SAN LUIS VALLEY — On Oct. 3, the San Luis Valley Development Resources Group and Council of Governments, was honored with the 2024 American Planning Award Colorado Honor Award in the Growing Water Smart category. Commissioner Tom McCracken of Saguache County accepted the award at the conference.
SAN LUIS VALLEY — “I’ve been with the Democratic Party for 18 years, and I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this.” That was part of a statement made by a spokesman for the Alamosa Democratic Party in response to numerous reports of Harris/Walz yard signs being vandalized or stolen off people’s private property.
MONTE VISTA – Kenny Sears, a member of the Monte Vista community since 1991, is running for Rio Grande County commissioner as a write in candidate. He is attempting to unseat incumbent Scott Deacon. Sears is running because he wants to support his community, and he wants to help serve the people in the community.
MONTE VISTA – Rio Grande County Commissioner Scott Deacon has enjoyed his time as commissioner. Deacon is a Monte Vista native and has worn many hats over the years, but being a commissioner has been one of his favorite positions, because he loves his community and the people in it. Deacon is running for commissioner again, because he enjoys serving his community.
Sasha DuPont and Jacob Pacheco are the Monte Vista High School Homecoming Queen and King for 2024.
MONTE VISTA – The Upper Rio Grande Economic Development monthly meeting was on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at the Ski-Hi Complex in Monte Vista and featured keynote speaker and Pathway Director Ashley Maestas, who gave a presentation on the Attainment Network program here in the Valley.
SAN LUIS VALLEY — Rep. Matt Martinez (D-62) brought a group of visitors from Denver to tour the San Luis Valley, including a bipartisan cohort of four fellow legislators from the State House and representatives from 40 powerhouse businesses in Colorado.
SAN LUIS — The community, along with workers from Baha Construction and Ayres Associates, have been actively involved in constructing a new public plaza in San Luis. According to Teddy Leinbach, Assistant Town Manager of San Luis, "The new San Luis Town Plaza is being constructed so that we have a centrally located gathering point within our small town."
SAGUACHE COUNTY — A solo hiker was rescued after activating their Garmin inReach device on the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 6. This initiated a large-scale multi-agency rescue effort in the Kirk Couloir, a narrow corridor splitting the cliffs between Kit Carson and Challenger peaks.
ALAMOSA — U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar, attorney, and statesman spoke to a warm and receptive crowd on Saturday where he presented a strong message centered around the importance of unity and partnerships.
MONTE VISTA — As part of office consolidation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be closing its outdated office in Monte Vista. The closure does not affect any of the wildlife refuges in the area and all of the impacted employees have already been reassigned to the Alamosa office on El Rancho Lane.
ALAMOSA — Capulin resident David O’Brien, 50, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and domestic violence over the weekend in connection with the death of his wife. Her name is not being released at this time pending notification of next of kin. The homicide took place on the outskirts of Capulin in Conejos County.
MONTE VISTA – The Sargent School District notified parents and guardians Monday morning, Oct. 7, that it terminated a teacher after a claim of sexual harassment was substantiated by the district.
CENTER – Twin brothers and sworn officers of the Center Police Department have both been charged with theft, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. CPD Chief Aaron Fresquez and his brother Sgt. Adam Fresquez were both issued summons for theft, while Chief Fresquez was also cited with a misdemeanor count of official misconduct.
MONTE VISTA – The City of Monte Vista, Xcel Energy and the Monte Vista Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for the city’s first public electric vehicle charging stations on Thursday, Sept. 26, in the parking lot at the corner of First Avenue and Jefferson Street.
DENVER —SLV native and colcha artisan, Josephine Lobato will be celebrated with an art showing in Denver. This fall, the University of Denver will host a significant event in the art world. The retrospective exhibition, Mi Vida en Colcha, by San Luis native and colcha embroidery artist Josephine Lobato, will be a celebration of our cultural heritage.
ALAMOSA – The rescue of a man from a burning home on Bell Avenue in February has earned a San Luis Valley fire fighting unit the Directors Award from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC).
ALAMOSA — The clear blue skies over the San Luis Valley looked a little different earlier this week when a large, white object was seen floating overhead. No, it wasn’t a spycraft from a foreign country. It wasn’t even a weather balloon. It was a Stratollite high-altitude balloon system owned and launched by World View Experience, a company based out of Arizona.
ALAMOSA — Slightly more than two years after signing a contract to buy the former Atencio’s Market in Alamosa, the doors are opening again as the new site of La Puente’s Food Bank Network of the San Luis Valley. Not all the renovations are complete, but the food bank, 802 State Ave., on Alamosa’s south side, began serving the public on Monday.
ALAMOSA — “Welcome to your new normal.” Jan Mortensen recalls those words spoken to her 10 years ago by nurses working in the burn unit at Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHCO) after two of her young children had been severely injured in a fire. “They knew what they were talking about,” Mortensen says.