2018

January 2018

• The methane controversy: Is it all hot air?

• Turmoil and turbulence: The big stories of 2017

• A green light for the AMBER alert: A system will be implemented at last on the Navajo Nation

• Beau knows Louis L’Amour

• Trump throws sportsmen under the bus

February 2018

• A local shines on the national literary stage

• Feral but fixed: There is high demand for a local program that neuters free-roaming felines

• Are progressives on the march?: Liberal-leaning groups in Montezuma County are feeling emboldened

• Murder on Haycamp Mesa: Meth is believed to have played a role in the county’s first killing in 2018

March 2018

• Navajos, county agree on voting procedures

• Navajos reject bill shrinking Bears Ears

• Broadband update

• The other side of the fence

April 2018

• What to do with weeds? Durango’s Katrina Blair argues that these unwanted plants can be beneficial

• Drought worries intensify: Even if farmers receive full allocations this summer, 2019 is a concern

• Will your vehicle become a target? Experts say auto thefts are on the rise in Southwest Colorado

• A dark Texas under a high white sun

May 2018

• Farm animals, horses find refuge at Denkai

• The cost of war: Legal battles are draining the coffers of San Juan County, Utah. Does bankruptcy loom?

• Free Press takes 9 awards in regional contest

• When rivers run orange: A new book recounts the saga of environmental conquest in the West

• Don’t fence me in: Wild animals face increasing habitat fragmentation, but some land managers are trying to help

• Rogers, Ray, Nelson win fire-district election

• An affair to remember: The Sparsholt Affair, by Alan Hollinghurst

• Phil Lyman on the costs of his county’s legal battles

June 2018

• High and dry: 2018 is on pace for record-setting drought in the area

• An icy cool debut by a young Colorado author

• War of the weeds: Invasive plants are transforming landscapes, harming crops and animals

• Scraping bottom: Vanadium recovery at White Mesa Mill

July 2018

• Winds of change?: Voters reject an incumbent commissioner in San Juan County, Utah

• How an extension agent came to be banned from his new office

• Staking their claim: The Montezuma County commissioners pass a bold resolution, but what does it really mean?

• Wry spy

August 2018

• Investigation is opened into Renew’s finances

• Padilla denies allegations that forest officials let fires get out of control

• Suckla voices impatience over planning delays

• Sharing the bounty: With food scarcity a growing concern, groups are teaming up to help

• A troubled pair in beautiful Montana

• Commission drops internet-tax idea, wants general sales tax

September 2018

• Renew director terminated after charges: Witnesses allege Beene took donations intended for the Second Chance thrift store

• Montezuma County commissioners oppose Proposition 112

• Cortez rejects new marijuana dispensary

• The vapid and the dead

• Life-saving measures? Officials hope staff cuts, expanded facility will boost the hospital

• Home at last: The Bridge Shelter is breaking ground on a new facility even as it scrambles to prepare for this winter

• Southwest Memorial has seen ups and downs

October 2018

• Time to press ‘pause’ on pot?: The Cortez City Council is hearing calls for a moratorium on new retail marijuana outlets

• Allegations of elder abuse: The director of a Cortez nonprofit dedicated to helping the disabled is facing charges of theft, criminal exploitation of an at-risk person

• A perennial problem: When dealing with weeds, homeowners and managers must decide what’s worse — the plants or the chemicals

• Visiting with respect: As publicity draws more people to Bears Ears, a nonprofit opens an educational center

• Atmospheric mystery features fallible detective

November 2018

• Turnaround sees New Mexico Democrat winning after all

• A seismic shift in San Juan County, Utah – and other regional election results

• Montezuma County is red enclave in blue state

• Montezuma County chooses Candelaria in close race

• “Will Work for Food”: Street people seem to be on the rise in Cortez. What are the causes and what can be done?

• Desert duet

• Renew works to rebound after tumult: The nonprofit is seeking a new board and new director following charges against Beene

• Restarting the presses: Old equipment in the the former home of the Mancos Times-Tribune is being given a new purpose

December 2018

• Bogged down: User groups sue the Forest Service over the Rico travel plan

• Agriculture on the edge: Drought is rattling Southwest Colorado’s dryland farmers

• And then there were two: San Juan County prepares for its first-ever Native-majority commission