Cattle consumed oil that spilled from a well operated by Western Operating. K&T Cattle argued the fine to settle that and three other violations was too low.
Kiowa County
Posted inHealth
How Colorado training programs aim to cut mental health care stigma among farmers and ranchers
Hundreds of clinicians, medical professionals and pastors have been trained in early detection, intervention and ways to listen with ears tuned to the stresses and loneliness of rural life.
Posted inEnvironment
A leaky oil well poisoned a Colorado rancher’s herd, killing 6 cows. He still hasn’t been paid back.
Rancher says his yearslong dispute with Denver-based Western Operating Co. shows lack of accountability when oil and gas companies make mistakes
Posted inCrime and Courts, Equity, News
Kiowa County will pay $9.5 million to settle wrongful death of man shot 3 times in the back by deputies
Kiowa County has reached a $9.5 million settlement with the family of Zach Gifford, the unarmed local handyman shot three times in the back by its undersheriff and a rookie deputy in 2020. The amount exceeds the county’s $7.5 million annual budget, but is less than the $10 million maximum its insurance policy would cover. […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Fatal shooting lawsuit alleges culture of excessive force in Kiowa County
By Susan Greene, Colorado News Collaborative Kiowa County Sheriff’s Department’s pattern of condoning illegal searches and tolerating excessive force led to last year’s killing of a handyman by the local undersheriff and a rookie deputy, a federal civil rights lawsuit alleges. The complaint, filed Wednesday on behalf of the late Zach Gifford’s family, comes as […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Kiowa County deputy accused of killing unarmed man had history of using deadly force
An Eastern Plains deputy had twice used deadly force under questionable circumstances in the months before his involvement in the killing of an unarmed man during a routine traffic stop last year, public records show. Documents obtained by the Colorado News Collaborative also reveal that the same former Kiowa County sheriff’s deputy, Quinten Stump, had […]
Posted inColoradans, Crime and Courts, News
How a rural Colorado traffic stop left a man dead and a sheriff’s deputy facing criminal charges
KIOWA COUNTY – Nearly a year has passed since a traffic stop ended with Undersheriff Tracy Weisenhorn and Deputy Quinten Stump shooting Zach Gifford, the unarmed passenger, in a nearby field, three bullets in his back. In the 11 months since the 39-year-old handyman’s death in Brandon on April 9, 2020, a state criminal investigation has concluded, […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, Economy, Health, News
Rural Americans in pharmacy deserts hurting for COVID vaccines
By Markian Hawryluk, KHN As the Biden administration accelerates a plan to use pharmacies to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, significant areas of the country lack brick-and-mortar pharmacies capable of administering the protective shots. A recent analysis by the Rural Policy Research Institute found that 111 rural counties, mostly between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, have no […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Coloradans, Environment, Health
On Edge: In a rural Eastern Plains community plagued by drought, stigma won’t be easy to overcome
EADS – “The Splotch,” as some here call the brown mark on the map they check weekly, is the color of scorched earth. Here in Kiowa County, farmers have always relied on whatever moisture happens to fall from the sky rather than on irrigation. In August, this 1,300-person community bordering on Kansas was the first […]
Posted inColoradans, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s new strategy to prevent child sexual abuse zeroes in on every ZIP code
A new strategy to prevent sexual abuse of children across Colorado is all about math. The goal: 5% of the adult population in every ZIP code should know exactly how to respond if a child told them they were abused, and they should know how to cut down on the likelihood that abusers have access […]