youth

The legislature planned to ax the Colorado Youth Advisory Council to save $50,000 annually amid a tight state budget.

This week on Regional Roundup: the impact of recreation on public lands, immigration law updates, a Moab prom tradition, and a Jackson protest supporting park employees.

The proposal would save about $50,000 a year. That's a relatively paltry amount, but it's meant to send a message that state costs must be trimmed.

Local high school students involved in the Youth Leadership Council are tackling several issues, including youth mental health, cost of living, and substance abuse.

A new skate park in downtown Cortez held its first public skate session on Tuesday. The Beech Street Skate Park was created and funded by residents and local businesses in Cortez so that skateboarders would have a chance to practice their tricks even during the winter months, when another skate park in town is closed. Annie Seder, a volunteer at the park, says the park operates in a shared warehouse with different pieces that can be set up and put away quickly. Seder says the skate park gives young people and adults in rural Montezuma County the chance to meet up, make friends and do some serious kickflips. And this week, a resident of Ridgway, Colorado was cited by the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly stealing newspapers that published a story on sexual assault allegations. The weekly edition of the Ouray County Plaindealer featured a story on a sexual assault that occurred in the home of the Ouray County chief of police. After hundreds of copies of the newspaper were taken, a local business owner came forward and returned them to the paper’s office.

Research shows that LGBTQ+ youth have higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicide than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. On this week’s health and prevention report, KSJD’s Lucas Brady Woods talked to Liz Filas, a mental health therapist with the Four Corners Child Advocacy Center, to break down what that correlation means and why it's important to understand.

An in-person performance celebrating LGBTQ pride month in Cortez has been canceled due to intimidation attempts and security concerns.

Colorado is preparing to spend one point five million dollars on a variety of programs aimed at getting youth from underserved communities into the great outdoors. And a federal judge has vacated a plan for drilling and fracking in the North Fork and Thompson Divide areas of Colorado.

Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would raise the minimum age for prosecuting children for crimes from 10 to 13 years old, except in cases involving sexual assault or homicide.

In Montezuma County, the Fairgrounds Speedway has become an establishment that’s beloved by the community as it provides opportunities for kids to learn skills. And according to many community members, the speedway’s promoter Gene Williams and his wife Sissy were a big part of creating those opportunities.