2020 Election

• San Miguel Power won't increase rates for 2021
• Montrose City Council approves Russell Stover land purchase
• Governor activates National Guard to help fight East Troublesome Fire
• COVID-19 impacting sugar beet harvest
• Jodi Peterson interviews Independent Delta County Commissioner candidate Jere Lowe

• Grant-funded Uncompahgre River improvement project starts next week
• Police dog Oxx died this week after 9 years serving in law enforcement
• Joe Lewandowski of Colorado Parks & Wildlife explains why fire restrictions are in place
• Beau Baker reports on voter intimidation and violence in the Mountain West
• Jodi Peterson interviews Republican Delta County Commissioner candidate Wendell Koontz

Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush is running for Congress in Colorado's Third District against Lauren Boebert. She is a former college professor with a PhD in sociology, previously elected as a county commissioner and state representative. Should voters choose a veteran politican known for bipartisan compromise over a newcomer with a gun on her hip and no political experience? KVNF reporter Gavin Dahl spoke with Mitsch Bush on Monday, October 19th to learn more about her views. Here is the entire unedited interview.

• When asked about campaign finance complaint filed against Back the Badge campaign, Delta County Sheriff Mark Taylor tells KVNF's Jodi Peterson that he made a mistake 
• Part two of KVNF's interview with Democratic congressional candidate Diane Mitsch Bush

• Cameron Peak Fire, near Fort Collins, now the largest wildfire in Colorado history
• COVID-19 testing relocates from Montrose Memorial Hospital to County Event Center
• While new COVID cases are up in Mesa County, few hospitalizations mean overflow facility unneeded
• Human rights groups release new report on growing far-right movement in our region
• Part one of KVNF's interview with Democratic congressional candidate Diane Mitsch Bush

Republican Lauren Boebert is running for Congress in Colorado's Third District against Diane Mitsch Bush. She is a business owner with a GED and no previous government experience. Should voters choose a novice with a gun on her hip over a veteran politician known for bipartisan compromise? KVNF reporter Gavin Dahl spoke with Boebert on Thursday, October 15th to learn more about her views. Here is the entire unedited interview.

• Delta County Planning Commission certifies draft land use code, removes Right to Farm expansion
• 2020 U.S. Census counting has officially ended
• Voters returned over 400,000 ballots by Thursday in Colorado, 25 times as many as in 2016
• Part two of KVNF's interview with Republican congressional candidate Lauren Boebert

• Montrose High student tests positive for COVID-19 
• Laurel House for homeless aged 18-24 opens in Grand Junction
• Colorado Chief Medical Officer Eric France recommends flu shots 
• New study shows cities with more undocumented immigrants do not have higher crime
• Part one of KVNF's interview with Republican congressional candidate Lauren Boebert 

On this edition of Local Motion we hear a debate produced as part of Colorado Decides by PBS12, CBS4, and The Colorado Sun. Proposition 117 would establish a requirement of voter approval before the state can collect new enterprise funds of a certain size. 

• Governor Jared Polis extends mask mandate for another 30 days
• DMEA receives $2M grant for Elevate Broadband in Cedar Mesa, Beaver Hill
• William Perry Pendley defies judge to stay in job at BLM
• AG Phil Weiser vows to fight EPA rollback of clean car standards
• Scott Franz reports on Proposition 115, which would outlaw abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy

• When High School football games start Friday, Montrose won't allow public, Paonia will
• Fox Theater in Montrose closing indefinitely due to movie release delays
• Body of missing hiker found near Lake City
• Early voting numbers much higher than 2016 nationally
• KOTO's Julia Caulfield reports on the newlyweds who died in a plane crash near Telluride this week

• Russell Stover intends to buy its property from City of Montrose for $1, resell land & factory
• Fire at Olathe storage unit destroys resources of 3 charitable ministries: Angels for the Needy, Haven House, & Open Hands, Open Hearts
• New report finds most western states not doing enough to protect residents from COVID-19
• Capitol Coverage: Scott Franz examines Proposition 118, which would create a new state program in Colorado to provide paid family & medical leave to workers

• Now 15 human cases of West Nile in Delta County
• Montrose Lighthouse looking for new location to avoid reduced shelter capacity due to COVID
• Arch Resources looking to sell West Elk Mine in North Fork Valley, the largest coal producer in Colorado
• Legal fate of 2020 Census count deadline still uncertain
• Scott Franz explains the most complicated statewide ballot question, Amendment B, which would change the Gallagher amendment in Colorado

• John Hickenlooper campaigns in Grand Junction
• Colorado Air Quality Commission will require pollution monitoring at new oil & gas wells
• Curecanti Rec Area getting major upgrade
• Unemployment rates high in our region
• Activists want climate questions in the debates
• State climatologist Russ Schumacher talks wildfires

• State names Delta Walmart pharmacy, Delta Building Center as COVID outbreak sites
• Affordable housing project in Ridgway to break ground next spring
• Luke Runyon: Colorado River's largest reservoirs expected to keep struggling due to climate change
• Scott Franz: Gray wolf reintroduction proposition will be on the statewide ballot 

• Grand Junction Sentinel finds contradictions in congressional candidate Boebert's claims
• Theft and vandalism of campaign signs rampant in Ouray County
• New trails complete at Crossroads Park in Hotchkiss 
• Governor allows high school football this fall
• Disability community want to make sure all eligible voters can cast

• Congressional candidate Lauren Boebert deletes several social media accounts 
• Paonia will use new CDOT grant for Grand Ave projects
• Yellow-billed cuckoo not losing Endangered Species Act protection
• Mask mandate extended another 30 days
• Judge rejects lawsuit delaying blue book voting guide distribution 
• KSUT: New projects hope to close 'water gap' for Navajo Nation

• Cameron Peak Fire has now destroyed 54 structures
• Beware of voter misinformation, including from USPS itself
• KUER: Advocacy groups are calling on BLM to cancel upcoming oil and gas lease sales 
• As Scott Franz reports, Colorado voters will get a say in doing away with the electoral college this November

• State Supreme Court declines mask mandate lawsuit
• Senator Cory Gardner touts Grand Junction Airport grant
• 1800 pounds of marijuana seized in local raids
• Back the Badge allegedly used taxpayer money in violation of state law
• Utility shut off moratoriums end
• 11 statewide initiatives qualified for Nov ballot
• KOTO's Matt Hoisch on Telluride resort's plans

• I-70 reopened through Glenwood Canyon, traffic doubled on U.S. 50 near Gunnison during the closure
• Grand Junction has felt record temperatures this month
• Western Slope voters will have more official ballot drop boxes to choose from
• Gov. Polis now allowing bars to stay open until 11pm
• Two lawsuits seek ouster of William Perry Pendley at BLM
• KSJD's Daniel Rayzel reports on hilarious 'Subpar Parks' posters by Amber Share

Bruce Noble is the retired superintendent of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti Recreation Area. He and an all-star team of other veteran leaders with a combined 179 years of service to the national park system are advocating for passage of the CORE Act by Congress.

Colorado is widely recognized as the gold standard for accessible and secure elections. With President Donald Trump openly stating his support for voter suppression tactics, and politicizing the U.S. Postal Service, KVNF's Gavin Dahl asked Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold what that means for her work as the top election official in the state. You can register to vote or update your registration at GoVoteColorado.gov.

• Montrose School District seeks survey input on Return to Learn plan
• Pine Gulch Fire spreading rapidly north of Grand Junction
• An effort to recall Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters fell short 
• Ventilation a factor in safe school reopenings
• Paid family leave supporters submit 200,000 signatures for ballot access
• KOTO's Matt Hoisch examines parenting infants during a pandemic