September delivered its normal inch of moisture to give a bit of life to the Rio. The state may have over-delivered this water year on the Rio Grande Compact, meaning more water may come back into the system for the accounting year. Overcast days, maybe even a bit more light rain is in the forecast for the week. Here’s more for Monday:
1. Big court session in PA
Rio Grande Compact managers are preparing to head to Pennsylvania this week to present a proposed settlement agreement in the decade-long dispute between Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado. Special Master David Brooks Smith will hear a detailed overview of the settlement’s provisions and an explanation from state attorneys on how the proposed settlement is consistent with the 1938 Rio Grande Compact and other relevant federal law. The hearing is scheduled for Sept. 30. If Smith approves, the agreement will head to the U.S. Supreme Court for final signoff. This court file has the motion to dismiss and the conditions of the agreement.
2. CBI ‘took everything’
The state investigation into the Costilla County Sheriff’s Department had CBI agents in San Luis collecting evidence in the case. Costilla County Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Schultz was arrested on Thursday and charged with official misconduct in connection with the investigation, according to 12th Judicial DA Anne Kelly. CBI “took everything,” Kelly told Alamosa Citizen on Friday. The state agency is currently in the process of transferring the custody of that evidence over to the DA’s office. This comes two months after Kelly laid out allegations of mishandled evidence by the Sheriff’s Office. The Colorado attorney general is also investigating Sheriff Danny Sanchez’s office. Here’s more.
3. Alamosa Spanish Cemetery nomination
History Colorado is forwarding a nomination to the Keeper of the National Register for inclusion of the Alamosa Spanish Cemetery in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. In unanimously approving the nomination, the Colorado Historic Register Review Board noted the work of Frank “Boogie” Romero Jr. in caring for the cemetery. “The Alamosa Spanish Cemetery is important to the broad American story, especially as it relates to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, segregation, Hispaño history in the borderlands, and Latino activism in the American Southwest,” said Dawn DiPrince, president and CEO of History Colorado. She made the comments after the Colorado Historic Register Review Board last week voted unanimously to make the nomination to the national register.
4. Lobatos Bridge dedication
Speaking of historical places in the San Luis Valley, consider Colorado’s original lands. On Friday, Sept. 26, people will gather at Lobatos Bridge in Conejos County to commemorate the completion of the new Lobatos Bridge outdoor classroom. “This location has a particularly rich and complicated history that spans thousands of years,” said Dale Culver, the manager of the BLM’s San Luis Valley Field Office. “This is a spectacular achievement for the public, our community partners, and the BLM.” The corridor has more than 10,000 years of human occupation and heritage to it, and serves as a gateway for the Rio Grande as it flows into northern New Mexico and then south into El Paso, Texas. The project has seen the federal Bureau of Land Management team with the Great Outdoors Fund to drive the project to completion. Great Outdoors Colorado awarded $352,818 to the project to help complete the funding.
5. Del Norte’s connector trail
The vision to establish a connector trail and trailhead from Rio Grande Hospital’s Wellness Center to the Del Norte’s Lookout Mountain Trail System is now a reality. Rio Grande Hospital CEO Arlene Harms was joined by community members last week to christen the trailhead and connector trail from the Rio Grande Hospital’s Wellness Center to the Lookout Mountain Trails System. It’s been Harm’s mission, and others, to make Del Norte a healthier community. Here’s more on the project.
6. The Valley Pod: Elisamaria Heredia
Out of more than 50,000 public school teachers in the state, ElisaMaria Heredia, multi-language teacher at Alamosa Elementary 3-5, is one of eight finalists for Colorado Teacher of the Year 2026. She talks about what this recognition means, and what it means to go on and teach former students to become educators themselves. “We have been planting the seeds for a love of education.” Listen in here.
7. From the Sports Page
Adams State fell 45-6 to rival Western Colorado on Saturday night at Rex Field. Next up for the Grizzlies is a trip to Pueblo to play CSU-Pueblo. Adams is 0-3 on the season.
