LOCAL NEWS: Telluride Ski Patrollers strike has wrapped up after nearly two weeks of negotiations over higher wages. According to reporting in several news outlets, the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association accepted a new contract offer from Telluride Ski & Golf. The strike and closure of the ski resort was causing economic worries in the town and was dividing its residents. Graham Hoffman, president of the ski patrollers’ union, confirmed that the 70-member organization had accepted the offer, hammered out earlier this week. To everyone’s delight Telluride received its first significant snowfall after weeks of drought. The resort issued a statement noting that the mountain will complete its gradual reopening by this weekend.
Many Delta County property owners can expect to see an increase in their 2025 property taxes due to a combination of expiring state tax relief and rising property values reflected in the county-wide reappraisal. In tax years 2023 and 2024, two Senate bills provided temporary property tax relief by reducing the assessors’ actual value of each residential property by $55,000 and reducing the actual value of each commercial improved property by $30,000. Those reductions resulted in average annual tax savings of approximately $240 for residential properties and $544 for commercial properties. Those temporary reductions expired at the end of this year.
In a press release, Delta City Manager Elyse Casselberry reported that the city is closing out the previous year with sales tax revenues up approximately 6% over 2024. Despite the financial gains, she noted that the city is grappling with internal "burnout" and staffing reductions. The city also consolidated its unhoused strategy under a single team to improve coordination between street outreach and the Riverbend Resource Center. The resource center reported 165 contacts in December alone, providing 63 showers and 47 laundry services to those in need.
STATE NEWS: It’s been a very warm winter and snowpack is below average across most of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Caroline Llanes has more on how that’s impacting ongoing drought conditions. Colorado food pantries face rising demands due to federal disruptions, Eric Galatas has more.
FEATURE STORY: 2025 was a tough year for craft brewers in Colorado, with 30 breweries closing around the state. For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, K-G-N-U's Lyra Elliott Stone brings us the story of one craft brewery in Denver that served their last pints just before the new year.
