Noticias

• Telluride Times Hits Newsstands Weekly
• Unhoused Population has Few Places to Go in Montrose

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Telluride Times Hits Newsstands Weekly

Starting next week, the Telluride Daily Planet will be no more.

“The Telluride Daily Planet will be changing its name to the Telluride Times, reverting back to its historical name from the late 1800s,” said Maureen Pelisson, publisher of the soon-to-be Telluride Times.

“The decision was made so that we could better serve the local community from a journalism perspective, offering a really great deep dive in the print edition, and then significantly increasing our digital presence,” Pelisson said.

In August, the Daily Planet announced it was being sold from Boulder-based owner Randy Miller to Florida-based media company Hoffman Media Group.

In October, the newspaper announced it would be shifting to a weekly Thursday paper starting mid-November.

In addition to a new name and schedule, Pelisson said the paper itself is going to be zhuzhed.

“It’s going to be a cleaner look, similar to The New York Times, just a little more modern. Bigger photos, more color, some more graphic elements that will make certain sections stand out,” she said.

Pelisson said there will be more defined sections, including a history section — Telluride Rewind — drawing from old newspapers, as well as business, sports, and arts and entertainment sections.

While the physical paper will only be out once a week, the newspaper will be publishing digital content on a daily basis.

“The goal is to have unique and different content online at telluridenews.com with some expanded versions of that in the print edition each week,” Pelisson said. “There will definitely be some content that will be online only as it’s old news by the time the print edition comes out.”

Erin Spillane, the new editor at the Telluride Times, said she’s excited for different opportunities that the new format can provide.

“In addition to reporting on hard news, the new layout gives us a chance to do some features,” Spillane said. “There are so many amazing stories to tell in Telluride — the people, local businesses, the nonprofits who do incredible work, the events — so getting a chance in the new iteration to combine some really focused local news reporting with the ability to tell some stories in feature-style articles.”

While the name and format are changing, Pelisson said the newspaper’s commitment to telling the stories of the community remains at the center.

“That’s what keeps this newspaper alive,” she said. “Continuing to invest in our local newsroom is so important.”

The weekly edition of the Telluride Times will hit newsstands on Thursday, Nov. 13, and Thursdays into the future. Digital stories will be available daily at telluridenews.com.

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Unhoused Population has Few Places to Go in Montrose

November 1 marked the opening of the Lighthouse Shelter in Montrose. Designated as an emergency shelter, the 30-bed facility provides safe housing, two daily meals, hot showers and a sense of community.

Lighthouse offers essential services for the region’s unhoused population, estimated between 150 and 300 people. But this winter, Executive Director Miriam Cardenas said she’s worried that increased operating costs and declining grant support may force the shelter to close on weekends.

“We have nowhere else for our individuals to go, our unhoused individuals to go stay the night,” Cardenas said. “So there’s nowhere in Montrose or close by that we would be able to send any of these individuals, because every town or every county has their own struggle with the unhoused. So if we don’t open, we have no other solutions.”

Earlier this year, Montrose City Council passed one of the strictest overnight camping bans in the state, with penalties that can include jail time. Sally Harris, a master’s student and clinical intern with Collaborative Trauma Solutions in Montrose, works closely with the unhoused community. She said the policy has only worsened existing hardships.

“It is illegal to sleep on the street or to sleep in your car,” Harris said. “There’s more specific rules and regulations around that, like how old your camper can be to be able to sleep in or live in, but basically it’s illegal to be unhoused in Montrose, which means that a lot of our unhoused population gets arrested, put in jail, and then back on the street.”

Cardenas said operating costs for Lighthouse have grown to about $13,000 a month.

“But I feel like there’s a lot of decrease in the funding just because of the fact that our community is struggling itself with funding,” she said. “Like everything’s gone up, like any financial stuff has gone up. Groceries have gone up. Bills have gone up. So it’s just, our funding is a little bit lower this year.”

Meanwhile, the Montrose United Methodist Church is in court over citations for allowing illegal camping on its property last winter. Since the camping ban took effect, unhoused residents have few options—especially as temperatures drop.

“If the Lighthouse is closed, even on the weekends, we know how cold it gets in Montrose County,” Harris said. “We know how cold it gets in Telluride. People from Telluride and San Miguel County often travel to Montrose in order to use some of these services. So, huge, huge implications of loss of life if the Lighthouse were to shut its doors.”

The Lighthouse opened Saturday. While funding challenges remain, staff say they’re seeking community help—from volunteers to donations—to keep serving the unhoused population in Montrose and across the Western Slope.

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Election Day in San Miguel County

Tomorrow, November 4^th, is election day. In-Person voting locations in San Miguel County are staying open late to provide for ample opportunity for you to vote. In Norwood, in-person voting is available at the Norwood Town Hall from 7am till 7pm. In Telluride, voters can visit the Fruen Building from 7am till 7pm as well.

For those missing their mail in ballot, you can head into the two voting locations for a new ballot. Or, if you have not yet registered in Colorado, or need to update registration, election judges can guide you through these processes as well.

The 24/7 ballot drop locations in Telluride and Norwood will close tomorrow at 7pm. For comprehensive, and fun election coverage tomorrow evening tune into KOTO for live election results until 9pm.

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Time Change Means Wildlife and Rush Hour Conflicts

It’s that time of year again. In the wee hours of Sunday morning, the clock inched towards 2 a.m. before falling back an hour.

While Daylight Savings provides an extra hour of sleep on the weekend. It also means dusk arrives earlier, and animals using the twilight hours to migrate will likely coincide with rush hour.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is urging drivers to share the road, and pay special attention following the clock change.

According to CPW, a number of big game are traveling to winter habitats and cross or use roadways on their migration. CPW asks all drivers to slow down, stay alert, scan ahead, and obey traffic signs – notably wildlife warning signs.

In 2024, CPW says nearly 4,000 vehicle crashes involved wildlife, with October, November, and December the most active months.

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Durango Council Responds After ICE Protest Turns Violent

Durango City Council held a special meeting Thursday after federal immigration agents used pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters earlier in the week. Hundreds gathered outside the ICE field office in Durango on Monday after Fernando Jaramillo and his two children were detained by ICE. The family are asylum seekers from Colombia.

On Tuesday, protesters who had formed a human chain to block the removal of the family from the facility were pepper-sprayed and shot with rubber bullets. At Thursday’s meeting, community members condemned the violence and criticized local police and emergency responders for not intervening.

Sixteen-year-old high school student Mackenna Bard told City Council that she called 911 five times, begging for ambulances and medical assistance.

“We were told that help was on the way, but it never came. Dozens of untrained citizens and two First Aid-certified high schoolers, including myself, were the only people providing first aid at the site for over two hours. The people of Durango feel betrayed, lied to, and disgusted,” Bard said.

Brice Current, the chief of police in Durango, defended his department’s response. He said the plan was to observe, not escalate, and to act as backup if federal agencies were overwhelmed.

“So after ICE left the scene, we planned with Fire to assist them and provide medical attention to the people affected by irritants. When we exited the fire station, 10 or so people converged on us and we realized our presence was escalating the situation, so we backed out back inside the fire department to deescalate,” Current said.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has been asked to investigate a report that an ICE agent grabbed an elderly protester by the throat and threw her to the ground. Fernando Jaramillo and his two children have been moved to a family detention center in Dilley, Texas.

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Colorado Voters Head to the Polls Tuesday

Election Day is Tuesday. Voters will decide on two statewide ballot questions, and there are also local issues in cities and counties across Colorado. For the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, Bente Birkeland has more.

Story begins at 10:13