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Colorado Officials Push For Emergency Drought Declaration As Conditions Worsen
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Officials Push For Emergency Drought Declaration As Conditions Worsen

By: Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun Shifting into the next phase of the state’s emergency drought response plan could unlock more resources and funding. WINTER PARK — Members of the Colorado Drought Task Force want Gov. Jared Polis to issue an emergency proclamation to unlock more help, potentially from state coffers, in face of worrisome drought conditions.  After a historically bad winter that ended a month early, Colorado is already feeling the impacts — whether that’s financial strain, tough business decisions or an overstressed environment. As part of the state’s response, the task force recommended Monday moving into the highest level, phase three, of the state’s drought response plan. The move could allow the state to tap more resources or seek a presi...
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San Luis Valley Faces Power Shutoffs As Drought And Winds Intensify Fire Threat
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

San Luis Valley Faces Power Shutoffs As Drought And Winds Intensify Fire Threat

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Xcel Energy will implement a Public Safety Power Shutoff for some customers in parts of western Colorado and the San Luis Valley on Wednesday because of extreme wildfire risk driven by strong winds, low humidity, hot weather and very dry conditions, the company said. The shutoff will start around noon Wednesday in portions of Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla and Rio Grande counties, Xcel said in a Tuesday afternoon news release. Conditions are expected to improve around 7 p.m. Wednesday, with restoration beginning as soon as lines can be safely inspected. About 7,100 customers are expected to be impacted by the shutoff, Xcel said. Much of the region is in extreme to exceptional drought following a record warm and dry winter, accord...
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Xcel Energy Prepares Shutoffs In Drought Stricken Regions In Western And Southern Colorado
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Xcel Energy Prepares Shutoffs In Drought Stricken Regions In Western And Southern Colorado

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado Xcel Energy announced that customers in parts of western Colorado and the San Luis Valley should prepare for possible power shutoffs on Wednesday. Strong winds, combined with dry conditions and low humidity, will result in high wildfire risk. "To reduce the risk of wildfire and support public safety, we are planning for a possible Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) beginning on Wednesday, April 22, around 9 a.m. MT for some customers in Garfield, Mesa and Pitkin counties, and around 11 a.m. MT for some customers in Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande and Saguache counties," the company said. Many of these areas are already experiencing extreme or exceptional drought, and the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag...
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San Luis Valley Growers Face Massive Potato Surplus Crisis
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Alamosa Citizen, Approved, Local

San Luis Valley Growers Face Massive Potato Surplus Crisis

By The Citizen | Alamosa Citizen An estimated hundred million pounds will need to be disposed of after overproduction and a warm March ruin potatoes in storage. he San Luis Valley has an overabundance of potatoes in storage here in mid-April that, because of the warm winter, is leading to concerns about what happens as a new growing season begins. An historically hot March that punctuated a warm winter overall is creating quality standard problems in the potato bins of the Valley. If a potato bin doesn’t meet the quality standard, it doesn’t ship. “When we start to lose a bin, a bin can be 5,000 sacks, 10,000 sacks, up to 100,000 sacks … then we look at a really gigantic pile of potatoes that has to be managed,” explains Jeff McCullough, who operates Spud Sell...
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Colorado State Land Board Approves La Jara Deal Aimed at Protecting Open Space
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The Fence Post, Approved, State

Colorado State Land Board Approves La Jara Deal Aimed at Protecting Open Space

By Rachel Gabel | The Fence Post After what seemed like a rock-solid deal was thrown into a tailspin by some commissioners, the Colorado State Land Board ultimately voted to sell the La Jara property, a deal that has unanimous stakeholder support that has been in the works for nearly a decade. Ultimately, the SLB commissioners, save for Commissioner Josie Heath, voted for the disposal of the property. The 46,000-acre La Jara property in the San Luis Valley will be sold to the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The USFS and the BLM will purchase 43,526 acres with $43.5 million appropriated through the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. The remaining 2,427 acres, around La Jara Reservoir, will be sold to CPW for $6.1 million. ...
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18-Year-Old from Denver Charged Over Alamosa Airport Bomb Hoax
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

18-Year-Old from Denver Charged Over Alamosa Airport Bomb Hoax

By Brett Yager | KDVR FOX31 ALAMOSA, Colo. (KXRM) — The Alamosa Police Department said a suspect has been arrested after police were alerted to a bomb threat to the San Luis Valley Regional Airport. According to the agency, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at around noon, police got information from the FBI about a social media post that contained a threat to detonate an explosive device at the San Luis Valley Regional Airport. The FBI also provided information on a potential suspect. Police responded to the airport and evacuated the premises. The suspect, identified as 18-year-old David Mejia of Denver, was apprehended in the airport’s lobby. The Alamosa agency said a thorough search of the airport yielded no explosive or suspicious devices. Mejia was booked into the Alamosa County Jail ...
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Governor Polis Gets an Earful from Rural Towns Tired of Being Ignored
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State, Approved, Colorado Politics

Governor Polis Gets an Earful from Rural Towns Tired of Being Ignored

By Hap Fry | Colorado Politics STEAMBOAT SPRINGS • Once upon a time, Marsha Daughenbaugh supported Gov. Jared Polis from her working cattle and hay ranch some 8 miles outside of Steamboat. “Let me preface this,” Daughenbaugh said, while making day-before preparations for a Fourth of July gathering for family and friends, before pausing and adding, “I voted for Governor Polis the first go around, but I’ve become very disappointed in what he has become and what his approach to agriculture has been.” “I feel like he has a much deeper, more urban interest in his heart,” Daughenbaugh said. “I was born and raised here,” said the well-spoken 72-year-old rancher. “My folks worked very, very hard to put this ranch together. I believe deeply in agriculture. We all have to do what we can ...
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Adams State, Trinidad State sign partnership agreements to better serve students in the San Luis Valley
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Alamosa News, Approved, Local

Adams State, Trinidad State sign partnership agreements to better serve students in the San Luis Valley

By The Alamosa News On Wednesday, July 31, President David Tandberg of Adams State University and President Rhonda Epper of Trinidad State College took a bold step in solidifying 10 new transfer agreements that will allow students to seamlessly transfer from Trinidad State into bachelor’s degree programs at Adams State. These agreements have been over a year in the making. Tandberg and Epper noted that Adams State University and Trinidad State College are committed to improving transfer for students. Trinidad State is a two-year institution with campuses in Trinidad and Alamosa (Valley Campus), that offers general arts and science associate's degrees, applied career and technical degrees and select applied bachelor’s degrees. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE ALAMOSA NEWS
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A billionaire’s fence is the latest fault line in a 150-year-old San Luis Valley land war
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Approved, The Colorado Sun, Western Slope

A billionaire’s fence is the latest fault line in a 150-year-old San Luis Valley land war

By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun  For more than 150 years, going back to when this high desert of sandy arroyos and snow-capped peaks was ceded by Mexico, they have gone to “the mountain” as part of their survival. Like their ancestors who settled in the San Luis Valley before it was even Colorado, the descendants still gather firewood and graze their livestock on what they call “La Sierra” — more than 100 square miles of juniper and piñon pine forest rising to a 20-mile stretch of the saw-toothed Sangre de Cristo range.  That was the deal made when the valley was subdivided in the mid-1800s. The settlers each got a plot of desert with access to an acequia irrigation ditch, and they were allowed to go into the high country to harvest timber, hunt deer and elk, and graze t...
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