KSJD Local News Gail Binkly

The biggest housing challenge in Montezuma County is not that there are too few houses but that many available homes are fairly old.

Montezuma County and the commissioners are being sued over the denial of a high-impact permit for a Dollar General store to be built at Highway 145 and Road N.

Plans appear to be in the works to create a short trail from a parking lot at Sand Canyon west of Cortez to a historic house nearby.

Plans for a biochar facility at the former Ironwood mill site got a thumbs-up Thursday night from the Montezuma County Planning and Zoning Commission. In other news, a local man whose actions sparked concern early this month when he twice approached children in Cortez and offered them money has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

According to the Cortez Police Department, a man has reportedly admitted to contacting children in Cortez and offering them money, but says he did not mean to intimidate or scare anyone.

Vandalism, drug use, and other undesirable activities at the public restroom in Cortez’s Veterans Park have led the city to close the aging facility. It will likely remain that way and eventually be torn down.