Chris Clements

An officer in the Cortez Police Department was shot and killed in the line of duty on Wednesday. The officer conducted a traffic stop on South Broadway around 11:30 a.m., during which he was shot and injured. The suspects fled in their vehicle but were quickly located. One suspect was shot by police and died at the scene, the other was taken into custody. The officer, who has not yet been identified, was taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital and later died from his injuries. And on Tuesday, the Cortez City Council passed a resolution in support of a grant to fund archaeological surveys of Carpenter and Geer natural areas to identify prehistoric sites. The city’s Historic Preservation Board recommended that the city apply for the grant from the Colorado Historical Society. A preliminary survey conducted in 1993 by the city found six areas of interest in the Carpenter area alone. Geer has never been studied.

A grassroots community group on the Navajo Nation is making winter supply runs to deliver water and food to elders in the Black Mesa region of northern Arizona. Diné Land and Water is a Navajo-led organization based out of Sanders. Mercury Bitsuie, a project manager for the group, hauls water, wood and food to elders and families who live in a highly remote area in Black Mesa’s Big Mountain community. Big Mountain is just north of the Hopi Nation and is located on land that has historically been the subject of disputes between the Hopi and Navajo tribes. Many Navajo families who live there don’t have access to clean water or electricity according to Bitsuie, and roads in the area can frequently become impassable due to snow. Bitsuie says his group is actively raising funds on GoFundMe for winter supply runs. And Colorado workers can now start signing up online for more paid time-off through the state.

Colorado’s recycling and composting rate has been stuck at half the national average for several years. That’s according to a new report released recently called The State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado. It’s put together every year by EcoCycle, a nonprofit recycler, and the Colorado Public Interest Research Group. Rachel Setzke with EcoCycle is one of the co-authors of the report. She says in Colorado, 16% of waste is being diverted from landfill to compost and recycle. This is compared to the national average of 32%. Setzke says legislation passed last year in Colorado will help. And the Colorado Board of Health has passed new penalties for abuse, neglect, and preventable death cases at assisted-living facilities.

There’s been an increase in hydropower projects across the U.S., including on different tribal reservations. But some advocates say tribes like the Navajo Nation aren’t being consulted enough about their development.

A Mancos resident is investigating the Indigenous history of the Dolores River in southwest Colorado. Amorina Lee-Martinez completed her PhD on water management around the Dolores River at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She’ll be speaking at the Dolores Public Library on Thursday. The talk will cover the history of Indigenous peoples in the Four Corners, and then turn to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the origins of McPhee Reservoir. Lee-Martinez says the reservoir is a rare example of a tribal community negotiating for and successfully receiving at least part of their share of water rights in the Colorado River basin. The discussion is open to the public, and will start at 6 p.m.

On Friday, the activist group Stolen People, Stolen Benefits will hold a walk in Phoenix to continue raising awareness about the displacement of Native American people who were taken to fake sober living homes. Advocates like Reva Stewart who do outreach in Phoenix say they’re continuing to see an increase in the number of unhoused people who need help returning to tribal communities like the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. That’s after Governor of Arizona Katie Hobbs announced the state would crack down on these fraudulent facilities in May. Stewart says that an activist in their group who is a White Mountain Apache tribal member recently lost a close friend to a drug overdose in a Phoenix area group home. Almost one year after the first news stories on fraudulent Arizona group homes broke, it appears many facilities are finding ways to operate and recruit even after having their payments from the state Medicaid agency suspended.

Unofficial election results are in for Montezuma County and the Four Corners region. In Cortez, Rhonda Tracy beat Jonathan “J.J.” Lewis in the race for District C on the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 school board. The other three candidates, Rafe O’Brien, Leland Collins and Mike Lynch, are running unopposed for their seats on the board. In Mancos, candidates Craig Benally, Rachel McWhirter and Timothy Hunter all won seats on the Mancos RE-6 school board. On the Dolores RE-4A school board, Clay Tallmadge, Maegan Crowley, Dustin Goodall and Julia Wilson Anderson have all unofficially been elected. And a bond initiative on the ballot in Dolores that would fund renovations for the town’s secondary school campus looks like it will pass. Out of nearly 1,600 votes, the bond has received a yes from 57% of voters, while 42% voted no.

Tuesday was election day in Cortez. KSJD is tracking the results from the 2023 election in Montezuma County and the Four Corners region.

A new study has found inequities in the delivery of federal benefits for Indigenous coal miners in the western U.S. who are suffering from black lung disease. It's helping to shine a light on an under-researched subject.

Elections are wrapping up in Montezuma County this week. Leland Collins is a candidate running unopposed for a seat on the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 school board, and a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Collins says he was inspired to run for this seat in part because of his son, a student in the school district who is disabled. Earlier this year, the board voted unanimously to cut ties with San Juan BOCES, a service that provides special education resources and support to school districts in the area. Collins says he’s concerned about how this change will impact students like his son. And a Larimer County woman is the first person to be charged under a Colorado state law that increased punishments for dealing fentanyl if it results in someone’s death.