KVNF Regional Newscast

• Delta Health transitioning COVID vaccine clinics to primary care locations
• Lauren Boebert & Marjorie Taylor Greene only no votes on bone marrow bill
• Colorado House approves $34B state budget
• Colorado has more realtors than homes for sale
• Farm & Food Alliance launches incubator app, new website
• Montrose Summer Music Series will return in July
• COVID cases & hospitalizations are up as counties take over managing restrictions

• Colorado will shift to county-led COVID rules on Friday
• Telluride Bluegrass approved for June 11-13 in addition to June 17-20
• Sen. Hickenlooper answers questions at first virtual Town Hall 
• State lawmakers release more details on stimulus plan
• Colorado River forecasts show increasing likelihood of persistent worsening drought
• Natural gas plant operator near Moab now mining cryptocurrency

• Gov. Polis expects Colorado will continue Johnson & Johnson vaccines soon
• Montrose approves incentives, tax increment financing loan for new Colorado Yurt Company HQ
• Sen. Hickenlooper hosts first town hall since being elected tonight at 6
• New bill at statehouse seeks to give Colorado youth free access to mental health services
• Moms and Students Demand Action for Gun Sense gathered at Boulder's municipal building Monday, urging legislation to implement more robust background checks on gun purchases

• A Delta County Sheriff's Deputy shot and killed Paige Schmidt of Austin on Friday
• Sunset Mesa defendants found liable by Montrose District Court Judge
• Buyer poised to close on former Russell Stover plant, provide distro for small farms & ranches
• Fire near Meeker grows to 1000 acres, 60% contained
• Rep. Boebert tells Club 20 she is 'unwilling to compromise'
• Coloradans respond to Boulder lawmakers calling for assault weapons ban, waiting periods for gun purchases

• KVNF's Kate Redmond recaps Colorado Media Project webinar The News About the News, highlighting new University of Denver research about journalism in Colorado
• Ridgway Secondary School student Emma Berwanger and Tanya Ishikawa from Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce talk with KVNF's Gavin Dahl about the

• Montrose broke ground on a new development at the Colorado Outdoors site & a new Public Safety Complex downtown
• Montrose City Council members nominated Doug Glaspell as new mayor
• Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission voted unanimously to remove chair
• Firefighters warn this year's conditions will be just as bad if not worse than last year
• Grand Junction blogger Anne Landman reflects on the city's changing politics, as voters this week repealed a ban on retail marijuana & rejected a slate of conservative candidates

• Montrose County moves to Green on COVID dial
• So-called Brazilian COVID variant identified in 2 Boulder County patients
• Fewer than half of prisoners in Colorado have gotten vaccinated, more than half have tested positive, at least 29 have died from COVID
• Legislation addressing school-to-prison pipeline in Colorado withdrawn
• Kate Redmond speaks to Delta County's new Director of Community Development and Natural Resources Carl Holm about building permits and other land use issues

• Grand Junction voters repeal retail marijuana ban, reject Republican-aligned council candidates
• Senators Michael Bennet & John Hickenlooper, Representative Lauren Boebert attend local meetings
• Delta County still under mask mandate due to uptick in COVID cases
• Colorado lawmakers introduce $34B budget 
• KVNF's Kate Redmond checks in with Delta County administrator Robbie LeValley as Commissioners take up privatization of recycling collection

• Investigation into sexual misconduct at Colorado Judiciary criticized for opacity
• Colorado House passes bill penalizing owners who fail to report lost or stolen guns
• Gunnison Ranger District implementing camping management this summer
• District has a plan for displaying Paonia and Hotchkiss High trophies at new school
• Cedaredge Community Band returns to rehearsals
• Mountain West News Bureau's Madelyn Beck reports on spring bird migration in the region

• Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association turns on water for canals
• Though Governor relaxed statewide mask mandate for counties in level green, masks are still required in schools & health care facilities, plus all public places in 33 counties at level blue, yellow, and orange
• Lawmakers debate state budget this week
• Laura Palmisano reports road accessing Lake San Cristobal finally gets repairs
• KSUT's Sarah Flower asks Fort Lewis College president Tom Stritikus about becoming first in Colorado requiring COVID vaccination for Fall semester

Lake San Cristobal, outside the town of Lake City, is a popular attraction for locals and tourists. However, the road to access it is need of major repair. As Laura Palmisano reports for KVNF, that's about to change.

• Arbol Farm Market moving to Paonia Town Park
• Taneal Mautz of Paonia High & Adam Smith of Hotchkiss High awarded Daniels scholarships
• 911 system upgrades may impact PBX and multiline phone systems, not landlines or cell phones
• Lawmakers delay hearing on bill to lower health insurance premiums
• Economists say reducing emissions now will save money long-term
• Former Scott Tipton staffer says Lauren Boebert's criticisms onstage in Montrose are false

• Governor Polis not publicly supporting assault weapon ban sought by Boulder Democrats
• East Portal Road will be closed for 2021
• Paonia and Cedaredge make progress on marijuana legalization
• Supply of affordable housing not keeping up with demand in Colorado
• Laura Palmisano speaks to project officials about Little Blue Creek Canyon Project road closures on Highway 50 between Gunnison and Montrose

• Committee narrows list of names for new high school: North Fork, West Elk, or Fire Mountain
• Mutual Aid Distribution Day in Grand Junction marks one year and 150,000 pounds of shared food
• BLM announces plan to protect habitat of gunnison sage grouse in San Miguel County
• CDPHE whistleblowers seek audit of Colorado's Air Pollution Control Division
• Democrats shelved 'dangerous attempts to make it harder to vote' in Colorado by Republicans
• Robyn Vincent reports on the rise of anti-Asian racism during the pandemic

• Montrose seeks City Council member, Lake City seeks Town Manager
• Faculty at Gunnison's Western Colorado University vote to oust president Greg Salsbury
• Proposed dam on Homestake Creek in Eagle County opposed by biodiversity advocates
• Country Jam announces June headliners
• Governor Polis: COVID vaccine appointments for general public will open Friday
• KDNK's Kathleen Shannon reports on efforts to reduce weeds without chemicals in Garfield County

• Colorado GOP elects new chair, anti-abortion activist Kristi Burton Brown
• 3 Montrose County students (Anthony Ball, Eliram Reyes-Powell, Aubree Hamlin) selected for Daniels Scholarship
• Montrose Rec Center installs 11 industrial ionizing fans
• Kate Redmond speaks to Paonia Tree Board members about a new report on the health of the town's trees

• Delta, Ouray, Hinsdale, Gunnison County are now Green on the state's COVID dial, while Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel County are still Blue
• Cedaredge pot shop application process opens April 2nd
• Governor orders flags to half-staff on Saturday in honor of Chester Riley
• New study finds listening to nature could have significant health benefits
• Lawmakers begin debating controversial health care plan aimed at lowering costs for those who buy insurance on the individual market because they can't get it through an employer

• Delta County moves to Green on COVID dial [UPDATE: Restaurants no longer have capacity limits]
• National Park Service warns of ice breaking up along shorelines of Curecanti Rec Area
• State lawmakers from Boulder want new gun regulations
• What you can do to help stop salmonella outbreak killing birds in the Mountain West
• As migrant agricultural workers return, community health centers are helping distribute COVID vaccines
• Nancy Watzman comments on on combating misinformation & disinformation at CFOIC's Sunshine Week panel 

• Governor Jared Polis says Monday's mass shooting at the South Boulder King Soopers was personal, as a longtime resident of the city himself
• From KHOL's Will Walkey: Chronic wasting disease was discovered for the first time in the Jackson Hole region this winter, alarming wildlife advocates because of the practice of elk feeding in Western Wyoming, which some critics say could facilitate a fast and catastrophic spread of the fatal disease, but now wildlife specialists and feedground operators are teaming up to mitigate the impacts and keep elk fed

• Tax Day pushed back to May 17
• Grand Junction City Council candidates release campaign finance reports
• Ridgway cancels April election
• Montrose City Council approves La Raza Park improvements
• 42nd annual Crawford Pioneer Days back in the saddle in June
• Polis signs bills to help prepare for wildfire season
• Moab has less water in aquifer than previously thought

• 6 tons of rock fell on Ouray Hydro Power Plant intake pipe
• Suspect arrested in murder of Ana Victoria Rascon
• State auditor harshly criticizes Colorado Department of Labor & Employment
• BLM conducting prescribed burns this week along Govt Springs Rd & on Dry Mesa
• State lawmakers have more money to spend in next year's budget than originally thought
• After ticket money vaporized, thousands of event organizers and venues will see relief thanks to a settlement reached between WA state attorney general's office & Brown Paper Tickets

• Telluride Parks & Rec approves plan for Bluegrass Festival to spread out over 2 weekends
• Hotchkiss trustees appoint Sven Edstrom to open seat
• Final plans released for Little Blue Canyon road closures
• Colorado Democrats reviving push to bring down insurance costs on individual market
• Jason Sperling, co-founder of People Speak, talks about how their platform helps governments like City of Grand Junction give citizens an easier way to interact

• Colorado ramping up vaccine shipments, expanding six mass vaccination sites around the state
• Bill advancing at Capitol would cap late fees for rent payments, give tenants more time to avoid evictions
• Governor signed bill to cancel some standardized tests at grade schools this spring, Don Coram comments
• Kate Redmond speaks with Hotchkiss-based citizen journalist Terry O'Brien about the metrics of the COVID pandemic, and the success of the vaccine rollout so far

• COVID hospitalizations increase this week in Colorado as overall case numbers stopped declining
• DMEA investigating own CEO, who is on leave of absence 
• DA charges Kiowa County deputy in rare prosecution of an officer for on-duty killing described in '3 Bullets to the Back' investigative article
• VP Harris visited Denver on Tuesday
• Deb Haaland confirmed as new Interior Secretary
• Kate Redmond reports strict nursing home lockdowns are lifting

• Gregg Smith ends campaign for Congress
• Bills at the statehouse include in-state college tuition for Indigenous students and banning the use of handcuffs on elementary students
• Pitkin County mass vaccination tent collapsed under heavy snow over the weekend
• Republican Lauren Boebert spoke to packed house of unmasked supporters in Montrose on Monday

• Congressmember Lauren Boebert is speaking in Montrose at Turn of the Century Saloon tonight at 6
• Paonia police officers are moonlighting as independent contractors, in Paonia vehicles, for Hotchkiss Marshal Dan Miller who says he's down two officers due to unexplained paid administrative leave
• H2O Radio reports that as Lake Mead levels fall, the draw to see a crashed WWII bomber could harm it

• Colorado Farm & Food Alliance applauds review of Interior Dept oil & gas leasing programs
• CPW studying why elk in Avalanche Creek herd are rejecting their young
• Colorado Bureau of Investigation reports DUI arrests way down last year
• Lawmakers again seek to ban single use plastic bags, styrofoam containers
• Highway 50 construction project between Gunnison & Montrose continues to draw criticism
• Zoom Boom: Kate Redmond speaks to realtor Carrie Soto about pandemic impacts on housing market

• Army took possession of military-grade explosives found in Montrose County yesterday
• Ouray County will pay $7500 to Plaindealer newspaper in settlement for attorney fees
• Colorado Newsline reports Lauren Boebert's story told repeatedly on the campaign trail (and KVNF) about counseling jailed women doesn't match Sheriff's office logs obtained via open records request
• As Republican Senators place a hold on Deb Haaland's nomination, tribal communities in the Mountain West that depend on fossil fuels are looking to her to help them diversify

• Colorado's COVID death toll surpasses 6,000, as 90% of teachers have received first dose of vaccine
• High winds destroyed tipis at Ute Museum in Montrose
• History Colorado grants $25k to Montrose for cultural site survey in Tortilla Flats
• Colorado House passes bill requiring gun storage
• Republican Marc Catlin responds to Governor's Meat Out Day, calls for Meat In
• DCSD superintendent Caryn Gibson spoke to North Fork Rotary club about high school consolidation and outlined district properties she'd like to sell

• Delta County offering March 12th vaccination appointment signups for phase 1B3
• Sandhill Cranes are back at the Fruitgrowers Reservoir stop along their journey
• Aspen Santa Fe Ballet dissolving its dance company, continuing educational efforts
• New Colorado Yurt Company HQ in Montrose could add dozens of new permanent jobs
• Kori Stanton speaks to CSU professor Becca Jablonski about upcoming meat processing webinar