I am just back from the Land of Enchantment and I am still under the spell. On my sojourn through northern New Mexico I wandered through the cacophony of tan hills and deep arroyos (gulches) filled with small villages and intimate neighborhoods. I ate my way from pueblo to pueblo, savoring food that is typical […]
Columns
Posted inColumns
Got cows?
I am occasionally asked how many cows I have, or where my cows are, or something along those lines. It occurs to me that such folks are trying to be smartasses, implying that I shouldn’t be wearing a cowboy hat if I don’t have cows — which they, apparently, consider necessary to be a cowboy. […]
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Libraries explore mill levy extension
A famous Wyoming bumper sticker reads: “Lord, Please Give Me One More Boom — This Time I Promise Not To P*ss It Away.” Boom and bust defines the West. Some of us get caught on the wrong side of each end of the cycle. The smarter ones learn from it. They hedge their bets. They […]
Posted inOpinion
MAGA up front, Nicaragua behind
This weekend I decided to revisit my youthful nostalgia and go to a concert. Not just any concert, but a punk one. And I want to clarify something: Although I love this band’s music, there is a story that went viral that also motivated my attendance. Of course I like them, especially on the eve […]
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Mature Content: ‘All Used Up’
We’re all “aging.” From our neighbor turning 10 to friends turning 80, if you manage to stay alive, aging happens. For a time, that process means gaining abilities. Then, slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the gains stabilize. Eventually, they become losses. When 55-year-old Susan moved back to the Valley, and Ron made his Valley debut […]
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Movie Review: For the love of music, and Billy Preston
I love film again! The screening of “That’s the Way God Planned It” last week at TACAW was remarkable. The title is a song Billy Preston wrote and sang in 1971, during The Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He also danced brilliantly on stage and, in a voice-over recorded […]
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Reducing harm
You can’t get better if you’re not alive. This simple sentence can change a lot. It can change how people view the world and how they provide care to others. It can change the tools we’re willing to use. It’s the phrase I’ve seen spark light in people’s eyes, helping them see a different way […]
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Money Juice: How much is your storage unit?
An estimated 70% of U.S. residents report feeling significantly financially stressed. Meanwhile, 33% of U.S. residents have at least one storage unit. The average cost for an American storage unit is $121 per month or $1,452 per year. You have been misguided! You have been raised to feel financially stressed for no great reason other […]
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A letter from Sol del Valle’s editora
On Feb. 21, 2026, I marked my second anniversary at the helm of Sol del Valle. I never imagined that this same moment would also mark the beginning of a farewell. Today I write these words with a knot in my throat and many mixed emotions. Alongside that anniversary came difficult news and an even […]
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VOICES Radio Hour: Would You Rather…?
VOICES Radio Hour is brought to you by VOICES in partnership with KDNK, The Sopris Sun and the Connection is Medicine Foundation. With each episode we share stories from members of our community. We hope this serves to preserve an oral history of who we are, where we come from and who we aspire to […]