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Released and reloaded: Montrose bond records show cracks feeding Colorado’s criminal underworld
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Released and reloaded: Montrose bond records show cracks feeding Colorado’s criminal underworld

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When a Montrose County woman was released on a $0 personal recognizance bond after skipping court in late 2023, it wasn’t her first time facing charges. It wouldn’t be her last either. Within nine months, she was arrested again – this time for second degree assault, harassment and criminal attempt. Her story is not an outlier. It is a warning. “There’s a revolving door with criminals or serious crime,” said Montrose County Sheriff Gene Lillard in a recent interview with RMV. “Last month we picked up one person five times – they were released on PR bond. There’s no consequences.” To illustrate how Colorado laws are contributing to rising crime and lawlessness, Sheriff Lillard prepared and shared a document showing just one small snapshot in ti...
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Montrose Commissioner Pond: Why I’m Drawing the Line and Standing Against Federal Land Grabs
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Approved, Commentary, Local, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Montrose Commissioner Pond: Why I’m Drawing the Line and Standing Against Federal Land Grabs

By Sean Pond | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The views expressed here are my own and do not represent an official action or position of the Montrose Board of County Commissioners. I was appointed to represent the people of District 3 in Montrose County, and I took an oath to uphold the Constitution. That includes defending our land, our rights, and our way of life here in Western Colorado. In recent months, there’s been a coordinated push to place more of Colorado under federal control. We already fought back against the proposed Dolores National Monument, a 500,000-acre land grab, and we won.  Then came a 68,000 acre National Conservation Area proposal in Mesa and Montrose Counties. We stood our ground again and stopped it.  But now we’re facing two more ...
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Montrose Commissioner Pond: The Constitution isn’t a suggestion—it’s a line in the sand
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Montrose Commissioner Pond: The Constitution isn’t a suggestion—it’s a line in the sand

By Sean Pond | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Something is happening in Colorado. You can feel it. Not on the surface, but beneath it. Beneath the silence. Beneath the carefully packaged language of equity, sustainability, and progress. We are being conditioned. Slowly, quietly, and deliberately. Conditioned to comply. Conditioned to accept change without question. Conditioned to believe that liberty is negotiable, that tradition is outdated, and that resistance is somehow wrong. But here’s the truth they don’t want you to hear. The Constitution doesn’t need to evolve. It needs to be defended. Freedom isn’t something you bargain with. It’s something you protect. And this get-along-with-everybody mentality? That’s the problem. That’s the trap. In my first 100...
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Not political theater: Montrose federal intervention request grounded in Constitutional oath
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Approved, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Not political theater: Montrose federal intervention request grounded in Constitutional oath

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice What does it mean to defend the Constitution? Two commissioners say this is what it looks like. On April 16, the Montrose County Board of County Commissioners voted 2–1 to send a formal Request for Federal Intervention to President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Commissioner Sue Hansen abstained.  The letter, authored by Commissioner Sean Pond and finalized with Chair Scott Mijares’ signature, argues that recent legislation passed by the Colorado General Assembly—particularly SB25-003—violates constitutional rights. The message does not call for military action or oversight. Instead, it asks national leaders to review Colorado laws, advocate for liberty and support rural coun...
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Rick Dunlap, a Montrose Co. commissioner and longtime sheriff, mourned by Western Colorado
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Rick Dunlap, a Montrose Co. commissioner and longtime sheriff, mourned by Western Colorado

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Newly-elected Montrose County Commissioner, Rick Dunlap, died suddenly Feb. 8, 2025, leaving the Montrose community in grief and shock. Dunlap, who also served as sheriff for Montrose County for three terms before he retired in 2018, was well known and beloved by the community he served.  In total, Dunlap served 28 years in law enforcement, as well as serving the U.S. Army for 21 years. “Rick lived his life with unwavering commitment to the values he cherished most: faith, family, country, community and his friends and neighbors," Montrose County wrote in a statement upon his death. "His kindness, strength and dedication touched the lives of many, and his presence in our community will be sorely missed.”  Commissione...
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Montrose County jail entering final phase of $8 million renovation
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Approved, KJCT-TV ABC 8, Local

Montrose County jail entering final phase of $8 million renovation

By Bella Demosthenous | KJCT-TV ABC 8 News Montrose County Jail is currently in the third and final phase of this seven-year, $8 million project. “We looked at the facility and determined that we needed a lot of extra room in holding. There were some deficiencies with the architecture originally, so what we did was expand that,” says Dean McNulty, Montrose County Jail commander. The jail nearly doubled in size, going from three holding cells to nine, bringing its total holding population from 15 up to 45. It also added new safety cells, designed for inmates who pose a threat to themselves or others. READ THE FULL STORY AT KJCT-TV ABC 8 NEWS
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Mijares bridges Montrose divides with whiskey bar, now hopes to do so in office
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Mijares bridges Montrose divides with whiskey bar, now hopes to do so in office

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Montrose County Commissioner-elect Scott Mijares never set out to run for office. His path to becoming a public servant started at Wild Horse Wine and Whiskey, a Main Street business he and his wife, Julie, opened in 2021.  Mijares doesn’t fit the typical image of a bar owner.  “People ask me all the time, ‘What’s your favorite whiskey?’ And I tell them, ‘I don’t drink,’ ” he said. “I might take a sip here or there just to be educated, but I learn about the whiskey from the people I serve it to.” The bar business isn’t about indulging in drinks for Mijares. “We talk politics at the Wild Horse,” Mijares said.  “Both our guests and sometimes myself get asked to join the conversation. Our mantra is, the more talk ...
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Two arrested for allegedly shooting cows to death in Montrose County
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Approved, KKCO-TV Grand Junction, Local

Two arrested for allegedly shooting cows to death in Montrose County

By Kacie Sinton | KKCO-TV 11 News A teenager and one other person have been arrested after allegedly shooting three cows to death in Montrose County. On Friday, a combined group of Delta and Montrose County Deputies carried out a search warrant looking for evidence related to the shooting at 25 Mesa Road. The cows were shot on December 29, just one mile south of the Delta County line. READ THE FULL STORY AT KKCO-TV 11 NEWS
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