Maria Bocanegra Tejeda awakens as the rising sun lights her room. Her room. In the house her family owns. That fact is still capable of surprising her, so far removed it is from her cousins’ crowded trailer in the crowded mobile home park where she spent nearly half of her 22 years. The night before, […]
Cargill Meat
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Health, News
Workers at Greeley meatpacking plant where 500 were sickened by coronavirus will be vaccinated
By Josh Funk, The Associated Press Meatpacking workers across the country have started receiving coronavirus vaccines and thousands more will have a chance to get their shots this week, offering some peace of mind in an industry that was ravaged by COVID-19 a year ago. “There’s a level of relief to know they are finally […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, News
A Salvadoran immigrant worked at a Fort Morgan slaughterhouse for 24 years. Coronavirus killed him in 10 days.
FORT MORGAN — On the day coronavirus ended his life, Juan Marin summoned his pride for one last time. Fuerte, his adult children said, using the Spanish word for strong to describe him. They also called him a “party animal.” They called him a hard worker and said he had the calloused hands and tough […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
Counties fear being left behind as Colorado begins granting variances to its coronavirus safer-at-home order
As Colorado shifted from beneath its month-long stay-home order to slightly less restrictive guidelines, it offered a glimmer of hope to communities where COVID-19 cases were few and far between: Draw up your own rules for reopening and apply for a variance. Mesa County filed its application April 27 – the day Safer at Home […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News
Even with beef plants staying open, reduced capacity means Colorado ranchers feel the coronavirus pinch
To be a cattle rancher in Colorado is to expect setbacks. There are droughts and fires and economic volatility. There are snowstorms and tornadoes and tricky equipment. There are changing consumer demands. But rarely do the stumbling blocks line up one after another and all at once the way they have now with the crisis […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News
Meatpackers welcome Trump’s order that they stay open while others — including Colorado’s governor — question the coronavirus risks
By Stephen Groves, The Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Big meatpacking companies that have struggled to keep plants running during the coronavirus crisis said Wednesday that they welcomed President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring them to stay open, but unions, some employees and Democrats questioned whether workers could be kept safe. Trump used the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Stopping coronavirus is a huge challenge at crowded U.S. meat plants, including in Colorado
By Josh Funk, The Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. — Daily reports of giant meat-processing plants closing because workers tested positive for the coronavirus have called into question whether slaughterhouses can remain virus-free. According to experts, the answer may be no. Given that the plants employ thousands of people who often work side by side carving […]
Posted inBusiness, News
South Korea, home of Hanwoo and bulgogi, is now largest importer of Colorado beef
Last year, the Republic of Korea became the top international buyer of Colorado beef. And no, its rise in the rankings did not have to do with the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China. The small East Asian country, known for its homegrown Hanwoo cattle and grilled sweet BBQ beef, knocked Japan and […]
Posted inBusiness, Crime and Courts, News
Cargill Meat, union reach $1.7M settlement with 138 Muslim workers at Fort Morgan plant over prayer accommodations
Cargill Meat Solutions and a union representing meat packers have reached a nearly $1.7 million deal to settle claims that 138 Muslim workers at its Fort Morgan plant were denied proper prayer accommodations and then wrongfully lost their jobs. The settlement was announced Friday morning. The 138 employees, many of them immigrants from Somalia, alleged […]