Local Headlines

Skiers and snowmobilers were buried in Colorado's northern mountains, and 2 are dead in The West after heavy avalanche activity this past weekend. At the time of press, one snowmobiler was reported buried up Washington Gulch Road. (Photo: CB Avalanche Center)

Two homeowners in the Town of Crested Butte believe they have found a loophole in the ADU rule. Town officials disagree. The town will levy a $100 / day fine if Christopher David Mize (225 Butte Avenue) and John Kiltz (715 Sopris) do not come into compliance with the town's ADU rental rule.

The Town of Crested Butte is grappling with creating a short-term rental ordinance. To learn more about how a similar municipality - Telluride - crafted their short-term rental regulations, we called Town Manager Greg Clifton. Telluride's ordinance has been in place for 5 years. It is much more strict that the proposal in Crested Butte.

Some signage in town is out-of-date, incorrect, tough-to-read, or just flat out missing. The hope is that visitors will be able to find public restroom facilities and parking much better. With better signage, the planning department thinks people will spend more time in awe of the mountainous surroundings and less time staring at a mapping app on their smartphones.

The council struggled with some key points that could give the ordinance some teeth or keep it so loose it's quite ineffective. A few revisions were made to the ordinance, and its first reading will continue at the next council meeting on December 19th. Click the play button below to hear the full story.

Colorado lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth are more likely to be bullied, experience poor mental health outcomes, and use drugs and alcohol compared to their straight and cisgender - or non-transgender classmates, according to an analysis of the 2015 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey.

A roadless area in Western Gunnison County may see the construction of roads for methane venting and further coal exploration and development. To learn more about the Gunnison County Commissioner's stance on the Roadless Rule exception, KBUT spoke with Commissioner Jonathan Houck. He explains why allowing temporary roads was originally part of the negotiations at the table when the Roadless Rule was created. He would also like to see methane captured and used instead of vented into the atmosphere.

It's a craze, and local trails advocacy group Gunnison Trails is proposing to groom 25 miles of singletrack for mixed winter use. (Photo: Gunnison Trails / Dave Kozlowski)

The ICE (Innovation, Creativity, Entrepreneurship) Lab is under construction on the Western State Campus. The goal is to create a space that fosters creativity, collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship. It will open in early 2017 with shared spaces, quiet spaces, modular furniture, a coffee shop, and even a bar.

Snow-Ex is a joint project between NASA and the US Forest Service. The goal is to compare how the results between ground sensors and remote sensors (such as satellites) to determine how accurate the remote measurements really are. The application of Snow-Ex is both local and global. Water managers should be able to use the data collected on the amount of water in the snow to determine how to plan prepare for flood or drought around the world. But first, the project aims to discover how accurate the data collected is across various terrains and forest cover.

The Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association believes there is room for growth in the winter season. The TA will shift their marketing efforts away from the family market and towards millennials seeking an adventure. The ski area thinks it will be a good complement to their traditional family marketing. (Photo: KBUT News Desk lunch break)

Backpackers looking to stay the night in the most popular areas of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness will soon need a permit to do so. The U.S. Forest Service recently released a plan to manage overnight visitors in the backcountry.

A film crew will travel down the Missouri River from it's source in Montana to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. The goal of the film project is to document the water from its source to the site of conflict. (Photo: Makua Productions)

Two homeowners in the Town of Crested Butte are out of compliance with the town's accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules. The town has cited the homeowners, who would like to settle with the town. Settlement would allow the homeowners to not rent their ADUs; the homeowner's attorney says the ADU rule may end getting tossed out if the court agrees with the plaintiffs.

In a Memorandum of Understanding between the mining company and local, state, and federal agencies, the mining company will be responsible for helping to develop site-specific water quality standards for discharges into Coal Creek. Ashley Bembenek is a consultant with the Coal Creek Watershed Coalition has been working on the early stages of remediation, and she says she is very pleased with the progress so far.

Funding for the Butte Bucks program didn't come through for the CB / Mt. CB Chamber of Commerce, and therefore, the Butte Bucks program won't taking place this year. Gunnison Greenbacks can be purchased starting December 3rd. (Photo: Eliza Cress)

The Crested Butte Town Council met Monday night to discuss possible regulations of short-term rentals. It's becoming clear that decisions made around the rental phenomenon is divisive and will be one of the biggest game changers in the town's housing stock and how it is used. It's a complex puzzle that seems to pit legalities against community values.

Officers believe the 540 lb. bear has been getting into houses and businesses since last summer.

Dr. Mark Harvey, professor of history at North Dakota State, will present on wilderness and discuss his book "Wilderness Forever: Howard Zahniser And The Path To The Wilderness Act."

Delicate ecosystems are found on Colorado's 14ers, especially above treeline. Here's a story produced by Colorado College student Dana Cronin highlighting the need to maintain the trails and the ecosystem.

Gender-neutral and family facilities, more toilets, covered bike parking, and a new weather shelter are all part of the plan.

The design firm Bishop Mundy presented their plans to re-design the park to the Crested Butte Town Council in mid-October. The playground must be moved to accommodate the new Center For The Arts building.

Crested Butte residents called in from the front lines of the Standing Rock Reservation protests of the North Dakota Access Pipeline. They say the atmosphere is very tense and that protesters are constantly in fear of intervention from the authorities.

KBUT's Chad Reich talks with Gunnison League of Women Voters facilitator Ellen Harriman about the Amendments and Propositions on the ballot this year.

The original law - now referred to as the "ballot selfie ban" - was designed in 1891 to work against voter fraud by making it illegal to sell a vote. The original idea was to ban cameras in voter booths. The eas of information sharing associated with modern technology has created a need to re-think this law, and one senator is challenging it.

Salmon numbers may be improving. This year, over 12 million kokanee salmon eggs have been collected at the hatchery. Last year, that number was just over 2 million. This statistic shows the salmon population may be increasing in Blue Mesa Reservoir.

A bunch of garbage, doo doo, and strange finds marked a successful day of cleaning up the Slate River Valley last weekend.

KBUT's Chad Reich sits down with Timberlin Henderson of the Native American Student Council at Western State. Listen and learn about Timberlin's journey from the Navajo Reservation in Northeast Arizona to student life at Western. We discuss struggles of reservation life and how Timberlin's ultimate goal is to go back to his home with new skills and work as a chiropractor.

The meeting will be held on Monday, November 14th at 6 PM. Three items on the short-term rental regulation draft ordinance were controversial and raised the need for deeper discussion. Those items are possible caps on the number of short-term licenses, the transfer-ability of the licenses, and whether or not the units need an identifying plaque on the exterior.

County Commissioner hopefuls faced off at Western State on October 6th. Here's a summary of the District 2 race between incumbent Democrat Jonathan Houck and challenging Independent Paul Wayne Foreman. Hear the whole debate at KBUT.org. (Photo - GunnisonCounty.org)

County Commissioner hopefuls faced off at Western State on October 6th. Here's a summary of the District 1 race between Democrat John Messner and Republican Brad Tutor. Hear the whole debate at KBUT.org. (Photo - GunnisonCounty.org)

The main party candidates in Colorado’s U.S. Senate race will meet Tuesday evening on 9 News at 7 PM for their only televised debate of this election. Rocky Mountain Community Radio reporters were able to ask a few questions in the week leading up to this debate.

Gunnison County Commissioners took to the debate stage in the 2nd of 3 this past Thursday at Western State. Incumbent Democrat Jonathan Houck is being challenged by Independent Paul Wayne Foreman in District 2, and Republican Brad Tutor is challenging Democrat John Messner in District 1.

"It's not just a ski vacation anymore," says Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association Director Dave Ochs. The club is leading the charge to create a comprehensive fat biking network of trails in the northern end of the Gunnison Valley.

Before playing a Kirtan concert at Yoga For the Peaceful, Katie Wise & Bhakti Explosion stopped by the KBUT studios to answer the question: "What the heck is a Kirtan?"

The Town Council voted unanimously to put a measure before voters asking that money from the RETT (real estate transfer tax) be used to repay a potential $2.1 million bond that would go towards the disposal of unpatented claims on Mt. Emmons by the mining company.

The mining company has preliminary agreed to dispose of its mining and mill site claims on Mt. Emmons in exchange for approximately $2.1 million.

The town will possibly pursue using the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) as a pledge for a bond to encourage divestment of assets on Mt. Emmons by Freeport-McMoran and the Mt. Emmons Mining Company. Negotiations between the town and the mining company continue this week, and if they are successful, voters could see a ballot measure asking if the RETT can be used to re-pay a bond for those mining and millsite claims.