News

• West End Roundup with the San Miguel Basin Forum
• Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda
• Women in Fierce Country

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West End Roundup with the San Miguel Basin Forum

Today on the West End Roundup with the San Miguel Basin Forum KOTO’s news team chats with editor Regan Tuttle. In today’s headlines: Norwood and Nucla hold town meetings, and the San Miguel Basin Fair dessert contest is a smashing success.

At Norwood’s recent Town meeting the board of trustees discussed speed limits and staff compensation. Tuttle shares more.

They had a big meeting July 8 in Norwood, and the trustees talked about a compensation package.

We spoke with Town Manager Sara Owens the following day, and she said that’s really about offering additional compensation to salaried employees when they’re working so much and are understaffed. She said that’s the way it’s been for a couple of years.

The way Norwood is structured, Owens herself has been covering town operations, along with the sanitation district and the water commission. They’re starting to work some of that out and also hire for some of those positions, which they talked about at the end of the meeting.

They did agree to consider lowering the speed limit to 15 mph. Trustee Shawn Fallon said he’s gotten a really good response about that. They’re going to run a legal notice in the San Miguel Basin Forum letting people know. Then they’re going to seek approval for that at the next town meeting in August.

Really, what that’s about is the new school construction over by the library and traffic from the Four Seasons development in and through Norwood. They want to make sure they’re being safe, especially keeping kids, locals and everybody safe on the streets.

Also in the meeting, Mayor Candy Meehan brought up the short-term rental issue. Many know that John Mansfield was instrumental in creating that back in ’22. Mansfield was really worried about what was happening in Telluride with short-term rentals. He wanted to make sure locals had a place to live and that Norwood didn’t become overrun with Airbnb or VRBO units.

So there’s a limit of two — a cap of two units — allowed in town limits. But Meehan is wondering if other existing regulations are too strict. She’s asking the board: Is it time to reconsider and look at some other things, like the 90-day limit or the requirement that the property owner live on-site?

Down the road in Nucla, the town board is discussing workforce housing and a 5G cell tower. Tuttle has the latest.

The Nucla Town Board is united in asking what this workforce housing is really going to do for them at Camp V.

The board was discussing drafting a letter, and members do not want to be overtly opposed to what’s happening at Camp V. A special use permit has been sent to Montrose County for approval to house these Four Seasons workers there.

Tim Pierce is vehemently opposed. He believes it is taxing the infrastructure to the maximum, especially EMS, sheriff’s deputies and water. Other trustees have concerns as well.

Trustee Darla Joseph is asking what this will really do for the economy in Nucla, especially if everything is being trucked in. Trustee Amiee Tooker has concerns, but she wants to be careful about opposing any type of workforce housing because, as many know, clean energy and nuclear could be moving forward. Tooker does not want to do anything that could prohibit the mining industry in the West End.

However, all trustees agree mining would actually be a benefit and keep tax dollars here. Nobody on the Nucla Town Board is really sure what the Four Seasons workforce housing is going to do for the West End.

Probably the most contentious issue is the cell tower. The cell tower at the top of town has created significant controversy in the community. There was already one work session with West End Public Schools and the Town of Nucla this summer.

At this point, the Town of Nucla is going to pay for some testing, including radiation and electromagnetic field testing.

The new cell tower is not yet live, but it is very close to the Nucla school, and some parents have reportedly said they will consider withdrawing their children. This could cost West End Public Schools significantly.

At the July 8 meeting, frustrations were voiced as trustees discussed how it would have cost $150,000 for Nucla to get out of the tower contract or at least move the tower from the top of town to another location. Trustee Amiee Tooker said that could cost the school district that much or more if a large number of students withdraw.

Testing is in order. At the same time, Tooker still wants to look into negotiating how to either get out of the contract or have the tower moved.

So this issue is not over.

The San Miguel Basin Fair’s dessert contest was a delicious success. Tuttle shares the excitement.

I think it was one of their biggest years, if not the biggest.

There were 87 entries for ice creams, cakes, pies and cookies, and 310 people showed up for the tasting. There were still some leftovers afterward.

It all went off very precisely. There’s a whole procedure to this. It’s not just judges walking around and casting votes. It is very well organized. Katie Alexander puts so much into this. She handpicks judges ahead of time. Those judges come in, they’re seated at certain tables and they’re given categories.

In the end, it was really something to see those engraved wooden spoons and embroidered aprons. So many local businesses in the West End contribute as sponsors to make it all possible. The community really showed up to support, to enter and then to come taste — and the applause was a highlight.

It was really a fun thing to watch, especially the youth categories. Some of those children who are baking with mothers, mentors and grandmothers were taking home their victories too.

The San Miguel Basin Forum is a locally owned and operated newspaper out of Nucla, Colorado. Visit sanmiguelbasinforum.com for weekly news, events, and local happenings in the West End.

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Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

It’s time for another installment of Cat Movie Fisher, where Risho Unda chats with members of the community about their favorite movies—or whatever else sparks his interest. This week, he sits down with culinary extraordinaire and forever local Perse Vordokas.

Story begins at 9:00.

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Women in Fierce Country

For years, author Heather Hansman has written about the Rocky Mountain West, covering everything from ski towns to water issues.

Next week, she’ll be in Telluride to discuss her latest book, which turns to history to tell the stories of three women whose experiences helped shape the region but have largely gone untold.

Hansman will give a book talk on Monday, July 20, at 5:30 p.m. at the Wilkinson Public Library.

Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Maeve Conran spoke with Hansman about Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America’s Love for the Wild.

Story begins at 14:30.

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Mountain Village Hosts Electronics Recycling

It’s time to clean out the junk drawer.

Free electronics recycling is coming to Mountain Village this month.

Mountain Village says the event provides a convenient way for the community to keep electronic waste out of landfills.

Everything from computers and televisions to household appliances will be accepted. Residents can also recycle batteries, although only certain types and sizes will be accepted.

The free electronics recycling event will take place Monday, July 27, and Tuesday, July 28, from noon to 6 p.m. in the Meadows Parking Lot.

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Diné Poet Esther Belin Featured at Stories and Poems Night

Esther Belin is a Diné poet and artist and a citizen of the Navajo Nation. Her writing and artwork grow from, and are offerings to, the collective humanity.

She is the author of two books of poetry and co-editor of The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature.

Next week, Belin will be the featured poet at Talking Gourds Stories and Poems Night.

At the event, Belin will share some of her work and answer questions. Participants are encouraged to bring a poem to share, whether their own or someone else’s. For those looking for a poetic prompt, this month’s theme is “water.”

Talking Gourds Stories and Poems Night will take place at Wilkinson Public Library on Tuesday, July 21, at 5:15 p.m.

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Trump Makes Cuts to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante

The Trump administration is once again reducing the size of two national monuments in Utah: Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.

During Trump’s first term, he took similar action to shrink the monuments’ boundaries, though they were restored by President Joe Biden in 2021.

Federal and Utah state officials say the monuments need to be reduced to allow for economic development through activities such as mining and grazing.

That comes despite yearslong processes to draft management plans, including extensive input from tribal nations, along with consistent polling showing that keeping the monument designations is popular with Utahns.

Scott Braden, executive director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, says the southern Utah landscapes are ecologically and culturally important and beloved across the country.

“Undoing the boundaries of the monuments and reducing them in size, you know, it’s really about elevating energy production, motorized recreation and, and sort of disturbing activities that could degrade those resources in kind of an unfettered way across, across these landscapes,” Braden said.

He says the decision opens the door for other national monuments across the country to have their boundaries changed to benefit extractive industries.

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Colorado Prison Reopens as ICE Detention Center

A shuttered prison in Weld County is set to reopen as an immigration detention center.

As Kyle McKinnon reports for the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, the Hudson facility is about 30 miles northeast of Denver. Formerly the Hudson Correctional Facility, it has been closed since 2014.

The private prison company GEO Group has signed a five-year contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to reopen the site. There is no opening date yet, but the lease for the so-called Big Horn facility will begin Aug. 1.

The facility will hold nearly 1,200 detainees.

GEO Group already operates Colorado’s only other immigration detention facility in Aurora. State and local officials say there is little they can do to block the move.