A gathering of entities representing the three counties that make up Colorado’s northwestern corner on Wednesday discussed recent developments in strengthening the regional economy.

The annual meeting of the Northwest Colorado Development Council and the Northwest Colorado Innovation Center convened at Yampa Valley Regional Airport and included representatives from Routt, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties.

Talking points

Among the elected officials speaking were the mayors of Hayden and Craig — with opening remarks by Hayden’s Ryan Banks bookended by closing remarks from Craig’s Chris Nichols — as well as Colorado District 8 Sen. Dylan Roberts, who provided a keynote address that touched on the unique strength of rural economies in addition to the challenges faced by areas transitioning from coal.

NWCDC and NCIC are chaired by Tim Redmond, Routt County commissioner, who delivered a State of the Region address.

In a news release for the event, Redmond referred to the annual meeting — a get-together first held last year at Craig’s Moffat County Fairgrounds — as a way “to celebrate our achievements, but also to engage with the partners and innovators who are helping us shape the future.”

“Northwest Colorado is at a turning point, and our communities are working together to diversify industries, grow entrepreneurship and create new opportunities,” Redmond said.

NWCDC is an intergovernmental agreement among Routt, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties and their communities, including Steamboat Springs, Hayden, Craig, Oak Creek, Yampa, Meeker and Rangely. NCIC serves as the organization’s 501(c)3 nonprofit rural development hub, providing counseling for startups and existing businesses, as well as connecting businesses to resource providers.

Success stories

The annual meeting highlighted several new businesses and organizations, as well as prominent developments at existing entities.

Among the highlights for Moffat County were Craig’s Harmonie House — which created 53 full-time and part-time jobs in the field of healthcare for disabled individuals — and the upcoming drilling plans for the family operation High Altitude Geothermal, based in Hamilton. Both Harmonie House and High Altitude were helped along by seeking out local and state funding programs, such as the Craig Business Plan Competition and Rural Jump-Start Program.

The meeting also highlighted Fitch Ranch Meats’ construction of a new meat processing plant expected to bring 100 jobs to Moffat County.

The annual meeting also pointed to the Pioneers Medical Center in Rio Blanco County, where a $600,000 grant from the Colorado Office of Just Transition will go toward six full-time jobs with the healthcare organization.

The site for this year’s meeting was key, promoting Yampa Valley Regional Airport’s aviation business park, which is meant to expand the airport’s offerings and is projected to attract more than 230 high-paying aviation jobs, according to the NWCDC. 

Charging up communities

Jupiter Power’s plans for a battery storage project in Hayden also were discussed. Jupiter was an event sponsor for this year’s meeting and is an energy storage infrastructure platform with projects nationwide.

In attendance at the annual meeting were representatives from AT&T and the AT&T Foundation, which announced a contribution of $15,000 to NCIC and its operations.

The event news release stated that AT&T and Human-I-T provided NCIC with 185 refurbished laptops to distribute to small businesses and families in Routt, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties. “AT&T is proud to collaborate with organizations like NCIC to help close the digital equity gap in Northwest Colorado and assist small businesses and entrepreneurs as they find new ways to build their businesses and livelihoods,” said LJ Godfrey, president of AT&T Colorado, Arizona and Hawaii. “Access to connectivity is vital in helping to bridge the digital divide, and we are glad we can provide these resources to entrepreneurs, businesses and families.”