KVNF Regional Newscast

• Mesa, Montrose, Ouray County COVID-19 positivity rates too high
• On Thursday, the US Fish & Wildlife Service removed protections for the gray wolf under the endangered species act in the lower 48 states
• Colorado is sending stimulus checks to hundreds of thousands of Coloradans who have filed for unemployment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic
• Election doubts are spreading as legal challenges mount around the west
• The federal BLM plan that governs 1.7 million acres of public land in Western Colorado faces new court challenges

• Nearly 2 million ballots have already been returned in Colorado
• State commits additional funds to help landlords collect missed rent payments
• 50 state legislators sign letter demanding action from ICE as over 100 detainees in Aurora test positive for COVID-19
• Hospitals starting to show signs of stress due to increasing COVID cases
• After wildfires, people are finding themselves in new flood zones

• Public land fire restrictions lifted after rain, snow
• Arguments for and against Colorado's Proposition 116 to reduce income tax
• Denver ballot measure addresses homelessness crisis
• Interview with Bureau of Land Management de-facto director William Perry Pendley
• Snowboarders who reported themselves after triggering an avalanche face criminal charges

• State launches phone-based COVID-19 exposure notification system. 
• Mesa County returning to more stringent COVID restrictions due to infection rate increase.
• Capitol Coverage reporter Scott Franz shares investigative story about Colorado taxpayer dollars paying for trips for visiting travel writers in exchange for their coverage of the state. The stories were then published by news outlets without disclosure to readers.

• San Miguel Power won't increase rates for 2021
• Montrose City Council approves Russell Stover land purchase
• Governor activates National Guard to help fight East Troublesome Fire
• COVID-19 impacting sugar beet harvest
• Jodi Peterson interviews Independent Delta County Commissioner candidate Jere Lowe

• Grant-funded Uncompahgre River improvement project starts next week
• Police dog Oxx died this week after 9 years serving in law enforcement
• Joe Lewandowski of Colorado Parks & Wildlife explains why fire restrictions are in place
• Beau Baker reports on voter intimidation and violence in the Mountain West
• Jodi Peterson interviews Republican Delta County Commissioner candidate Wendell Koontz

• Colorado hospitals could be overwhelmed if COVID-19 spike continues
• Montrose County has new outbreaks
• Mesa County sees climbing COVID-19 infection rates, may return to tighter restrictions
• KDNK's Kathleen Shannon analyzes ballot measure 7A to increase taxes for the Colorado River District

Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush is running for Congress in Colorado's Third District against Lauren Boebert. She is a former college professor with a PhD in sociology, previously elected as a county commissioner and state representative. Should voters choose a veteran politican known for bipartisan compromise over a newcomer with a gun on her hip and no political experience? KVNF reporter Gavin Dahl spoke with Mitsch Bush on Monday, October 19th to learn more about her views. Here is the entire unedited interview.

• When asked about campaign finance complaint filed against Back the Badge campaign, Delta County Sheriff Mark Taylor tells KVNF's Jodi Peterson that he made a mistake 
• Part two of KVNF's interview with Democratic congressional candidate Diane Mitsch Bush

• Cameron Peak Fire, near Fort Collins, now the largest wildfire in Colorado history
• COVID-19 testing relocates from Montrose Memorial Hospital to County Event Center
• While new COVID cases are up in Mesa County, few hospitalizations mean overflow facility unneeded
• Human rights groups release new report on growing far-right movement in our region
• Part one of KVNF's interview with Democratic congressional candidate Diane Mitsch Bush

Republican Lauren Boebert is running for Congress in Colorado's Third District against Diane Mitsch Bush. She is a business owner with a GED and no previous government experience. Should voters choose a novice with a gun on her hip over a veteran politician known for bipartisan compromise? KVNF reporter Gavin Dahl spoke with Boebert on Thursday, October 15th to learn more about her views. Here is the entire unedited interview.

• Delta County Planning Commission certifies draft land use code, removes Right to Farm expansion
• 2020 U.S. Census counting has officially ended
• Voters returned over 400,000 ballots by Thursday in Colorado, 25 times as many as in 2016
• Part two of KVNF's interview with Republican congressional candidate Lauren Boebert

• Montrose High student tests positive for COVID-19 
• Laurel House for homeless aged 18-24 opens in Grand Junction
• Colorado Chief Medical Officer Eric France recommends flu shots 
• New study shows cities with more undocumented immigrants do not have higher crime
• Part one of KVNF's interview with Republican congressional candidate Lauren Boebert 

• Mesa County tightening restrictions as COVID numbers increase 
• Delta Police plans to build new facility
• Delta County approves 2021 Strategic Plan
• Governor Polis alarmed by increase in new COVID cases
• Low income families at greater risk of power cutoffs as winter nears
• Colorado West Land Trust conservation director Ilana Moir discusses merger

• Montrose School District confirmed COVID case at Johnson Elementary
• Montrose Airport to add Southwest, JetBlue flights this winter
• Delta County turning COVID relief loans into grants
• Number of Colorado kids without health coverage on the rise
• Volunteer wilderness ranger programs helping underfunded Forest Service patrol backcountry

• Governor Jared Polis extends mask mandate for another 30 days
• DMEA receives $2M grant for Elevate Broadband in Cedar Mesa, Beaver Hill
• William Perry Pendley defies judge to stay in job at BLM
• AG Phil Weiser vows to fight EPA rollback of clean car standards
• Scott Franz reports on Proposition 115, which would outlaw abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy

• 2021 individual health insurance premiums in Colorado will decrease an average of 1.4% while group rates will increase an average of 3.8%
• Attorney General Phil Weiser met with local officials in Montrose to discuss election integrity, voter intimidation, misinformation
• KSUT moves into new Tribal Media Center
• Temporary ban on certain visas impacts ski industry hiring
• DCI reporter Lisa Young discusses her coverage of proposed changes to Delta County land use code

• When High School football games start Friday, Montrose won't allow public, Paonia will
• Fox Theater in Montrose closing indefinitely due to movie release delays
• Body of missing hiker found near Lake City
• Early voting numbers much higher than 2016 nationally
• KOTO's Julia Caulfield reports on the newlyweds who died in a plane crash near Telluride this week

• Russell Stover intends to buy its property from City of Montrose for $1, resell land & factory
• Fire at Olathe storage unit destroys resources of 3 charitable ministries: Angels for the Needy, Haven House, & Open Hands, Open Hearts
• New report finds most western states not doing enough to protect residents from COVID-19
• Capitol Coverage: Scott Franz examines Proposition 118, which would create a new state program in Colorado to provide paid family & medical leave to workers

• Delta County Sheriff's Office has taken Henry Russell into custody after he allegedly shot Matthew Burge of Paonia on Monday
• Cloud seeding effort on Grand Mesa seeks permit renewal
• Appeals court considers allowing larger religious gatherings in Colorado
• Microbreweries preparing for colder business climate
• Kori Stanton reports on Pumpkin Hollow disc golf tournament

North Fork Valley artist and educator Seth Weber has launched a new project called the Mural Militia. KVNF's Gavin Dahl spoke with him, and teenage student Heidi Noth, on a recent evening at Paonia's Arbol Farm Market. 

• COVID-19 testing site in Montrose will relocate later this month
• Montrose gets a fast charging station for electric vehicles
• Montrose High School announces another COVID-19 case
• Fire restrictions lifted on many public lands
• Gov. Polis is pardoning thousands of people convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana
• Hopes for better monitoring of oil and gas emissions
• A visit with the Mural Militia, a North Fork Valley art project

• Now 15 human cases of West Nile in Delta County
• Montrose Lighthouse looking for new location to avoid reduced shelter capacity due to COVID
• Arch Resources looking to sell West Elk Mine in North Fork Valley, the largest coal producer in Colorado
• Legal fate of 2020 Census count deadline still uncertain
• Scott Franz explains the most complicated statewide ballot question, Amendment B, which would change the Gallagher amendment in Colorado

• Watchdog group challenges new Delta County ag plan
• Toxic algae spreading in Blue Mesa Reservoir
• COGCC approves new rules for oil & gas 
• Governor warns COVID numbers are still too high
• Climate change causing reduction of aspen trees in Colorado
• What's next for BLM with acting director Pendley ousted by judge?

• Montrose High School now a COVID outbreak site
• Colorado Mesa University stays open with routine testing
• 4 staff of Grand Junction Utilities department test positive
• Thefts from parked cars in Mesa County are up, with 95 guns stolen since January 1st
• Center for Mental Health says a new vehicle will make their partnership with Montrose Police even more effective

• John Hickenlooper campaigns in Grand Junction
• Colorado Air Quality Commission will require pollution monitoring at new oil & gas wells
• Curecanti Rec Area getting major upgrade
• Unemployment rates high in our region
• Activists want climate questions in the debates
• State climatologist Russ Schumacher talks wildfires

• State names Delta Walmart pharmacy, Delta Building Center as COVID outbreak sites
• Affordable housing project in Ridgway to break ground next spring
• Luke Runyon: Colorado River's largest reservoirs expected to keep struggling due to climate change
• Scott Franz: Gray wolf reintroduction proposition will be on the statewide ballot 

The depressed economy in the West End of Montrose County may get a boost from new tourism and outdoor recreation ventures, as Jason Blevins with the Colorado Sun reports. He recently traveled to the area for an article detailing efforts to revitalize the West End. Blevins spoke to KVNF’s Laura Palmisano.

The small mountain town of Lake City now hosts an International Dark Sky Park. One man’s love for astronomy and his desire to protect his community’s dark skies made the dream a reality. For KVNF News, Laura Palmisano reports.