Capitol Coverage

• BLM managing 14-acre South Fork fire near Nucla, smoke visible this week is mostly from Arizona
• CORE Act getting a Senate committee hearing on June 16th
• Safe2Tell hotline prevention program for youth remains available while school is out at 877-542-7233
• Youth Rising Film Fest from Citizens for a Healthy Community wraps up tonight with Youth v. Gov
• Capitol Coverage Scott Franz explores how decisions by lawmakers during the 2021 session, that wrapped up last night, will impact the lives of Colorado residents

• Congressman Lamborn re-introduces bill to defund public broadcasting
• All Points Transit offering free rides to Montrose youth
• CDOT opens Hwy 50 all weekend
• Teacher David Hamilton fired for alleged sexual misconduct
• CPW closes fishing in Yampa River earlier than ever
• Congressional bill would ban slaughter of wild horses
• Colorado House approves bill to stop HOAs from banning signs based on content
• Bill would add regs to potent medical marijuana
• Paige Pierce's mother & attorney talk about her killing by DCSD

• Delta County School Board votes not to adopt comprehensive sex ed
• Sen. Bennet calls on Congress to mitigate wildfires, restore forests
• Marijuana pardons forthcoming
• COVID cases are spiking in Moab
• Delta County Democrats give scholarships to Hotchkiss & Cedaredge seniors
• Philanthropist George Stranahan has died
• Luke Runyon: Lake Powell strategizing is underway
• Scott Franz: Residents statewide share thoughts on COVID vaccines

• Colorado will offer on-site vaccine clinics at workplaces
• Gunnison affordable housing shortage leads to packed extended stay motels
• Drost's Chocolates moves from Eckert to Delta
• Learning Council announces Pride Parade outside DCSD meeting on May 20th
• Transportation bill moving through State Capitol
• Survey finds broad support for redirecting some police funds to social services
• Kate Redmond speaks with Delta County Commissioner Don Suppes about taking over COVID policy

• Capitol Coverage reporter Scott Franz and Colorado River reporter Luke Runyon honored with Murrow awards
• 70 teachers in MCSD nominated for Teacher of the Year
• Skate park will be the focus of Paonia in Motion design workshop on Tuesday 4-6pm at Blue Sage
• Ouray County Commissioners pause plans for two new marijuana cultivation facilities
• Lawmakers want to create new office on preventing gun violence
• Skyler Lomahaftewa, a Ute tribal member of the Uncompahgre band, is trying to bring tradition back to the Roaring Fork Valley where he lives

• Delta County Commissioners oppose forthcoming 'Protect Animals from Unnecessary Suffering & Exploitation' ballot initiative 
• CDOT has a bridge to sell you
• CDC: Coloradans suffered dizziness from anxiety, not Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine
• Lawmakers unveil transportation bill that adds fees to ride shares & deliveries
• Cops face discipline on Eastern Plains, in Denver
• Lawmakers vote on new gun control bills this week
• Archaeologist Don Montoya talks to KZMU about vandalism at Birthing Rock petroglyphs near Moab

• District 51 in Mesa County facing another COVID outbreak, at least 18 confirmed cases
• Pitkin County Commissioners accused of racial bias by rancher Jose Miranda
• Lumber prices up as much as 240% since last year, adding to increasing price of new housing
• State lawmakers pass bill letting cities, schools limit public info when hiring new leaders
• Mountain West News Bureau's Robyn Vincent shares second story on racial reckoning & police brutality

• EcoGen BioSciences acquires 165-acre hemp farm & production campus south of Delta
• Montrose Republican representative Marc Catlin named vice chair of House Ag Committee
• Lawmakers make more changes to bill aiming to cut insurance premiums
• Unexpected buyer partly to blame for continued increase in housing prices
• Tech leaders active fighting climate change say Colorado will see green job growth
• Colorado will add 8th seat in Congress thanks to new Census data

• Hundreds attend Delta County school board meeting to protest comprehensive sex ed program that hasn't been adopted by the district
• Mesa County Commissioners open third round of hiring for new county attorney
• Palisade Peach Festival will return in August
• Black lawmakers in Colorado relieved jury convicted officer in murder of George Floyd
• Robyn Vincent checks up on bold police reforms passed by Colorado lawmakers last year

• Paonia trustees reduce limit on pot shops from six to three
• US House passes SAFE banking act, which would allow banks to work with cannabis companies
• Kate Redmond talks to Paonia locals who hold peaceful Black Lives Matter weekly vigil 
• Luke Runyon talks to ranchers about preparing for water shortages this summer
• Scott Franz speaks with Governor Jared Polis about what's next for pandemic response, and last month's mass shooting in Boulder

• Delta Health transitioning COVID vaccine clinics to primary care locations
• Lauren Boebert & Marjorie Taylor Greene only no votes on bone marrow bill
• Colorado House approves $34B state budget
• Colorado has more realtors than homes for sale
• Farm & Food Alliance launches incubator app, new website
• Montrose Summer Music Series will return in July
• COVID cases & hospitalizations are up as counties take over managing restrictions

• Colorado will shift to county-led COVID rules on Friday
• Telluride Bluegrass approved for June 11-13 in addition to June 17-20
• Sen. Hickenlooper answers questions at first virtual Town Hall 
• State lawmakers release more details on stimulus plan
• Colorado River forecasts show increasing likelihood of persistent worsening drought
• Natural gas plant operator near Moab now mining cryptocurrency

• A Delta County Sheriff's Deputy shot and killed Paige Schmidt of Austin on Friday
• Sunset Mesa defendants found liable by Montrose District Court Judge
• Buyer poised to close on former Russell Stover plant, provide distro for small farms & ranches
• Fire near Meeker grows to 1000 acres, 60% contained
• Rep. Boebert tells Club 20 she is 'unwilling to compromise'
• Coloradans respond to Boulder lawmakers calling for assault weapons ban, waiting periods for gun purchases

• Grand Junction voters repeal retail marijuana ban, reject Republican-aligned council candidates
• Senators Michael Bennet & John Hickenlooper, Representative Lauren Boebert attend local meetings
• Delta County still under mask mandate due to uptick in COVID cases
• Colorado lawmakers introduce $34B budget 
• KVNF's Kate Redmond checks in with Delta County administrator Robbie LeValley as Commissioners take up privatization of recycling collection

• Investigation into sexual misconduct at Colorado Judiciary criticized for opacity
• Colorado House passes bill penalizing owners who fail to report lost or stolen guns
• Gunnison Ranger District implementing camping management this summer
• District has a plan for displaying Paonia and Hotchkiss High trophies at new school
• Cedaredge Community Band returns to rehearsals
• Mountain West News Bureau's Madelyn Beck reports on spring bird migration in the region

• Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association turns on water for canals
• Though Governor relaxed statewide mask mandate for counties in level green, masks are still required in schools & health care facilities, plus all public places in 33 counties at level blue, yellow, and orange
• Lawmakers debate state budget this week
• Laura Palmisano reports road accessing Lake San Cristobal finally gets repairs
• KSUT's Sarah Flower asks Fort Lewis College president Tom Stritikus about becoming first in Colorado requiring COVID vaccination for Fall semester

• Arbol Farm Market moving to Paonia Town Park
• Taneal Mautz of Paonia High & Adam Smith of Hotchkiss High awarded Daniels scholarships
• 911 system upgrades may impact PBX and multiline phone systems, not landlines or cell phones
• Lawmakers delay hearing on bill to lower health insurance premiums
• Economists say reducing emissions now will save money long-term
• Former Scott Tipton staffer says Lauren Boebert's criticisms onstage in Montrose are false

• Committee narrows list of names for new high school: North Fork, West Elk, or Fire Mountain
• Mutual Aid Distribution Day in Grand Junction marks one year and 150,000 pounds of shared food
• BLM announces plan to protect habitat of gunnison sage grouse in San Miguel County
• CDPHE whistleblowers seek audit of Colorado's Air Pollution Control Division
• Democrats shelved 'dangerous attempts to make it harder to vote' in Colorado by Republicans
• Robyn Vincent reports on the rise of anti-Asian racism during the pandemic

• Delta, Ouray, Hinsdale, Gunnison County are now Green on the state's COVID dial, while Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel County are still Blue
• Cedaredge pot shop application process opens April 2nd
• Governor orders flags to half-staff on Saturday in honor of Chester Riley
• New study finds listening to nature could have significant health benefits
• Lawmakers begin debating controversial health care plan aimed at lowering costs for those who buy insurance on the individual market because they can't get it through an employer

• Delta County moves to Green on COVID dial [UPDATE: Restaurants no longer have capacity limits]
• National Park Service warns of ice breaking up along shorelines of Curecanti Rec Area
• State lawmakers from Boulder want new gun regulations
• What you can do to help stop salmonella outbreak killing birds in the Mountain West
• As migrant agricultural workers return, community health centers are helping distribute COVID vaccines
• Nancy Watzman comments on on combating misinformation & disinformation at CFOIC's Sunshine Week panel 

• 6 tons of rock fell on Ouray Hydro Power Plant intake pipe
• Suspect arrested in murder of Ana Victoria Rascon
• State auditor harshly criticizes Colorado Department of Labor & Employment
• BLM conducting prescribed burns this week along Govt Springs Rd & on Dry Mesa
• State lawmakers have more money to spend in next year's budget than originally thought
• After ticket money vaporized, thousands of event organizers and venues will see relief thanks to a settlement reached between WA state attorney general's office & Brown Paper Tickets

KVNF's Capitol Coverage reporter Scott Franz joins Gavin Dahl to discuss Sunshine Week, talk about his time reporting in Steamboat before heading to the State Capitol, share some of the exciting collaborations emerging from the Rocky Mountain Community Radio coalition, and explain why listeners should support KVNF during the Spring Membership Drive. He also says he recently heard Gavin's voice in the Capitol basement, and found another reporter listening to coverage of Lauren Boebert's event in Montrose.

• Colorado ramping up vaccine shipments, expanding six mass vaccination sites around the state
• Bill advancing at Capitol would cap late fees for rent payments, give tenants more time to avoid evictions
• Governor signed bill to cancel some standardized tests at grade schools this spring, Don Coram comments
• Kate Redmond speaks with Hotchkiss-based citizen journalist Terry O'Brien about the metrics of the COVID pandemic, and the success of the vaccine rollout so far

• Colorado Farm & Food Alliance applauds review of Interior Dept oil & gas leasing programs
• CPW studying why elk in Avalanche Creek herd are rejecting their young
• Colorado Bureau of Investigation reports DUI arrests way down last year
• Lawmakers again seek to ban single use plastic bags, styrofoam containers
• Highway 50 construction project between Gunnison & Montrose continues to draw criticism
• Zoom Boom: Kate Redmond speaks to realtor Carrie Soto about pandemic impacts on housing market

• Colorado's COVID death toll surpasses 6,000, as 90% of teachers have received first dose of vaccine
• High winds destroyed tipis at Ute Museum in Montrose
• History Colorado grants $25k to Montrose for cultural site survey in Tortilla Flats
• Colorado House passes bill requiring gun storage
• Republican Marc Catlin responds to Governor's Meat Out Day, calls for Meat In
• DCSD superintendent Caryn Gibson spoke to North Fork Rotary club about high school consolidation and outlined district properties she'd like to sell

• As reportedly drunk Delta Sheriff's Deputy Kent Eddy was removed from a plane at Montrose Airport, he allegedly grabbed the security door and struck a flight attendant
• Cedaredge completes marijuana ordinance, licenses will be $4-5k
• Colorado Sun finds many nursing homes with high COVID death totals were cited for infection-control problems pre-pandemic
• Plaindealer co-publisher Erin McIntyre comments on newspaper's motives in seeking personnel records from Ouray County
• Long-awaited software upgrade will make state's online checkbook more accessible

• Delta Health adding new pediatrics clinic
• Red Rocks asks for 2500 capacity instead of 175-person limit
• Breckenridge hiring private security to enforce mask mandates
• CPW permanently suspends hunting privileges of poacher
• Lawmakers initially approve bill penalizing gun owners who fail to secure firearms from children at home
• Addressing confusion over Johnson & Johnson vaccine efficacy
• Kate Redmond speaks to Chris Caskey of Delta Brick and Climate Company about the CORE Act

• Delta County School Board votes to consolidate North Fork high schools to Hotchkiss
• Pre-register for COVID vaccines in Delta County
• Colorado Rockies will welcome fans to Coors Field in April
• Abandoned oil & gas wells pollute air and groundwater, with profits privatized, damages socialized
• Conservation advocate Nada Culver appointed to BLM post
• Capitol statue will honor Sand Creek Massacre victims
• Gunnison County home to severe bark beetle infestations
• Montrose artist Lewis Williams embarks on 4000-mile bike trip

• Former Ouray County Sheriff Lance FitzGerald arrested for suspected DUI again
• Ouray's drinking water likely infiltrated by surface water
• Hot springs in Rico now closed to non-residents
• National Western Stock Show in Denver will return in 2022, says CEO
• Stretch of highway from South Fork to Creede to Lake City to Blue Mesa Reservoir now a national scenic byway
• Scott Franz reports lawmakers are responding to COVID much differently than the Spanish Flu of 1918

• Colorado teachers now have rapid COVID self-tests from the state
• CDC says ventilation indoors can cut down spread of COVID, but what makes for good ventilation?
• Capitol Coverage: Colorado lawmakers considering $1B stimulus proposal in response to pandemic
• Paonia town administrator Corinne Ferguson discusses notices sent to residents last week about lead exceeding permitted levels at six specific testing sites, and outlines next steps