News

• Made in Telluride Celebrates Local Creatives
• Authors Explore a Modern American West
• Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

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Made in Telluride Celebrates Local Creatives

Tara Carter and Warren Gilbreath are here for the music and art born in the box canyon.

“I feel like there’s a lot of original ideas in this town, and creative people in this town that are doing original things that deserve more of a spotlight,” Gilbreath said.

Enter Made in Telluride.

“We are a collective of artists and musicians who are creating original work, whether that’s music, jewelry, art, maybe you’re a small business. We really want to elevate and support and provide opportunities for artists and musicians,” Carter explained.

Carter and Gilbreath are the co-founders of Made in Telluride, a new collective supporting artists and musicians in the area.

“One thing that’s really important to both Warren and me is making sure artists have opportunities to take a chance and maybe sell their work when they didn’t feel the opportunity, or didn’t feel like they could in a traditional setting,” Carter said. “A lot of businesses and galleries will require a booth fee, or take a percentage of your artist sales, and for a lot of people—especially those who are just starting out—that feels really scary. They feel like they can’t invest in that chance. Our real goal is to help those people gain the confidence and the opportunities to do exactly that.”

This weekend, Made in Telluride will host its first pop-up event, showcasing music and selling wares from artists in the community.

“There’s this whole idea going on in the world right now to support local. Where our dollars go counts. If we can give people an opportunity to support those who are doing the work to live here and make our community what it is, that’s a real honor,” Carter said.

Music will include Aubrey Mable, Après Nova, and Atari Safari. Featured fine artists will include Aubrey Mable, Bow Mountain Pottery, Chip Schilling, MetalRock Designs, and Tara Carter.

Gilbreath wants to shift the notion of what it means to be a local creative.

“There are people that live in the area that make really good work,” Gilbreath said. “When you say something like ‘local artist’ or ‘local musician,’ I feel like there’s almost a ‘bless his heart, let’s go support him’ kind of thing. I’d like to see us move away from that and embrace the fact that there are some really talented creatives in the box canyon and surrounding area.”

At its core, Carter says the initiative is about bringing the community together.

“I hope that making these events free, making sure our booths don’t have a fee associated with them, and paying our musicians a fair wage inspires some kid or someone on the verge of taking that leap and trying a new creative hobby to do it,” Carter said. “Here’s an opportunity for you to share that with people. And maybe if you’re not ready to share it, come join us. Come support these other artists. That’s the goal: to bring the community together and inspire all of us.”

The Made in Telluride pop-up will take place on Sunday, March 23, from 4 to 10 p.m. at the Alibi. The event is free and open to the community.

To connect with Made in Telluride, visit madeintelluride.org.

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Authors Explore a Modern American West

For those of us living in the American West, we are intimately familiar with limits—limits of water in a drought-ridden landscape, limits of housing in small mountain towns, or limits of a community amidst a rapidly expanding tourism economy. These themes are expounded upon in the recently published book A Watershed Moment: The American West in the Age of Limits.

“What was so entrancing about that book was that he said that we needed a different politics and economics and community structure beyond the 100th meridian,” said Robert Frodeman, co-author of A Watershed Moment. “That is to say on the dry side, places where you need to irrigate to grow things. And I was just stunned by the argument, it stuck with me over the years. One way to understand this book is that we’ve explored the consequences of Powell’s sense that there are inescapable limits to life in the American West.”

Frodeman, a professor of philosophy and author or editor of more than 15 books, draws inspiration for his work from Beyond the 100th Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West, Wallace Stegner’s biography of Powell.

Co-author Evelyn Brister, a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and a philosopher of science, emphasized how limits manifest in Western communities.

“We initially were envisioning limits being in terms of water resources, limits in Teton County in terms of our predominantly public land so there aren’t very many new places to build to make space for people to come into the community,” Brister said. “Limits because of limited housing in those kinds of places. A lot of the chapters in the book are ways to expand limits or overcome limits. Some of the more metaphorical ways—there’s some people who just by learning more, getting more knowledge, more data, we’ve learned how, for instance, deer and elk move across the landscape. And with that extra data, we can make space for them in ways that don’t get in the way. Sometimes just knowing more can help us overcome limits.”

The book is a collection of stories from contributors about limits in the American West, ways to think about them, and potential solutions. Brister highlighted the ethical underpinnings in the book.

“The issues that are raised in this book, they lie at the intersection of community sustainability, land use policy, and there’s a strong ethical decision-making component under the surface,” Brister explained. “Even though there are no chapters in the book specifically on ethics, one of the things that we encouraged authors in the book to think about was how they think about solutions to land use problems that can help the most number of people.”

Take, for example, housing—a significant limit in Western communities.

“The idea here was that each chapter would be on a place and a problem,” Frodeman said. “A place—Telluride, and a problem—housing; a place—Yellowstone, and a problem—overtourism. And others on Aspen and bears and whatnot. And we asked every chapter to end with some discussion of policy solutions moving forward.”

Frodeman pointed out that while rugged individualism and endless opportunity have long been hallmarks of the lore of the American West, there is also a deep-rooted spirit of collectivism.

“There’s a long history of collectivism in the West also—living in supportive communities,” Frodeman said. “When you do live in a harsh environment, living in Wyoming, or experiencing Montana winters, people in the West have been very dependent on tight communities supporting each other. Wyoming was the first state to give the vote to women. Utah obviously has a strong collective belonging and sense of support. Many of these stories are not stories of people being able to solve problems all by themselves.”

The book’s third author is Luther Probst, a Teton County commissioner. Contributors include policymakers, biologists, tribal members, writers, and Telluride locals like former County Commissioner Joan May.

Brister noted that fostering appreciation for all community members is essential for moving forward.

“It’s important if you’re a doctor or a nurse, but it’s also if you’re working elsewhere in the hospital or if you’re a teacher or if you’re working in food and beverage for the tourist industry or cleaning houses. All of these people are contributing to what the community is and are needed, but they’re not always appreciated. And that sense of appreciation for people in the community, I think, is found in a number of chapters,” Brister said.

A Watershed Moment: The American West in the Age of Limits is available online and in bookstores across the West.

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Cat Movie Fisher with Risho Unda

In Cat Movie Fisher, Telluride High School’s Risho Unda talks with members of the community about what they’re reading and watching. This week he’s chatting with fellow THS student, Jude Klimasewiski.

Story begins at 9:40.

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Songs of the Season: A Musical Celebration of Spring

Spring is here, and the Wilkinson Public Library is kicking off the season with its new music program, Songs of the Season. This month’s session will feature spring-themed songs.

Led by Jackson Schneider and Oliver Henry, the program welcomes musicians of all types, levels, and ages. Participants are encouraged to bring their instruments—voices included—or borrow one from the library’s collection. Egg shakers, tambourines, musical triangles, and cowbells will also be provided.

The inaugural Songs of the Season event will take place at the library on Wednesday, March 26, at 5:30 p.m. Future seasonal sessions are planned for June (summer), September (fall), and December (winter).

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San Miguel County Seeks Community Input on Behavioral Health Plan

San Miguel County is crafting a new behavioral health plan and is seeking community input to shape it. This plan will guide the county’s efforts to improve mental health resources and community well-being.

Residents are invited to share their thoughts in open focus group sessions next week:

• Monday, March 24: 9:30–11 a.m. at the Wilkinson Public Library
• Tuesday, March 25: 10–11:30 a.m. at the Fruen Building
• Thursday, March 27: 8:30–11 a.m. at the Lone Cone Library in Norwood

Your insights will help shape the future of mental health services in the county.

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Rule Change Could Alter NEPA Environmental Reviews

A rule change from the Trump administration could reshape how environmental analysis and public comment are handled by federal agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

NEPA governs projects like energy development and road building on federal lands. Chris Winter, director of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment at CU Boulder’s law school, explains that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has traditionally overseen NEPA regulations across agencies.

“CEQ has also said, ‘We’re rescinding our nationwide regulations.’ And Trump is supposedly saying each individual agency should determine on its own how it wants to implement NEPA, with some broad guidance but no binding regulations that apply across the agencies,” Winter said.

Winter adds that many agencies, already short-staffed due to layoffs, may struggle to create their own NEPA policies without clear direction.

The public can submit comments on the rule change in the Federal Register until March 27. The interim rule is set to take effect on April 11.

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Teachers Rally for School Funding

Hundreds of teachers and supporters (including some from the Telluride School District) gathered at the Colorado State Capitol Thursday to protest changes to the state’s education funding formula. The event closed schools in some districts, but as the Colorado Capitol News Alliance’s Chas Sisk reports, attendees said it was necessary.

Story begins at 15:28.

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Eagle Resident Reflects on Job Loss Amid USAID Cuts

When the Trump administration gutted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in February, Roseanne Casey of Eagle, Colorado, lost her job.

Casey, who had been a foreign service officer for years, most recently worked for a company managing a contract supporting the Africa Bureau.

Speaking at a rally in Aspen earlier this month, Casey shared her perspective on the implications of shutting down USAID. “It’s not just about jobs,” she said. “It’s about the critical work we do around the world, supporting development, humanitarian aid, and partnerships that foster stability.”

For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, KDNK’s Amy Hadden Marsh interviewed Casey, who emphasized the broader impacts of the agency’s dismantling. “Losing USAID isn’t just a blow to those of us directly involved; it weakens our global influence and the ability to support communities in need,” Casey said.

Casey’s story highlights the local impacts of federal decisions, connecting Colorado residents to the global challenges USAID sought to address.

Story begins at 16:40.