At a town hall-style meeting in late 1971, the White River National Forest (USFS) presented its vision to designate the Chair Mountain-McClure Pass area as “primitive.” The area was basically untouched save for a horse and foot trail starting at the top of the 8,755-foot pass and an annual sheep grazing permit. There was, however, […]
November 2025
Posted inEnvironment
Treasure Mountain Ranch land use change still pending
On Nov. 20, the Gunnison County Planning Commission held a public hearing on a land-use application from Treasure Mountain Ranch, Inc. (TMR), the company that owns significant acreage in and around the historic townsite of Crystal. The application seeks a Minor Impact Land Use Change to consolidate parcels and cluster new development in the Crystal […]
Posted inColumns
Dream Well: Authentically you
Natalia Snider is a certified dream practitioner living in Carbondale. She works with people’s dreams and imaginations to facilitate self-healing. Every month, she will analyze someone’s dream in The Sopris Sun. Anyone can submit a dream for personal analysis or inclusion in this column by visiting: www.dreamhealings.com Dream I had a dream I was on […]
Posted inColumns
Keeping Diné traditions alive with Lupita McClanahan
I first met Diné elder Lupita McClanahan on the morning of her talk at the Crystal Theatre last week, when I picked her up at the Bustang stop in West Glenwood. Until then, we were strangers. I felt instantly self-conscious, realizing how woefully undereducated I was about Diné culture, knowing little more than a few […]
Posted inObituaries
Joy E. Wilker
September 15, 1936 – November 21, 2025 Joy Wilker, 89, of Torrington, Wyoming passed away peacefully Friday, Nov. 21 at Monument Rehabilitation and Care Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Joy was born in Pueblo, Colorado to Charles and Elsie (Lucas) Thomas. She married Tommy Wilker in 1956. They lived in Carbondale, moving to Torrington, Wyoming in […]
Posted inObituaries
Renata Scheder-Bieschin
January 17, 1937 – October 27, 2025 Renata Scheder-Bieschin, 88, passed away peacefully on Oct. 27 at Hillcrest Senior Living in Bozeman, Montana. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Johanna Fuchs and Willibald Kurt Pablo Mika, Renata lived a life defined by curiosity, resilience and boundless compassion. Renata was married to the love of her […]
Posted inEducation
Literacy Outreach strengthens the community through literacy and learning
This Sol del Valle article has been translated for English readers. Literacy Outreach has established itself as a key organization in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys, offering programs in English language learning, civic education, computer skills and literacy development for English speakers. The organization brings together volunteers who provide free, personalized English classes, […]
Posted inFiction
A Life Ornamented
By Jessica Amber Barnum A young girl meanders far from homeon a winter adventurethrough thickets of forest.She comes upona tiny pine tree,its tip a sprig in the snow. She almost steps on it,but doesn’t.She leans down and brushes the snowfrom its branches, low and highthen digs down and downwith wet mittensand wild wonderuntil she reaches […]
Posted inYouth News
Balancing fear with the American Dream
This article comes by way of The Sopris Stars, a new monthly youth publication powered by The Sopris Sun. Editor’s note: Due to the sensitivity of this article, student sources were kept anonymous. Latino and white communities are intertwined in the Roaring Fork Valley, yet young immigrants, or children thereof, have felt threatened under President […]
Posted inNoticias
Instalación de cuidado infantil en Rifle cierra abruptamente, dejando a familias buscando alternativas
Caring Kids Preschool en Rifle cerró repentinamente el 30 de octubre, menos de 24 horas después de que los padres recibieran un correo electrónico informando que el centro de cuidado infantil cerraría sus puertas. Un correo enviado por el centro citó impactos financieros, incluidos saldos atrasados de colegiaturas, cambios en la demanda de cuidado infantil […]