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Earlier this month, a meeting was held in White Mesa, Utah, on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation, to remember the centennial of the town of Blanding’s attacks on the tribal community. From March 22 to April 29, 1923, Mormon settlers and townspeople from Blanding began a five-week assault that included the theft of Ute lands and children, and the murder and imprisonment of many White Mesa Utes. Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk is a former Ute Mountain Ute tribal council member and the cross-cultural programs manager for Montezuma Land Conservancy. According to Lopez-Whiteskunk, the attack on White Mesa was brought on, in part, by the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed any American to put in a claim for up to 160 free acres of federal land.

Last weekend, a community group held its second annual suicide awareness walk in downtown Cortez. The organization, RISE Southwest, was founded by Cortez residents Derek Streeter and Corin Wolf, who decided to start a suicide awareness walk in Montezuma County after the death of Streeter’s brother. According to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Montezuma County has a higher rate of suicide than the state average, with 10 suicide deaths reported in 2022. Streeter says events like the walk on Saturday – which comes during National Suicide Prevention Month – can help remind people that they’re not alone. And ahead of next week’s 2023 United Nations summit on climate solutions, youth in New Mexico will call attention to the state’s challenges related to fossil fuels.

Congress won’t pass a new farm bill prior to the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill on September 30th, the USDA lowers its forecast for total milk production this year by 400 million pounds, and low water levels are affecting ship traffic through the Panama Canal.

Concerns are being raised in Cortez about how – and when – ongoing emergencies are communicated to residents, especially after recent shootings in town. On September 15, a fight broke out near Empire Street that resulted in one bystander being shot and transported to a hospital. It came after another report of shots fired the week before. However, in that case, nobody was injured. Last week, Cortez Police Chief Vernon Knuckles held a community update in Montezuma Park where several residents voiced concerns about not receiving notifications of the shootings through Montezuma County’s Nixle alert system. Cortez police have issued warrants for four suspects they believe were involved in the shooting, but have only made one arrest in connection to it so far.

A new bond initiative on the ballot in Dolores in this November’s election would fund renovations for the town’s secondary school campus. Earlier this month, the Dolores School District RE-4A board voted to move forward with the bond initiative, and established the Dolores School Campaign Committee as a separate group to craft the proposal and generate community support. Maegan Crowley is a member of the school board and the campaign committee, and a resident of Dolores. She says the enhancements to the secondary school are badly needed, especially after intense flooding this past spring damaged roads and infrastructure throughout town. The bond proposal, which would consist of $11.2 million funded through increased property taxes, would include flood mitigation at district facilities, as well as improved drainages and the raised elevation of some buildings.

Early in-person voting for the 2023 election is already underway across Colorado. More than 324,000 Coloradans had voted as of Monday. Most polling places and ballot drop-boxes will be active between now and November 7. Locally, voters in the Four Corners are being asked to weigh in on several school board races and statewide ballot initiatives. Adriana Stimax is a resident of Mancos and a candidate running for one of three open seats on the Mancos RE-6 school board. Stimax, the education director for San Juan Mountains Association and a former teacher, says rural school districts like Mancos RE-6 often don’t have the same access to funding as other districts in the state, and that that can have a number of different consequences.

How the Israel–Hamas conflict is affecting agriculture in the area, highly pathogenic avian influenza could cause an increase in turkey prices for Thanksgiving, butter prices hit a record high, and why converting farm equipment to electric power may not work.

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.

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.

Low Mississippi River and Panama Canal levels continue to impact grain shipments, food-at-home prices are up almost 2.5% compared with last October, and Congress continues to delay a new Farm Bill.