San Miguel County
Record high calls for help are stressing Colorado’s mountain firefighters, emergency responders
Fire chiefs in 15 resort-region fire protection districts report record call volume in 2021 and 2022 as they struggle to hire firefighters, recruit volunteers due to high cost of living and housing prices
The source of Colorado’s high country housing crisis: a doubling of home prices and sales
The dollars spent on homes in six Colorado mountain counties has doubled since 2019, triggering a high country housing crisis.
A Black separatist group’s utopian dream for land near Telluride withered after an armed standoff
The Black Hammer group had $100,000 and a real estate contract for 40 acres where they planned a settlement free of cops, COVID and white people
Can a climate-conscious CDOT build new roads and cut greenhouse gases at the same time?
After a century of making life easier for cars and trucks, the state’s transportation agency also has the job of cutting pollution. Not everyone is on board.
Colorado mountain communities vote “yes” on new short-term rental fees but reject heavier regulation
Voters in end-of-the-road Crested Butte and Telluride stopped short of restrictions intended to slow and limit short-term rentals in the tourist-dependent communities.
As record-setting real estate sales continue in Colorado resort towns, buyers are now looking way down valley
As Colorado resort home sales and prices continue to set records, hamlets that once were out-of-the-way afterthoughts have taken on the attributes of bustling communities.
Ethics complaints from mountain counties spur probe of state Division of Property Taxation
Eagle, La Plata and San Miguel counties are asking for an audit or investigation into a cozy relationship between a state tax official and a lawyer representing hotels in litigation with the counties
Survey of Colorado’s high-country residents a “wake-up call” on the devastating implications of the affordable housing crisis
The consequences of workers and permanent residents being priced out include mountain communities being forced to rethink their relationship to the tourism economy.
State tax official who is required to be neutral advised luxury resort owners on how to minimize property taxes
A top official at the Division of Property Taxation met regularly with a tax agent involved in litigation with Eagle, San Miguel and La Plata counties. The state’s property tax boss says it’s “a strong working relationship with all constituents.”
Opinion: As county commissioners, we see smart ways to close Colorado’s digital divide
Success requires more than just throwing money at the problem. We’ve tried that in the past, and it failed.
Record-breaking real estate frenzy is changing the culture of Colorado’s mountain towns as locals are priced out
More than $15 billion in property sales in 2020 in seven resort communities marks a 61% increase over 2019. Historic sales volume and sky-high prices are pushing locals out of mountain towns.
Hard-right rooted group has made inroads in Colorado opposing Biden’s vision for public lands
The federal agenda for preserving 30% of public land and water by 2030 hasn’t been finalized, yet at least four Colorado counties, spurred by the daughter of the original Sagebrush Rebels, have signaled resistance.
Opinion: Boulder’s climate lawsuit would be costly for consumers
Innovation, not litigation, is the right and proven path forward.
Coronavirus drives blistering sales of Colorado mountain homes, sets 2020 as historic high mark
Driven by high-end sales, real estate markets in Colorado’s resort communities have set records since July. Most resort towns saw sales through October surpass all sales in the record-setting 2019.
Small Colorado mountain counties aren’t sure how bad their COVID situation is. So they’re testing the masses.
Gunnison, Ouray and San Miguel counties have teamed up with the state to hold mass testing events for people -- with and without coronavirus symptoms -- to “know what we don’t know”
Colorado ski resorts work to stay open as COVID cases snowball
The skiing itself doesn’t feel much different during the pandemic. But “the après ski scene is just gone,” one Telluride visitor said.
Contact tracing in Colorado immigrant communities is most effective with voices from within
Long-standing health care disparities, job insecurity, immigration status, language barriers and a profound distrust of government all complicate the already tricky task
2 people die in small plane crash near Telluride
The Telluride Regional Airport lost contact with the single-engine plane at about 1:30 p.m. and several witnesses reported seeing it go down