Montrose's city clerk hand-counted the last 83 ballots of the April election instead of sending them to the county. This week the city explained why: two candidates were in the room while ballots were being scanned, and the clerk wasn't notified.

Over the weekend, GOP gubernatorial nominee Victor Marx made a whistle stop at Cowboy at the Cross Church in the small town of Austin. He cracked jokes, talked about culture war issues, and asked attendees to vote for him.

Montrose County's school board voted unanimously Monday night to offer Superintendent Carrie Stephenson an agreement to resign, ending a standoff that began in June. There was no public comment on the agenda, so the community made its case to KVNF in the parking lot instead.

Sara Rinne spent nearly 18 years with the Montrose library. Now she's deputy director of the Western Colorado Alliance for Community Action. She talks with KVNF about grassroots organizing on the Western Slope — and the Alliance's Power Forward conference, coming to Grand Junction on August 29.

Bear encounters are becoming increasingly common in Paonia, and the situation took a deadly turn last week when a resident shot and killed a bear in his backyard.

Artist Karen Floyd is turning old unused newspaper boxes into free art exchanges. The first News to Muse box is up at Gambles Hardware in Hotchkiss, and Floyd wants them in every town in Colorado.

If you’ve noticed more bear sightings lately, you’re not imagining it. Colorado Parks & Wildlife is reporting a major spike in bear activity statewide. Several Western Slope communities are scrambling to reduce human caused attractants before the situation becomes even more intense.

Some living trees in the Uncompahgre measured 9% moisture this summer — drier than the legal limit for kiln-dried lumber. So why did the Gold Mountain Fire leave some whole hillsides untouched? KVNF news rode up Owl Creek Pass to find out, and the answer turns out to be a tree.

The Montrose County School Board continued Superintendent Dr. Carrie Stephenson’s paid leave and dismissed a grievance she filed against the board during its meeting Tuesday night.

The Delta County Fair brought families, 4-H exhibitors, livestock and community members together for a week of activities, competitions and celebrations.