Help is on the way for people who experienced discrimination in a federal agency’s farm loan programs. Farmers, ranchers and forest landowners are eligible for a U.S Department of Agriculture grant if they were discriminated against during the lending process based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability.
The Department of Agriculture is providing the grants as part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act. Farmers and ranchers of color have fought against lending discrimination for decades, says Capital Reporter Lucas Brady Woods.
The Montrose Recreation District committed itself to helping solve local childcare shortages. The decision is based on Montrose County’s childcare needs study, conducted in 2021. It classified Montrose as a “childcare desert.” There are three times more children than there are available, licensed childcare spots in Montrose. The study finds that the shortage impacts various aspects of daily life in Montrose, including the economy. As part of its commitment, the Montrose Rec District is partnering with Unify Montrose, a nonprofit looking to solve the childcare crisis in the community.
Unify Montrose is hosting a process starting this summer to review the childcare shortage issue and build solutions led by residents. This movement comes after the first round of grants was awarded under Colorado’s new universal preschool program.
According to Capital Reporter Lucas Brady Woods, more than fifteen million dollars will go to over a thousand providers across the state. That’s just over half of the preschools participating in the program.
Funding will be used to purchase educational materials, school supplies, technology and furniture. All preschools in the state’s universal preschool program are eligible for grant funding.
Bright, explosive fireworks shows are a staple in several holiday celebrations for people across the country, especially the Fourth of July. But while most celebrations are done and gone by the end of the week, the impact felt by fireworks is still being felt even today by most local animal shelters.
The booming celebrations affect more than the cats and dogs in our homes. Nick Gilman, the executive director of Second Chance Humane Society in Ridgway, Colorado, says the impact has a far more widespread and direct effect on our ecosystem. KVNF's Cassie Knust spoke with Gilman about the impacts.
The public comment period for the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed public lands rule ended this week, and tens of thousands took the time to weigh in. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Murphy Woodhouse has details on what commenters had to say.
