The staff at Out West Books in Grand Junction recommends “Geology Underfoot,” “Go As a River” and “City of Gold” — three books that lend a unique perspective on the landscape and life on Colorado’s Western Slope.
Western Slope
Posted inElection 2022
We spoke to unaffiliated voters in Lauren Boebert’s district soon after she took office. Here’s how they feel about her now.
Unaffiliated voters make up the largest percentage of the electorate in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: My dad’s life was pretty ordinary. Everything after his death has been anything but.
He didn’t live a special life. He never went to college. He never saw the ocean. He drank too much and watched too much television. He worked in lumber yards his whole life, selling lumber, then managing yards. He could calculate the lumber needed for a house in his head. He never used the internet. […]
Posted inEquity, News
It’s not easy to get an immigration attorney in Colorado
Immigrants who have legal representation are far more likely to win permanent resident status or become U.S. citizens. But finding — and affording — an immigration attorney in Colorado is tough, especially on the Western Slope where only a few operate full-time. It’s especially challenging for people who have complicated cases or have sought help […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Federal judge blocks plan for 35 gas wells on national forest land in western Colorado
A U.S. District Court judge blocked a plan approved by federal agencies for 35 fracked gas wells across 30,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land between Gunnison and the Grand Mesa, handing a victory to environmental groups suing the government for failing to take climate change into account in approving new drilling. U.S. District for […]
Posted inBusiness, News
Barrels burn all night at Western Slope orchards as farmers try to save crop from spring freeze
OLATHE — It’s 10 minutes after 2 early Thursday morning and Kerry Mattics inspects a thermometer hanging on a deer fence that surrounds his family’s fruit orchard. Twenty-seven degrees. “It’s go time,” he says. “The bottom just fell out.” The mercury had dropped a full three degrees in just a few minutes, as a thin […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Outsider
Record high calls for help are stressing Colorado’s mountain firefighters, emergency responders
There are more people living in their vacation homes in Colorado’s resort communities. There are more people visiting and staying in short-term rental homes. “But it’s a challenge to quantify any of this,” said Jake Andersen, deputy chief of operations for the Aspen Fire Protection District. Fire chiefs like Andersen can gauge one impact of […]
Posted inBook Excerpts, SunLit
SunLit Excerpt: “Killer Chardonnay” leaves bitter finish for wine critic
My success or failure hinges on a glass of chardonnay. I’ve poured everything into opening my own winery—my savings account, the better part of my twenties, my social life. If this doesn’t pan out, I’m not sure who I am anymore. Just a wannabe entrepreneur with an overfondness for wine on the fast track to […]
Posted inSunLit, SunLit Interviews
SunLit Interview: Kate Lansing fulfilled her winery dream by writing it
Kate Lansing is an award-winning short story author. She lives in Denver with her husband, daughter, and a chair-napping tabby cat named Maple. Tell us this book’s backstory. What inspired you to write it? Where did the story/theme originate? My husband and I have enjoyed tasting wine together for nearly a decade, and at one […]
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 […]