DECKING OUR HALLS AND TAKING A BREAK Dozens of friends attended our open house on Dec. 12; thanks to all of you who came by. For the last two weeks of December, we won’t be putting out a news magazine; instead, we’ll be catching up around the office and enjoying a bit of holiday cheer. […]
Colorado
Posted inDecember 10, 2007: Rebels with a Lost Cause
Dear friends
COLORADO, CALIFORNIA AND ENGLAND We enjoy each of our visitors but we’re a bit behind in writing about them; we’re still catching up on the folks who came to see us in late September and early October. Nancy and Dennis Johnson dropped into the office while on a Western Slope leaf-peeping trip. Since moving to […]
Posted inNovember 26, 2007: Beetle Warfare
Dear friends
HCN HAPPENINGS The staff of High Country News cordially invites all readers and friends to a holiday open house at our Paonia, Colo., office (119 Grand Ave.) on Wednesday, Dec. 12, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. We’ll provide refreshments. Some fresh faces now grace the office, including Ryan Foster, our director of digital media. A […]
Posted inNovember 12, 2007: L.A. Bets on the Farm
Dear friends
THE CHANGING EDITORIAL GUARD With this issue, we bid a fond farewell to Editor John Mecklin, who is headed to California and the challenge of starting up a new, policy-focused magazine. Since coming to HCN a year ago, John has implemented a long-needed revamp of our editorial and copy-flow processes, significantly broadened the scope of […]
Posted inArticles
Preble’s mouse protection jumps to Colorado
In Wyoming, the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse may soon be regarded as just another rodent, but in Colorado, the mouse will continue to block the path of bulldozers. On Nov. 1, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to remove Wyoming’s Preble’s mouse populations from the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Colorado’s populations, however, […]
Posted inOctober 15, 2007: Cat Fight on the Border
Dear friends
A FORESTER, A FARMER, AND A FAMILY REUNION Sara Mattes, a selectman from Lincoln, Mass. (“where Paul Revere was caught”), came in while visiting the Western Slope. She noted that a lot of HCN’s reporting filters down to her advocacy work – including opposing anything that was supported by former Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif. Penny […]
Posted inOctober 1, 2007: Sheep v. Sheep
Dear friends
WELCOME, MARTY AND LISA HCN’s new online editor, Marty Durlin, is glad to be back home in Delta County. She grew up in the nearby town of Delta, where her father was a state representative and her mother taught school. Marty holds a B.A. in humanities from Colorado Women’s College, and studied music and creative […]
Posted inSeptember 17, 2007: Facing the yuck factor
Dear friends
WELCOME, NEW HCN INTERNS Fall intern Christine Hoekenga is happy to be back home in the West. The Boulder City, Nev., native earned a double major in environmental science and rhetoric and media studies from Willamette University in Salem, Ore. While there, her passion for scuba diving led her to a semester abroad in the […]
Posted inSeptember 3, 2007: A Climate Change Solution?
Dear friends
MEET US IN SALT LAKE HCN invites Salt Lake City area readers to join us for a dialogue on Thursday, Sept. 13. We’ll help the Utah Science Center kick off a series of discussions on “Choices.” Several panelists, including David Nimkin, National Parks Conservation Association chair; Dianne Nielson, energy advisor to Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman; […]
Posted inAugust 20, 2007: Bonfire of the Superweeds
Dear friends
AMERICAN BIKERS, IRISH DOGS, BRITISH WALKERS Jay Bagley came to town for the “Top of the Rockies” BMW motorcycle rally, held in Paonia every year. Jay says he’s fallen in love with this part of Colorado and might move here from Sacramento, Calif., where he works in Medicaid fraud reduction. Another biker, Vern Holm of […]
Posted inAugust 6, 2007: Guns R Us
Dear friends
PARTY WITH HCN AND REP. MARK UDALL If you happen to be in western Colorado Thursday, Aug. 23, please join us for an HCN summer celebration. Our special guest will be Colorado Democratic Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall, who will discuss the key issues facing the region and Congress’ role in addressing them. […]
Posted inArticles
Love for the clay-loving buckwheat
By 8 a.m., the July day felt like a scorcher. Waves of heat rippled along the western Colorado adobe hills, shriveling plants and baking the soil to a fractured crust that crunched with every step. Two white tents peeking from between golden hills could have been a mirage, if it weren’t for the sizzle of […]
Posted inJune 25, 2007: Predator hunters for the environment
Dear friends
SUMMER BREAK As we do every June and December, we’ll be skipping an issue. Our staff plans to spend the last two weeks of June catching up on the long-term projects that we never quite find time for, enjoying family and friends, and battling the bindweed that’s overtaken our gardens. Look for the next HCN […]
Posted inJune 11, 2007: Brave New Hay
Dear friends
WELCOME, NEW HCN EMPLOYEES Shaun Gibson, HCN’s new designer and production assistant, designs pages and promotional materials, finds photos and artwork, and helps post each issue on the Web. Shaun has spent most of his life in small towns in Colorado. His great-grandfather was a miner in Crested Butte, and his grandfather was one of […]
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
Dear friends
WELCOME, HCN SUMMER INTERNS After a degree in zoology from the University of Washington and three years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Morgan Heim wanted a change. It’s not that Morgan, who grew up catching snakes and crabs in Virginia Beach, didn’t love following salmon or studying orcas. But ultimately the relentless single-mindedness […]
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
Heard Around the West
MONTANA Blame YouTube, the Internet source for stupid and hilarious videos, for delaying Montana’s Legislature and governor from finishing a state budget. Negotiations stalled for two days while more than 17,000 people went to YouTube to view a red-faced rant by Republican House Majority Leader Michael Lange. Leaving an unproductive budget meeting with Democratic Gov. […]
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
Of feral dogs, and feral Westerners
Feral dogs are more common in the rural West than bathtub methamphetamine labs or chainsaw carvers. They roam dumps, harass and attack wildlife and livestock, and, I know from painful experience, they lie in wait on two-lane roads to discipline bicyclists. “Rez” dogs may be famous for scavenging in roadside ditches outside Tuba City, Ariz., […]
Posted inMay 14, 2007: Two Views of the Verde
Dear friends
PARTY IN PAONIA You’re invited to a High Country News potluck party for readers, board members and staff. As a special treat, some of our former interns will also be in town for the first-ever HCN intern reunion. Join us on Saturday, June 9, 6 p.m., at the town park in Paonia, Colo. Please bring […]
Posted inApril 30, 2007: Rural Education 2.0
Heard around the West
COLORADO A ski instructor at Powderhorn Ski Resort near Grand Junction, Colo., was riding a lift some 30 feet above the Red Eye trail when he looked down and saw a wide-awake black bear. It was standing at the mouth of a cave no longer blocked by snow. Rick Rodd took a quick photo, but […]