KSJD News

Utah regulators met with White Mesa residents Monday about Energy Fuels' proposed rare earth expansion at the White Mesa Mill.

A rainstorm in the first two days of April produced enough moisture to push the month's total precipitation to 179 percent of the historic average for Cortez. However, that didn't really change the dramatically dry picture overall in the area.

Drought conditions are forcing Montezuma County growers, livestock producers and gardeners to make hard decisions about water use, crops and conservation.

Hundreds of Montezuma County residents took advantage of the county's free clean-up days at the landfill Friday and Saturday, dropping off old appliances, furniture, electronics, and tires without paying a fee.

A Cortez man accused of brutally beating three men in Veterans Park in 2025, killing one of them, entered a not-guilty plea in District Court on Wednesday. In other news, a man who was struck by a plane and killed after he trespassed onto a runway at Denver International Airport on Friday reportedly had lived in Montezuma County.

Dolores trustees voted to let an early-stage housing and commercial development concept move forward after residents raised concerns about traffic, parking, building height and neighborhood impacts.

A Cortez woman accused of killing her 5-year-old daughter in 2022 entered a not-guilty plea Monday morning in District Court.

Two Republican candidates for Montezuma County clerk and recorder discussed issues such as mail-in ballots, election security, and the case of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters at a forum Wednesday night in Cortez.

A 21-year-old Cortez woman charged with first-degree murder entered a not-guilty plea in District Court Thursday, but attorneys indicated a disposition of her case may be in the works.

The Sexual Assault Services Organization is opening a Cortez office, expanding free, confidential support services for survivors in Montezuma and Dolores counties.

Three Republican candidates seeking a seat on the Montezuma County commission largely agreed on many issues at a forum Monday night, but expressed some key differences.

A Dolores library board review and a regional food summit highlight key issues in southwest Colorado, from governance concerns to food insecurity.

The recent transition between school superintendents in the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 district was somewhat rocky, according to an email sent by board president Josh Shumway to the entire board and read aloud at its April 21 meeting.

The Mesa Verde Writers Conference will take place in September this year after organizers cited summer crowds and heat in southwest Colorado.

Montezuma County is moving ahead with efforts to clean up the county through clean-up days and a possible ordinance about trash.

The Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 school board voted to end ties with ERBOCES and CLAS, continuing governance changes under its new majority.

The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school district is cutting ties with a highly controversial attorney who has worked for the district for the past four years.

A Colorado State Patrol trooper used what's called a tactical vehicle intervention, or TVI, on April 8 east of Cortez to halt a Jeep Gladiator traveling the wrong way along Highway 160.

The weather, wildfire, and water outlook for the months ahead drew concerned comments from the Montezuma County commissioners at their meeting Tuesday.

Passage of a measure overturning a mining ban in a Minnesota wilderness area is raising concerns among environmentalists about its possible ramifications for the Four Corners. And the ongoing drought in the Four Corners is affecting conditions at a popular tourist attraction.

March madness is a good description for last month's climate in Cortez, according to longtime local weather observer Jim Andrus.

A campaign mailer sent to Cortez voters ahead of the city council election is raising questions about whether it meets Colorado disclosure requirements.

Students with the Youth Leadership Council recommended restoring lunch clubs to schools in District Re-1 at a school-board workshop Tuesday.

The Montezuma County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday not to have the county sponsor and seek a grant for a summer lunch program for local children.

Home sales in Montezuma County are slowing this spring, giving buyers more negotiating power as high costs continue to limit affordability.

The Montezuma County commissioners voiced reluctance Monday to giving the go-ahead to the county's sponsoring a summer lunch program for local children.

The finances of Southwest Health System in Montezuma County have been on something of a roller-coaster ride.

Approximately 750 people gathered in Cortez's Veterans Park on Saturday for the third No Kings rally against the policies of the Trump administration.

Cortez voters are being asked to decide four ballot questions in addition to choosing candidates for five open seats in the April 7 municipal election. City manager Drew Sanders explained the questions at a forum Thursday before a handful of people.

The Navajo Nation has come out in formal opposition to the SAVE America Act, saying it would disproportionately affect Navajo voters and other indigenous tribal communities nationwide.

Hotels and tourism businesses near Mesa Verde report early spring bookings, while park construction and shifting travel patterns shape the season outlook.

Do you use ChatGPT? Do you talk to Siri on your phone? If so, you've helped fuel the rise in data centers. Now, the energy-hungry, water-thirsty centers are coming to places in the Southwest, including the lands of native peoples.

A Cortez man charged with murder in the brutal death of a 40-year-old man in Veterans Park last summer may face a second murder charge. And a hearing on the lawsuit between Leaf Properties and the Montezuma County commissioners has been set for May 21 at 2 p.m. in District Court.

Visitation in 2025 at Mesa Verde National Park was down about 3.4 percent from the year before, but special events may bring more people this season.

Ballots are being mailed for the April 7 Cortez municipal election. Voters will choose city council members and decide four charter amendment questions.

A question about Pride Month drew the most sharply differing responses from candidates for the Cortez City Council at a forum Wednesday night.

A little more than an inch of precipitation fell on Cortez in February. And about three dozen people convened in Cortez's Veterans Park on Sunday for what was called an Angry Knit-In.

Cortez city council candidate Travis Shepherd says improving transparency and addressing affordable housing will be priorities if elected.

Representatives of indigenous tribes and conservation groups are voicing concern about an effort to eliminate the resource management plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.

A lawsuit over whether a Dollar General store should be built just off of Highway 145 is moving forward.

The Montezuma County commissioners have changed the way in which a proposed sales tax would be divided between the sheriff's office and the Road and Bridge Department.

A lawsuit filed by Maria's Bookshop against the city of Durango and a police detective over a demand for records of a customer's book purchases is now essentially defunct.

Over-collected revenues from a sales tax for the Cortez Recreation Center cannot legally be used to fund parks in the city of Cortez. Officials explained that several times during Tuesday's meeting of the city council.

City officials plan public "Ballot Question Breakdown" sessions to help voters understand four City Charter amendments on the April 7 ballot. Ballots will be mailed March 16 for the election, which also includes five City Council seats.

Critics of Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument may employ a rarely used law to dramatically change how the monument is managed.

In a move that signals a change in direction, the Montezuma-Cortez School District has put out a request for proposals for new legal counsel.

The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School District Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to place a chair in the high-school cafeteria to honor a young boy who was shot and killed in December of 2024.

The Montezuma County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with a ballot measure that would remove term limits for three county offices. They also agreed to plan for a clean-up weekend this spring during which landfill fees will be waived for county residents.

U.S. Congressman Jeff Hurd was one of six Republicans who voted with Democrats on Wednesday to rescind tariffs on Canada.

The Montezuma County commissioners are considering letting voters decide whether to extend term limits on certain county offices.

Cases against two Cortez residents charged with beating one man to death and assaulting two other men in Veterans Park last year are moving toward trial.