The programs are especially critical given that farmers in the U.S. are aging faster than young farmers are getting in line to take their place. One-third of the 3.4 million American farmers are over the age of 65, according to latest Census of Agriculture.
Durango
Posted inNews
Purgatory ski patrollers form union, push for better wages as part of national resort labor movement
Pete Kemery spent last winter living in his truck camper parked at a friend’s house. “I wasn’t paying rent so I was able to make my job work,” said the ski patroller at Purgatory ski area outside Durango. “That’s pretty common for a lot of us. And I guess we’ve reached a point where we […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Transportation
Electric school buses are in Colorado’s future. But districts need help paying for them.
One by one, the big yellow diesel-powered school buses shuttling kids back and forth in Colorado districts are rumbling along on their final routes and, after many thousands of miles, belching their last plumes of exhaust. With increasing concerns about the harmful effects of school bus tailpipe emissions on both children’s health and the environment, […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, News
A deadly car crash sidelined a southwest Colorado farm family. Neighbors are making sure there is a harvest.
As the Jaws of Life pried open the crumpled wreckage of the Rohwer’s Farm GMC Sierra to rescue family members, their community was rallying to help them as word quickly spread of the early morning crash on a highway just outside Durango. It was market day, and many were on that same road into town. […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Southwest Colorado is home to one of America’s oldest bicycle races. It takes an army to keep the wheels moving.
DURANGO – After finishing her first bike race during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic over the weekend, 4-year-old Lexi Cowan was grinning ear to ear. When asked how long she’s been riding bikes, she said, “10 years, I think.” In a town that boasts one of the oldest bicycle races in America, Durango’s next generation […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, News, Wildfire
Durango & Silverton railroad will pay feds $20 million for 416 fire damage, stop using coal to power summer trains
By Aedan Hannon, The Durango Herald The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and its parent company, American Heritage Railways, will pay $20 million to settle a federal lawsuit stemming from the 416 fire. Separately, lawyers for 40 La Plata and San Juan county businesses and landowners that sued the tourist railway to recoup losses […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Water
Federal government, Colorado and mining company reach $90 million settlement in Gold King mine spill
By James Anderson, The Associated Press Colorado, the U.S. government and a gold mining company have agreed to resolve a longstanding dispute over who’s responsible for continuing cleanup at a Superfund site that was established after a massive 2015 spill of hazardous mine waste that fouled rivers with a sickly yellow sheen in three states. […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Outdoors
Colorado man gets 3 years for killing pro bicyclist in crash
DURANGO — A man who caused a crash that killed a professional cyclist in southwest Colorado has been sentenced to three years in prison. Cordell Schneider was convicted in July of vehicular homicide and was sentenced Friday for the March 4, 2020, crash near Marvel that killed Benjamin Sonntag, 39, The Durango Herald reported. Colorado State […]
Posted inEconomy, Growth, Housing, News
“It’s scary”: The housing shortage has reached a crisis point in southwest Colorado
DURANGO — Pagosa Springs paramedic Matt Robison was living with two friends in a 1,200-square-foot house until this summer — when his rent would have leapt 60%, to $2,400 a month. Robison hit the road, working wildland fires and living out of his truck. Sixty miles west, professor Rebecca Clausen has heard from faculty at […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News
Colorado businesses relied on sidewalk extensions to make a profit during COVID. They may be here to stay.
DURANGO — From their office overlooking Durango’s main drag, marketer Maggie Kavan and architect Michael Carrier watched in the spring of 2020 as the pandemic closed businesses and emptied out downtown. And they saw how restaurants responded by erecting a hodgepodge of outdoor seating areas, some of which seemed unsafe or created a messy look. […]