2019

January 2019

• Water fight: Montezuma County pulls its support from a drought plan as Colorado River Basin states seek to prepare for a drier future

• Living in exile: In February, Rosa Sabido will complete 600 days in sanctuary

February 2019

• A tough row to hoe: Colorado’s new commissioner of agriculture knows farmers and ranchers are seeing tough times, and she hopes to help

• Winning a seat at the table: An effort to oust San Juan County, Utah, Commissioner Willie Grayeyes from office fails

• Concerns about county social services prompt examination by ombudsman

March 2019

• The problem with plastic: Local business owners say ever-growing credit-card fees are draining their lifeblood

• HB 19-1177: What it would and wouldn’t do

• The word ‘sanctuary’ poses problems, sheriff says

• ‘A sanctuary county for the constitutional right to keep and bear arms’: The Montezuma County Commission makes headlines with a new resolution, and there is talk of passing an ordinance

April 2019

• Former manager of Cortez auto store faces felony charge in embezzlement

• Hearing the cultural story: The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission comes to Cortez

• Gun battle continues: Montezuma County commissioners explain their ‘sanctuary’ resolution as Colorado’s legislature passes HB-1177

May 2019

• Bye, bye Bernie

• Taking it to the people? As the Navajo-majority commission seeks to reverse course on fighting the Bears Ears reduction, there is a call for a referendum

• Plea agreement reached in auto-shop embezzlement; sentencing set for June

• Hotter but not necessarily drier: The Four Corners is projected to be 5-6 degrees warmer by 2050 and to see more extreme weather events, from floods to droughts

June 2019

• Free Press writers take four awards

• Canyon Country Discovery Center offers learning adventures on the Colo. Plateau

• Roads are in ruins in parts of Utah: Ownership transfer is creating confusion

• Crouch’s novel launches June 13 in Durango

July 2019

• Desert Solitaire

• ‘Acres’ is a homegrown treat

• Coping with uranium’s legacy: Workshops offer Navajos guidance about dealing with toxicity

• If you build it, will they come?: Talk of an events center sparks disagreement at town hall in Dolores

August 2019

• No place like home: A conversation with Chuck Greaves, whose new book has a Southwest Colorado setting and characters

• A mistrial is declared in the Howe case: The head of a nonprofit is accused of taking advantage of an elderly client’s trust

• A way to bring harmony: A Gourd Dance will be done at a Cortez church for the first time

• A sudden power shift: Empire Electric’s provider invites the feds to take over rate regulation, despite pleas to delay

September 2019

• ‘One Book, One City’: Area libraries launch an effort to create community around the written word with a joint reading program

• Gallery window exhibit opens in Cortez

• Not so fast: Colorado’s PUC seeks answers on Tri-State’s proposed shift

• Improving social services: Commissioners grant extended work week after critical report

• Energy concerns: BLM speeds oil and gas leasing despite worries

• Fred Martinez’s killer is paroled: The brutal murder in 2001 drew national attention to Cortez

October 2019

• Move over for e-bikes: Interior secretary’s order allows the electric motors on non-motorized trails on BLM and other lands

• What are teachers (and education) worth?: Voters in Cortez School District Re-1 will decide that this fall

November 2019

• Bessie’s story is a good one

• A real art estate is sold: Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve near Mancos changes hands

• Head of non-profit is convicted of theft: The guilty verdict in the Howe case came after a change of venue

• Power Play: Tri-State’s CEO says it is federally regulated, but the state disagrees

• It’s all in your head: People who have suffered concussions share their tales

December 2019

• Roy Lane, Cortez’s longtime police chief, dies

• Jill Carlson resigns from Cortez City Council

• Southwest Colo. wins statewide competition for forest health funding

• Road, coroner’s budgets spark arguments

• Therapist says county needs more mental-health providers