Election - The Durango Herald

How a few unaffiliated voters who disliked Boebert feel about their options now

Unaffiliated voters make up the largest share of the electorate in the 3rd District

DATE: Nov 1, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

In New Mexico jaunt, Trump falsely claims he won the state in previous 2 elections

‘I believe we won it twice,’ Trump says about state he lost by about 100,000 votes in 2020

DATE: Nov 1, 2024 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Colorado accidentally put voting system passwords online

Lapse did not pose immediate threat to upcoming election

DATE: Oct 31, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Durango couple unnerved after campaign signs stolen, torn up outside home

Police have received seven reports of stolen or vandalized campaign signs in two weeks

DATE: Oct 31, 2024 | CATEGORY: Local News

Mailer in CD-3 appears aimed at boosting Libertarian candidate

Democratic campaign literature labels Libertarian James Wiley as ‘the strongest Trump supporter in the race’

DATE: Oct 29, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Wife of La Plata County commissioner candidate catches flack for costume

Krii Black removed photos from social media showing her dressed as Pocahontas

DATE: Oct 29, 2024 | CATEGORY: Local News

How does abortion translate? Ballot measures are a challenge for interpreters

Vague or technical terms can be challenging, especially when it comes to Indigenous languages

DATE: Oct 29, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado election clerks working to calm public concerns

Mesa County ballot fraud rattles some voters, but experts say signature verification process worked

DATE: Oct 29, 2024 | CATEGORY: Local News

A century after Native Americans got the right to vote, they could put Trump or Harris over the top

The candidates have been targeting Native Americans in swing states

DATE: Oct 29, 2024 | CATEGORY: AP New Mexico

Our View: Endorsements for General Election 2024

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5th. Ballots are due by 7 p.m. at any one of the following La Plata County locations: • Durango La Plata County Clerk & Recorder, 679 Turner Dr., Ste C – drive ...

DATE: Oct 27, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Colorado election reformers face conservative critics in Proposition 131 debate

Polls show GOP opposition to ranked choice voting as red states move to enact bans

DATE: Oct 26, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

State PAC spends $150K in House District 59 for Katie Stewart

Colorado Way Forward has backing from unions, environmental groups and outside corporate interests

DATE: Oct 25, 2024 | CATEGORY: Local News

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Photos: Running up an appetite on Thanksgiving

Photos: Durango High School footballDHS football takes a loss in the second round of playoffs

DHS football takes a loss in the second round of playoffs

Photos: Veterans Day Parade on Main Avenue in Durango

Photos: Fort Lewis College football defeats NM HighlandsFLC wins its last home game of the season against New Mexico Highlands on Saturday at FLC

FLC wins its last home game of the season against New Mexico Highlands on Saturday at FLC

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Photos: Marching for women’s rightsDurango Women’s March on Saturday starts at Buckley Park, continues down Main Avenue

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Photos: Durango High School football DHS beat Vista Ridge 20-14 at home Friday night

DHS beat Vista Ridge 20-14 at home Friday night

Gallery: Animals, super heroes and other creatures take over Main Avenue

Photos: A fun and spooky day at school

Haunted house northeast of Durango gets bigger every yearCody Petersen’s Halloween hobby is his escape from the daily grind

Durango resident Cody Petersen said when he moved into his home at 15 Edgemont Way several years ago, his house on the corner looked lonely and spooky.Today, it’s a madhouse. Halloween decorations are splayed practically on every inch of his lawn, in the trees and up and down his home.

A group of school-aged kids stop in front of his house every day to pose with a little gothic doll in the lawn, he said. It’s the favorite attraction amongst hundreds of decorations Petersen bought locally and online as early as July in preparation for Oct. 31, Halloween.He said he doesn’t want to think about how much money he’s spent on fog machines, animatronics and Christmas lights, but the bill easily totals several thousands of dollars.

For trick-or-treaters on Halloween, whom he encourages to visit, jumpscares abound at Petersen’s home, featuring animatronic spiders, growling wolves and other monsters, he said.He’s working on his own animatronic coffin, which shakes and rattles, and a pulley system that will push and pull a ghost up and down the yard, but neither will be ready for this year’s Halloween.He said he has fond memories of his parents decorating for the holidays during his upbringing and he’s a huge horror genre fan. So he enjoys going all out on decorations for the spooky season. He justifies his hobby with the logic his kids will only be in high school a few more years, and it isn’t as cool to decorate the lawn for Halloween when one doesn’t have children living at home.But the neighbors enjoy his haunts as much as the rest of the community. He said his Halloween scene has gradually grown larger every year; at least 50 trick-or-treaters turned up at his home last year.“I'm a home inspector, so I do have a lot of tools and no fear of trying things out,” he said.

He said typical Halloween animatronics cost $400 a piece, but they only last one year or so without breaking. That’s frustrating, he said, and he believes he can do better by building his own.He said this year’s display and experience is more organic than past years thanks to his handiwork. Among his myriad decorations, trick-or-treaters can spot easter eggs referencing “Beetlejuice,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Pet Sematary.”Among the horror props are real animal bones Petersen said he’s found on hikes across the countryside.“I've got ghosts and spiders and witches and that kind of thing,” he said. “Here in Edgemont, we have giant spiders for real. ... We get these huge wolf spiders that are bigger than my hand. I mean, huge, bigger than tarantulas.”

Petersen said he was motivated to make his first decorations within the first month he and his wife moved into the home on the corner at 15 Edgemont Way.A lone pine tree, a typical Christmas tree that would be strung up with lights and ornaments in December, stood out to Petersen in the yard, he said. He just felt compelled to decorate it and light it up.He said he thoroughly decorated the tree and left it lit year-round. Within a month of moving into the house, his neighbor died. The man was old and suffering from Alzheimer's.

Months later, the man’s wife approached Petersen and told him she and her husband’s last salient moments together were spent looking out at Petersen’s lighted Christmas tree, pretending it was Christmas. In the following hours, the man succumbed to delirium. He died several days later.“I don't know why I had that tree, why I lit it, but that's why that tree, even when Halloween is over, all year round, that Christmas tree always stays lit now,” he said.Petersen is a horror movie fan, and in particular he’s always enjoyed the sinister character Michael Myers of the “Halloween” franchise.

He said every year, after thrilling trick-or-treaters at his home, he takes to downtown and East Third Avenue in his Michael Myers costume, bearing a giant bowl of candy, to continue the fun.The highlight of his yard, the creepy doll neighborhood kids like to pose and take pictures with, is Petersen’s “elf on the shelf,” he said. He likes to move the doll around the house, sometimes propping her up to hold animal bones.“I have a real busy and pretty stressful job,” he said. “I just love the fall so much. And to come home, it's just a good way to wind down and, you know, de-stress, just go out and work in the yard.”cburney@durangoherald.com

Cody Petersen’s Halloween hobby is his escape from the daily grind

How a few unaffiliated voters who disliked Boebert feel about their options now

In New Mexico jaunt, Trump falsely claims he won the state in previous 2 elections

Colorado accidentally put voting system passwords online

Durango couple unnerved after campaign signs stolen, torn up outside home

Mailer in CD-3 appears aimed at boosting Libertarian candidate

Wife of La Plata County commissioner candidate catches flack for costume

How does abortion translate? Ballot measures are a challenge for interpreters

Colorado election clerks working to calm public concerns

A century after Native Americans got the right to vote, they could put Trump or Harris over the top

Our View: Endorsements for General Election 2024

Colorado election reformers face conservative critics in Proposition 131 debate

State PAC spends $150K in House District 59 for Katie Stewart

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