KSJD Local News

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A substitute judge will be temporarily handling cases on the docket of Montezuma County Court Judge Ian MacLaren.

The monsoon season is off to a promising but intense start in Montezuma County.

Montezuma County residents questioned commissioners about replacing millions in lost Kinder Morgan tax revenue during a community town hall in Dolores.

The Montezuma County commissioners continue to struggle with the issues of rubbish and blight. For some time they have said many county residents want unsightly properties to be addressed.

Cortez Municipal Court is launching a Teen Court program that will train young volunteers to serve as attorneys, jurors and judges in cases involving their peers.

The city moved forward with its professional show at Parque de Vida while Mancos, Rico and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe canceled fireworks because of fire conditions.

The Montezuma County commissioners on Tuesday approved resolutions notifying the county clerk of two measures they intend to put on the November ballot They also passed a resolution appointing themselves as temporary acting county administrators.

Montezuma County Assessor Leslie Bugg gave a grim report to the county commissioners Monday about revenues.

Officials say wetter weather is helping moderate fire behavior, but thunderstorms may still bring lightning, heavy rain and erratic winds.

Colorado is seeking public input as the San Juan Basin Area Agency on Aging steps down, while Mancos considers a sales tax increase for streets and broadband.

An article in the Journal and ongoing concerns about the county budget led to a tempestuous argument between Sheriff Steve Nowlin and the Montezuma County commissioners Tuesday. The commissioners then voted to spend up to $50,000 on a forensic audit of the sheriff’s office and detention center.

President Trump is expected to reduce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Conservation groups are preparing legal challenges, while Dolores County has reduced some Ferris Fire evacuation levels.

Drought still has the Four Corners in its fiery grip, but forecasters are hopeful that a good monsoon season may be coming.

A transition from one water supplier to another in the town of Dove Creek is reportedly proceeding smoothly, However, the town hall remains closed because of anger and threats directed at staff over major price hikes caused by the change.

The Babylon Fire southwest of Monticello is about 102,900 acres and 21% contained. Crews are prioritizing the Indian Creek and Twin Peaks area after active overnight burning.

The Montezuma County commissioners are planning to take on the duties of the county administrator themselves while they look for a replacement for current administrator Travis Anderson.

The Ferris Fire northwest of Dolores is about 51,000 acres and 21% contained. Fire activity has increased in Dolores River Canyon, and Dolores County has added Zones 13 and 14 to SET status.

As wildfires rage across the West, many municipalities are cancelling their fireworks displays, while others are not.

Unofficial Montezuma County primary election results show Rodney Cox leading the Republican commissioner race and Jerri Frizzell leading the clerk and recorder race.

More than a decade after it was named one of the highest-priority trail projects in the state, ground has not been broken on the Paths to Mesa Verde project. But that time may be growing nearer.

Evacuation orders remain in place as the Ferris, Far Draw and Doe Canyon fires burn in western Montezuma and Dolores counties. Additional fires are also active in southeastern Utah.

Critics of HR 1 warned in a Zoom call Thursday that its impacts to patients and hospitals in rural Colorado will be enormous.

The Pantry Produce Share Program will provide fresh, locally grown produce to food pantries in Montezuma and Dolores counties and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Nation. In Dolores, the library district board has voted to terminate Executive Director Sean Gantt’s contract after discussing a third-party workplace assessment.

Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez has been honored nationally, even as it faces financial struggles that are being shared by many hospitals across the state and nation.

The Montelores Coalition’s first Strike Team projects will support cleanup at Hawkins Preserve, Mancos River restoration and derelict fence removal near Rico.

Because of an enforcement order issued by the state, the Town of Dove Creek soon will be getting its water from a new source. That decision has led to a price increase that made some town residents so angry that the Town Hall has closed because of threats to staff.

Grand Canyon National Park has issued a warning that, because of extreme heat, people should not hike below the rim between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The Montezuma County commissioners this week said no to both a sales-tax question and a proactive emergency declaration.

The Four Corners Poetry Festival brought poets laureate to the Durango Public Library for workshops and readings focused on memory, language, sensory writing and place.

Conservation groups are expressing relief that Congress appears unlikely to throw out the management plan for Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

A survey regarding voters’ attitudes toward a 1 percent sales tax in Montezuma County has been completed.

A Montezuma-Cortez School District staff survey showed gains in some areas, but concerns remain around social-emotional learning, gifted student support, behavior and family engagement.

How dry is it in the Four Corners? Statistics give the answer.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council is considering an agreement with San Juan Counseling Services that could expand access to counseling and treatment services in White Mesa.

The principal of Montezuma-Cortez High School, Dr. Jennifer Boniface, has been named the 2026 Colorado Secondary School Principal Rookie of the Year.

Experts on public lands and wildfires are voicing concern about how budget cuts to federal agencies will affect firefighting during the approaching fire season.

Runners from more than a half-dozen countries carrying a torch and a message of peace stopped in Cortez on Wednesday.

The Mancos Board of Trustees approved a letter supporting Senator Michael Bennet's immigration enforcement bills after a divided discussion over the town's role in federal policy debates.

The Cortez City Council on Tuesday adopted a proclamation declaring June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month despite one council member’s ten-minute-long speech against the measure. Also on Tuesday, Cortez city manager Drew Sanders told the council about an award the city recently received from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.

Free summer meal programs are available for children in Montezuma and Dolores counties as families face rising grocery costs and food access challenges.

The Montezuma County commissioners have reinstated a fire ban in the unincorporated areas of the county. Also on Tuesday, they approved a contract for up to $15,000 with USDA Wildlife Services.

The Dolores Watersheds Collaborative is developing a Wildfire Ready Action Plan to identify post-fire flooding, erosion and sedimentation risks in the upper Dolores River watershed.

Attorneys representing the Montezuma County board of commissioners and a corporation seeking to build a Dollar General store here made their cases in District Court on Thursday.

The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School Board during its regular meeting Tuesday wrestled with the question of whether to allow student clubs to meet at lunchtime.

Utah regulators met with White Mesa residents Monday about Energy Fuels’ proposed rare earth expansion at the White Mesa Mill.

A rainstorm in the first two days of April produced enough moisture to push the month’s total precipitation to 179 percent of the historic average for Cortez. However, that didn’t really change the dramatically dry picture overall in the area.

Drought conditions are forcing Montezuma County growers, livestock producers and gardeners to make hard decisions about water use, crops and conservation.

Hundreds of Montezuma County residents took advantage of the county’s free clean-up days at the landfill Friday and Saturday, dropping off old appliances, furniture, electronics, and tires without paying a fee.

A Cortez man accused of brutally beating three men in Veterans Park in 2025, killing one of them, entered a not-guilty plea in District Court on Wednesday. In other news, a man who was struck by a plane and killed after he trespassed onto a runway at Denver International Airport on Friday reportedly had lived in Montezuma County.