KSJD News

Southwest Health System in Montezuma County is doing well financially, but changes at the federal level will have an impact in coming times.

Visitation at Mesa Verde has been down by a little less than 4 percent this year.

Despite concerns from one member, the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School Board is moving forward with an aggressively speedy process for hiring a new district superintendent.

Recent rains have provided momentary relief from the drought, but it is still hanging on.

Montezuma-Cortez School Superintendent Tom Burris announced his resignation at Tuesday night's meeting of the District Re-1 board.

A local woman has been indicted on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of her five-year-old daughter in 2022.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser talked with an audience in Cortez on Friday about a number of issues faced by rural communities, including opioids, broadband access, economic development, and water.

Voters in Montezuma County will have several local questions to answer in November's election, depending on where they live.

The Georgia corporation that owns Dollar General stores is again suing the Montezuma County commissioners over their rejection of a store proposed on County Road N at Highway 145.

Two Cortez residents accused of beating a man to death and seriously injuring two other men in Veterans Park the evening of Aug. 20 appeared in District Court Friday.

Some 225 people stood along Cortez's Main Street for an hour Monday evening to express support for workers and criticism of the Trump administration. And during Tuesday's meeting of the Montezuma County Commission, Chair Jim Candelaria spoke out against what he called misinformation on social media.

People who came to Dolores on Wednesday night to see Third District Congressman Jeff Hurd had to make do with asking questions of the Montezuma County commissioners instead.

A local citizen spoke up at Tuesday's meeting of the Montezuma County commissioners to challenge the idea that the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and other sovereign nations don't pay their fair share for public services.

A man who is being sued for defamation by Montezuma-Cortez School District Superintendent Harry (Tom) Burris has filed a motion to have that lawsuit dismissed.

Two Cortez residents are being held in connection with a violent homicide and two assaults that took place in the city's Veterans Park on Wednesday evening.

A 31-year-old Towaoc man has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a woman early on the morning of Aug. 12.

August is generally the wettest month of the year for much of the Intermountain West, but so far it hasn't lived up to its reputation.

Fire crews strengthen containment and structure protection on the 7,400-acre Stoner Mesa Fire, focusing on communities along County Road 38 and Highway 145.

A recent dog attack in Cortez sent a letter carrier to the hospital and has the U.S. Postal Service urging pet owners to be responsible and prevent dog bites.

As wildfires continue to rampage throughout the West, local areas are adopting tougher fire restrictions.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet voiced strong concerns about health care, the economy, fairness in voting, and other issues at a town hall in Durango Tuesday.

Heat and drought are helping spread wildfires in the Four Corners area and across the West.

While Colorado's Front Range is experiencing abundant rainfall, the state's Western Slope continues to bake and even burn

Rumors of a major restructuring of Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez are false. That was the message given to about 20 members of the public who came to Wednesday night's meeting of the Southwest Heath System board.

Crews make progress on several Four Corners wildfires, but hot, dry weather and wind continue to fuel active fire zones in Colorado, Utah, and Arizona.

How should alternative energy be regulated in Montezuma County? About 80 people showed up to a meeting on that topic held by the county Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday night.

After a school-board meeting at which more than a half-dozen anonymous letters were read aloud, Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1 Superintendent Tom Burris says the board may need to consider adopting a policy about such letters.

About 200 people commemorated the fifth anniversary of the death of famed civil-rights activist John Lewis by joining a “Good Trouble” rally in Cortez Thursday morning. And Monsoon rains are offering some mild hope for progress in fighting wildfires in the Southwest.

Smoke, drought, and wildfire have marked the month of July so far across most of the West.

The month of June was wet, but not wet enough to pull the local area out of drought.

The Montezuma County commissioners on Tuesday defended their support for creating a national conservation area on the Dolores River.

A Dollar General store proposed at Highway 145 and Road N got yet another thumbs-down from Montezuma County on Tuesday.

The impacts of President Trump's “Big Beautiful Bill” to health care will be devastating. That was the message delivered by one Colorado senator, four Colorado congresspeople, the state's governor, and some members of the health-care industry during a Zoom press conference Wednesday.

Fire restrictions are being implemented throughout the local area as residents hope for monsoon rains to arrive soon. On Tuesday, the Montezuma County commissioners reinstated a fire ban across all unincorporated areas of the county, starting Wednesday at 6 a.m.

Cortez officials are not planning a highway bypass around the city. That message was emphasized Wednesday night at an open house about the city's new Transportation Master Plan.

A controversial proposal to place a Dollar General store between Cortez and Dolores got a second chance before the Montezuma County commissioners Tuesday.

Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez is one of six hospitals in Colorado that could wind up closing if the federal budget reconciliation bill passes in its current form.

Could the popular Phil's World bicycling trail system east of Cortez be put up for sale in the near future? The answer appears to be yes, if the federal budget reconciliation bill in its current form becomes law.

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.