President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday threatened to veto the CORE Act in a statement that said the massive Colorado public lands bill puts the Western Slope economy at risk. The White House also said that not enough local input has been addressed when it comes to the legislation, which is expected to get a […]
Western Slope
Posted inEnergy, Environment, News
50 years ago a nuclear bomb was detonated under the Western Slope to release natural gas. Here’s how poorly it went.
Long-time Parachute resident Judy Beasley has witnessed nearly all the failed attempts to wrench hydrocarbons from the dusty, high ridges and deep, desert valleys of the Piceance Basin. But they all pale in comparison to the stab taken on Sept. 10, 1969, when the United States government asked the 270 residents of Parachute to leave […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government, Technology
Why the head of the U.S. Patent Office is interested in artificial intelligence, false trademarks and the Western Slope
In the last five years, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has hired more lawyers in the Front Range region than ever before. The Colorado hiring frenzy, of course, had everything to do with the agency opening a satellite office in Denver in 2014 as part of a move to expand outside of Washington, D.C. […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Culture, Environment, Food and Restaurants, News, Water
Sweet corn put Olathe on the map, but seeds of economic revival didn’t take
When giant, two-story machines called mule jacks lumbered into the corn fields around Olathe this week, it signaled that highly anticipated Western Slope sweet corn was about to hit grocery stores and grills — for the 33rd year running. But change is afoot beyond the million-plus ears of tender, high-sugar corn that will be picked, […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Colorado question pitting ranchers vs. wolf advocates is heading for supermarket parking lots
Wolf fans will be howling outside Front Range grocery stores soon, hoping to seed a new predator in Colorado’s Western Slope. The Colorado Secretary of State on Friday approved a petition seeking signatures to land a wolf reintroduction proposal on the November 2020 ballot. Wolf supporters will need 124,632 signatures by Dec. 13 to put […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Education, News, Technology
All the classes, none of the Boulder: CU offers computer science degrees on Western Slope
Starting this fall, students enrolled at Western Colorado University in Gunnison can emerge with a degree from the state’s top computer science school, the University of Colorado in Boulder. It’ll cost them less over the four years compared to Boulder, and classes won’t be as crowded. Plus, it’s cheaper to rent an apartment in this […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Bureau of Land Management more likely to relocate to Denver than Grand Junction, Polis says
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says the Bureau of Land Management is more likely to relocate its headquarters to Denver than Grand Junction, even though his administration is more supportive of the federal agency moving to the Western Slope. Either way, the Democrat said he’s “cautiously optimistic” Colorado will win the bidding war with other Western […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Culture, Food and Restaurants, News
Colorado farmers can’t get their food to the table. One startup wants to lend hands.
Last summer was a bad one for Michael Moss. A June hailstorm laid waste to his Kilt Farm southwest of Longmont, setting him back $60,000 in peppers and early-season produce — an amount just shy of the vegetable farm’s entire yearly revenue. But his problems didn’t end with the weather. After scrambling to start the […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Water
All of this snow is great, but it will likely be months before we know the impact on Colorado’s drought
You’re seeing the pictures of deep snow being surfed by skiers and snowboarders across the state. The Colorado Department of Transportation is working double time to keep high country stretches of highways passable. But if you were expecting an overnight solution to Colorado’s drought, which has been particularly acute in the southwest part of the […]
Posted inBusiness, Culture, News, Politics and Government
Wine, peaches and CBD: Hemp fills gaps in the Western Slope’s orchards and vineyards
PALISADE – Ribbons of fruit trees and grapevines run across hillsides under the rocky folds of iconic Mount Garfield, the place where legendarily good Colorado peaches grow. Now another crop — hemp — is sending up green spikes in the midst of all that fruit. Dozens of Palisade-area growers are grabbing hold of the lucrative […]