To Whom It May Concern and 9News Denver:
I’m thoroughly disgusted with your representation of Custer County, Colorado, in a “news” piece done by Katie Eastman. (https://www.9news.com/)
This is a vlog on the Tenacious Unicorn Ranch LLC [TUR] that has become a touchstone for the way you present our community to your community; and to the United States of America at large. For those undereducated among you, and there are many, a touchstone is a test or criterion for the qualities of a thing, but Katie Eastman’s reporting is a lie. It is slanted, biased, prejudiced and just plain wrong. She and whoever she answers to should do their homework before publishing this trash.
Her portrayal relies on the so-called editor of the Wet Mountain Tribune, 1 of 2 local newspapers published here, a Mr. Jordan T. Hedberg who poses as a life-long Westcliffe resident…he isn’t. He is a graduate of Custer County High School because his parents moved here when he was 11 or 12 and in my opinion that does not make him an expert on rural Colorado. He has always belittled our conservative lifestyle and it’s a wonder he returned here to live after receiving his Bachelors in the Liberal Arts from Monmouth College in Illinois. Ms. Eastman records Hedberg’s perspective of the Wet Mountain Valley as a place where evil conservatives (who stalk good liberals and transgendered people) dwell. Reference your reporter’s statement that… ‘this is a community that voted 70% for President Donald J. Trump (very long pause) twice.’ The horror! What is she inferring? Does she think that it is a crime to vote for a person that a portion of America disagrees with? She could report on the entire country’s percentage of population that voted for President Trump “twice” and use her limited brain instead of her useless emotions to speculate about Custer County.
This is still America until it isn’t, so I would remind her and 9News that it is no one’s business how a community votes and if she thinks portraying us thusly will influence us otherwise, she has another think coming. Why is it that this city-dweller portends to know what life is like in our mountains, mountains that the TUR LLC people cannot seem to stop talking about? Are these mountains that only liberals and transgendered people can appreciate?
The TUR LLC people came to the Valley in February of 2020, if they really did because the property owners are shown on qPublic.net as Paul A. Mendoza, Sky Nelson and Margarita R. Mendoza (Menoza?); and they haven’t been threatened by anyone — that has been reported…anywhere! Still, Eastman films a deputy at the ranch speaking politely to the “owners” regarding an animal abuse call. Animal abuse is a common occurrence in many places and you would think that as a Denver liberal and as transgendered people they would applaud a deputy protecting the rights of animals. The fact that a film crew was there just in time to capture this inferenced “slight” on transgendered persons makes me question who exactly called in the abuse allegation.
I realize that Denver 9News thinks that we country folk are imbeciles, but you would be wrong. Long before the tenacious unicorns came to this valley there were hard-working ranchers living humbly and quietly asking nothing from others, but you’re making heroes out of people with their hands out to everyone in the name of ‘oppression’ as if they are an abused population. They make a mockery out of true minority populations seeking a better life. This tenacious unicorn ranch is a Limited Liability Corporation for those who care to know the truth and here is their public information: The Tenacious Unicorn Ranch LLC is a business entity registered with Colorado Department of State (CDOS). The business entity number is #20181895208. The business office address is located at XXXX County Road XXX, Westcliffe, CO 81252. (Editor/GG: We deleted their physical address.) The business [was] formed on November 16, 2018. The entity type is limited liability company. The business status is ‘good standing’.
I don’t think this group is everything their purporting to be i.e., oppressed, hunted, hated by this community. It might be a ruse to extract money and sympathy from those ignorant enough to buy into their scheme, there’s a lot of that going on nowadays. I truly resent Katie Eastman’s piece on our town and community, she should be ashamed of her baseless inferences about peaceful Americans. No one is making a big deal about the TUR LLC people except her, Jordan Hedberg and other liberal news outlets; and they are simply trying to stir up trouble where there is none. There are those of us who can smell you liberals and your fake news a mile away and maybe it’s time to do something about it, even if it’s only to call you on it.

Regretfully,
Lisa Frank,
Rural Custer County, CO

Editor’s Note/llv: Interesting that 9 news (as other news groups have done , ie Vice) put up links for TUR’s funding and fundraising aps, with the article. One is Patreon,  Etsy for their yarn, and GoFundMe which was taken off the article headliner later but but continues to garner money through other web sites such as the one below where TUR  is quoted as saying,

The Tenacious Unicorn Ranch is under attack by local bigots and militia. They have threatened violence, publicly, to us and those that help or associate with us. They have encroach on our property, armed, at night,
with the intent to harm those of us that live here. We need help,

— Tenacious Unicorn Ranch (@TenaciousRanch) March 8, 2021

https://itsgoingdown.org/this-week-in-fascism-99-more-evidence-of-far-right-and-trump-collusion-in-dc-call-to-support-tenacious-unicorn-ranch/

As of Thursday 4/19/2021, the ranch’s GoFundMe had 95K of the 100K goal. The updated message on the fundraiser says