More than 3 million acres of federal public lands in the West could be put up for sale under the latest budget reconciliation proposal put forth by the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The Montezuma County commissioners have scheduled a second public hearing June 24 on a proposal to place a Dollar General store at Highway 145 and County Road N.

Cortez has hit the jackpot for two months in a row in terms of much-needed precipitation.

As it has in previous years, the Cortez City Council last week passed a proclamation declaring June as Pride Month for LGBTQS+ people. This time, however, the proclamation drew objections from two council members.

The Cortez City Council approved a resolution Tuesday night that commits to the goal of ending traffic fatalities and serious injuries on the city’s streets.

Cortez police continue to investigate a fatal hit-and-run that reportedly took place late the night of May 18 in downtown Cortez.

Supporters of public lands are breathing a sigh of relief after a proposal to sell off some lands in Nevada and Utah was removed from the federal budget reconciliation bill.In other news, Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have reintroduced legislation to protect more than 68,000 acres along the lower Dolores River.

Nine people, including seven students, voiced concerns about teacher turnover and curriculum issues at Tuesday’s meeting of the Montezuma-Cortez School Board.

A proposal to restructure two elementary schools in Cortez drew many concerned comments from an audience of about two dozen at a town hall Monday night.

Conservation groups are alarmed about a provision currently in Republicans’ tax-cut package that would allow for the sale of hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in two Western states.