youth

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.

Colorado has the sixth highest suicide death rate in the nation, according to the most recent data from the CDC. But the process of finding resources to improve your mental wellness is complicated and often stigmatized. In this week’s health and prevention report, KSJD’s Tay Glass looks at Mancos United, an up-and-coming nonprofit that wants to make the process of finding help a bit more streamlined.

The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated guidance for schools on Monday, recommending universal masking for students over the age of 2.

Pediatric health care professionals in Colorado are ringing alarm bells about what they say is a crisis in the mental health of the state’s children. The…