Local News

The college's board of trustees appointed Heather Shotton as the first Indigenous president of the Durango-based institution. Fort Lewis has a complicated history with Native Americans, as it was a federal Indian boarding school from 1892 to 1909.

The pulse of the drums and harmonious singing filled Fort Lewis College's Whalen Gym for the Hozhoni Days Powwow in Durango, Colorado.

In March, representatives of six tribes announced the formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition to work to protect the national monument.

The College's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to confirm Heather Shotton as the sole finalist to be the college’s new president. Shotton is a citizen of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and a Kiowa and Cheyenne descendant. She is currently the vice president of diversity affairs and acting dean of students.

About 400 water users on the Southern Ute Reservation and in La Plata County depend on the aging system. They will be left with a faulty water supply until ongoing maintenance issues are addressed.

Officials at Fort Lewis College in Durango, where more than half of the student body consists of minorities, say they're committed to maintaining their mission and messaging around diversity. Yet, the college is reserved about how it would respond to losing federal funding as a result of its efforts to promote diversity.

The Impact Career Innovation Center at Durango High School reached capacity for the meeting, with dozens peering in through windows to get a view. Many in the crowd waved small pride flags to support speakers.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe will use the money to renovate the Pool Canyon Trail, which has been closed since 2021 due to erosion and rock slides. Tribal members and environmentalists will complete the restoration project later this year.

For many Silverton residents, the grocery store is indispensable. Without it, locals must drive over mountain passes — more than an hour north to Montrose or south to Durango — to shop at big retailers such as Walmart, where bulk shopping and lower prices are the main attractions.

Durango hosted the first-ever UCI-sanctioned World Championship in September 1990, establishing it as a mountain biking capital.