Noticias

• Sheriff Candidates Share Thoughts on Policing
• CSU Extension Looks to Reflect the Community
• Common Ground Digs Into Regenerative Agriculture

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Sheriff Candidates Share Thoughts on Policing

The two candidates vying to be appointed as San Miguel County sheriff shared their thoughts on a number of topics during interviews with the San Miguel Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday.

San Miguel County Undersheriff Dan Covault and San Miguel County Sheriff Operations Sgt. Lane Masters are looking to be appointed to the position, which will be left vacant when current Sheriff Bill Masters steps down in June. The appointed sheriff will serve the remainder of Sheriff Masters’ term, which is up in 2026.

The commissioners interviewed each candidate separately, with 12 questions ranging from budgeting and recruitment to immigration and mental health.

When asked about the difference between law enforcement and peacekeeping, Covault said if the sheriff’s office works toward peacekeeping, it’s less likely they’ll need to enforce laws.

“However, we live in a dynamic environment where even our very best efforts may not end in a peaceful resolution, and those enforcement actions might have to take place. But first and foremost, we need to be those peacekeepers,” Covault said.

Masters said he doesn’t like the term “law enforcement,” adopting a popular phrase from his father, Sheriff Bill Masters.

“For one, it’s kind of ridiculous, there are hundreds of thousands of laws – between state, federal, local, county – to enforce. I also don’t like the term itself because it has the word ‘force’ in it. The term ‘peace officer,’ I think, is much more accomplishable (than enforcing all of the laws), and also more telling to the mission of the role is. We’re there to promote public peace. We’re there to protect people,” Masters said.

Commissioners asked what the candidates see as the biggest challenge facing the community when it comes to public safety and crime prevention.

Covault said it’s a hard one to answer. He noted today might be one issue, tomorrow might be another. He said it’s not always about preventing crime, but keeping it from happening in San Miguel County.

“Through proactive policing, public presence, community relations, outreach programs, successful investigations, successful prosecutions, we make it a very uncomfortable place for a criminal to want to come and do bad things. I can’t control what happens on the Front Range, but I can make an impact here. If I can make a bad guy want to go somewhere else, we’ve accomplished that goal. We’re not necessarily preventing crime, but we’re trying to deter it from happening in our community,” Covault said.

Masters believes the biggest issue is bond reform. He said current bond regulations take away the court’s ability to set bond that’s appropriate to the person and the crime. He said he hopes and believes shifts in bond will come; in the meantime, it’s important to have a sheriff with a plan to mitigate issues in the community.

“I do have a plan. It’s more cops. I know this is a really novel idea, it sounds simple, but I have metrics to support that. If criminals are not going to be held in jail until their trial, where they could potentially wind up in prison, or be provided by the court the avenues to recover from whatever it is that’s causing them to commit crime, then we need to have more cops out in the street. We need more people out there to protect the community, because these people are out there,” Masters said.

When it comes to immigration, both Masters and Covault shared their support of the immigrant community.

“I worry about our undocumented folks because they’re afraid right now,” Masters said. “I think they have every right to be afraid, unfortunately I think they are correct to be afraid. We are seeing some things going on right now that I cannot believe are occurring in the United States. I am seeing due process be taken away for some people, which I think is abhorrent. We are literally seeing a Gulag propped up in El Salvador, where people who are not from El Salvador are being sent without due process. That is a good reason to be afraid. All Americans should be afraid, regardless of immigration status. So, I think because of that, they’re inherently more marginalized. They’re less likely to call us. They’re less likely to trust us.”

“I think the sheriff’s office should stand behind our immigrants as they would any other citizen,” said Covault. “I believe that they should be able to feel free to come to us with their problems, and not worry about being rounded up and deported. That being said, we also have an obligation to protect them, as any other citizen, and if a criminal element from a foreign country wants to come here and commit crimes, that’s going to be on them. If you’re a citizen of the United States and you commit crimes you go to prison. If you’re a criminal from a foreign land and you come here and commit crimes, maybe you should go home – after you go to prison here – because I don’t like the criminal element. I do like our immigrant population.”

Commissioner Lance Waring asked the next question about mental health.

“It’s our understanding the current sheriff has directed patrol not to respond to mental health crisis, including active suicide. What’s your understanding and opinion of these policies, and how, if at all, would you change it if you became sheriff?” asked Waring.

Covault said with crisis response and intervention training, he believes there’s room for deputies to step in during mental health situations.

“Is there going to be a situation where we say ‘no this is not tactically safe for anyone and we need to hold back and not do anything’? Yes, there could be that situation. But more often than not, I think with our training we can be that upfront figure. We can secure a scene. We can get mental health there,” Covault said.

Masters had a different take.

“Cops are not mental health professionals. We’re probably not smart enough to be mental health professionals. I wish I was a little bit more emotionally intelligent, my wife would probably really appreciate that. And it’s not always an improvement to have a cop in a situation,” Masters said.

Addressing the elephant in the room, the candidates responded to a question about managing a department with family members working together.

Masters acknowledged he’s the current sheriff’s son, noting that for a number of years, he intentionally didn’t work for San Miguel County Sheriff to avoid being the “boss’s kid.”

“He also has three other children, and I don’t believe they’re interviewing for this position and the reason is because they’re not qualified to. I am. So how am I going to manage nepotism? I’m going to do my job. I’m going to be humble, and be truthful with people and show them I belong to be here, not because of what my last name is, or because I kind of look like that old guy whose name is on the side of a building,” Masters said.

Finally, the commissioners asked the candidates about their views on concerns in the community that the federal government may try to restrict rights to assemble, speak and peacefully protest.

“If federal statute changes in this regard, how will you enforce the administration’s limits or prohibitions?” asked Commissioner Galena Gleason.

Covault said the sheriff’s office should support the community in sharing their opinions.

“We have the right to peacefully assemble. We have the right to have our voices heard, no matter what side of the fence you’re on. I believe the sheriff’s office should assist those people that want to peacefully assemble and want to have their voices heard, make sure they can do so safely,” Covault said.

Masters noted a sheriff has a lot of authority. He said it’s the sheriff’s job to use that authority to reflect the beliefs of the community.

“I am not going to let anyone tell me what to do. You might not like that about me. The federal government might not like that about me. But I’m going to do what I believe is right for our community – the community that raised me – so that it can continue to be a good place for everybody to live,” Masters said.

“Does that mean you’re not going to do what we tell you to do?” asked Commissioner Anne Brown.

“If I don’t agree with it, yeah,” Masters said.

The San Miguel Board of County Commissioners plans to make a decision on who will be appointed as sheriff on Wednesday, April 30.

Members of the community who would like to provide feedback on the candidates can submit comments by emailing [email protected]. Comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 25.

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CSU Extension Looks to Reflect the Community

Annika Kristiansen wants to provide information for the community.

“Our job is clean and simple. It’s to provide resources that are science and research backed to our communities,” said Kristiansen, director of the San Miguel County CSU Extension.

“We serve all of San Miguel County and we’re connected to our land-grant university, which is Colorado State University. The amazing thing about these land-grant universities, in almost every state, is they have these little tendrils out to the rural areas,” she said.

This week, Kristiansen provided the San Miguel Board of County Commissioners an update on the work the Extension Office has done in the past year — and where they hope to go.

Earlier this year, Kristiansen circulated a survey to learn more about who’s participating in the extension and what types of programming they’d like to see.

“With CSU, Colorado State University, we have all these amazing resources. We have specialists who are experts in their field, and I’ve started reaching out to water and hydrology specialists, soil health specialists, natural resource specialists, to start to schedule some programming along these lines,” she said.

But while that programming is still to come, Kristiansen noted they’ve already been busy.

She hosted a kimchi-making class.

“We had 17 participants and they were from all over — Ouray, Telluride, Ridgway, Montrose. This was really exciting to me, we can do this small dinky class, that I ended up putting on, in the middle of nowhere, in Norwood, and we bring in all these people. So, a beautiful collection of community members. It was really fun, and these feel like low-hanging fruit that I want to keep doing,” she said.

There was a cottage foods class to certify individuals with a cottage foods license, and the office hosted a seed-starting class for young people. Moving forward, Kristiansen said she wants to continue education on food preservation, gardening and farming.

“I’ve been drawn in by this concept of hügelkultur, which is building these mounds above the ground that you can plant in. They’re super water-saving, they hold onto the moisture, and it seems like a cool hack for our community that’s running out of water,” she said.

Looking at youth development, Kristiansen said 4-H is off to a great start with 70 kids signed up for the program this year.

“This spring I’m taking two kids to Italy and France. We had two of our local youth accepted into a really cool program to study and travel and experience regenerative practices in northern Italy and southern France,” she said.

The office is running leather craft classes, has worked on college and workforce preparedness, and brought back a shooting sports program.

“Parents are really eager for hands-on, after-school programs. Also, a desire to see more programming for youth leadership and real-world experience and entrepreneurship. I’ve been hearing a lot about it and it was anecdotally shared in the survey,” she said.

Through the survey, Kristiansen said she’s also heard a call for programming on the environment and natural resources.

“We are doing fire-resistant plant trials at the Norwood Community Garden as part of our research this summer. Some ideas going forward — I’ve thought about hosting a Living With the Land series, thinking about fire, drought, gardens, wildlife coexistence,” she said.

At its heart, Kristiansen said she wants the Extension Office to represent its community.

“As an office we’re really working to be in tune with our community. To be relevant, to be present, and to be helpful,” she said.

For the Board of County Commissioners, the work is paying off, with all three commissioners sharing their appreciation for the office.

“I just appreciate your thoughtfulness in responding to the community and thinking about community needs, and formulating all this programming. It’s really incredible, so props,” said Commissioner Galena Gleason.

To get involved with the San Miguel County CSU Extension Office, visit sanmiguel.extension.colostate.edu.

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Common Ground Digs Into Regenerative Agriculture

“If the soil dies, we die” starts a trailer for Common Ground, a new documentary looking to unveil the dark web of money, power and politics behind the U.S. food system, while highlighting small farmers using “regenerative” models of agriculture to battle climate change, support health and help stabilize the economy.

“I think it’s one that can really relate to people because we all need to eat,” said Mollie Theis, education and outreach coordinator for EcoAction Partners.

“It’s where is our food coming from, and how can people purchasing food be more mindful about where our food is coming from, and how those practices can actually make a huge difference in some of the challenges we face with extra carbon in our atmosphere, and building up our soils make local food production more sustainable,” she said.

Next week, EcoAction Partners — in collaboration with the Palm Theatre and Bruin Waste — will host a film screening of the newly released documentary.

Theis said she hopes the film brings a global issue down to the local level.

“We live in a dry climate. There’s lots of wind. How can we help build up our soil with things like compost and natural fertilizers to really make these practices sustainable and also sequester carbon? It’s like a win-win. And also feed our planet. Triple win,” she said.

In addition to the film screening, there will be resources and engagement opportunities.

“Composting opportunities, we’ll have some real, live, compost finished product that you can get your hands dirty and touch it, see what it’s all about. We’ll have more CSA opportunities. Lots of resources, a lot to learn, come early and all ages are welcome. It’s a free event,” Theis said.

The screening of Common Ground will take place at the Palm Theatre on Thursday, May 1, at 6 p.m. Doors open, and activities begin at 5 p.m.

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Library Hosts Craft and Art Supply Swap

The Wilkinson Public Library is encouraging residents to tidy up their crafting spaces this offseason with a craft and art supply swap.

Community members are invited to donate new or gently used craft supplies — with the guiding question, “Would I give this to a friend?” — as part of the event. Suggested items include yarn, fabric, ribbons, knitting needles, crochet hooks, stitch counters, rubber stamps, paper, cardstock and jewelry-making supplies.

Donations will be accepted during library hours through Sunday, May 11. The swap event will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, May 12.

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U.S.-Mexico Water Chief Resigns Under Pressure

The head of the federal agency that oversees water-sharing agreements between the United States and Mexico has resigned under pressure from the Trump administration.

Maria Elena Giner led the International Boundary and Water Commission, or IBWC. She is being replaced by Trump appointee Chad McIntosh.

Seven U.S. states are currently working with Mexico to draft new rules for sharing water by 2026.

McIntosh previously spent nearly two decades overseeing environmental policy at Ford Motor Co. He also served in the Environmental Protection Agency during the first Trump administration.

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Critics Push Back on Trump Proposal to Sell Public Lands

The Trump administration has floated the idea of selling federal public lands to address issues such as balancing the federal budget and developing more affordable housing.

However, as Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Caroline Llanes reports, conservation advocates argue that these proposals do not effectively tackle the problems they claim to solve.

Story beings at 17:40.

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Conservation Group Launches Effort to Curb Elk Feedground Use

Since the start of the year, chronic wasting disease — a deadly, highly transmissible and always fatal brain disease — has been spreading among ungulates in northwest Wyoming, particularly among the tens of thousands of elk that roam the region.

In recent months, confirmed cases have increased on feedgrounds, where elk gather closely together — a condition experts believe facilitates the spread of the disease.

In response, a regional conservation group has launched a new strategy to reduce elk dependence on feedgrounds. Much of the work is now centered in Teton County.

KHOL’s Dante Filpula Ankney speaks with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition’s Teddy Collins about how the approach requires significant trust and financial buy-in from landowners and funders.

Story begins at 18:57.