MOUNTAIN GROWN COMMUNITY RADIO

Marisela Ballesteros makes history as first Indigenous person elected to Gunnison City Council

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Marisela Ballesteros is the first Cora Indian and Indigenous person elected to the Gunnison City Council. She successfully ran unopposed for a seat on the Gunnison City Council last year and was sworn into office last month to serve a four-year term. She was also elected mayor pro tem by her fellow council members. She says it's estimated Cora Indians, an indigenous group from Mexico, make up at least one-fourth of Gunnison's Spanish speaking population. For KVNF, Laura Palmisano interviews Ballesteros about her decision to run for office and goals now that she's a city council member.

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Laura joined KVNF in 2014. She was the news director for two years and now works as a freelance reporter covering Colorado's Western Slope. Laura is an award-winning journalist with work recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, Colorado Broadcasters Association, and RTDNA. In 2015, she was a fellow for the Institute for Justice & Journalism. Her fellowship project, a three-part series on the Karen refugee community in Delta, Colorado, received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award.