La Plata County Colorado

Sean Smith, a deputy with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, is running for election against his boss, longtime Sheriff Duke Schirard. Smith, 43, who began his work for the county in 2000,...

Fire danger is taking some of the fun out of the Fourth of July. Effective today the entire San Juan National Forest is under fire restrictions. Also, some fireworks shows have been canceled – a...

Chuck McAfee usually votes for Democrats for state and federal offices, but in the red county of Montezuma, the 72-year-old wheat farmer is registered Republican out of necessity. “At the moment,...

Smokey Bear was right on one count: Only you can prevent wildfires. What he didn’t say was: You pay for the cost of fire suppression. And how. Nationwide, the federal government spends more than $1...

Even before the recession began hammering family finances, researchers say, many of Colorado's working families were falling fast into poverty. The economic downturn continues to compound the...

Nicole Pearson came to town six years ago ready to take on the world. Or at least a degree from Fort Lewis College.If only it had worked out so simply.She met someone. Then came two children....

It's a predicament many Durangoans know well: multiple jobs but still not enough money to pay all the bills. Earnings too high for assistance but too low to really make it.It's hanging onto the...

As a single mother with a 3-year-old boy, Diana Williams faces tough decisions every day.Like what to cut when the grocery bill is the only thing left.“I could maybe get by eating ramen noodles and...

Poverty isn't new in La Plata County, but today it has new faces.They are the faces of people with homes, cars and histories of self-sufficiency. Many of them aren't making it here anymore.“There...