RBC | Former county extension agent Bill Ekstrom was arrested Thursday, Oct. 24 on 12 felony charges ranging from wrongful branding to cattle theft to concealing estrays, according to a press release received from the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office. An estray is defined as “a domestic animal that is[Read More…]
Author: Niki Turner
Residents, officials and CNCC staff speak up for Granger
RBC | A cadre from Rio Blanco County, Rangely and Colorado Northwestern Community College staffers gave the Moffat County Junior College Board an earful for college president Ron Granger Monday in Craig. Twenty five people stood in support of Granger. Granger has been under attack from a contingent in Craig[Read More…]
{Editor’s Column} Cheap, fast and easy: not always healthy
Adapt or die. That’s the message print media is getting. Print is decried as “too expensive” and “you can’t track its metrics” as advertisers jump ship for social media. Social media—like fast food—is cheap, fast and easy. Also like fast food, it exacts a price on the backside you[Read More…]
County Beat: October 24, 2019
RBC | Bringing broadband internet to some of the more remote areas of Rio Blanco County via wireless towers is in its final testing phases. “We’re looking to go live Nov. 1,” said Communications Director Cody Crooks. The secondary towers will provide high-speed internet access to areas not supplied directly[Read More…]
Former RBC extension agent arrested on felony charges
RBC | Former county extension agent Bill Ekstrom was arrested Thursday, Oct. 24 on 12 felony charges ranging from wrongful branding to cattle theft to concealing estrays, according to a press release received from the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office. An estray is defined as “a domestic animal that is[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Decisions, decisions…
According to some sources, the average human in modern society makes approximately 35,000 decisions every day. No matter how you slice it, that’s a lot of decisions to make in a 24-hour time span. Granted, most of those decisions are pretty automatic. We decide to brush our teeth, but we[Read More…]
ELECTION 2019: Breaking down this year’s RBC ballot
RBC | Mail ballots went out to registered voters this week in advance of the Nov. 5 election. The “blue book” with arguments for and against state ballot issues Proposition CC and Proposition DD went out earlier this month. Local issues, one for Meeker residents and two for Rangely residents,[Read More…]
Former CNCC employee MacKenzie arrested on felony sex-related charges involving a child
RBC | According to an article released by the Craig Press late Tuesday, Oct. 14, Craig city councilman Brian MacKenzie was arrested Oct. 11 near Denver on felony sex-related charges involving a child. According to the Craig Press article, MacKenzie bonded out on Oct. 13. MacKenzie was formerly employed by[Read More…]
County Beat: October 10, 2019
RBC | Ninth Judicial District Attorney Jeff Cheney made his annual visit to the Rio Blanco County Commissioners meeting to discuss the budget for his office in the coming year. “This year we have presented a budget of about $3.5 million to the three counties (Garfield, Rio Blanco and Pitkin),”[Read More…]
A little flower is getting a whole lot of attention
RBC | It’s not hemp or marijuana; it’s a little-known flowering plant—technically, two species from the same plant family—native to eastern Utah and far western Rio Blanco County. Graham’s beardtongue (Penstemon grahamii) and White River beardtongue (Penstemon scariosus var. albifluvis) are flowering perennials that grow wild in soil where oil[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Don’t ignore your mental health
Today (Thursday, Oct. 10) is World Mental Health Day 2019. This year’s focus is on suicide prevention. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-34, and the fourth leading cause of death for ages 35-54. In 2016, the suicide rate for our veterans was 1.5 times higher[Read More…]
Trustees open recycling proposals
MEEKER | Town of Meeker trustees opened two proposals for recycling at their Oct. 1 meeting, one from Eagle River Waste and one from Overton Recycling. Both proposals will remove recycling from the Third Street location to the respective locations of whichever entity is chosen. The Eagle River proposal would[Read More…]



