News

Today, Feb. 28, on the last day of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, we highlight the yellow starthistle to bring attention to its potential damage to our environment and ask for our community’s assistance in reporting sightings of this noxious weed around Mesa County. The yellow starthistle causes chewing disease that can be fatal to livestock and degrades recreational areas where it is prevalent due to the sharp spines surrounding the flower heads.

Bear Necessities accepts items for children ages 0 through 18, sizes newborn through adult 02-27-2025.

Commissioner JJ Fletcher shared comments at the Feb. 25 public hearing on his excitement for the economic boost Morgan Mining will bring to our community as they have decided to expand, bringing a mining-focused hub to Mesa County at the former Halliburton plant location, 365 32 Road in Grand Junction.

For National Invasive Species Awareness Week, Feb. 24 - 28, we are highlighting different noxious weeds each day to bring education to our community and receive support to protect our environment from invasive weeds. Today, we bring awareness to the purple loosestrife, a highly invasive plant that takes over wetlands, forming dense monocultures that degrade wildlife habitat and water quality. Once sold as an ornamental plant, it can still be found in older gardens and easily spreads to nearby waterways.

Today, we bring awareness to the leafy spurge noxious weed midway through National Invasive Species Awareness Week to educate our community so we can work as a team to stay protected from this harmful weed. The leafy spurge contains a milky latex that causes burns and rashes when in contact with human skin and is toxic to livestock.

At the Feb. 25 public hearing, the Board of Mesa County Commissioners unanimously approved Ordinance 008(D) to adopt and update eight building and construction codes to modernize them to the recent editions — keeping up with current construction methods, technology, materials, techniques, and state requirements and creating a balanced and thoughtful approach to localizing the updated codes. The approval came after Chief Building Official Darrell Bay gave a second reading of the Ordinance. The first reading of Ordinance 008(D) took place during the Commissioners’ Feb. 11 public hearing, followed by a request for public comment to ensure our community's approach to building and construction codes reflects our collective values.