About 200 people commemorated the fifth anniversary of the death of famed civil-rights activist John Lewis by joining a “Good Trouble” rally in Cortez Thursday morning. And Monsoon rains are offering some mild hope for progress in fighting wildfires in the Southwest.

Smoke, drought, and wildfire have marked the month of July so far across most of the West.

The month of June was wet, but not wet enough to pull the local area out of drought.

The Montezuma County commissioners on Tuesday defended their support for creating a national conservation area on the Dolores River.

A Dollar General store proposed at Highway 145 and Road N got yet another thumbs-down from Montezuma County on Tuesday.

The impacts of President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” to health care will be devastating. That was the message delivered by one Colorado senator, four Colorado congresspeople, the state’s governor, and some members of the health-care industry during a Zoom press conference Wednesday.

Fire restrictions are being implemented throughout the local area as residents hope for monsoon rains to arrive soon. On Tuesday, the Montezuma County commissioners reinstated a fire ban across all unincorporated areas of the county, starting Wednesday at 6 a.m.

Cortez officials are not planning a highway bypass around the city. That message was emphasized Wednesday night at an open house about the city’s new Transportation Master Plan.

A controversial proposal to place a Dollar General store between Cortez and Dolores got a second chance before the Montezuma County commissioners Tuesday.

Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez is one of six hospitals in Colorado that could wind up closing if the federal budget reconciliation bill passes in its current form.