a group of health care professionals gathered around a conference table
C. J. Malcolm, left, Paramedic Chief and Incident Commander for Gunnison Valley Hospital, conducts a staff meeting of the hospitals emergency response team for the highway 50 bridge closure over Blue Mesa Reservoir, April 25, 2024. Participants are discussing critical details about the hospital's managment of emergencies during the bridge closure in a virtual conference with other staff members. (that's what they're looking at, not me!) (Dean Krakel, Special to The Colorado Sun)
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Good morning!

The Nuggets and Avalanche are both within striking distance of closing out their respective playoff series, the weather’s starting to warm up all over and I get to celebrate the first year of being married to the love of my life. As Mondays go, this is a pretty good one.

But if your Monday isn’t feeling quite as great as mine, maybe you can take inspiration from the folks who pivoted on a dime to rework their entire area’s emergency response system when the main bridge out of town was closed — or any of the stories we’ve got loaded up to get you started on your week, for that matter.

Let’s sound this siren and get on the road, shall we?

C.J. Malcolm, left, paramedic chief and incident commander for Gunnison Valley Hospital, conducts a staff meeting of the hospital’s emergency response team Thursday for the U.S. 50 bridge closure over Blue Mesa Reservoir. (Dean Krakel, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Gunnison Valley Health Hospital serves Colorado’s largest — and one of its most hazardous — counties. But as soon as CDOT announced it was closing the U.S. 50 bridge because of safety concerns, hospital staff got to work on rerouting everything from emergency ambulance routes to medical supply deliveries to keep the community running. Nancy Lofholm has the story from inside the improvised command center.

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Cows and their calves graze the fields April 9 in Grand County. Ranchers and farmers not only raise food, but they keep the land free of development in rural parts of the state. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

Fewer, larger farms and ranches. An uptick in use of solar panels. A population of producers that is still getting older. These are just a few of the takeaways from the comprehensive 2022 Census of Agriculture, released by the USDA. In this week’s edition of “What’s Working,” Tracy Ross breaks down the good, the bad and the hopeful news from the world of agriculture in Colorado.

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Judge Susan Blanco speaks during a competency docket hearing as an attorney, right, stands with a client April 11 at Larimer County Justice Center in Fort Collins. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)

Tatiana Flowers reports on the “competency docket” program — designed to help get defendants stabilized so they can get away from the court system — at the Larimer County Justice Center. The program has been so successful that 10 other district courts have launched their own versions.

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The Residences at Durango will include 120 affordable housing units across three buildings at the site of a former motel a mile from downtown Durango. (Corey Robinson, Special to The Colorado Trust)

120 units

The total number of affordable, below-market rental units that are part of the Residences at Durango project.

Turning a Best Western motel into 120 affordable housing units takes a lot of work — and not all of it is renovation. Mark Stevens reports on the unique tax credit financing system used to make this conversion a reality — and why the Colorado Housing and FInance Authority hopes it can be a model for other housing-stressed communities around the state.

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About 20 miles of high fence at the perimeter of Cielo Vista Ranch has formed a battle line in the San Luis Valley. On one side is the billionaire landowner, William Harrison, a son of a Texas oil baron, who says he has every right to build the fence to prevent illegal trespassers. On the other, are a few thousand people with a legal right to use the land who say the fence violates a deal dating back to the mid-1800s. As both sides prepare for a trial this fall to decide the fate of the fence, tension is running high along the perimeter, Jennifer Brown reports.

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Have a great week and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

— Eric and the whole staff of The Sun

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Type of Story: News

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

This byline is used for articles and guides written collaboratively by The Colorado Sun reporters, editors and producers.