Residents of Tortilla Flats gathered last Thursday at the Mexican American Development Association building. 

The City of Montrose was previously granted $25,000 in March from History Colorado after the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) initiated efforts to prepare a historic context survey. Last Thursday’s meeting was part of that survey. 

The surveying team asked residents what they should know about their neighborhood, how the neighborhood is different from others in Montrose, what they hope to achieve through the survey, what other sources of information could be used for neighborhood history, what issues need addressing and how the residents feel about their community’s name. Community members described it as “diverse,” “accepting” and “tight-knit.”

While the issues brought up at the public meeting don’t directly impact the survey results, Langston Guettinger, historic preservation specialist and architectural historian, said that an extensive report provides an opportunity to place any concerns on record, particularly with city councilors present at the meeting.

What are your thoughts on Tortilla Flats receiving historic designation? What do you think about the historic preservation of neighborhoods?

51.9% of eligible residents have received at least one dose of any vaccine, according to the CDPHE. This demonstrates a 0.3% increase in overall vaccinations compared to the 0.5% increase between Aug. 28-Sept. 2.

Montrose County has had an increase of 94 cases in the past seven days per the CDC, marking a 91.84% increase in cases since the Aug. 28-Sept. 2 seven day period.

The Montrose County School district reported a two week cumulative incidence rate of 30 (three staff and 27 students) between Aug. 28-Sept. 10.

Quarantine data as of Sept. 10 based on the Montrose County School District RE-1J COVID dashboard show 293 total staff and students in quarantine, 267 students in quarantine (which is 4.4% of the total student population) and 26 staff in quarantine (which is 2.9% of total staff population).

Read Cassie Knust's latest  for the full picture.

Do you have any questions about the data? What are your thoughts on the state of COVID-19 in Montrose?

The pre-chosen speakers will present 20 slides in 5 minutes about a topic or idea they care about, or an experience they’ve had. The topics for tonight include Mapping Wildfires, The Magic of Community, How to Make Dirty Paintings and more. 

If you haven't heard of Ignite Talks before, it's a community speaker series that started in Seattle before moving to cities across the U.S. and Europe. The goal is engaging, fun conversations that never move too slow. 

The event will be held in the upstairs room at Precedence at 7:00 p.m. tonight. 

What do you think about Ignite? Have you gone before? Would you get up and present?

September is suicide prevention awareness month and national recovery month. We’ll be talking with local experts and authorities about what suicide prevention means on a local level, as well as what kind of prevention and improvement strategies local leaders are putting into place. 

Do you any questions you’d like to ask about suicide prevention? Are there any ideas or topics you want to make sure are part of the conversation? Would you like to share any personal stories or lessons you’ve learned related to mental health? 

These photos were all submitted to the Montrose Daily Press and published in the paper. Do you have any photos to add? Share them in the comments.

In coming months, the forest service will be working (or has already started working) on Dallas Trail, Coal Creek Trail, Sun Park Trail and Trail Riders Trail. The projects “focus on improving conditions on forest and rangelands, reducing wildfire risk and increasing the resiliency of our nation’s forests for present and future generations.”

With  these improvements in mind, I’m wondering if there are any trails in the GMUG forests that you think could use some future work? Are there any trails elsewhere that you think could use some cleaning up?

The new map was proposed by the nonpartisan commission created in 2018, containing four Democrats, four Republicans, and four unaffiliated citizens.

Lauren Boebert currently resides in Silt, which is thrown into the 2nd district in the proposed map. The 2nd district is currently represented by Democrat Joe Neguse. 

Read more about how and why Colorado is redistricting in Anna Lynn Winfrey’s latest. 

The commission has until Sept. 28 to decide on a map for the state. Residents of the 2nd and 3rd district can provide feedback on the maps on September 9 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. via webinar. You can also send them comments.

What do you think of the changes? Does it make sense to push most of Garfield County into the 2nd district?

Edit: Congressional representatives are required to live in the state they represent, but not necessarily the district. Boebert could decide to run in the 3rd again. 

In addition to being able to watch the whole recorded broadcast on NABUR, you can listen on the go by heading to our Mo-Town Knows podcast page. You can also find the streamlined conversation on Spotify. 

The original bill that required the removal of Native American mascots mentioned that schools could secure funding through the state’s BEST program, but the way that funding is prioritized under that program makes actually securing the funding hard. As a result, Governor Polis has mentioned establishing other methods of funding besides the BEST grants, but he’s yet to announce what those will look like. MCSD will still be applying for a BEST grant in the meantime. 

For changing both Centennial Middle School’s and Montrose High School’s mascots, the cost estimates are currently around $900,000. Still, the district is moving forward and hopes to find new mascot names even as the financial details get sorted out. 

Montrose Daily Press staff writer Josue Perez talks to Montrose High School football players Ethan Hartman and Austin Griffin about the 2021 season.

What do you think about this season?