Lia Salvatierra covers all local government for the Ouray Plaindealer. Prior to joining the Plaindealer, she reported for a number of non-profit news organizations, including an internship at Wyofile, where she reported on Wyoming’s education systems and Latinx and Indigenous communities. She has completed additional research internships from Minneapolis, MN, to Berlin, Germany. Lia is a California native and recent graduate from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. When she’s not hopping on an interview, she loves leading outdoor excursions from North Carolina’s mountains to beaches for her peers.
Beat: Local government accountability in rural Colorado
Keeping track of local government is paramount in a rural county without any other sources of reliable, vetted journalism. The local government accountability reporter for the Ouray County Plaindealer acts as the watchdog keeping track of those who make important decisions and explaining how local government affects the community. This position is ideal for journalists interested in directly supporting democracy in this engaged community that wants to be kept informed.