The city of Montrose will receive $4.9 million from the federal government as part of the American Rescue Plan Act signed by Joe Biden. Montrose has until Dec. 23, 2024 to find a use for the funds and until Dec. 31, 2026 to spend it. 

They can’t be spent on just anything, however. The funds can be used to respond to COVID-19 impacts, to provide premium pay to essential workers, to invest in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure, and to recoup revenue losses due to the pandemic. 

In a special work session Monday, city council members had some early ideas for how to spend it. These included housing and child care programs, water and sewer projects at local mobile home parks and backfilling revenue for the Montrose Recreation District. 

Read Josue Perez’s report to learn why each of these proposals are under consideration and when the city council will revisit this topic. 

Deciding on how to spend the ARPA funds will likely take some time. Do you all have any ideas on how to spend it? Do you agree with any of the city council proposals?

There have been no reported COVID-19 deaths in the last week in Montrose or Delta counties, but there were 31 cases in Montrose and 17 cases in Delta. 

Those case numbers lead to a cumulative incidence rate for Montrose and Delta in the “high” region. However, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s own graphics show a “very high” incidence rate over the same period of time, so I’ve been in contact with them about the discrepancy, and I’ll be sure to report back here with any new information. 

Either way, both numbers put Montrose and Delta counties in the “high” region or above. These labels come from the state. 

Additionally, as of July 11, nearly all of the reported cases of COVID-19 in Colorado were the Delta variant.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments below. 

The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Depot was recently ​​added to the City of Montrose’s register of historic places.

In order to join the city’s historic register, the structure had to meet the following criteria: the structure must be more than 50 years old; the building must be significantly associated with Montrose’s history, and the design must reflect historic architectural standards.

The Montrose Historic Preservation code was established in 2018 and is meant to help maintain “the community’s unique character.” 

Thus far, the other buildings on the list include City Hall, Montrose Potato Growers Association, the building with restaurant Main and Vine, the building with Double Barrel Taco, the old Fire Department no. 1, the old County Jail building and Montrose Visitor Center. The city processes applications for new historic places through an online form. 

Are there any other buildings in Montrose you think should be a historic place? 

Usually dubbed "Women of Distinction," The Distinction Awards in 2021 will honor healthcare workers. Honorees were selected "based on their accomplishments and community involvement." An overall Citizen of the Year will be elected as well from the honorees.

Tickets are available on our evvnt site. A special Montrose Daily Press issue featuring interviews with the Citizens of Distinction will come out sometime next week. 

It's another photo contest! 

Just like for 4th of July, the newsroom wants to give away a gift card for the best photo from the Montrose County Fair. Starting today, we'll be hosting the contest for the next week, so if you haven't taken many photos, get out there this weekend and set up the perfect shot!

You can submit as many photos as you'd like (without spamming) and we'll vote on our favorite at the end of next week. Here's some photos of the fair from Joseph Harold to inspire you.

I posted nearly a month ago about Colorado's proposed redistricting (shown below). The maps would potentially set many incumbents against each other, including Matt Soper and Marc Catlin. 

Read Anna Lynn Winfrey's full report for more information, then comment any critiques or questions you have here. 

To participate in the public forum tomorrow, July 30, sign up in advance, then show up at Ute Indian Museum at 11 a.m. 

In less than three years, five people have died on U.S. 550. In the same amount of time, there has been over 30 injury crashes and over 250 crashes in general. 

As a result, The Colorado State Patrol has decided enhanced enforcement is needed. Read Katharhynn Heidelberg's latest to find out the full story.

Do you think US 550 is dangerous? What do you think could be done other than more policing?

For this week’s COVID-19 update, I was able to dive into the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s open data for some more specific information on Montrose and Delta counties. 

In the last week, Montrose and Delta counties have both had a positivity rate of about 4 percent, with Montrose reporting 43 cases and Delta reporting 35. 

That makes for a cumulative incidence rate of 100.5 for Montrose and 112.2 for Delta, both of which Colorado considers “very high.” When looking at these numbers, it’s important to note how cumulative incidence is calculated. It’s the number of cases per 100,000 people in the last week. However, the Montrose and Delta county populations are well below 100,000 people, which is why the actual number of cases is much lower than the cumulative incidence rate. This statistic helps us compare COVID-19 rates across different-sized counties, but can be misleading if taken out of context. 

In the past week, no one has died from COVID-19 in Delta County, and one death occurred in Montrose County. In the whole month of July, however, three deaths in each county can be attributed to COVID-19, making for a death rate of a little over 1%. 

As for variant-specific information, the health department does not report daily or weekly variant data at the county level, but Montrose County has had 17 total Delta variant cases as of yesterday, and Delta County has had 15 total Delta variant cases. 

The vaccination rates have not changed much, with Montrose County at 46.8% and Delta County at 44.9%. These numbers reflect the percentage of the eligible population that has received at least one dose. 

Have any questions or concerns? Please comment below! I’ll be back again next week with another update. 

Based on a drought agreement, Blue Mesa Reservoir in Gunnison will need to let out water to Lake Powell in order to keep the hydropower operations running. The move comes as Lake Powell hits a new low point for its water level. Still, Blue Mesa Reservoir also stands at just 44% full. Recreation activities at Blue Mesa may be impacted as a result of the lower water levels. 

Read Katharhynn Heidelberg’s extensive report for more specific information and to hear what Representative Catlin has to say about the requirement. 

We’ve had some discussion on NABUR before about water concerns. What’re your thoughts on the upcoming water drawdown? Are you concerned about tapping into drought resources? Will you be affected by any recreation impacts at Blue Mesa? 

We'd especially like to hear from some fishing guides and farmers on these points. 

Based on a suggestion from a NABUR member, I’ll be putting together a weekly COVID-19 information update (in addition to any separate updates, such as the vaccination gift card reward). All data will come from Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

For the past week (ending July 20), the incidence rate per 100,000 people in Montrose was 88.9, in the “high” range. For Delta, it was 102.7, in the “very high” range. However, the Western Slope as a whole is declining in overall incidence rate compared to earlier in the month. 

The average positivity rate for all tests in Montrose and Delta counties over the past week are both around 3 percent. 

During the week of July 4 to July 10, the Delta variant made up 89.9 percent of all cases in Colorado. This is the most recent variant-specific data available.

The vaccination rate (meaning eligible adults who have received at least one dose) is still at 44% in Delta County and 46% in Montrose County. 

In the future, I'll be putting this report together on Tuesdays, when the public health department releases the data. 

What do you all think about the data? Or about the current state of COVID-19 in Montrose?