Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government, Technology

Why the head of the U.S. Patent Office is interested in artificial intelligence, false trademarks and the Western Slope

In the last five years, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has hired more lawyers in the Front Range region than ever before. The Colorado hiring frenzy, of course, had everything to do with the agency opening a satellite office in Denver in 2014 as part of a move to expand outside of Washington, D.C. […]

Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors

Colorado liftmaker Leitner-Poma entering boom as ski industry battles heat up and cities seek to innovate

GRAND JUNCTION — Cody Wells lifts his welding helmet and takes a step back from the massive steel wheels dangling from the girders of the Leitner-Poma of America warehouse.  “It’s like a mad-scientist piece. There’s not another one like this anywhere,” he says. Wells is welding together two bullwheels — one on top of the […]

Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Environment, Growth, News, Outdoors

The Palisade Plunge (and its 6,000-foot descent) will be one of Colorado’s crown jewels

GRAND JUNCTION — Perched on basalt boulders at the end of a path freshly carved through a jungle of scrub oak, Scott Winans is as close as ever to a 10-year goal that promises to highlight the recreational assets of his Grand Valley home turf.   “It’s been a lot of work to get here. A […]

Posted inNews, Politics and Government

Trump administration says moving BLM to the West will save money, improve decisions

By Dan Elliott and Brady McCombs, The Associated Press The Trump administration said Tuesday that it can save taxpayers millions of dollars, make better decisions and trim a “top heavy” office in Washington by moving the headquarters of the nation’s biggest land agency to Colorado and dispersing scores of jobs across 11 states in the […]

Posted inNews, Politics and Government

BLM will move 27 jobs from Washington to Grand Junction, 54 more to Lakewood as part of HQ relocation

The Bureau of Land Management’s planned headquarters relocation to Grand Junction will net the city 27 jobs, federal officials said on Tuesday, with 54 more positions heading to the Federal Center in Lakewood as part of the public lands agency’s realignment to the West.  That’s far fewer jobs than some were expecting to head to […]

Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government

Adjusting to life under tariffs, Jefferson County and Grand Junction are pursuing a solution that’s still proving itself in Colorado

Jefferson County and Grand Junction are seeking to become free-trade zones in an effort to attract more business, add jobs and help local companies offset some of the rising cost of international trade. Their applications would provide the regions with a spot for companies to store imported goods and defer or bypass tariff-duty payments. There’s […]

Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Education, News, Technology

All the classes, none of the Boulder: CU offers computer science degrees on Western Slope

Starting this fall, students enrolled at Western Colorado University in Gunnison can emerge with a degree from the state’s top computer science school, the University of Colorado in Boulder. It’ll cost them less over the four years compared to Boulder, and classes won’t be as crowded. Plus, it’s cheaper to rent an apartment in this […]

Posted inNews, Outdoors, Politics and Government

Bureau of Land Management more likely to relocate to Denver than Grand Junction, Polis says

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says the Bureau of Land Management is more likely to relocate its headquarters to Denver than Grand Junction, even though his administration is more supportive of the federal agency moving to the Western Slope. Either way, the Democrat said he’s “cautiously optimistic” Colorado will win the bidding war with other Western […]

Posted inBusiness, Environment, News, Outdoors

First-ever Techstars Startup Week on the Western Slope pushes innovation, investment off the Front Range

EAGLE — Justin Bradshaw and Mark Roebke knew where they wanted to be: close to the ski hills and trails in a riverside mountain town. They just had to convince investors that Colorado’s West Slope was the perfect place to anchor their global technology company. The entrepreneurs who founded Rever — the Eagle-based motorcycle navigation […]