FEATURE: This weekend the Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center in Cedaredge will host the Second Annual Grand Mesa Songwriters Festival, featuring 18 songwriters performing in rotating groups of three, swapping songs and telling the stories behind them. The setting offers both audiences and songwriters a unique and intimate experience. Marty Durlin reports.
NEWS: The Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is alerting Coloradans about a new wave of fraudulent text messages. Scammers are now directly impersonating the DMV. They falsely claim recipients have unpaid tickets and threaten severe consequences such as prosecution, suspension of vehicle registration, and revocation of driving privileges. The scammer’s goal is to frighten recipients into clicking malicious links and divulging personal or financial information. If you receive a suspicious text message claiming to be from the DMV: Do NOT click on any links. Do NOT share any personal or financial information such as your driver's license number, Social Security number, credit card details, or banking information. Do NOT reply to the text message.
The League of Women Voters of the Uncompahgre Valley will hold their Annual Meeting Thursday, June 12 at the Hispanic Affairs Project meeting room in Montrose. The League which serves Montrose, Delta and Ouray Counties will award its first Distinguished Public Service Award at the meeting and recognize Montrose County Commissioner of District 2 Sue Hansen for her seven years of service to Montrose County.
Delta County sales taxes were up nearly 6 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to the latest Delta County Economic Report produced by Colorado Mesa University. Dr. Nathan Perry, professor of economics, noted that the City of Delta’s sales/use taxes also saw growth, rising just above 5 percent. However, lodging taxes remained relatively flat with a decline of nearly 3 percent. Business entity filings in Delta County have increased the last several years but saw a dip from 2023 to 2024.
KVNF FARM FRIDAY: On today’s KVNF Farm Friday, former Colorado State Senator Jerry Sonnenberg will now head up the Farm Service Agency for Colorado. The Sterling, Colorado native was appointed to the position by the Trump administration in May.
Sonnenberg served eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate, representing northeastern Colorado, until he was term-limited in 2022. He championed water and agricultural issues during his time in the legislature, carrying landmark legislation such as 2017's omnibus "Sustainability of Rural Colorado" that directed $556 million to rural schools and roads, and created the Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise, which collects fees from hospitals and remits it back to health care facilities that serve indigent populations.
The Farm Services Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, administers farm commodity, disaster, and conservation programs for farmers and ranchers; and it makes and guarantees farm emergency, ownership, and operating loans through a network of state and county offices.
