Gavin McGough

Before Telluride, Colorado, became known for its upscale ski resort and second homes, it was a hippy enclave where sharing and repurposing were part of daily life. This spirit led to the creation of the Free Box, a spot for exchanging items. When neglect and the pandemic threatened its closure, the town government stepped in to save it. Now, the Free Box has been relocated to public property at a new affordable housing project, ensuring its place as a community fixture.

Payment for Ecosystem Services programs exist across the world, incentivizing farmers to work alongside nature, and foster healthy ecosystems. As climate change brings new challenges to the agricultural industry, these programs are becoming increasingly common in the US. One such program is happening in southwest Colorado.

In the small town of Ridgway, tucked into the rugged San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado, a community effort is underway to build a track at the local secondary school. If completed, it would be the first publicly accessible track facility in the region, offering a new space for both students and residents.

Colorado's trails and mountain roads are cherished by both locals and visitors. Many of these routes are managed by the U.S. Forest Service, which is currently surveying visitor traffic in the southwest and central Rockies.

Each spring, a week-long quilt workshop takes over the Gateway Resort along a remote stretch of the Dolores River in Colorado's canyon country.

Telluride’s Art District is one of 30 Creative Districts across Colorado — they’re sprinkled from Sterling to Grand Junction, Fort Collins to Ridgway. Last fall when Josh Blanchard was named the new director of Colorado Creative Industries — our state agency for the arts — he embarked on a tour of those districts.

In Telluride, a pair of limited edition Blizzard skis are making an impact. The skis are tribute to Hilaree Nelson, an accomplished ski mountaineer who called Telluride home.

Chef Iliana Regan came up through the Chicago food scene, eventually opening her own restaurant in Lincoln Square, which earned her a Michelin star. Regan now runs a bed and breakfast, the Milkweed Inn, in the nether-regions of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The inn shutters in winter, allowing Regan to focus on her writing, and her teaching, which for the last two winters, has brought her to Telluride’s Ah Haa School.

Ballots have been mailed out to voters in Colorado ahead of the upcoming election. While county clerks will be handling the ballots and coordinating the election on a local level, the entire process will be under the oversight of the state's top election official, Secretary of State Jen Griswold.

The state of Colorado has ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and many of its municipalities have their own similarly ambitious green energy plans in place. However, as one community in southwest Colorado is finding out, implementing those goals comes with challenges.