News

• Gondola planning moves to station design
• The values of the West End
• Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

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Gondola planning moves to station design

The gondola between Telluride and Mountain Village, which opened in 1996, has transported thousands of passengers annually.

“The gondola provides rides to as many people as the Colfax RTD in Denver on an annual basis,” said Amber Blake, a consultant on the gondola planning process.

“In 2025, we’ll hit 140,000 hours of operation on the gondola since it was installed. That’s more operating hours than any other comparable system in the world. It is still running very safely,” Blake added.

The gondola has been operated by the Town of Mountain Village for 25 years, with funding primarily coming from the Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association. However, the current funding and operating agreement will end in 2027. Local municipalities are now working on plans for its future beyond January 1, 2028.

“The gondola subcommittee and gondola leadership have identified goals for the project,” said Blake.

Gondola leadership includes the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village, San Miguel County, TMVOA, the Telluride Ski Resort, and the San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART).

“One of those goals was to identify and establish long-term operation and maintenance funding for the gondola,” Blake said. Ballot measure 3A, passed in November, will support this funding.

A second goal is to replace the gondola with a new system to meet capacity demands, with the construction process expected to take one summer season.

“Then continue to reduce traffic congestion and environmental impact by providing public transportation through the gondola,” Blake noted.

As a form of public transportation, SMART has taken on the role of project manager for the gondola’s future.

Blake explained there are two parts to the gondola planning: the operating system and the gondola stations.

Consultant Ed Marks added, “That includes 10-person cabins, level boarding for ADA access, which will help smooth operations and increase capacity.”

While work on the operating system continues, leadership has passed the responsibility for designing the gondola stations to Telluride and Mountain Village. These stations will include amenities such as shops, restaurants, bicycle facilities, multimodal spaces, and landscaping.

Ashley Von Spreeken, Telluride Town Councilmember, said of the station design process: “What is our vision as a community for this space? We have a vision for the gondola to be replaced. We could sit here and say it’s going to change, or we could change it ten times over. That’s what we’re doing here. We’re starting that conversation.”

There are no official plans for the stations yet, but gondola leadership hopes the station designs will be 20% complete by summer 2025. The Gondola Subcommittee will meet again on Monday, February 24th, and community engagement meetings are planned for the coming months.

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The values of the West End

Dink Davis, a former Uravan resident now living in Norwood, summed up life in the West End: “We’re living in a town of 1. We’ve got one grocery store, one post office, one liquor store, and one gas station—what do you expect? It’s simple.”

The West End Vision Plan, which has gathered over 500 community comments, highlights the value of simplicity among West End residents. The plan covers communities in Nucla, Naturita, Norwood, and beyond, and is led by Community Builders, a consulting non-profit, and the West End Economic Development Corporation (WEEDC).

Mackenzie Taylor, a project manager at Community Builders, shared the five values that emerged from community feedback: “Number 1 is looking out for each other. We value small-town neighborliness, where people care for each other and always lend a hand. We find safety and belonging in knowing our neighbors.”

Other values include a simpler way of life, living with the land, shaping our own story, and building strong roots for future opportunities.

Davis noted the growing community spirit: “One of the things I’ve noticed is that Norwood and Nucla are melding together. They’re forming sports teams, and it’s not the tense situation it used to be. People from here and there are side by side, talking and playing together. That’s an improvement.”

Bob McEver, a former Forest Service worker from Norwood, added, “Telluride created an identity that drew Nucla, Naturita, Norwood, and Paradox together. It didn’t really fit into Telluride, but it gave us a common community feel.”

Norwood resident April Montgomery led small group discussions, asking how participants felt about the draft value statements. McEver and Davis spoke about how their community has shaped its own story despite outside pressures.

Sara Owens, Norwood Town Administrator, highlighted the challenge of maintaining local jobs and housing: “We struggle with having solid professional, high-paying jobs for people to come here.”

Attendees gave both written and verbal feedback on the draft value statements. Those unable to attend can view and comment on the plan at bit.ly/westendplanfb. Once the values are agreed upon, the next step is to focus on strategy and actions to implement the final West End Vision Plan.

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Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

In Cat Movie Fisher, Telluride High School’s Risho Unda interviews members of the school community about their favorite movies and books. However, this week, Unda was at the Special Olympics Western Regional Winter Games in Glenwood Springs. KOTO News caught up with him to hear about the competition.

Story begins at 9:29.

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Planet Bluegrass Concert moves closer to approval

Planet Bluegrass took another step toward approval for a two-day concert in Town Park on August 22nd and 23rd. Music would run from 5:30 to 11 p.m. with a maximum capacity of 9,000 attendees per day. An artist has not yet been announced.

The concert would overlap with the Telluride Mountain Run, which also utilizes a portion of Town Park. Zack Tucker with Planet Bluegrass acknowledged the need for coordination: “We are very comfortable with the fact that we need to work out a management plan with them for a lot of aspects of working together in Town Park and the greater community area. It’s really important that we find success in that, we don’t want to come in and not have them be successful.”

Mountain Run organizers, however, have expressed concerns. Jared Vilhauer, one of the race organizers, shared his worries: “They have all day on Saturday, they’re going to want to go for a hike. There’s going to be a lot of people out on the trails. We run on every single local trail. We run on the Weibe, Bear Creek. I can’t think of a way to create a management plan that’s going to be safe for our runners and the public.”

Despite these concerns, several members of the Commission for Community Assistance, Arts, and Special Events (CCAASE) heard the Mountain Run organizers’ feedback but still approved Planet Bluegrass’ request for the concert, with a 4-1 vote. The Parks and Recreation Commission had already approved the request last month.

Telluride Town Council will give final approval on the event at its meeting on February 25th.

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King Soopers employees strike amidst wage disputes

Up to 10,000 unionized grocery workers from King Soopers went on strike Thursday over wage disputes. The strike will affect millions of shoppers, though most Western Slope King Soopers are not unionized or chose not to participate. The company president called the strike “unfortunate and premature” as negotiations continue.

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Trump administration’s funding pause causes confusion

The Trump administration’s pause on federal grants, loans, and funding last week—a decision that was stayed by a judge—plunged many nonprofits and government agencies into confusion.

In the western United States, where agriculture is heavily dependent on federal programs, grants, and loans distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farmers are feeling the effects.

Chad Franke, president of the Rocky Mountain Farmers’ Union, which represents farmers in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, said even farmers who take non-government loans are still impacted by the instability coming from the federal government.

“You know, bankers rely on, ‘Is there enough that I will get paid back if things go bad?’ And if there’s not certainty that the USDA is going to do what they said they were going to do, they may not loan for the next year, and you can’t sit the year out in farming,” Franke said.

Despite the recent chaos, Franke said the group has been having productive conversations with lawmakers.

He hopes Congress will pass a farm bill this year, which they haven’t done since 2018.

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Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA testing backlog

State lawmakers are divided on how to address the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s backlog in DNA testing. On Wednesday, the Senate walked back an earlier decision to limit the agency’s funding in response to the issue.

Story begins at 16:25.

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Wild turkeys roost in Lyons

Wild turkeys have been spotted roosting in the cottonwood trees of Lyons, a small town near Boulder. Shelley Schlender from KGNU spent time with bird watchers investigating the sightings.

Story begins at 17:44.