Pueblo County

High water closes parts of the Arkansas River near Pueblo due to safety concerns.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is developing a plan to create trails at Lake Pueblo State Park. Public comments are welcome at an open house set for April 29.

The Colorado Department of Transportation will being work Monday on a six mile stretch of Highway 96 in Pueblo County as crews complete pipe work in the area.

The full closure is expected to be in effect from April 8-12 from Boone to the junction with Highway 50. Motorists will be detoured on to Highway 50 and Highway 209. Only local traffic will be allowed to use Highway 96 during the closure.

The project is part of overall improvements that include repaving portions of Highway 96 to improve safety and increase the lifespan of the road. Bridge repairs are also included.

Colorado State University Extension is offering a three-hour course for small producers interested in bringing their home-made foods to market.

The class is offered by CSU Extension in Pueblo County and covers the food safety training required by Colorado's Cottage Food Act.

Extension Agent Laura Krause will instruct the course November 16 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the CSU Extension office located at 701 Court Street, Suite C, in Pueblo.

Threatening weather didn't deter a team of six Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists as they fanned out last week across 850 acres of Gary and Georgia Walker's cattle ranch in Pueblo County to distribute plague vaccine hidden inside peanut butter pellets.

Several of the biologists walked miles of transects across active prairie dog colonies where black-footed ferrets have been reintroduced, hand-tossing a pellet every eight yards, while a couple rode ATVs equipped with mechanical pellet shooters.

Technicians are expected to begin refurbishment work on the National Weather Service's Pueblo radar site Wednesday morning to replace original breakers and cables with new, modern fuses and cables.

The nation's weather radar network is undergoing a series of upgrades and replacements intended to extend the useful life of sites for another decade or more. 

The Colorado State University Extension office in Pueblo is offering two opportunities to learn how to make your own pickled foods at home.

The three-hour hands-on sessions cover pickling fruits, vegetables and relishes.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is investigating the mysterious die-off of hundreds of common carp that surfaced recently in the waters around Turkey Creek in Lake Pueblo State Park.

There is no obvious reason for the die-off, which was first discovered July 27 when park rangers on a routine boat patrol noticed approximately 10 dead carp in the area.

By Sunday evening, park visitors were reporting seeing "dozens and maybe hundreds of dead carp" in the Turkey Creek area on the far west edge of the lake on its north banks.

John Merson spent nearly four decades patrolling Colorado lakes as a park ranger, saving lives, teaching boating safety to fellow rangers and park visitors alike and, most important, making the waters safe for boaters, anglers and all visitors.

Even after he retired from Colorado Parks and Wildlife in 2010, Merson kept up the watch, returning each summer to Lake Pueblo State Park to work as a seasonal boat ranger. 

Extension Agent Laura Krause of CSU Extension-Pueblo County will hold a hands-on food preservation workshop on Jams and Jellies, Thursday, August 2, 2018

1:00 pm to 4:00 p.m. or 6:00 pm to 9:00 p.m. Learn the role of pectin in gelling and get hints and tips to get the right consistency. Receive recipes for canned jams and jellies as well as freezer/refrigerator jellies.  Registration is required by July 26. Space is limited, and a $10 fee will be charged.