CDOT

• COVID case numbers rising for kids age 6 to 11
• Rural Americans dying of COVID at more than twice the rate of urban Americans
• CDOT launches new CoTrip Planner app, updates Cotrip.org site
• Bustang offers new weekday route from Telluride to Grand Junction
• 350 Roaring Fork pushing Glenwood Springs, Carbondale to divest from fossil fuels
• New state law helps renters avoid evictions, improve living conditions
• Kate Redmond speaks to participants in Grand Junction women's march

• Mobile home residents in Austin making national news
• Montrose seeks funds to upgrade pocket park
• CDOT says all lanes of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon will reopen by Thanksgiving
• Congressmember Lauren Boebert likely to benefit from new maps chosen by Redistricting Commission
• Paonia discusses next budget, staff raises, at trustee work session
• Kate Redmond speaks to Montrose ceramicist Bill Wilson about new exhibit opening in Grand Junction during First Friday Art Crawl tomorrow

• Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in more hot water
• CDOT falsely reported Independence Pass was closed on August 4th to reduce use
• Biologists study impact of Glenwood Canyon mudslides on the Colorado River
• Anti-speculation water task force fails to agree on recommendations
• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation funds habitat & research
• Mountain towns pursuing limits on short term rentals
• Western Slope Conservation Center's Ben Katz explains issues with GMUG forest management plan

Read and comment on the USFS draft plan 

• Highway 50 returns to regular closures Sept 1
• July the hottest month ever recorded
• Research shows wildfire smoke harmful to dairy cows
• Colorado will require vaccines for workers at 24/7 facilities for vulnerable populations
• FEC alleges Lauren Boebert has been spending campaign funds for personal use
• KDNK's Amy Hadden Marsh reports Cottonwood Pass, at times narrow and dangerous, has become more popular during Glenwood Canyon closures, but a long-term plan is needed

• Interior Department restarts oil & gas leasing on public lands while fighting lawsuit by industry
• Colorado proposes new transportation planning standards to reduce pollution
• Delta, Montrose among 16 recipients of CDOT funds to revitalize Main Streets
• Palisade faces criticism over regulation of retail pot shops
• Ruedi Reservoir so low Aspen could struggle to generate hydro power
• Water shortage declared for lower Colorado River Basin
• Kate Redmond reports on release of 2020 Census numbers

• I-70 reopened Saturday
• SOS decertifies Mesa County election equipment
• Learning Council hopes to buy building in Paonia
• DCSD releases North Fork Miners logo in time for 1st day of school
• AEG to require vaccinations for all concert attendees starting October 1
• As delta variant surges, cities bring back some COVID restrictions, but rural conservatives push back

• Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters not cooperating with Secretary of State investigation, Grand Junction Sentinel calls her 'unfit' for office
• Ace Hardware owner Kim Shay files complaint with state about Hotchkiss Municipal Judge Lynn French, who represented shoplifter Charidy Meeks, daughter of former Marshal Dan Miller, as her attorney
• Delta Commissioner Don Suppes explains why County is buying old City Market building from School District, moving library out of its historic building
• CDOT spokeswoman Tracy Trulove describes cleanup of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon

• CDOT says I-70 should reopen through Glenwood Canyon by Saturday night
• Rural Utilities Service awards $10.5M to Elevate for Pea Green, East Delta projects
• Sen. Coram, Rep. Catlin hope MCSD can obtain exemption from changing native mascots
• San Miguel Public Health urging residents to wear masks indoors
• Community college enrollment declining in Colorado
• Paonia grapples with short term rentals, but no action taken at this week's trustee meeting

• Business/government partnership vies for a freight rail terminal in Grand Junction
• Mountain rescue members injured recovering body from Capitol Peak
• Indian Country Today sweeps Native Media Awards
• Lake City hosts 5th annual String Academy
  

• Montrose School District will not require masks or vaccinations for the school year
• Governor Polis will issue a state disaster declaration for Glenwood Canyon
• Ika Eden sentenced to 96 years in the death of two children in Norwood in 2017
• Covid changes to mountain communities could be here to stay
  

• Hotchkiss plans a water work session in August, last comprehensive assessment was in 1999
• UPDATE: CDOT closures on US 550 DELAYED between Ouray and Engineer Pass
• Senator Michael Bennet touts the expanded child tax credit program, reviews eligibility
• Skate park advocate Jay Canode discusses what's next, as Paonia Board of Trustees declined to green light a skate park project at Paonia Town Park or along the river at their meeting last week

Kate Redmond speaks with Dave Kanzer of the Colorado River District on the after-effects of the Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon. She also interviews Elise Thatcher from CDOT on the immediacy of those effects as rain caused the canyon to ooze dirt across the highway twice this past weekend, resulting in extended closures of Interstate 70. CDOT warns more mudslides could be on the way.

• 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

• Jerry Greene, co-founder of KOTO radio in Telluride has died
• Amber McReynolds, ex-director of Denver elections, nominated to USPS board of governors
• BLM Uncompahgre Field Office's controlled burn on Simms Mesa successful
• 'Delta Dips' construction begins next week on US 50 between Delta & Grand Junction
• Paonia Trustees enact voluntary water restrictions
• Riverside location preferred to cut costs on new Paonia skate park
• Media literacy bill on Governor's desk gives new tools to schools to help students analyze news

• Governor launching new Colorado Department of Early Childhood
• Redistricting in Colorado may be further delayed by proposed legistation
• Montrose City Councilman Dave Bowman has resigned
• CDOT senior historian Lisa Schoch explains what makes Gunnison River Bridge historic
• Laura Palmisano interviews Republican State Senator Don Coram of Montrose about bills he has co-sponsored that have been signed into law by the Governor

Lisa Schoch, environmental protection specialist and senior historian for CDOT's environmental programs branch, explains it is the design that makes the Gunnison River Bridge on Highway 92 near Delta historic.

• 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

Road work on a four-mile stretch of U.S. 50 between Gunnison and Montrose starts in mid-April. The Little Blue Creek Canyon Project will cause partial and complete road closures over the next two years, impacting travel from Lake City or Gunnison to Montrose or Delta, and surrounding areas. For KVNF News, Laura Palmisano speaks with project official Kathleen Wanatowicz and project manager Travis Madsen.

• Governor Polis not publicly supporting assault weapon ban sought by Boulder Democrats
• East Portal Road will be closed for 2021
• Paonia and Cedaredge make progress on marijuana legalization
• Supply of affordable housing not keeping up with demand in Colorado
• Laura Palmisano speaks to project officials about Little Blue Creek Canyon Project road closures on Highway 50 between Gunnison and Montrose

A picturesque 117-mile stretch of highway in Southwest Colorado known as the Silver Thread Scenic Byway is now a National Scenic Byway.

• Cedaredge Trustees refine application process for marijuana shops
• CDOT unveils new Bustang route from Telluride to Grand Junction
• Avalanche claims 3 lives of backcountry skiers near Ophir Pass
• Center for Western Priorities policy director Jesse Prentice-Dunn says the sky is not falling for the oil & gas industry
• KVNF's Kate Redmond hears from Hotchkiss Trustee Mary Hockenberry about revitalization plans including a vision for the Public Works building

• Grand Junction City Council working on marijuana ballot measures for April election
• CDOT will spend some of $150M relief funds to improve Hwy 50 between Delta & Grand Junction
• Teachers not expected to start receiving vaccines until March, state providing rapid testing kits
• Governor says residents age 70+ will soon have easier time scheduling COVID vaccinations
• KOTO's Matt Hoisch explores what it means for local governments and public services when oil and gas revenues become more uncertain

• 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

• 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

In this edition, we talk about public transit. Here on the Western Slope, distances between towns are long, and we end up mostly driving our own cars to get where we need to go. But the state of Colorado is working to make it easier to leave the car at home for trips between towns, and even to the Front Range, with its Bustang bus service. KVNF's Jodi Peterson interviews a public transit expert, the head of CDOT's Bustang service, and several passengers and drivers.