KVNF Regional Newscast

• AG Phil Weiser finds pattern of racially biased policing & excessive force at Aurora PD 
• Congressmember Lauren Boebert: God should remove Democrats from office
• Montrose County approves $33M expansion of the airport
• Shay Coburn leads progress by Delta Planning Commission on comprehensive plan
• Gunnison & Garfield County school districts reinstituting mask mandates
• Linda Gann, Kelly Fox plead with Montrose County School Board to protect kids with mask mandate

• Majority of Colorado students attend school under local mask mandates, but not in Montrose, Delta, or Mesa County
• 22 schools in Mesa County have active COVID outbreaks
• Delta County reports first West Nile virus death
• San Miguel County identifies 8 cases of RSV in infants & toddlers
• Ouray County hires new county attorney
• Mary Hockenberry's art recognized with Creative Leadership Award
• Republican Heidi Ganahl running for Governor
• Learning Council's Amanda Campbell talks about new Delta County CARES initiative

• Comparing & contrasting area school district dashboards reveals big differences
• Biology professor calls Colorado Mesa University individual freedom rhetoric 'a very cynical position' given delta variant
• San Miguel County public health director points to data on masking, asserts not requiring masks means higher COVID cases
• Delta County Schools assistant superintendent Kurt Clay tells KVNF many students would drop out of school if a mask mandate is enforced, explains contact tracing, & shares why quarantine numbers aren't published

• Grand Mesa Nordic Council announces logging trucks on Scales Lake Road delayed until next season
• Senator Michael Bennet applauds inclusion of Thompson Divide protections in House reconciliation bill
• Fort Lewis College removes historically inaccurate plaque, led by Ute Mountain Ute tribal members
• Governor Jared Polis outlines COVID booster shot rollout to general public
• Sarah Hamma of CDPHE explains state's new COVID testing program in schools

• Montrose High School graduate Daniel Granberg dies in Bolivia
• Jury finds Henry Russell not guilty of attempted murder for Paonia shooting
• Montrose mayor pro tem Dave Frank appointed chair of CML policy committee
• Class-action lawsuit filed against state Medicaid program
• Trooper who protects the Governor arrested, charged with felony menacing
• Colorado hospitals show signs of stress as number of COVID patients grows
• Citizens for a Healthy Community panel addresses climate change

• 80 Colorado K-12 schools have active COVID outbreaks
• Breakthrough COVID case numbers & hospitalizations of vaccinated people are rising
• Montrose County labor force grew in Q2
• Ouray initiating legal action against 7 illegal short-term rentals
• Sand Wash Basin wild horse roundups ending early
• Drawdowns emptying Blue Mesa Reservoir
• Roaring Fork School District alumni launch comprehensive sex ed for teens
• Orchard City trustees vote to unseat member of planning commission 

• 200 students & 18 staffers quarantined in MCSD, DCSD finally updates dashboard
• COVID deaths rising in Colorado, with 860 hospitalized on Tuesday alone
• Mobile vaccine clinic staff harassed, threatened in Gilpin County
• County clerks receive threatening letters from conspiracy theorists
• 283 hate crimes reported in Colorado last year, up 22%
• Over 160 new state laws took effect this week
• USDA adjusting deadlines for crop insurance applications
• New poll shows lowering health insurance costs a top priority for Colorado voters

• Delta Health facing critical financial losses
• Colorado making more rental assistance payments as eviction moratorium ends
• Nordic Council & Forest Service identify 2 possible solutions for Grand Mesa conflict
• Mesa County voters will decide on 2 marijuana measures this November
• Statewide ballot questions aim to raise marijuana prices, lower property taxes, restrict state spending
• Health experts offering tips to reduce air pollution inside homes
• USDA sees drought impacts on soybean crops

• COVID outbreaks in 42 Colorado schools last week, including 26 positives at Naturita Elementary
• Delta County School Board failed to update COVID dashboard, still no reply from North Fork Montessori to KVNF questions about quarantines
• More new pediatric COVID cases in Mesa County than any other age range
• San Miguel County imposes indoor mask mandate for September
• Water success stories are rare, but Dave Kanzer from Colorado River District shares good news about the management of selenium in the Lower Gunnison River

• From KOTO Telluride: The free box reopens
• From KGNU Boulder: Hannah Leigh Myers speaks with journalist Leland Rucker of TheNewsStation.com about a pot tax initiative headed to Colorado ballots this year

• More North Fork Montessori parents chime in, all agree Delta County School District is not doing enough to protect kids from COVID
• Roaring Fork School District putting property tax increase on ballot to address 'staffing crisis'
• CDPHE requiring hospitals to report data on age & vaccination status of COVID patients
• Governor announces Colorado will pay grade school students to get tested weekly
• Gavin Dahl interviews Laura Byard at Center for Mental Health about their Early Childhood program

• Parents from North Fork Montessori in Crawford are seeking answers about COVID quarantines
• Scientists and emergency responders tell two of Colorado's highest ranking elected officials the state's wildfire mitigation efforts are flawed
• There are over 70,000 wild horses across the country, with many suffering due to severe drought, but as the BLM rounds up thousands, wild horse advocates worry they're headed to slaughter
• A wild horse gather is underway this week in the Sand Wash Basin Herd Management area west of Craig, but Governor Polis & nonprofit Cloud

• Colorado requring staff at hospitals, some health facilities to get vaccinated by September 30th
• New COVID cases now rising faster in Colorado kids than adults
• Montrose County considered 'high transmission rate' community, Delta County 'substantial'
• Republican activists hope to convince 75% of GOP Central Committee to vote to ditch open primaries
• Officials marked international drug overdose day at state Capitol
• Hotchkiss marshal's office gets 3 new employees, who are all resigning from Paonia PD

• Number of Coloradans hospitalized with COVID, 705, at highest level since January
• Marine Rylee McCollum, whose mother lives in Montrose, among 13 service members killed in Kabul
• SOS Jena Griswold sues to remove Tina Peters from overseeing Mesa County elections
• Grand Mesa Nordic Council could lose access to permitted ski activities for 5 seasons due to timber sale
• Lauren Boebert has a primary challenger, Marina Zimmerman
• New water research lab opening near Crested Butte
• Working group for planned move of Delta Library discusses issues

• CDPHE director estimates 99% of new COVID cases trace to the delta variant
• Montrose High School hosting COVID vaccination clinic for students & parents, September 1 at 3pm
• Crested Butte Conservation Corps & Forest Service steward designated campsites to rehab wild areas
• Two former deputies convicted of manslaughter in Boulder County
• Secretary of State launches new web domain, ColoradoSOS.gov
• Kate Redmond interviews Colorado Mesa University student whose family lives in Kabul

• At least 14 Colorado schools have reported COVID outbreaks so far
• No evidence of death threats against Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who remains in hiding while under criminal investigation
• Rural Colorado United files ethics complaint against Lauren Boebert who omitted $1M of husband's income in financial disclosures
• Colorado has paid out 7.4% of its federal rental assistance funds due to a backlog
• Governor says Colorado doesn't need another mask mandate
• Kate Redmond speaks with North Fork Creative Coalition about final Saturday Market

• Six Mesa County election workers, not implicated in Clerk Tina Peters' alleged crimes, still have office access 
• West Region Wildfire Council receives two major forest restoration grants
• Four Corners Folk Festival revises COVID protocols
• Telluride considering Town Park, 2 other properties, for temporary winter housing
• KOTO: Telluride suspends most new short term rental licenses
• Mountain West News Bureau: Extreme heat from climate change makes it harder to keep houses cool 

• Some Montrose Memorial Hospital staffers protested Monday against potential vaccine mandate
• Rapid COVID tests are in short supply
• Little Blue Creek Canyon project impacting Hotchkiss traffic
• Crawford Town Council working on RV regs
• Aspen SkiCo gets approval from National Forest for first-ever uphill pass
• Wildland firefighters getting a pay bump
• Attorney General Phil Weiser explains Safe2Tell hotline for students, at 877-542-7233 or in app stores

• CORRecycling in Grand Junction caught fire Monday
• Hops growers in Colorado navigate new business terrain
• Surface Creek Valley Historical Society raising money to save Shortbranch building
• Mudslides in Glenwood Canyon reshape the Colorado River
• Local organizations in Montezuma County are building affordable housing developments

• Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in more hot water
• CDOT falsely reported Independence Pass was closed on August 4th to reduce use
• Biologists study impact of Glenwood Canyon mudslides on the Colorado River
• Anti-speculation water task force fails to agree on recommendations
• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation funds habitat & research
• Mountain towns pursuing limits on short term rentals
• Western Slope Conservation Center's Ben Katz explains issues with GMUG forest management plan

Read and comment on the USFS draft plan 

• Highway 50 returns to regular closures Sept 1
• July the hottest month ever recorded
• Research shows wildfire smoke harmful to dairy cows
• Colorado will require vaccines for workers at 24/7 facilities for vulnerable populations
• FEC alleges Lauren Boebert has been spending campaign funds for personal use
• KDNK's Amy Hadden Marsh reports Cottonwood Pass, at times narrow and dangerous, has become more popular during Glenwood Canyon closures, but a long-term plan is needed

• Telluride schools went on lockdown on Tuesday due to a credible threat, one person taken into custody
• Ouray, Ridgway, Denver schools will require staff and students to wear masks
• Mesa County School Board members escorted to cars by police after public comments devolved into threats on Tuesday night
• Montrose School District public information officer Matt Jenkins stops by Studio M to answer questions about masks, COVID tests, vaccines, and transparent decision-making

• Mesa County Commissioners name former Secretary of State Wayne Williams their new top election official, as current Secretary of State's investigation into Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters continues
• Funding begins to flow as shortage of licensed childcare facilities intensifies
• Governor Polis urges CDPHE to mandate vaccines for personnel caring for vulnerable populations
• Climate change makes it hard to predict when water shortage in lower Colorado River basin will end
• Kate Redmond speaks with Delta Hospital pulmonologist Sara Knutson about COVID-19

• Interior Department restarts oil & gas leasing on public lands while fighting lawsuit by industry
• Colorado proposes new transportation planning standards to reduce pollution
• Delta, Montrose among 16 recipients of CDOT funds to revitalize Main Streets
• Palisade faces criticism over regulation of retail pot shops
• Ruedi Reservoir so low Aspen could struggle to generate hydro power
• Water shortage declared for lower Colorado River Basin
• Kate Redmond reports on release of 2020 Census numbers

• I-70 reopened Saturday
• SOS decertifies Mesa County election equipment
• Learning Council hopes to buy building in Paonia
• DCSD releases North Fork Miners logo in time for 1st day of school
• AEG to require vaccinations for all concert attendees starting October 1
• As delta variant surges, cities bring back some COVID restrictions, but rural conservatives push back

• Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters not cooperating with Secretary of State investigation, Grand Junction Sentinel calls her 'unfit' for office
• Ace Hardware owner Kim Shay files complaint with state about Hotchkiss Municipal Judge Lynn French, who represented shoplifter Charidy Meeks, daughter of former Marshal Dan Miller, as her attorney
• Delta Commissioner Don Suppes explains why County is buying old City Market building from School District, moving library out of its historic building
• CDOT spokeswoman Tracy Trulove describes cleanup of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon

• CDOT says I-70 should reopen through Glenwood Canyon by Saturday night
• Rural Utilities Service awards $10.5M to Elevate for Pea Green, East Delta projects
• Sen. Coram, Rep. Catlin hope MCSD can obtain exemption from changing native mascots
• San Miguel Public Health urging residents to wear masks indoors
• Community college enrollment declining in Colorado
• Paonia grapples with short term rentals, but no action taken at this week's trustee meeting

• COVID transmission in Delta County now 'substantial'
• Delta County Schools returning in-person with no mask mandate, despite CDC recommendations
• Cedaredge trustees select retail marijuana vendors
• USDA endorses Colorado proposal to grow hemp industry
• State investigation of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters could lead to criminal charges
• Curecanti Rec Area designated dark sky park
• Kate Redmond catches up with Julia Kumari Drapkin who launched I See Change at KVNF

• Secretary of State requests inspection of Mesa County election equipment due to potential security breach
• Oil & gas company KP Kauffman facing fines & COGCC hearing for long list of alleged violations
• Montrose City Council commits $500k to support improvements at 3 mobile home parks
• 4 local businesses buying Ouray Chalet Inn to repurpose for workforce housing
• KOTO's Julia Caulfield reports on Telluride's short-term rental tax to fund affordable housing efforts

• Tourist falls to her death off Via Ferrata in Telluride
• Bear rifles through 8 parked cars for food in Estes Park
• 36,000 Colorado kids could miss out on Child Tax Credit because parents don't file federal taxes
• KGNU's Rossana Longo-Better speaks with Denver Post reporter Elizabeth Hernandez after 'A Frank Conversation About Burnout' at the Colorado Press Club