Noticias

• Regional Governments Discuss Impacts of Development
• The Joy of Sex Ed…with Clowns
• Alex Kelloff Makes Bid for Congress

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Regional Governments Discuss Impacts of Development

Communities and counties across the region are interconnected. Workers in Telluride live in Ridgway, and what happens in Mountain Village can impact Montrose County.

That was the focus of a recent intergovernmental meeting.

“The purpose of this discussion is to evaluate and strengthen our internal processes and policies for approving large-scale development projects, with a particular emphasis on proactively planning for the workforce housing needs to support both construction activity and the long-term employment generated by these developments,” San Miguel County Commissioner Galena Gleason said.

While the conversation was not directly tied to the Four Seasons project in Mountain Village, Gleason acknowledged that the discussion stemmed from it.

Four Seasons developers purchased the Rimrock Hotel in Naturita and rented other hotels in the region long term to house workers. The project has been a point of contention for municipalities across the region, along with concerns about water, traffic and emergency services related to the influx of workers.

Gleason said she does not want to “hinder or torpedo” development, but suggested creating county codes and requirements that would require developers to outline where the workforce will come from, how workers will be housed, whether the project will be phased and whether long-term staffing will be needed once construction is complete.

“None of us are going to be sitting in these meetings in 10 years,” Gleason said. “I really believe that setting a policy that is going to encourage outreach is really important. So, building those conditions in special use permit applications, and then have that — if you indeed discover through those processes that the plan is for workforce to be sited outside of your jurisdiction, outside of the county, whatever that might look like — that then is a trigger for outreach and coordination, well ahead of time.”

Representatives from San Miguel, Montrose and Ouray counties, along with Norwood, Ridgway, Nucla, Naturita, Telluride, Ophir and Mountain Village, discussed the issue. A common theme during the meeting was the need for better communication.

“We’re in this as a region, and we need to have communication and outreach, and not silos,” Ouray County Commissioner Lynn Padgett said. “I’m not saying anyone necessarily had that, but it does feel like there was that perhaps accidentally, and we can remedy that going forward.”

Ridgway Mayor John Clark expressed frustration over the impacts of large developments on surrounding communities.

“It’s just mind-boggling to me that all of the regional communities — like Ridgway, Nucla, Naturita, Norwood — have to take the brunt of the impact of these workers and find places for them to live,” Clark said. “And in Ridgway, eliminate a big chunk of our visitor housing in order to address the issue. It’s just wrong, and I am really unhappy about it.”

Norwood Mayor Candy Meehan said the impact comes as Norwood is pursuing a major development project of its own: construction of a new school.

“Where are we supposed to house the people building our school?” Meehan said. “Where’s that water going to come from? These are all so many moving parts when you’re talking about small communities who have a fraction of the budget of the communities that are making the ask. There’s no turning this horse back now, and we’re going to ride it across the finish line like Secretariat if we have to. It was a lot of sleepless nights, but the one thing about the West End is we’re resilient. We’re resourceful.”

Mountain Village Mayor Scott Pearson supported increased regional discussion and a push for more housing within San Miguel County. He proposed the idea of a more permanent “man camp” for developers to use, but pushed back on codifying requirements in county code.

“Where I may disagree is on changing our approvals process to require proof that you have space for housing, proof that you’re not going to have traffic impacts, proof that you’re not going to affect the wildlife, proof that there’s enough water,” Pearson said. “In San Miguel County, the most recently approved PUD at Society Turn took eight years. If these conditional requirements were part of it, it’s hard for me to imagine it would have ever been approved.”

Whether through formal code changes or more informal coordination, Meehan said it is important for regional conversations about development to continue while learning lessons from the Four Seasons project.

“Because it’s going to come to pass again,” Meehan said.

Governments committed to continuing discussions on how to manage the opportunities and impacts of major developments across the region moving forward.

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The Joy of Sex Ed…with Clowns

Think back to sex education in your youth. Was it a positive memory, traumatizing or just a little weird?

“The parents that are trying their hardest, that have obviously read all the books, but can’t really grasp how to communicate with their kiddo,” Dallas Padoven said. “Then you have the nuns, and how they’re teaching their sex education. Then you have the gym teachers from your gym class that are teaching you all about their sex education.”

Padoven is the artistic director of Oddball Theatre Company in Durango. This weekend, the company is bringing Clown Sex Ed to Telluride as part of FRINGE.

According to Padoven, the performance is a comedic romp through the challenges, failures and horrors of American sex education.

“It’s a pleasure-based sex, joy and sketch comedy meets music, meets clowning in a non-scary way,” Padoven said.

The performance features actors and clowns Tara Demmy and Zachary Chiero. They worked with sex educators and therapists — or “sexperts” — to create a performance that is both fun and rooted in healthy education.

“Especially in American culture, sex and shame go hand in hand together, especially in sexual expression,” Padoven said. “So, how do we deal with that? How do we look at it? Can we come at it from a fun and exciting and silly perspective, to where we can actually take in the information, find joy in it?

“Because human expression is sexual expression a lot of the time,” he said. “Being able to tap into those real human characteristics, and those real human feelings, but also having a little fun with it — showing that it’s not all that serious, and getting to some hard topics, but also some really fun topics at the same time.”

Padoven said the goal is for audiences to both laugh and learn.

“I think our hope is joy and an opening of a new perspective on sex, sex education and pleasure-based sex,” he said.

Clown Sex Ed will run at the Black Box Theatre at the Palm on Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available through Teatro de Telluride.

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Alex Kelloff Makes Bid for Congress

Alex Kelloff is seeking the Democratic nomination for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.

A fourth-generation Coloradan, Kelloff is the co-founder of Armada Skis and has spent much of his career in telecommunications. Now, he is running for Congress.

Kelloff visited Telluride on Wednesday as part of his “By the People Tour” and spoke with KOTO about his campaign.

Julia Caulfield (JC): What made you want to enter this race for Congress?

Alex Kelloff (AK): My family roots go back in this 3rd Congressional District over 130 years. My great-grandfather and his three brothers immigrated to Trinidad, Colorado, in 1893. They came, like a lot of immigrants at the time, to dig coal. That’s where the good jobs were.

My dad grew up in the San Luis Valley. My mom went to high school in Grand Junction. I’ve had over a 30-year career in business, never been involved in politics, never have run for public office before.

But when this administration won in November of 2024, I felt it was time to step back from my long business career and get involved. As I thought more about how I would get involved because I was concerned about the direction of our country, with this administration taking office again, I decided to run, given the deep roots in this district.

JC: When you think about Colorado’s 3rd, what are some of the things that you see as the major issues or challenges or opportunities that are facing this district?

AK: I started my campaign over a year ago now, and I very much come to believe that rural America — obviously this district is quite rural — is not being represented in Washington, D.C.

While we have many similar concerns, necessities, requirements and interests as the rest of the country, there are some specific things that relate more to this district and rural America.

Importantly, in Congressional District 3, of which I’m running, public lands and water are critically important to our way of life, our economy and our well-being here.

So I just don’t believe that our rural interests and values are being represented in Washington, D.C., from our elected representatives today.

JC: Obviously, the 3rd Congressional District is a huge district. It’s over half of the state in terms of landmass and has mountain resort towns. It also has really small rural ag communities. If you were to be elected into this position, how do you balance the sometimes similar, but sometimes very different, needs or wants of these communities across the district?

AK: I appreciate the question because it is one of the largest congressional districts in the country.

But everyone cares about the cost of living, gas prices, grocery prices, affordable housing and access to good and affordable health care. These are things that everyday citizens of this district face regardless of where they live.

So those are critically important issues that I’m looking to tackle day one.

Also, my business background comes from business formation, entrepreneurship and creating small businesses. That’s where my family on both my father’s and mother’s sides come from in this district. So I’m very much focused on small-business formation and encouraging job creation through that.

And I think that really resonates. We want to create jobs where people can live where they work, can pursue the American dream, can afford a house with a yard and a garage and allow the kids to play in the backyard and the dogs to run around.

As I said a moment ago, public lands and water are also critically important to our way of life. The outdoor recreation industry is the largest economic driver, the largest industry in this district, so it critically depends on public lands and water.

Water in particular, with such a low snowpack year, is going to be challenging this summer. We’re going to face things like wildfires, and it’s a bit of a scary situation moving into the warmer months here.

And then finally, I think everyone wants to uphold the rule of law and ensure that Congress is getting back to fulfilling its constitutional obligation as a co-equal branch of government.

You look at any polling across the U.S., not just obviously in this district, people are fed up with their elected representatives, particularly in Congress, and they don’t think congressmen and women are doing their jobs there.

So those are the things I’m very much focused on, and I find that those very much resonate with the constituents of the district that I meet with.

JC: The 3rd Congressional District hasn’t had a Democrat representing it for over a decade. Democrats have gotten close in some of the recent elections. Why do you think that you are the person — you are the Democrat — to be able to flip this seat?

AK: I have a multifaceted background, both from business, but also I’m the only one running in this race in the primary who was raised on our Western and Southern Colorado values, so I think I understand the district. I understand the struggles of everyday people.

The San Luis Valley, parts of it where my father grew up in particular, are some of the poorest counties and poorest areas in the state.

I was also a co-founder. I helped to found Armada Ski Company. It really speaks to the outdoor recreation roots that I have in this district as well.

And so I think I can talk to a broad swath of people, and I’m encouraged by the support and momentum that we have going into the summer.

I think doing the hard work, getting out there and meeting with people where they’re at, will eventually lead us to victory and allow we as Democrats to take back the seat, flip the seat and flip Congress in November.

Alex Kelloff is running for the Democratic nomination for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District against Dwayne Romero.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face the Republican nominee in November.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd is seeking to retain his seat. He faces former state lawmaker Ron Hanks in the Republican primary.

Colorado’s primary election will take place Tuesday, June 30. The general election will take place on November 3.

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Egnar Enters Stage 1 Fire Restrictions

The Egnar Fire Protection District has moved into Stage 1 fire restrictions.

The restrictions apply to all unincorporated, privately owned land within the district.

Under the restrictions, fires of any kind are prohibited outside of developed areas. Campfires are allowed only in designated metal fire grates within developed campgrounds.

Smoking is prohibited except in enclosed vehicles or buildings, developed recreation sites, or barren areas free of vegetation.

Explosive materials, including exploding targets, are prohibited, as is welding or the use of torches with an open flame unless in an area cleared of vegetation.

It is also prohibited to operate internal combustion engines without a properly installed and functioning spark arrestor.

Leaving fires unattended or not fully extinguished, as well as lighting fireworks, is always prohibited on federally managed lands.

The fire restrictions went into effect Wednesday, May 13, and will remain in place until lifted.

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West Slope Wellness Platform Offers Free Mental Health Resources

Residents across Colorado’s Western Slope have a new opportunity to access mental health resources.

This week, the West Central Public Health Partnership — a collaboration of public health departments in San Miguel, Ouray, Montrose, Delta, Gunnison and Hinsdale counties — announced a new online mental health and wellness program called West Slope Wellness.

The online platform offers free, 24/7 access to tools and information on stress, anxiety, sleep and overall well-being.

Public health officials say the platform includes self-assessments, guided exercises, articles, videos and links, allowing users to explore topics at their own pace with no cost, appointments or pressure.

The platform is run by CredibleMind. Officials say it is private and confidential.

To create an account, visit westernslopewellness.crediblemind.com.

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Trump Administration Rescinds Public Lands Rule

Two years after it went into effect, the Trump administration has officially rescinded the Public Lands Rule.

The policy was intended to help the Bureau of Land Management administer conservation on the land it oversees.

The BLM is required by law to manage its lands for multiple uses, including grazing, mining and recreation.

The Public Lands Rule made conservation an official “use” on BLM land, equal to those other uses, and gave the agency tools to manage it. That included a program allowing state and local agencies, tribes and NGOs to lease degraded BLM land for restoration projects, such as cleaning up abandoned mining sites or restoring wildlife habitat.

It also provided updated guidance on managing intact ecosystems and areas of critical environmental concern.

The Trump administration began the process of repealing the policy more than a year ago, saying it added unnecessary complexity and roadblocks to using public lands “productively.”

While the ranching and energy industries opposed the Public Lands Rule, much of the public feedback during its development was positive.

Public lands advocates say the rescission is another example of the Trump administration favoring fossil fuels on public lands.

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Colorado Midwives File Lawsuit Alleging State Discrimination

Midwives play an important role in improving maternal and newborn health outcomes.

But in Colorado, a class-action lawsuit on behalf of midwives who work outside hospital settings alleges they often face bias and discrimination from the state.

For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, Aspen Public Radio’s Sarah Tory spoke to one midwife involved in the lawsuit who worked in the Roaring Fork Valley for 25 years.

Julianne Guy is a certified professional midwife. She began working across Colorado’s Western Slope in the early 2000s.

Unlike midwives who work inside hospitals, Guy is a direct-entry midwife. That means she works with women who want to give birth at home.

Over the years, Guy said regulators treated her differently than other medical practitioners, specifically when it came to dealing with clients who ignored her advice.

“A nurse, a doctor, a physical therapist can tell you what to do, but they can’t make you do anything,” she said.

She said state regulators have sanctioned her and other midwives after their clients refused to follow recommendations to seek more advanced medical care.

“If we stay to provide stability and care, we are punished. If we leave, we have abandoned them, which is also illegal, and so…we are kind of damned if we do and damned if we don’t,” she said.

Those allegations are behind the class-action lawsuit that Guy and a group of other direct-entry midwives filed last week against the agencies that regulate them in Colorado.

State regulators declined to comment on the litigation.

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Colorado Approves “Balcony Solar”

Colorado has passed a law allowing residents to use “balcony solar” systems to generate power and lower their electricity bills, even if they live in an apartment or condo.

The systems are illegal in most states, where utilities have pushed back, but Colorado has approved their use.

For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, Frani Halperin with H2O Radio has the story.

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