Gavin Dahl

• Mesa, Delta, Montrose, San Miguel Counties will begin vaccinating frontline health workers next week
• Connect for Health Colorado extends insurance sign-up deadline to Friday
• Audit finds red flags at Colorado State Judiciary Administration
• KBUT: Avalanche forecasters concerned about stability of this season's snowpack
• Avalanche education courses see record enrollment numbers
• Jodi Peterson gets oil & gas industry reaction to new COGCC rules

• Cedaredge Town Trustees begin discussing where marijuana shops can open
• Pitkin County requiring a traveler's affidavit from all visitors
• Grand Junction artist Linda McBride opens memorial for COVID dead at Art Center
• KZMU Moab's Justin Higginbottom reports on residents' opposition to a new 35-mile highway proposed for southeast Utah

This week, KVNF's Gavin Dahl asked two Democrats, Representative Barbara McLachlan who lives in Durango, and Ian Silverii the executive director of Progress Now and a Denver Post columnist, to reflect on the Special Session, the 2020 election, and the coronavirus pandemic. Last week we heard from two Republicans.

• Montrose School District employee arrested, accused of embezzling
• Montrose County approves $92M budget for 2021, Ouray County approves $15M budget
• Nicholas Aldridge ID'd as person found dead in the Adobes
• Forest Service: Northern Spotted Owl deserves endangered species protection
• KDNK's Lucas Turner reports oil & gas spills in Piceance Basin topped 700,000 gallons last year

• State revokes Ex-Delta Police officer Jeremy Gay's certification for lying 
• Town of Paonia clears up CDPHE water supply violations
• Colorado bars, restaurants can keep some sales taxes collected
• Labor unions receive more than 1000 workplace safety complaints during COVID pandemic
• Reporter Judy Fahys discovers Great Basin cave offers global warming cautionary tale

Restaurants and bars are teaming up with the City of Montrose and Colorado Yurt Company to "tipi the town" in the face of COVID-19 public health restrictions. KVNF's Gavin Dahl learns more from Montrose grants coordinator Kendall Cramer, Colorado Yurt CEO John Gibson, Storm King co-owner and distiller David Fishering, and Jimmers BBQ owner Jim LaRue. 

• Mesa County preparing to receive 1000 vaccine doses next week
• Unemployment rates dipping across Western Slope
• Colorado Department of Ag seeks disaster declaration for vineyards
• State activates municipal emergency drought plan for second time ever
• Restaurants team with City of Montrose & Colorado Yurt Company to 'tipi the town'

• Delta County Commissioners approve $36M budget for 2021
• Public comments on Delta County Land Use plan due before Monday's meeting
• Montrose Hospital changes management companies
• Colorado unveils plan for distributing COVID vaccines
• Advocates fielding growing number of calls from potential DACA applicants
• Jodi Peterson hears from Center for Mental Health on when alcohol & substance use becomes abuse

• Cory Gardner gave his farewell speech in the US Senate on Tuesday
• CASA plans new facility in Delta
• Colorado Parks & Wildlife crack 2019 poaching case on Uncompahgre Plateau
• Body found Saturday in the Adobes area
• Governors in the west want federal support for wildfire restoration
• Jodi Peterson reports CU-Boulder researchers say COVID testing could help stop virus spread

This week on Local Motion, news director Gavin Dahl speaks with two Republicans about the 2020 Election, the Special Session, and COVID-19. Next week, we'll hear from two Democrats. State Senator Don Coram represents District 6 which includes Montrose County, Ouray County, and San Miguel County. Ray Langston is chair of the Montrose County Republican Party. 

• Current COVID statistics across our listening area include 89 deaths
• Governor Polis signed 8 special session bills on Monday
• Who is dying in jails around our region and why?
• Chad Reich reports on roadless rule battle at West Elk Mine in Gunnison National Forest

• Delta County reported 53 new COVID cases Friday
• Montrose Schools announce another 177 students, 7 staff in quarantine due to 6 new positives
• Grand Junction finally solve cold case from 1975
• Bilingual contact tracers in particularly short supply
• Tribal councils in our region have made progress on gender parity, but women still underrepresented

• COVID death toll in Montrose County up to 17
• Montrose School District announces another 121 students, 15 staff must quarantine
• Fish & Wildlife says white-tailed ptarmigan doesn't need Endangered Species protection
• Colorado taking carrot and stick approach to COVID safety enforcement
• Researchers see wildflowers at solar farms beneficial to water quality
• Jodi Peterson checks in with Connect for Health Colorado about upcoming insurance deadlines

• FEC finds Republican Lauren Boebert failed to report donations for a third time
• Colorado sending $375 stimulus payments to unemployed residents
• Montrose School District adds more COVID safety measures
• State lawmakers approve 10 relief bills at special session
• Reporter Ed Williams talks about his Rolling Stone article on year's biggest marijuana bust

• Mesa County program allowing some businesses to avoid COVID restrictions may become model
• Attorney General Phil Weiser releases report naming 9 more sexually abusive Catholic priests
• Dr Anthony Fauci joins Governor Jared Polis for virtual COVID update
• Kori Stanton speaks with Paonia Clayworks co-founder Karen Good about how they're facing pandemic
• Jodi Peterson speaks with Delta County Health Department Medical Director Dr Susan Bright about rising case numbers

On this week's Local Motion Gavin Dahl speaks with Chalkbeat Colorado bureau chief Erica Meltzer about how school districts are managing coronavirus outbreaks statewide. Plus, Kori Stanton speaks to Paonia Experiential Leadership Academy senior Liza Eller, who wrote and directed 2020 The Musical, produced with fellow students. 

• Oil production dropped 13% during the pandemic, largest drop in 20 years
• Colorado food pantries reporting 2-3 times normal demand for food, 1/3 served never needed help before
• Research from Yellowstone backs up theory that wolves may be effective way to control spread of chronic wasting disease
• Will Walkey from KHOL reports on new threats to Wyoming's wind rush potential

• Delta County moves to High Risk level orange on COVID dial
• Governor Jared Polis tests positive for COVID, asymptomatic, working remotely
• New state task force hopes to help schools return to in-person learning safely
• Lawmakers return to Capitol for special session on coronavirus relief spending
• Update on historical monuments removed this year
• Senator Michael Bennet hears input on Future of Local News Commission Act from news leaders

• Governor Polis warns businesses not to defy new COVID restrictions
• Pandemic leads to spike in hunting license sales, but also more poaching
• President-elect Joe Biden has ambitious platform for indigenous communities
• KZMU: Lake Powell level drop allows river runners to discover hidden rapids

• Communities of color in Colorado, at greatest risk of death from COVID-19, too commonly face infection without health insurance: Open Enrollment is ongoing through January 15
• Reporter Moe Clark talks about her story on grassroots efforts to distribute survival gear to people living on the street, as the pandemic causes more homelessness, limiting shelter capacity, and Denver sweeps encampments against CDC recommendations

• Congresswoman-elect Lauren Boebert has asked to carry her gun on Capitol grounds
• Denver buying body cameras that start recording automatically when officers draw a gun
• Three Colorado coal plants face orders to close earlier than 2030
• Lake City residents are raising funds to buy land on Lake San Cristobal
• An accident in Arches National Park has led to a wrongful death claim against the Park Service
• COGCC approves new rules intended to protect wildlife from energy development

• Delta County moves to Yellow on COVID dial, Montrose County moves to Orange
• Republican Chris Holbert: death of ex-legislator 'a wake-up call'
• State epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy warns: Avoid Thanksgiving travel 
• Center for Mental Health launches mobile crisis program
• Hotchkiss Chamber names annual award winners
• Unemployment numbers down, federal funds ending
• Jessica Beller, director of curriculum & instruction for MCSD, talks about supporting remote learners, explains new grant

• Mesa County ICU beds at capacity
• Polis appoints Maria Berkenkotter to Colorado Supreme Court
• Colorado recycled less in 2019
• Report finds insulin costs are forcing Colorado diabetics to ration drugs
• Delta renovating Centennial Park
• No rush to reintroduce grey wolves
• Immigrants celebrate launch of Vida Foundation in Eagle County

• Tighter COVID-19 restrictions start Friday in Mesa County
• CDPHE tweaks exposure app to alert users more quickly
• Cedaredge begins discussing retail marijuana plan
• Fox Theater reopening Friday in Montrose
• Ridgway Town Council accepting applications
• Delta Hospital pulmonologist Dr. Sara Knutson discusses coronavirus response

• Delta County Health Department announced 4 new COVID deaths on Tuesday
• MCSD reports new quarantines at Olathe Middle High School & Early Childhood Center
• State adds new level to COVID restriction dial to help counties avoid stay at home orders
• Polis to name new State Supreme Court Justice
• Paonia Town Hall reducing open office hours
• Robyn Vincent reports on landmark fracking research in Pavillion, Wyoming

KVNF's Gavin Dahl explores broadband developments in rural Colorado with Virgil Turner, regional broadband project director for the nonprofit Region 10, and Colorado Sun reporter Tamara Chuang.

• Governor Jared Polis calls lawmakers back in December for special session to consider COVID relief
• Reporter Laura Palmisano looks at how Montrose County nonprofit Haven House is helping homeless families become self-sufficient 

• Mesa County, Montrose County, Delta County, Ouray County face COVID spikes
• Governor Polis presented his billion dollar stimulus proposal to state budget planners Thursday
• Colorado State Patrol seeks feedback in a new survey
• Senator Jon Tester, the only Montana Democrat left in statewide office next year, talks with reporter Nate Hegyi about how progressives can win rural elections

• Montrose School District reports 4 more positive tests at Cottonwood Elementary
• Doubts about Great American Outdoors Act implementation by Trump administration
• CORE Act will finally get Senate committee hearing 
• Ranchers and county commissioners speak in favor of CORE Act
• Backlash to geotagging on public lands could be changing

• Delta Schools now require 6-12th graders to wear masks while seated during class
• Montrose Schools report 4 new quarantine events 
• Colorado Republicans select legislative leadership for 2021 session
• State lawmakers begin working on next budget
• Utah introduces statewide mask mandate, 2-week ban on social gatherings
• Paradise Theatre executive director Sunshine Knight talks about decision to go dark for winter