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AJ Ott holds on to win 60th San Juan OpenColorado native wins third pro event; Farmington’s Yost wins amateur title

FARMINGTON – Colorado native AJ Ott withstood a late rally on the back nine before coming out on top at the 60th San Juan Open, winning the title Sunday by four shots over runner-up Jared Sawada.The San Juan Open title was Ott’s third career professional championship.The 26-year golf phenom from Colorado State University shot a four-under 67, including a birdie on the final hole to secure his pro tournament title.Ott entered the final round with a five-shot advantage and was six shots clear of Sawada heading into the final nine holes on Sunday at the San Juan Country Club.After a double-bogey on the par-3 13th hole, Ott’s lead diminished after Sawada capitalized with a birdie to trim Ott’s advantage to just three shots. Sawada birdied each of the next four holes to keep the pressure on Ott down the stretch.

Ott responded, collecting birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes before settling for a par on the penultimate 17th hole and clinging to a two-shot advantage as the final flight reached the 18th tee.Ott’s shot off the tee at the par-3 18th hole ended up landing just 5 feet from the cup. He quickly birdied the hole to seal the victory. Sawada’s shot off the tee was short, leaving him with a tough birdie try which hung left of the hole. Sawada wound up scoring a bogey on the final hole, leaving him with a 5-under-par round of 66 and a runner-up spot on the leaderboard.“This tournament is really special to me and it brings out the best in a lot of us out there,” Ott said after the win. “It’s difficult to win in this sport and I’m humbled that I’m able to go out here and compete.”

Ott, who also owns professional victories in Nebraska and California, collected $15,000 for his victory at the San Juan Open. He will not have a lot of time to rest on his laurels, as he plans to be back on the course next week for a mini-tour event in Illinois.“The people here are really very special and the work the staff and the volunteers do to maintain the course is really amazing,” Ott said. Defending champion Josh Thompson settled for 10-under-par in the tournament, tied for fifth place overall with Jesse Mueller, who won the San Juan Open in 2021.The weather was a factor for many during the course of the four-day tournament. Gusty winds on Thursday, combined with steady rains on Friday, wreaked havoc for some of the event’s top players.Play was halted midway through Friday’s second round after severe weather hit the course, causing damage with severed tree limbs scattered throughout the front nine holes.

“After we stopped play Friday night, some of the members volunteered to help clean up the course and have it ready for Saturday,” said San Juan Country Club general manager David Crafton. “At about 5 a.m. the next day, about two dozen of them showed up with the maintenance crew and helped them clear the course. Without their help, we never would have been able to get both the second and third rounds completed on Saturday.”Playing in Colorado much of his career, Ott was comfortable with the varying conditions on the course, as well as dealing with frequently changing weather patterns.“We get our share of wind in Colorado, so I kind of felt like I was at home a little bit during the weekend,” Ott said. “I wasn’t really expecting it for this time of the year, but you always have to be prepared.”Quinn Yost, currently attending the University of Nebraska after graduating from Piedra Vista High in 2022, was the leading amateur golfer during the tournament, ending the week in the top 10 overall at 7-under par.Yost, who has two career top-10 finishes as a sophomore on the Cornhuskers men’s golf team, was a 2021 Junior Golf National Champion. He was also the top-ranked junior golfer in New Mexico and Class 5A state champion in 2021.“It’s a good feeling for sure to be on the leaderboard and to be in contention,” Yost said. “It was good to get the nerves flowing a little bit and to be in that position going into those final two rounds.”Yost sees the comparison between himself and Ott, who earned his degree from Colorado State University in 2022 and is quickly establishing himself as a professional golfer.“(AJ) is such a good golfer and I learn so much from him and his experiences,” Yost said. “He’s a really good player and he’s been a big help to me in my career.”For a look at the complete leaderboard, visit sanjuanopen.org.

AJ Ott holds on to win 60th San Juan Open

Colorado native wins third pro event; Farmington’s Yost wins amateur title

Democrat Adam Frisch is running TV ads in 3rd Congressional District GOP primaryStrategy an apparent attempt to shape race and give himself a better chance to win in November

Democrat Adam Frisch is spending at least $100,000 to air a TV ad in the Republican primary in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District in an apparent attempt to shape the race and give himself a better chance to win in November.The ad attacks Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd for “ducking Republican debates” and for refusing to say who he voted for in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, as well as for being the beneficiary of corporate super PAC money.It’s a clear call to GOP primary voters in the Republican-leaning 3rd District to back a different candidate in the six-way race – someone Frisch believes will be easier to beat in November. Someone like former state Rep. Ron Hanks, an election denier who attended Donald Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C., that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“As far as I’m concerned, the general election has started,” Adam Frisch’s campaign manager Camilo Vilaseca said in a written statement to The Colorado Sun on Tuesday that highlighted how Hanks has been endorsed by the Colorado GOP and reiterated the attacks on Hurd that are in the TV ad.The strategy is risky.The 3rd District is so favorable to Republicans that it could backfire for Democrats and result in Hanks being elected to Congress as he is seen as Hurd’s top opponent.Frisch lost to Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert by 546 votes in the 3rd District in 2022. But without Boebert in the race this time around – she moved to the 4th Congressional District based on the other side of the state to improve her reelection chances – it’s not clear the former Aspen city councilman can win.Voters in the 3rd District haven’t sent a Democrat to Congress since 2008, and the district’s boundaries have been redrawn twice since then to make it more favorable to Republicans.But Frisch has a major war chest – $3.8 million as of June 5, money he raised from across the country by appealing to Democratic hatred of Boebert – and it may be a better investment to shape the Republican primary now than to have to battle a formidable candidate like Hurd in November. The Frisch ads run through primary Election Day on June 25.The Hurd campaign blasted Frisch’s tactics Tuesday in a written statement.“A shock to no one, Adam and the Democrats are attacking Jeff because they know he is the only Republican who can beat Frisch and keep the seat red,” the Hurd campaign statement said. “Voters in western and southern Colorado won’t be duped.”The Frisch ad also comes as the Democratic super PAC Rocky Mountain Values has already spent about $400,000 on TV and radio spots, as well as mailers and newspaper ads, elevating Hank’s profile in the district and attacking Hurd. The Rocky Mountain Values PAC ads, which were first reported by The Sun, have been on the air since the beginning of the month.

Republicans are clearly worried that the Democratic strategy to help Hanks may work.The Congressional Leadership Fund, a group tied to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, is starting to air TV and radio ads in the 3rd District attacking Hanks for benefiting from the Rocky Mountain Values PAC spending and labeling him as a “liberal” who isn’t loyal enough to Trump. Hanks was one of the most conservative members of the Legislature when he was a state representative and he’s promising to be a top Trump ally in Congress should he win in the 3rd District.The CLF has spent about $325,000 to air its ads, according to the media tracking company AdImpact.

“Why are Democrat mega donors spending so much to prop up Ron Hanks’ campaign? Republicans, beware,” said Courtney Parella, communications director for the CLF.The National Republican Congressional Committee, the U.S. House Republican campaign arm, meanwhile, attacked Frisch for his TV ad campaign.“Adam Frisch’s gutter-politics play reveals one thing: He can’t win unless he plays dirty,” said Delanie Bomar, a regional spokeswoman for the group. “Republicans must stand united to denounce Democrats’ pathetic primary meddling – because Republicans should pick our party’s nominee, not Democrats.” Hurd has been endorsed by a list of big-name Colorado Republicans and has the financial backing of a major national conservative group, Americans For Prosperity Action. He is seen as a leading contender in the crowded primary.Carbondale investor Russ Andrews, another Republican primary candidate in the 3rd District, is also airing a TV ad attacking Hurd, calling him an “Ivy League lawyer” who’s disloyal to Trump. Andrews has spent at least $70,000 to air the ads.Colorado Sun staff writer Sandra Fish contributed to this report.The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com.

Democrat Adam Frisch is running TV ads in 3rd Congressional District GOP primary

Strategy an apparent attempt to shape race and give himself a better chance to win in November

Photos: 2024 Burro Fest puts local arts, music and food on displayOn Saturday, more than 1,000 people head to Mancos for burrosFor the town of Mancos and its businesses, it’s the biggest day of the year, said Stephanie Hallum, event coordinator for Mancos Creative District, in an interview with The Journal.This year’s Burro Fest featured 10 animal artists, a Makers Market with 20 additional local artists and makers, live bands, a kids area, a silent auction and food trucks.Photo gallery by Ilana Newman, for The Journal

Photos: 2024 Burro Fest puts local arts, music and food on display

On Saturday, more than 1,000 people head to Mancos for burros

An exciting end to the Ute Mountain RoundupOver half of Ute Mountain Roundup’s first-place performances came on night threeSaturday was a barnburner for the Ute Mountain Roundup.The last night of Cortez’s annual PRCA rodeo sold out every seat, and fans were not disappointed.The third night was the charm for the bull riders, who finally posted qualifying rides.Scotty Knapp took home the big check after an 83.5-point ride.However, Josh Frost, the four time Linderman Award winner and three time Reserve World Champion bull rider, walked away with the audience’s support, who loudly booed the judge’s 78.5 score for his ride on Powder River Rodeo’s “Rez Dawg.” Frost’s brother, Jate Frost, took second with an 80.5-point ride.

Keenan Hayes, who stunned the rodeo world last season by becoming the first-ever person to win Rookie of the Year and the World Championship in the same year, visited the UMR just long enough to win the bareback competition. Hayes tied the arena record with his 85-point ride.The ladies of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association tallied first-place performances in barrel racing and breakaway roping posted on night three. Maddy Deerman of Hope, New Mexico, won the breakaway roping title with a time of just 2.4 seconds, and Doskie Edwards swept to the top of the barrel racing event in 17.35 seconds.

Jake Hannum won the tie-down roping event with a time of 8.7 seconds. In a total of five out of eight events, the first-place performance happened on Saturday night, marking an exciting end to the three-day UMR.In all the excitement, the crowd also saw a few warmhearted moments.The UMR celebrated Military Appreciation night by recognizing HD Randolph, Jerry Huskey and Gerald Goodall for their service. The crowd also welcomed 82nd Airborne veteran and skydiver Mike Semanoff, who made his third and final descent into the arena carrying the American flag.Rodeo clown Matt Merritt was tasked with choosing a “fan of the night” for each night of the UMR.On Night 1, he chose a couple who had been married for 62 years. On Night 2, it was a Vietnam veteran in the front row. On Night 3, it was a pair of 91-year-old twins who had attended every UMR Rodeo since 1953.Merritt had the audience believe that the award and accompanying gift card is given to the loudest, rowdiest person in the arena. However, being unable to give the award to himself, Merritt seemingly chose the winner based on merit.

An exciting end to the Ute Mountain Roundup

Over half of Ute Mountain Roundup’s first-place performances came on night three

Photos: It’s rodeo timeUte Mountain Roundup Rodeo electrifies the crowd on Saturday

Photos: It’s rodeo time

Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo electrifies the crowd on Saturday

Video: Montezuma-County rodeo star Amber Moore puts on show

Moore, a Lewis, Colorado native and 2015 champion, took center stage in the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo's barrel racing event on Friday

Video: Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo competitors take center stage

Riders hail from Northwest New Mexico, Northeast Arizona and Southwest Colorado

If voters adopt ranked choice voting, Colorado may prevent it from taking effectLast-minute provisions added to an elections bill would create a major barrier

If Colorado voters decide in November to pass a ballot measure making big changes to the way the state’s elections are conducted, it may be years before they go into effect – if ever.That’s because of a last-minute amendment added to a broad bipartisan election bill awaiting Gov. Jared Polis’ signature. The provisions would create a major barrier to a proposal to alter Colorado’s primaries so candidates of all parties run against each other, with the top four vote-getters advancing to a ranked choice general election.Now, proponents of the election overhaul, who were unaware of the big hurdles created by Senate Bill 210 until they were contacted this week by The Colorado Sun, are demanding that Polis veto the legislation. County clerks and opponents of the voting changes are demanding that he sign it.Amid the growing pressure campaign, the governor won’t say whether he will sign or veto the measure, which would require ranked-choice voting to be tested in 12 municipalities before it could be used statewide. He has until June 7 to decide.“The governor is reviewing the final version of the bill,” said Shelby Wieman, a spokesperson for Polis.The future of Colorado’s voting process hangs in the balance. So does the rest of what’s in Senate Bill 230, which election officials say is necessary to safeguard state election workers.

Colorado Voters First, the group pushing for the election system changes, is spearheaded by Kent Thiry, the wealthy former CEO of the Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita. For years he has used his deep pockets to fund ballot initiatives, including ones aimed at tamping down on partisanship by letting unaffiliated voters cast ballots in partisan primaries and taking redistricting out of the hands of the Legislature. Colorado Voters First intends to place a measure on the November ballot asking voters to change how Colorado’s primaries are conducted and adopt ranked choice general elections, similar to what’s used in Alaska. The changes would go into effect in 2026. The overhaul would diminish the power of the two major political parties, which are chafing at the changes.In ranked choice voting elections, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If a candidate wins more than 50% of the first-preference votes, they are declared the winner. If no candidate reaches that threshold, candidates with the fewest first-preference supporters are eliminated. The process continues until one candidate exceeds 50% of the total vote.

County clerks across the state have warned that they are unprepared for the overhaul and expressed anxiety about how the ballot measure could affect their ability to follow other state and federal election laws. They worked on the amendment in Senate Bill 210 delaying implementation of open primary system and ranked choice general elections alongside a group called Coloradans for Accurate and Secure Elections, a consortium of mainly progressive organizations opposed to the Colorado Voters First proposal.The provisions would require a dozen Colorado municipalities in counties of a certain size and with a specific demographic makeup to conduct ranked choice elections before a ranked choice election could be used in a race for state or federal office. Additionally, Colorado could not move to the new primary system proposed by Colorado Voters First until that requirement has been met.

Finally, the amendment would require the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office to produce a report on how ranked choice voting went in the municipalities and present its findings to the Legislature.Only a handful of cities and towns in Colorado – including Boulder, Fort Collins and Telluride – currently use ranked choice voting in their municipal elections. Voter approval would be required before the change is adopted in some communities. That means it would likely be 2028 or 2030 at the earliest before the new primary system and ranked choice voting could be used in state and federal elections.The clauses were added in a two-page amendment to Senate Bill 210 adopted on the Sunday before the end of the state’s legislative session on May 8. There was no debate on the amendment, which was offered on the Colorado House floor by state Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat and one of the bill’s main sponsors.“This amendment was worked out with several of our (county) clerks to ensure that as new voting methods are implemented in different types of elections we have a good amount of data to analyze to ensure we’re not undermining Coloradans’ confidence in our elections and that voters understand their ballots,” Sirota said on the House floor.The amendment was introduced, explained and passed within a minute.“These last-minute antics are what voters hate about politics,” said Amber McReynolds, an elections expert who is part of Colorado’s Voters First. “Communities across Colorado have already approved and used ranked choice voting in elections, and our fantastic clerks have systems in place to run and audit those contests. Using ranking systems simply gives voters more choice, and does not substantively change the way votes are processed.”She said the way the amendment was adopted – with no chance for public input during a legislative committee – “begs for a veto.”Curtis Hubbard, a spokesman for Colorado Voters First, went so far as to allege that the amendment was akin to Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“Anyone who was – rightly – outraged by Trump’s efforts to overturn an election after the fact should be disgusted with this front-loaded attempt to undermine the will of the voters,” he said.Matt Crane, who leads the nonpartisan Colorado County Clerks Association, said his organization worked on and supported the amendment. He said it’s smart policy for ranked choice voting to be tested on the municipal level before it’s adopted statewide. (Only Alaska and Maine conduct all statewide elections using ranked choice voting.)“Anytime that you are going to make a seismic change to an election model, it’s a bad idea to do it without understanding all the impacts of it,” he said. “We just aren’t there with rank choice voting. Will it create broader voter confusion? Does it have a suppressing effect on people of color and the seniors?”He added: “We like to be on the cutting edge. We just don’t want to be on the bleeding edge.”Crane said if support for ranked choice voting is as broad as its supporters say it is, it shouldn’t be difficult to get the system adopted in towns and cities across Colorado. He added that because Senate Bill 210 would make a change to state law, the Legislature could come back next year and strip out the statutory hurdles should voters overwhelmingly back the ballot measure on open primaries and ranked choice voting.“As clerks, we don’t care about who wins,” Crane said. “We just care about who’s participating. Ranked choice, this movement is designed to change who wins.”Crane said if the governor were to veto Senate Bill 210, which is 42 pages long, a laundry list of other provisions meant to improve the state’s election system would be collateral damage, including clauses protecting local elections officials from conspiracy theorists, improving safety for presidential electors and shielding county clerks from nuisance public records requests.“It’s a critically important elections bill in an election year,” Sirota, one of the bill’s main sponsors, said in an interview Thursday. She rejected the idea that the way the amendment was passed was inappropriate. She said the bill arrived in the House late in the session, crossing over to the chamber from the Senate on May 1 after it was first introduced April 17.And, she said, the ranked choice voting provision is “a totally fair way to ensure if the voters pass a ballot measure that it is rolled out in a methodical way.” Sirota said the provision would force the rollout of ranked choice voting to be akin to how Colorado adopted its universal mail ballot system.“I’m getting pretty tired of the uber-wealthy among us just throwing their money around and the impact on Colorado’s public be damned,” she said, referring to Thiry.The Legislature has passed other bills in recent years aimed at affecting ballot measures.In 2021, lawmakers passed a bipartisan measure kneecapping a ballot measure seeking to cut property taxes. This year, the Legislature approved a bill aiming to neuter the effects of a possible November ballot measure requiring voter approval for new government fees.Colorado Voters First still has a ways to go before it gets a measure on the November ballot. It must collect about 125,000 voter signatures by Aug. 5 to qualify. The group also hasn’t settled yet on which measure to pursue as two of its proposals are being reviewed by the Colorado Supreme Court.But because of Thiry’s deep pockets, it’s widely assumed that it will land a measure on the November ballot.The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com.

If voters adopt ranked choice voting, Colorado may prevent it from taking effect

Last-minute provisions added to an elections bill would create a major barrier

Photo gallery: Farmington hosts Healing Field for Memorial DayMore than 100 people braved the hot sun to pay their respects to San Juan County veterans and first responders, who lost their lives in the line of duty. As they sat atop the bleachers, 528 American flags fluttered in the wind, and the tingle of dog tags could be heard as the names of those lost were shared.

Photo gallery: Farmington hosts Healing Field for Memorial Day

More than 100 people braved the hot sun to pay their respects to San Juan County veterans and first ...

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