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Marisela Ballesteros makes history as first Indigenous person elected to Gunnison City Council

Photo Courtesy of Marisela Ballesteros

Marisela Ballesteros is the first Cora Indian and Indigenous person elected to the Gunnison City Council. She successfully ran unopposed for a seat on the Gunnison City Council last year and was sworn into office last month to serve a four-year term. She was also elected mayor pro tem by her fellow council members. She says it's estimated Cora Indians, an indigenous group from Mexico, make up at least one-fourth of Gunnison's Spanish speaking population. For KVNF, Laura Palmisano interviews Ballesteros about her decision to run for office and goals now that she's a city council member.
Copyright 2024 KVNF - Mountain Grown Community Radio. To see more, visit KVNF - Mountain Grown Community Radio.

This story was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico including Aspen Public Radio. It was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico including Aspen Public Radio.

Laura joined KVNF in 2014. She was the news director for two years and now works as a freelance reporter covering Colorado's Western Slope. Before moving to Colorado, Laura worked as a reporter for Arizona Public Media, a public radio and television station in Tucson. She's also worked at public radio station KJZZ and public television station KAET Arizona PBS in Phoenix. Her work has aired on NPR, the BBC, Marketplace, Harvest Public Media, and on stations across the Rocky Mountain Community Radio network. Laura is an award-winning journalist with work recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, Colorado Broadcasters Association, and RTDNA. In 2015, she was a fellow for the Institute for Justice & Journalism. Her fellowship project, a three-part series on the Karen refugee community in Delta, Colorado, received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award. Laura also has experience as a radio host, producer, writer, production assistant, videographer, and video editor. She graduated summa cum laude from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.