WOLF CREEK – Several spring snowstorms battered the San Juans over the past week, bringing a much-needed 30 inches to the slopes of Wolf Creek Ski Area.  

MONTE VISTA – The 42nd Annual Monte Vista Crane Festival is less than a month away. This year, the festival will take place from March 7-9. Thousands of people attend this unique event.  

MONTE VISTA — When Stephen Nicholson opened his keynote speech “Our Challenges and Opportunities: There is Much to Consider” at the Southern Rocky Mountain Agricultural Conference on Wednesday, he began with the challenges facing the San Luis Valley. He didn’t pull any punches. But no one in the room was caught by surprise, either. 

MONTE VISTA – The 43rd annual Southern Rocky Mountain Agriculture Conference and Trade Show is just around the corner, scheduled for Feb. 4-6. 

A South Fork Fire Rescue engine remains in Los Angeles, Calif., on a strike team working alongside four other Colorado engines, including Security, Chaffee County, Purgatory, and Stonewall.

Over New Year’s weekend, San Luis Valley Valley 4-H members traveled to Arizona to participate in the prestigious Arizona National Livestock Judging Contest. The event challenged participants to evaluate eight classes of livestock: Market Steers, Breeding Heifers, Market Lambs, Breeding Ewes, Market Goats, Wether Dam Does, Breeding Gilts, and Market Hogs. 

SOUTH FORK – South Fork began 2024 with a bang after voters passed an increase in sales tax during their spring elections. 

CREEDE – With the new year approaching, Creede is gearing up for the annual Golden Pick Pond Hockey Tournament on Jan. 18 and 19. This annual event brings out the best of Creede in the winter as local and visiting teams gather for some good old-fashioned pond hockey underneath the formidable and beautiful caldera cliffs just north of town. 

SOUTH FORK – Aricca Wallace and her husband Matthew came to the South Fork area a few years ago and after enjoying some much-needed down time decided they would like to contribute to the community and have moved forward building a new convenience store that is scheduled to be open by Memorial Day.

SOUTH FORK – With the Thanksgiving holiday just around the corner, South Fork is gearing up for its annual Yuletide celebration that will kick off Saturday, Nov. 30, at dusk. As the sun sinks low behind the San Juans, South Fork will flip the switch from fall to winter as they light up their town center with colorful lights, fun displays and a visit from Santa and his elves.  

DEL NORTE – The Rio Grande County Museum is finishing the first phase of a landscaping project that will highlight the natural history of the region as well as an effort to save water and resources.

MONTE VISTA – Valley Publishing has relocated from Monte Vista to the office of the Valley Courier, 2205 State Ave., in Alamosa. The temporary phone number is 719-589-2553. Be sure to ask …

SOUTH FORK – South Fork Police Department Chief OJ Pierce has been busy over the past year adjusting to his new position and bringing community involvement to the department and South Fork. 

SOUTH FORK – It is time to mark the calendar and head to South Fork on Oct. 24 for the annual Chili Cookoff and Salsa contest. 

MONTE VISTA – On Friday, Sept. 20, the SLV 4-H Livestock Senior and Junior Judging Teams competed in the Tri State Fair Livestock Judging Contest in Amarillo, Texas.  The Senior Team placed eighth out of 54 teams and the Junior team placed 16th out of 42 teams, according to a press release from the Colorado State University San Luis Valley Area Extension Office. The teams were coached by Eric Hinton and Janae Naranjo. There were 121 total participants in the competition. 

WOLF CREEK PASS — The Colorado Department of Transportation and contract partner Williams Construction began drainage improvements to the US Highway 160 Wolf Creek Pass tunnel on Monday, Sept. 23. 

CREEDE – As the trees within the San Juan and La Garita Mountains change into their fall attire, the 16th Annual Cruisin’ the Canyon Car Show will be hitting Main Street in Creede on Saturday. For the past 16 years, this popular event has brought car enthusiasts from all over the U.S. to add a spark of the past to the brilliance of fall in this small mountain town. 

SAN LUIS VALLEY – With temperatures cooling and the feel of autumn in the air, now is the time to plan for outings in the beautiful San Juan Mountains to capture the amazing fall colors that are set to peak by the end of September, beginning of October.  

SOUTH FORK – For the first time since the Alder Ass Race came to South Fork, the burro race was dubbed the largest in Colorado over the weekend. Over 130 racers and their burros descended on the small mountain town filling Brown Memorial Park. 

SOUTH FORK – For the past three years, the South Fork Friends Foundation has worked to strengthen a new event in South Fork and their efforts have paid off. The annual Alder Ass Race is next …