Durango

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad recently ran its last coal-burning engine and completed its switch to oil-burning locomotives. The switch began in 2018 in response to growing concerns about long-term drought conditions, the changing climate, and a devastating wildfire.

The club has been planning the field trip for a year and has raised $19,000 to cover expenses. Students will visit historically Black colleges and universities and explore the history and culture of a city Ebony Magazine called the "Black Mecca." One hundred thirty community members attended the club's recent Soul Food Dinner in Durango.

The district has many programs to serve the city’s Hispanic families, including the afterschool Bilingual Book Club.

KDNK's Morgan Neely has Friday's news, including the director of High Rockies Harm Reduction reacting to Garfield County Commissioners' comments that harm reduction is "enabling" — comments that some in the community have called "insenstive" and even "heartless."

The Durango clinic is serving the Hispanic community for free, with the goal of reducing stress from intergenerational trauma.

Last October, concerns about racial intolerance among Durango administrative staff led to the resignation of four members of the commission.

KDNK's Morgan Neely wraps up the work week with Friday's news, including corporations in the Mountain West failing to disclose their wildfire risks. Also, with legal marijuana widely available, more children are inadvertently consuming edibles containing THC.

Through hoop skirts and traditional native regalia, dozens of students at Fort Lewis College created honorary clothing.

KDNK’s news reporter Hattison Rensberry brings you local and regional news from the Mountain West.

Over the next year, History Colorado, a nonprofit and an agency under the state’s department of higher education, will investigate the experiences, abuse and deaths of students at the former Fort Lewis Indian School near Durango.