Local News

  What is a megafire? A megafire burns 100,000 acres or more. In 2008, there were an average of two 100,000-acre fires per year in the USA. In just 14 years, the likelihood of a megafire has increased ten-fold. The Yellowstone National Park fire of 1988 is often given as an example of one of the first megafires. One third of the Park burned. Because that fire burned over a million acres, it was technically a gigafire, also a size of fire becoming more common around the world. The Hermit Peak Fire in New Mexico is a megafire, having burned 336,638...

Last month, Moffat made national headlines when a marijuana entrepreneur proposed changing the name of the town to “Kush,” a nickname for a strain of weed originally from Afghanistan. Mike Biggio, one of the proprietors of the wholesale marijuana grow company Area 420, is the lead proponent of the name change. Biggio convinced the town board to meet June 7 to discuss the idea, which attracted national media attention and also fired up many locals. “Marijuana-fueled town considers new name: Kush,” announced the Washington Post. National Public Radio went with “Colorado town wants to change its name to Kush,” which is...

Douglas County Commissioners issued a decision in a work session held on May 24: “The Board of Douglas County Commissioners has made the decision, based on objective legal recommendations from outside counsel, that American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are inapplicable to the RWR proposal and that RWR has significant additional hurdles to overcome in order to demonstrate not only a “do no harm” approach, but also a “win-win” for Douglas County and the San Luis Valley. “That said, Douglas County welcomes ongoing discussions with RWR, should they be able to provide new information or otherwise overcome these hurdles.” Commissioners...

Villa Grove anticipates huge Seven Peaks music festival The Crestone Eagle • May, 2022 by Sabrina Brewer & Sierra Romero, Crestone Eagle interns Dierks Bentley’s Seven Peaks Music Festival is coming to the valley. The three-day country music event is expected to attract up to 20,000 visitors to the San Luis Valley over Labor Day weekend. On April 4, Bentley and concert promoter Live Nation announced that the festival, originally in Buena Vista, found a new home in Villa Grove. On the Seven Peaks website, they list the campground address as 33825 285 Hwy, just past the post office heading south. Ticket...

A chicken and a cow walk in to a bar(n) . . . This is not as silly as it first seems because it illustrates a frustrating situation for a Saguache County organic chicken farmer who has been selling eggs since 1993. David Toews came before the commissioners during a March work session to question why his farm is classified as commercial rather than agricultural. In a friendly back and forth with Commissioner Tim Lovato, who raises cattle, the argument is brought into focus. Why is a cattle rancher given an agriculture classification and not a chicken farmer? The chicken...

The Seven Peaks Music Festival just announced the lineup for this year's festival in Villa Grove. Dierks Bently, Morgan Wallen, Tracy Lawrence, Ashley McBryde, Hardy, Jordan Davis, and Old Crow Medicine Show lead the lineup with twenty acts listed so far. This Labor Day weekend, the northern San Luis Valley will be host to the largest event in the history of Saguache County, after Saguache County commissioners granted Live Nation a special use permit for up to 20,000 attendees.  “I can’t overstate how much it means to be able to say that Seven Peaks is officially coming back,” said Dierks Bentley....

Enshin Karate Crestone opened its doors to the community in the height of the pandemic in 2020, landing off a leap of faith after the purchase of a beautiful Dojo space located on Cottonwood Creek. Sensei Elzabieta Kosmicki started training in the San Luis Valley over a decade ago through immersing her lifetime study of Qigong and martial arts into the vast landscape of the mountain terrain. Sensei Elzabieta and her daughter Senpai Alina studied directly under Enshin Grandmaster Kancho Joko Ninomiya for many years at the Enshin world headquarters as a precursor to opening their Enshin branch here in...

Crime is on the rise in Colorado, and citizens in the San Luis Valley are dissatisfied with the local District Attorney, Alonso Payne, skirting justice by allegedly granting “sweetheart” deals to perpetrators of serious crimes. On March 16, the Alamosa City Council voted to fund the recall of DA Payne. The one “no” vote came from Councilman Charlie Griego, who stated his support for the recall, but not using taxpayers’ dollars to fund it. Neither DA Payne nor any 12th Judicial District staff attended the meeting. The city council’s move will allow city staff to now work on the recall election...