From the Four Corners to Aurora, 11 outlets receive $208,000 to close local news gaps
New grants fund local news where Colorado’s coverage gaps are widest
Every week, Spanish-speaking listeners across the Four Corners tune in to KSJD for local news in their own language. In Towaoc, elders in the Ute Mountain Ute community get health, governance and safety news through Weenuche Smoke Signals. In Aurora, African immigrant families get reporting on health, schools and immigration from Afrik Digest, shared through WhatsApp and community email lists.
Colorado Media Project (CMP) is thrilled to share that communities like these across Colorado will have stronger local news, thanks to $208,000 in 2026 Closing Colorado Coverage Gaps grants to 11 outlets. These communities face some of the largest gaps in local news coverage in the state.
What the grants make possible
For residents, these grants mean better access to the information they rely on to make decisions about their schools, health, land and local government. Here is what that looks like in a few communities:
- In Paonia, KVNF will put its weekly Spanish-language news service on steady footing and run the KVNF Public Meeting Monitor, a tool that transcribes local government meetings and flags news for reporters.
- In Westcliffe, KLZR 91.7 FM is launching Ranch Report, bringing farmers, ranchers and issues such as water and land use to the valley’s broader audience.
- In Denver, The Canary Report will host Lift Every Voice community forums centered on Black women, then report on the information needs those conversations surface.
“For many readers and listeners, these outlets are where they turn for local news in their own language or about their own corner of the state,” said Kimberly Spencer, executive director of CMP. “Supporting them means more Coloradans can find trusted, locally relevant information about the decisions that shape their daily lives.”
Meet the 2026 grantees
- Afrik Digest (Aurora), $15,000. Will expand public-service reporting for African immigrant, Black and multilingual communities in Aurora and metro Denver on health, education, immigration, community safety and economic opportunity.
- Colorado Chinese News (Denver), $13,000. Will fund freelance bilingual reporters and a website upgrade to translate and explain public policy and public health updates in Chinese, with practical guides for recent immigrants. Print editions continue for older readers.
- Denver Urban Spectrum (Aurora), $20,000. Will expand reporting for communities of color on health, education, economic opportunity, housing and civic engagement, and add multimedia and staff capacity.
- Denver VOICE (Denver), $20,000, general operating support. Will help train and mentor freelancers who report from lived experience, restore editorial time for the executive director and update the website.
- Enterate Latino (Clifton), $25,000. Will add a government-affairs contributor and extra print pages for Spanish-language coverage of city councils, school boards and county commissions in Delta and Montrose counties.
- The Canary Report (Denver), $10,000. Will fund Lift Every Voice community forums centered on Black women, then report on the information needs those forums surface.
- KLZR 91.7 FM (Westcliffe), $15,000, general operating support. Will launch Ranch Report, a program on water, land use and agricultural economics, on air, on social media and in the station’s newsletter.
- KOTO Community Radio (Telluride), $20,000, general operating support. Will sustain two full-time and one part-time news positions covering rural areas and Spanish-language news, plus multilingual emergency alerts and twice-yearly listening sessions.
- KSJD Community Radio (Cortez), $25,000, general operating support. Will continue Noticias Locales de KSJD, local news in Spanish three to five times a week on air, online and by podcast across the Four Corners region.
- KVNF (Paonia), $25,000, general operating support. Will pay Spanish-speaking hosts for its weekly Spanish-language news service and help operate the KVNF Public Meeting Monitor.
- Weenuche Smoke Signals (Towaoc), $20,000. Will fund The Elder Connection, a project for Ute Mountain Ute elders that expands print and digital coverage of public health, education and local governance. It also trains staff in digital media and adds community forums where elders can share what information they need.
Meet our reviewers
CMP selected the grantees from 28 applications, with the help of an external review committee. CMP thanks the six external evaluators who gave their time and expertise to review and score applications and to discuss the rankings with staff:
- Linda Carpio Shapley, Colorado news executive and former publisher of Colorado Community Media
- Will Holden, director of communication and storytelling at Gary Community Ventures and adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Boulder
- Sam Moody, Network Matching Challenge Manager + Chapter Coach at Press Forward, Philanthropic Impact Advisor and former associate director of CMP
- Garry Pierre-Pierre, director of partnerships at URL Media and founder of The Haitian Times
- Justin Rushing, co-founder of the HBCU Digital Media Collaborative
- Kim Salvaggio, CEO of The Center on Colfax and former Chief Community Engagement Officer at Rocky Mountain Public Media
Want to learn more about how you can support Colorado’s local news and information ecosystem and help ensure every Coloradan has access to the critical, locally relevant information they need? Contact Executive Director Kimberly Spencer at kimberly@coloradomediaproject.org.
