LOCAL NEWS: Delta City Councilor recently approved its 2026 city-wide budget,despite containing a $1 million deficit. According to reporting in the Delta County Independent the shortfall has been cut from $3 million in recent weeks. The city’s $53 million dollar budget includes over $13 million in grant funding for projects, including its Main Street renovation plans. Significant and immediate savings included no cost-of-living increases for 2026 and having employees cover the 5.5% health premium increases. The city also cut roughly $600,000 by eliminating eight full-time employee positions through attrition, a hiring freeze and voluntary severance deals. Staff say the employee reductions have added workload pressures and impacted morale, indicating a need for further discussion.
STATE NEWS: In state water news, The U-S Senate has passed the "Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act" and is sending it to the president. Republican Representative Lauren Boebert introduced the bill in the House and is happy that the end could be in sight for the decades-long water project. Democratic Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper pushed for the bill in their chamber, as well as securing hundreds of millions of additional funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The bill eases repayment terms for local communities by eliminating interest payments on federal loans and extending the repayment period from 50 to 100 years.
EDUCATION NEWS: In education news, there’s a new report that shows that the many charter schools are not helping students but are in actuality undermining Colorado’s public school system. Eric Galatas has the details.
TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF THE ROCKIES: There is a perception locally that if you're looking for training to get into the workforce without a four year degree you'll likely have to move out of region to need education. Randal Palmer is the Executive Director of The Technical College of the Rockies is working to change that perspective. KVNF's Brody Wilson spoke with Palmer in Studio M.
