The Shepherd's Hand
The Shepherd's Hand — the only Montrose group dedicated to serving unhoused residents — is about two months from closing, after running nearly out of money and without a grant writer to keep it going. Jennifer Jones told the city council Tuesday that if it closes, the burden shifts to law enforcement and the broader community.
Juneteenth
Today is Juneteenth, marking the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers reached Galveston, Texas with word that enslaved people were finally free — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Charter commission in Montrose?
The Montrose City Council had a tense debate this week over whether to form a citizens charter commission to study changes to the city's century-old charter. With one seat vacant, the council tabled the vote to July 7th, when the full council can take part.
Primary ballots
A reminder for voters: primary ballots are expected in mailboxes around June 22nd and can be returned to a drop box through June 30th. KVNF has coverage of the primary candidates at kvnf.org/vote.
Breeze Airways
Breeze Airways will end both of its weekly nonstop flights between Grand Junction and Orange County after August 17th, citing capacity limits at the John Wayne Airport. Travelers will still have a one-stop option through Las Vegas three days a week.
MCSD superintendent
Montrose County School District Superintendent Dr. Carrie Stevenson remains on administrative leave after a June 2nd special board meeting, and the independent investigation into the matter is drawing public scrutiny. At the most recent board meeting, community members — including Linda Gann — questioned how the investigator was chosen and whether the board went beyond what its original motion authorized.
Slow Money Western Slope
On the Western Slope, small farms often run on more than money. A neighbor loans a truck. A rancher leases grazing land for cheap. That kind of generosity rarely shows up in a ledger, but it keeps a lot of producers going.
Now a local effort wants to extend that spirit to the wider agricultural community. Slow Money Western Slope is a new fund built on a simple idea: people donate, farmers borrow interest-free, and as loans are repaid, the money cycles back out to the next producer.
The project grew out of Slow Food Western Slope, a local nonprofit, and draws on the national slow money movement.
For Emma Kottenstette, the fund is personal. She owns and operates Farm Runners, a local food distribution service and grocery in Hotchkiss. Before she built that business, her community helped build her — including a reduced rate on her building. Now she wants to pass that help along via Slow Money Western Slope.
"My heart is so in this community and I care so deeply about the farmers and the food," Kottenstette said.
The need is real. Many small producers can't get a conventional line of credit at a rate they can manage, or pay it back before interest piles up. A Slow Money loan might cover payroll early in the season, before farmers market income arrives — or fund a bigger project like a greenhouse or a tractor.
Loans go out four times a year, and farmers propose their own repayment terms based on their cash flow. Applications are open to farmers and ranchers anywhere on the Western Slope.
So far, organizers have raised $30,000, with a goal of $50,000 by July. The first loans go out this summer.
Kottenstette's pitch to anyone with a little extra to give is straightforward.
"There is absolutely no reason that we shouldn't be putting our money where our mouth is," she said.
Producers can apply for a loan, and donors can make a tax-deductible gift here.
