Western Colorado

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Concerns over natural gas grant funds usage raised

Leaders of Western Slope communities at the epicenter of the region’s natural gas boom are concerned about the governor’s plan to use $30 million worth of energy-impact grant funds to help confront Colorado’s $600 million ...

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Failed monument suicide attempt leads to arrest of Clifton man in sex assault

A Clifton man who drove his van off a cliff in Colorado National Monument in an apparent suicide attempt is wanted by authorities in the sexual assault of a 4-year-old girl. A judge Thursday signed a $60,000 warrant accusing Daniel John ...

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Churches offer shelter from stereotypes

Mike Rockert probably never would have met Sam Wentling Sr. if not for an effort led by local churches to keep some of the area’s homeless from sleeping in the cold this winter or freezing to death. Rockert wouldn’t have known ...

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Mesa State board eyes freshman retention rate

DENVER — The Mesa State College Board of Trustees on Thursday approved goals in a performance contract the college entered into with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education in 2005. The contract set goals in areas such as retention ...

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Energy rules need teeth, county told

De BEQUE — Regulation of energy development is only as good as its enforcement, residents of the De Beque area have told Mesa County officials working on an energy master plan. Eight area residents attended a meeting the county held in ...

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Partners sees 200 percent jump in mentor applications

What’s a Partner? Mesa County Partners is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Youth usually are referred to Partners through the courts, but many simply come from troubled backgrounds. The national organization was formed in 1968 and has ...

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Rangers trained to stop suicides

When Jose Iglesias rappelled 120 feet down the side of Red Rock Canyon on Wednesday to rescue a 34-year-old man from an alleged suicide attempt on Colorado National Monument, he found a fortunate, and thankful, man. “I have never seen ...

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‘Bargains to be had,’ says local housing expert

The affordability index for housing has improved for the first time in six years in Mesa County, said Bob Reece, president of Advanced Title Technology. The index factors personal income, housing costs and interest rates, Reece explained in ...

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Mesa State trustees warned to brace for deep, painful cuts

DENVER — The message Wednesday to the Mesa State College Board of Trustees was clear and gloomy: Budget cuts are coming, and they will be painful. Gov. Bill Ritter recommended last Friday that Mesa State’s funding be cut by ...

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Pyramids expert takes crack at Grand Mesa find

It could be that the floor that was found nearly a century ago on the north side of Grand Mesa could have something in common with the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Chunks of sandstone from the floor, which was excavated by the Western ...

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