KSJD News

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.

About 15 wolverines may be released into the San Juan Mountains as soon as the end of 2027.

More than 80 people stood along Cortez's Main Street on Saturday as part of a nationwide ICE Out protest against aggressive immigration enforcement. And little moisture fell from the sky in January.

Food insecurity is a genuine problem in Montezuma County. Four people who deal with that issue discussed it Thursday night at the Sunflower Theatre in Cortez.

The Dolores Public Library Board approved a revised intergovernmental agreement with the Town of Dolores in a special meeting Tuesday night.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd addressed a variety of topics during his visit with the Montezuma County commissioners Monday afternoon but was vague about one that is of major interest to many locals – the proposed Dolores River National Conservation Area.

The issue of whether a Dollar General store can be built on a 3.78-acre parcel just off of Highway 145 between Cortez and Dolores remains in legal limbo.

Attorneys for the Dolores Library District Board and the Town of Dolores have been working to iron out language in an intergovernmental agreement between the two entities.

A local woman charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter had her bond reduced Friday after her public defender strongly argued that new evidence indicates the death may have been from natural causes.

Saying her decision came “with a heavy heart and following deep reflection,” Cortez Mayor Rachel Medina announced her resignation at Tuesday's meeting of the city council.

The Montezuma County Sheriff's Office honored a number of its employees for notable service at a ceremony Friday night in Cortez.

About 150 people held a vigil in Cortez on Saturday in remembrance of Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman shot dead in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

The Montezuma County commissioners are mulling the idea of putting a sales tax on the ballot this year.

Community organizer Rebecca Busic has entered the Montezuma County commissioner race, adding a Democratic candidate to a field previously made up of Republicans.

The City of Cortez is holding an information session for residents considering a run for City Council, as nomination deadlines approach for the April election.

About 175 people protested on Cortez's Main Street on Tuesday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and attack on the Capitol. And the hike-able warm weather has a down side: lower snowpacks.

Concerns about violence have prompted the Ute Mountain Ute tribal council to implement a nighttime curfew on the reservation.

Will 2026 be the year that a national conservation area is created on the lower Dolores River? Proponents of the long-stalled effort are hoping it will.

The involvement of a Colorado-based airline in immigration enforcement flights prompted a protest south of Cortez on Saturday morning.

After a lengthy discussion during a very lengthy meeting, the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school board voted Tuesday night to engage a law firm to review contracts for the district's new and departing superintendents. And GOCO, or Great Outdoors Colorado, has awarded $2.6 million to projects in Southwest Colorado.

Two more people in Montezuma County have come down with the measles, bringing the total number of cases in the county this year to four.

Trustees on the Dolores Library Board agree on some issues but continue to argue about others.

The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School Board is going to seek outside legal counsel to review the contracts for the outgoing and incoming district superintendents.

Rain in November and snow this month have improved the precipitation situation in Montezuma County. And Montezuma County Commissioner Jim Candelaria has been named as the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the nonprofit group Colorado Counties, Inc.

A young Montezuma County resident has come down with measles. This is the second case of measles in the county this year.

How do you balance outdoor recreation with conservation of landscapes and wildlife? A group called the Montelores Coalition has come up with a draft plan for dealing with that issue.

Despite strong objections from an incumbent board member, the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school board on Tuesday night approved paying one-time bonuses of $1,500 each to district staff.

Turner Wyatt discusses Begin Where You Are, a first-of-its-kind anthology featuring all 10 Colorado Poets Laureate, including new unpublished works.

The Dolores Library District Board took the unusual step Tuesday night, Nov. 25, of censuring one of its members.

Because of concerns about a highly contagious and dangerous horse disease, the Montezuma County Fairgrounds remains closed to open riding and equine activities.

A family from Colombia whose arrest by ICE prompted a protest in Durango is reportedly preparing to self-deport.

After a lengthy public hearing Tuesday, the Montezuma County commissioners unanimously passed new regulations concerning renewable energy development, particularly solar.

Measles has come to Montezuma County.A school-aged child who was not vaccinated against the disease reportedly came down with symptoms after traveling to a place outside Colorado where an outbreak is going on.

Four Corners writers launch a second anthology featuring regional fiction, nonfiction, and poetry — with live readings planned at the Sunflower Theatre.

Autumn weather in Cortez and Montezuma County has been lovely so far, but of course there is a down side – a lack of precipitation.

A Republican state senator and a Democratic state representative presented a grim picture of Colorado's budget in Dolores Saturday morning.

The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school district will soon have a largely new school board.

A District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School Superintendent Tom Burris against a local man.

KSJD's Andie Ravensbergen talks with Sarah Burak, Education Director at the Bears Ears Partnership, about Bluff, Utah's recent designation as an International Dark Sky Community and the town's first-ever Dark Sky Festival on November 14th and 15th. Burak — a self-proclaimed “Dark Sky Enthusiast” — shares her passion for astronomy, community collaboration, and preserving the beauty of the region's star-filled skies.

People who protested the detainment of three Colombian asylum-seekers in Durango continue to voice outrage, disbelief, and disappointment at how they were treated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the demonstration earlier this week.

Nearly 5,000 people in Montezuma County may be facing hunger at the beginning of November.

Porchlight Health uses personal stories and community connection to change how DUI offenders think about the impact of impaired driving.

October has been a good month for precipitation in the Four Corners.

After an executive session lasting an hour and forty minutes, the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School Board on Tuesday unanimously chose Eddie Ramirez as the district's new superintendent.

Joining an estimated 7 million people nationwide, more than 850 people lined Cortez's Main Street on Saturday morning as part of the No Kings Day protests against the Trump administration.