KVNF Regional Newscast

• Colorado sending National Guard troops to inauguration
• Governor launches Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction roadmap
• Congresswoman Lauren Boebert's communications director resigns
• Senator John Hickenlooper announces 7 regional offices, including Grand Junction, Durango
• Colorado lawmakers adjourned for at least a month after 3-day 'soft opening'
• KBUT's Christopher Biddle reports on the fight for clean drinking water in Somerset

• Rapid COVID testing now deployed to all Colorado school districts
• Joe Biden's new COVID relief proposal includes increased Child Tax Credits championed by Senator Michael Bennet
• Colorado marijuana sales reached over $2B in 2020 for the first time
• Lawmakers backtrack on relief earmarked for minority-owned businesses
• Kate Redmond speaks to teens about Kids Pasta Project
• KOTO's Julia Caulfield reports elected officials in 3rd District want investigation into Lauren Boebert's connection with violent mob

• Colorado lawmakers returned to the state Capitol for a soft opening of the General Assembly
• Kori Stanton speaks to Learning Council director Alicia Michaelson and Delta County School District superintendent Caryn Gibson about the donation of a 154-book diversity library
• KGNU's Dave Ashton reports fed up voters organized "Remove Trump Now" events around the country this week, including a car rally and parade at Denver's South High School that featured notable public officials calling for the removal of the president from office

• Delta County Sheriff's office pays campaign violation fine
• Deputy Secretary of the Interior visited Grand Junction on Monday
• Pitkin County closes indoor dining in response to high COVID numbers
• Pandemic increasing interest among healthcare workers in unionizing
• Governor changing vaccine distribution plans for 3rd time
• Delta County Libraries communications coordinator Tracy Ihnot catches us up

• 1 year after Colorado's Red Flag law took effect, at least 112 petitions filed for extreme risk protection orders
• Freedom of Information Coalition & other journalism groups ask Colorado Judicial Branch to continue free remote access to civil court records post-pandemic
• Delta County Administrator Robbie LeValley responds to concerns about accessibility of zoning maps during creation of Land Use code approved last week
• Mountain West News Bureau's Robyn Vincent reports millions of people are experiencing food insecurity in our region

• Kate Redmond interviews Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault program manager Jenna Harper about their new statewide iniative and website called You Have the Right
• Mountain West News Bureau's Madelyn Beck checks in on COVID's impacts on the beef industry

• Wilderness Workshop leads conservation groups blocking 53 fracking leases in the Piceance Basin
• Animas River sees lowest flow in recorded history as southwest remains in exceptional drought
• Scott Franz reports state lawmakers are feeling on edge as they prepare to return to work in Denver
• The state has overhauled oil & gas rules, giving local communities more authority to regulate the industry, but as Maeve Conran of KGNU reports, 2 Front Range counties have radically different ideas of what local control means

• Grand Junction City Council working on marijuana ballot measures for April election
• CDOT will spend some of $150M relief funds to improve Hwy 50 between Delta & Grand Junction
• Teachers not expected to start receiving vaccines until March, state providing rapid testing kits
• Governor says residents age 70+ will soon have easier time scheduling COVID vaccinations
• KOTO's Matt Hoisch explores what it means for local governments and public services when oil and gas revenues become more uncertain

• BLM approved 226 gas wells to be drilled 15 miles NE of Paonia, so SG Interests & Gunnison Energy will proceed with their Bull Mountain Master Energy Plan
• Delta County Commissioners approved a new Land Use code on Tuesday, but citizen journalist JoAnn Kalenek says the maps were never completely and accurately published for review
• KSJD's Daniel Rayzel reports dark skies advocates say mitigation for light pollution is too often ignored in SE Utah 

• District 51 announces USDA will extend free school meals through end of school year
• Delta County Housing Authority will rehab 3 single-family rental properties with DOLA money
• Blue Valley Ranch in Kremmling wants to release phosphorus into Blue River to promote river trout
• Hanging Lake set to reopen in May
• KDNK's Kathleen Shannon explores how Basalt put Ranked Choice Voting to the test in 2020

• As Capitol Coverage journalist Scott Franz reports, new Colorado laws that took effect Friday include less power for the state government, fewer hurdles for workers who lose their jobs due to domestic violence, stronger protections from discrimation for renters, higher taxes on cigarettes and other nicotine products, and more paid time off for sick workers
• RMCR Fossil Fuel Collaboration: KZMU's Justin Higginbottom reports that with changing commodity prices and speculation, oil and gas wells on public lands aren't always pumping

• Governor Polis moving counties from red to orange on COVID dial
• Uranium mill tailings disposal site near Grand Junction can remain open
• Supreme Court to review case on tribal law enforcement
• New vertical farming system in Utah
• Colorado families with kids struggling to meet basic needs
• Kate Redmond interviews Paonia Town Trustee Mick Johnson on plans for retail marijuana

• Hemp market contracted in 2020
• State regulators approved new Xcel Energy electric vehicle prgoram
• Colorado is changing vaccine distribution plan to prioritize older residents
• States in the Colorado River Basin ready to negotiate
• Part 3 of Mountain West News Bureau reporter Noah Glick's series on lithium mining

• Vandalism at 3 Aspen natural gas pump stations left 3500 residents without heat or hot water
• Resort community real estate sales in Colorado have set records since July
• Health officials believe they've identified first confirmed case of COVID-19 variance in Colorado
• Mountain West News Bureau shares part 2 of series on the environmental impacts of lithium mining

• Governor Polis extends state program providing one-time stimulus checks
• Rocky Mountain Health Plans will end employer-based, group health plans at end of 2021
• Jodi Peterson speaks to Ben Graves about Nature Connection getting 5 years of GOCO funding
• Part One of a new series on lithium from the Mountain West News Bureau's Noah Glick

• New Delta County Human Services Building flooded badly on Christmas Eve
• COVID deaths in Delta County double during December, 2 more die over holiday weekend
• New study suggests working out at a gym not linked to viral COVID transmission
• State health departments encouraging people with COVID to do their own contact tracing
• Scott Franz interviews Governor Jared Polis about his coronavirus response

• The holidays can bring joy and cheer, but also stress and loneliness, so Jodi Peterson speaks to Laura Byard at Center for Mental Health about resources available this season
• The nomination of Congresswoman Deb Haaland to head the Interior Department is more than symbolic, for many it signals a potential shift in the relationship between tribes and the federal government

• Dominion Voting Systems files defamation suit in Denver District Court
• SCOTUS rules in favor of New Mexico in water dispute with Texas
• Double Up Food Bucks program available to low-income residents all winter
• Luke Runyon: Keeping Colorado River fish from going extinct

• Historic bank building in Ridgway gutted by fire
• Southwest Airlines now flying from Montrose to Denver, Dallas
• Montrose green waste program suspended due to contaminated loads
• West Elk Mine facing new fines
• CSU research project brings 10 bison to preserve in Bent County
• Local drug case thrown out due to illegal police search
• Governor praises Congress for COVID relief package
• Jodi Peterson reports on more efficient irrigation methods 

• Montrose School District announces plans for start of semester
• Applefest in Cedaredge saved by Town Trustees as Chamber of Commerce dissolves
• Robert Redford announces sale of Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah
• Colorado lawmakers will delay legislative session at least a month due to COVID
• KOTO: 3 local governments join climate change lawsuits against fossil fuel companies 

• Backcountry skier Jeff Schneider died in an avalanche Friday, 2 others died Saturday near Silverton
• 2 earthquakes near Nucla
• Delta County Hospital workers getting first local doses of COVID-19 vaccine
• Congressman Ken Buck will not seek second term as Colorado GOP chair
• Air Quality Control Commission reverses decision on coal-fired power plants
• Economists say state budget outlook is improving
• Laura Palmisano talks to Hinsdale County Commissioner Kristine Borchers about acquisition of island, peninsula on Lake San Cristobal

The Colorado River and its tributaries irrigate some of the country’s most productive farmland, in Western Colorado. But agriculture in this arid region is made more difficult by its salty soil, and old-school irrigation methods that send harmful minerals into streams. KVNF's Jodi Peterson has more on a program that’s helping upstream farmers use water more efficiently … to help keep downstream growers in business. 

• Post-Thanksgiving COVID spike not as severe in Mesa County as expected
• Grand Valley Transit workers vote no confidence in their GM
• Hotchkiss trustees approve $1.2M budget for 2021, new headgate at Carl Smith Reservoir
• Senator Michael Bennet introduced one last bill, the Outdoor Restoration Force Act
• Eric Galatas reports this Sunday is deadline for food banks to apply for new state grants
• Jodi Peterson checks in with Natasha Legere for reaction to new COGCC oil & gas rules

• 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

• 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

• 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