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Last month, Navajo Nation officials launched Operation Rainbow Bridge, a program designed to help Navajo citizens caught up in fraudulent rehab centers that cheated Arizona’s Medicaid program millions of dollars by preying on and scamming Indigenous people. Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch says that in Navajo culture, a rainbow is used to indicate movement from place to place, hence the operation’s name. Governor Katie Hobbs announced in May that the state would take action against over 100 of these predatory sober living homes, which have sent recruiters to tribal communities across the western United States, targeting the unhoused and those struggling with substance abuse, and taking them to facilities in the Phoenix area. And the Colorado Board of Education informally chose the state’s new education commissioner last week.

The Southwest is seeing an easing of drought conditions but parts of the country are still dry, farmers taking irrigation water from the Ogallala Aquifer may need a different approach, how the 1930s Dust Bowl affected soil conservation, and a look at the downside of avocado production.

Last week, the Upper Colorado River Commission held a virtual meeting on developments concerning a controversial government program designed to pay water users to curb their use. The System Conservation Pilot Program, or SCPP, is intended to help boost flagging water levels in Lake Powell. Some farmers and irrigators in southwest Colorado – and in other Upper Basin states like New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming – had reservations about applying, concerned about deliberately not farming their land in order to save water. Chuck Cullom, the executive director of the commission, says the process leading up to this iteration of the SCPP was rushed, something he says the commission takes responsibility for. And a set of bills that would expand treatment for people with eating disorders passed the state Senate Tuesday.

A farmer in southwest Colorado is helping administer a federal water conservation program that pays water users in the Upper Basin to curb their use. Greg Vlaming, who’s working to promote the System Conservation Pilot Program to farmers in the Dolores Water Conservancy District area, says those in his region who opt in won’t necessarily be forced to not farm their land in order to save water, and, therefore, earn money from the program. Instead, farmers in the drought-stricken area have a different option: plant crops that need less water in order to conserve, like “forage crops,” which are plants destined to be used as feed for animals.

In Cortez, Southwest Memorial Hospital announced last week it will temporarily close its family birthing center on July 1. In a press release, the hospital said it needed to close the center in order to ensure the financial stability of the organization. Dr. Jessica Kaplan, an obstetrics specialist who works at the birthing center, says that women seeking care in rural areas across the nation face higher risks of pregnancy-related complications, and are more likely to die during pregnancy. And Colorado is offering almost $30 million in grant money to mobile home residents who want to purchase their mobile home parks.

Record setting drought in the Texas Panhandle is creating challenges for farmers and ranchers there, grain like rice, corn, and wheat are supplying over 50% of the food calories consumed globally, cyber crime is a very real concern for U.S. agriculture, and the USDA reports that $100 million of farm income is lost annually in the U.S. due to soil erosion.

The results of Colorado’s primary election are in: Republicans embraced moderates and rejected two candidates who ran on unfounded voter fraud allegations. Lauren Boebert defeated State Senator Don Coram in the state's third Congressional district.

Researchers say a bipartisan gun control bill at the U-S- Capitol could boost Colorado’s efforts to reduce gun violence. And the San Juan National Forest moved into Stage I Fire Restrictions, a step down from the previous Stage II.

Economists at the state Capitol say Coloradans will get bigger tax refunds this summer than they originally expected. And Colorado’s public swimming pools are having a hard time staying open this summer because there aren’t enough lifeguards.

Farm and ranchers receive only a small portion of total food costs, agriculture may be one of the first industries to meet net-zero emissions goals, and how conservationists and ranchers are working together to save grassland bird populations.