FEATURE: A recent report finds 130 newspapers shut down across the U.S. last year. This includes 13 in Colorado. Research shows that losing local news sources weakens civic engagement and increases political polarization. Grant Houston has run the Lake City Silver World there for nearly 50 years. For KVNF, Laura Palmisano spoke with Houston about his life in journalism and the challenges of running a newspaper in a tiny town.
LOCAL NEWS: A traffic stop on U.S. 50 near G-50 road resulted in the seizure of several grams of suspected fentanyl, carfentanil, methamphetamine and ecstasy according to the Delta County Sheriff’s Office. The drug bust took place last week after a deputy pulled over a driver for weaving. The driver, Junior Rosales-Blanco, of Montrose, and two passengers were arrested on suspicion of drug offenses; formal charges are pending. According to the DCSO, deputies recovered 150 grams of fentanyl pills, or about 1,500 pills; 12 grams of Ecstasy pills, 454 grams of methamphetamine, about 50 grams of powdered fentanyl and about 21 grams of suspected carfentanil, a potent opioid more powerful than fentanyl that is used as a sedative for elephants.
Another North Fork Valley Ranch will move into permanent conservation according to Colorado West Land Trust. Hawk Ranch, a 270-acre property in Delta County, near the iconic Needle Rock will use the conservation to protect agricultural heritage and critical wildlife habitat. The project was made possible by the support of Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) through the Keep it Colorado Transaction Assistance Program, the North Fork Committee of the Colorado Parks, and the Wildlife Habitat Protection Program.
CDOT’s planned critical safety winter maintenance on U.S. 550 was slightly derailed Thursday when, hours before a planned closure, a natural snowslide came down over the road at the Blue Point slide area of Red Mountain Pass. According to CDOT, the slide, about 10 miles from Ouray, caught a commercial box truck and a small passenger vehicle that tried unsuccessfully to drive through it. No injuries were reported. Road conditions were poor on the pass and other parts of the high country, as a winter storm warning was in effect. Travelers are reminded to check road conditions at cotrip.org, and avalanche forecasts at avalanche.state.co.us
