chair.
Communities across the US are experiencing surges of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. But the Omicron wave is only starting to pick up momentum here in Southwest Colorado, where about 60% of the population is vaccinated, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. To get details on the situation, KSJD's Lucas Brady Woods spoke to Mark Meyer, head of infection control at Southwest Health System, who says severe COVID infections are concentrated among the unvaccinated.
The Ute Mountain Ute tribe of Southwest Colorado is turning to solar generation to provide cheap electricity for its members and infrastructure. But it also has solar ambitions that go beyond the community level. As Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Lucas Brady Woods reports, they include generating solar power that can be sold for a profit.