Investigation - The Durango Herald

Pandemic pay at health department prompts questions

Divisive report details $846k in emergency pay, half went to top officials

DATE: Aug 7, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Cause of death for car camper at Snowslide Campground revealed

La Plata County coroner and investigators still have not formally identified the body

DATE: Jul 20, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

3 decomposed bodies found near remote campsite in western Colorado

A hiker made the grim discovery Sunday northeast of Gunnison

DATE: Jul 13, 2023 | CATEGORY: Regional News

New details of 2009 Ignacio cold case come to light

Suspect allegedly mistook victim for another man

DATE: Jun 7, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Police find shooter's arsenal from Farmington rampage that killed 3 and wounded 6

Suspect discharged more than 190 rounds, had more guns and ammo hidden nearby

DATE: Jun 1, 2023 | CATEGORY: AP New Mexico

Suspected pipe bomb in downtown Durango ruled to be a hoax

Farmington Bomb Squad called to take closer look at metal device with wiring in 1000 block of Main Avenue

DATE: May 17, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Colorado lawmakers mandate audit of halfway houses following ProPublica investigation

A lack of transparency has been a barrier to reform

DATE: May 1, 2023 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Skeletal remains found on Middle Mountain identified

Bones found by hikers in September belonged to Missouri man who lived in Pagosa Springs a short time

DATE: Apr 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Law enforcement seek help in solving 2009 Ignacio homicide

Larry John Fuller, 49, was shot and killed early New Year’s Day

DATE: Mar 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

CPW volunteer cleared after 7-month investigation into racism claim

Dan Gates says he’ll recover, but fears that threat of unfounded claims will discourage 3,600 other volunteers

DATE: Dec 5, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Firefighters reach full containment on Twin Buttes Fire; blaze measured at 4 acres

About 30 people remain on scene ‘fortifying’ lines

DATE: Jul 20, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Meet the Colorado man whose identity was allegedly stolen by Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters

Gerald Wood speaks publicly for the first time about his connection to the embattled election official

DATE: Jun 27, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

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Photos: Durango High School boys golf competes at stateDemons finished 14th after two rounds at Fox Hill Club in Longmont

Demons finished 14th after two rounds at Fox Hill Club in Longmont

Photos: Cowboy Gathering Social and Parade

Photos: High County Cattle Auction

High Country Cattle Auction brings top-notch stock and country charm to Southwest ColoradoFamily run, generational business dates back to 1940s

BREEN – The family-owned and operated High Country Cattle Auction is “in the bones” of the Cugnini family, said third-generation owner Chris Cugnini. The business was founded by Chris’ grandfather, Pat Cugnini, in the 1940s. Pat then passed the business down to his son, Duane Cugnini, who then turned the business over to daughters, Becky Hawkins and Chris Cugnini, whose daughters plan to take over the family business one day. The auction, which takes place once or twice a month from April to January at 13062 La Plata Highway (Colorado Highway 140) near Breen, attracts ranchers, farmers and those in the cattle industry from far and wide.

Former Durango resident Steve Greenburg has been attending the High Country Cattle auction for more than 40 years, and continues to travel to Breen all the way from Arizona, where he now lives. He attended the September auction last week, where around 1,200 animals were up for sale. Greenburg said effective bidding takes concentration and a practiced hand. “You want to make sure you don’t pay too much,” he said. “And if you do, you want to buy the business.” Amber Belvin, employee of 15 years and Chris’ operations “sidekick,” said bidders are most often looking for signs of good health in an animal, like a plump, filled-out body. If bidding on a herd, a look of uniformity among the animals is key to a good purchase, she said.

Despite Greenburg already having a handful of filled out bidding cards marking the cattle he had won within an hour of the Sept. 23 auction, he said the day was young. One sale day last year culminated in Greenburg taking home 22 semi-trucks worth of cattle, he said. Chris said Greenburg is one of the auction’s longest-term and most generous supporters. “(Greenburg) pays top-dollar,” Chris said. “And (that) makes me feel good, because we’re giving back to (the sellers). I know these people around here, and they’re the hardest working people on the planet. If I can get them 10 or 20 cents more per pound, then that makes us happy.”

Cattle auction prices have gone up in recent years, both at High Country and nationally, Chris said. This year, animals are going for $2,500 to $3,000 a head – double and triple the average prices from last year. The increase, Chris said, is in part because of a screw worm making the rounds in cattle in Mexico, which has lowered the number of cattle coming in from the south, along with people subdividing and selling cattle branches, and local cattle herd numbers diminishing, which has increased demand.

Chris called the price increase “good and bad.” “It’s great if you’re a seller, because there’s prices that you’ve never seen before,” she said. “Older men come in, (and they) can’t believe the prices. Some of them do this for a living, and they count on that, so they’re so happy.” Belvin said some smaller farmers opt to buy less cattle during price surges like this, but echoed Chris’ sentiment about sellers being ecstatic about the unprecedented profit.

Local cattle farmer Lawrence Martinez entered 59 steers and 95 heifers in the auction Tuesday. Martinez has been involved in the High Country Cattle Auction “pretty much forever,” but recent years have been especially fruitful for sales, he said. “These last few years, we’ve been coming here to sell, because this is the place to go,” he said. “I wouldn’t sell anywhere else. (The market here has) been so good.”The auction’s community roots and generational touch doesn’t stop at the Cugnini family: Shane Hatch, the auctioneer, took over the job after his father’s death, Belvin said.

The auction serves as an opportunity for community members to get together and bond, Belvin said. “When we do have an auction, it’s a great place where local farmers and ranchers can get together and talk,” she said. “They come to the cafe, and they talk about the hay, and the drought situation, and I think it’s a good connecting point.” Chris and Belvin both expressed feeling glad the auction can supply so much generational value to the local farming and ranching community. “I mean, what other business can you think of around here that’s the same, right?” Belvin said. “We’re fair, and we’re very meticulous at our jobs. We take it very seriously, because this is (some peoples’) livelihood.”

For the Cugninis – and long-term employees like Belvin, who have become an honorary part of the close-knit High Country Cattle Auction family – the heart of the business aligns with the heart of the local farming and ranching community. “We’re just good, hard working people – Americans – that want to make a good living, and live off this great land,” Belvin said. epond@durangoherald.com

Family run, generational business dates back to 1940s