Editor’s note: Most of this article is taken from Edna Sweet’s 1947 book “Carbondale Pioneers, 1879-1890.” She based the book on interviews and her own memory. When Frank Sweet arrived in the Carbondale area from Connecticut in 1882, the dry ground was covered with nothing but sagebrush as far as his eye could see. He’d […]
Education
Posted inNews
Iranian author presents new memoir on April 4
Hamid Ran dreamed of becoming a journalist. From a young age, he was an adamant reader. Given the opportunity to work at a daily newspaper in Tehran, he accepted six months without pay, just to get his foot in the door. Because Ran lived under the Islamic Republic of Iran, his profession quickly became dangerous. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Aspen Art Museum launches Art Incorporated
Aspen Art Museum recently launched an educational program, Art Incorporated (or Art Inc.), that is geared toward elementary-aged children living with any sort of disability, with lessons and activities catered to each student. The initial session in February was coined “Sensory Explorers,” when participants were encouraged to dress to make a mess and created several […]
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RFSD confirms Carrie Hassel as principal of Sopris Elementary
Last month, the Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) announced its pick for the new Sopris Elementary School principal, who will assume the role, permanently, next school year. Carrie Hassel has been serving as the school’s interim principal this year, after nearly a decade spent as its vice principal. She was selected to step into the […]
Posted inNonprofits
Stepping Stones posits intentional growth for greater impact
Rooted in its vision to create a community where youth and their families are empowered, connected and thriving, the nonprofit Stepping Stones is sprouting new growth — and serving more youth — having recently opened its latest drop-in center in Glenwood Springs. Located at 1630 Grand Avenue, the new center opened in October 2025 and […]
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Defying limits: Austria’s Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner to speak about climbing the world’s tallest mountains
On Feb. 24, Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House hosts a speaker who will turn the audience’s attention to the heights. Not just any heights: specifically, 8,000 meters, the 14 tallest mountains in the world. She is Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, one of the only women to have climbed the planet’s tallest mountains, and the first woman to have […]
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CMC partners with CSU Global to create new pathways for graduate school
Creating yet another clear pathway for rural mountain community members to achieve new heights, Colorado Mountain College (CMC) has recently announced a new partnership with Colorado State University Global. As part of the CSU system, CSU Global is the first 100% online and institutionally accredited public university in the United States. Designed for working adults […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Swords to plowshares, turning weapons into tools
On Sunday, Feb. 15, the Western Slope Mennonite Fellowship hosted a book preview and blacksmith demonstration at Bethel Chapel in Glenwood Springs , where a crowd of participants took turns slowly transforming a gun into a garden tool. At the forge was Mike Martin, heating and turning a gunstock barrel, instructing participants where and how […]
Posted inEducation
Writer Susan Orlean never imagined doing anything else
Susan Orlean cuts a slight but certain figure. When she and moderator Christine Benedetti took the Paepcke Auditorium stage on Jan. 28, no one in the audience could doubt that Orlean enjoys a good conversation. That was how she passed the next hour: Cheerful chatting about her years as a features journalist and her newest […]
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RFSD Report: Board discusses declining enrollment, budget, safety
In addition to January’s planned regular board meetings on Jan. 14 and 28, the Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) also held a community meeting on school safety on Jan. 27 from 7 to 8pm to discuss its current strategies and protocols with families. The gathering complemented the regular meetings’ focus on updates to the 2025-2026 […]