Ear to the ground

“I didn’t know Durango still had a telegraph.”

-A local receptionist confused after asking a Durango Telegraph staffer for her place of employment

A visit from Men's Journal

The Outside Magazine curse could be landing in Durango. Our local burg was recently named as one of America’s 50 Best Places to Live in Men’s Journal magazine.

The magazine listed Durango as the second best Telecommunity in the nation, raving, “When you telecommute from Durango, your office is huge. Close a deal over the handlebars of your mountain bike on the 20 mile Hermosa Creek trail that spirals up into the San Juan Mountains from the brick buildings of downtown. The Animas River, riddled with rapids, is perfect for meetings. And the water cooler? That would be 12,300-foot Silverton Mountain, where a total of 400 inches of snow falls each winter period. Cheap T1 service, mountain time and daily flights into Durango-La Plata County Airport mean distance workers can cherry-pick coastal hours – rising with the West Coast office and knocking off with the East.”

Never mind that the last person who rode Hermosa Creek loop from town had to be ambulanced past the 5 p.m. business meeting on the Animas out to a flight-for-life trip leaving Durango-La Plata County Airport.

Then again, Men’s Journal has been known to miss the mark occasionally. Later in the same story, the magazine lists sleepy Fruita, which recently got its first real bar and third restaurant, as having one of the best “Singles Scenes” in the nation and good old Boulder as the “Best of the Best.”

Steamworks goes Congressional

Local suds took center stage at the Colorado State Capitol recently. Steamworks Brewing Co. is now an official part of Colorado’s Congressional Record.

On March 1, Steamworks CEO Kris Oyler attended the Colorado Brewer’s Guild Legislative Coffee in Denver, joining in the discussions on the smoking ban legislation and the Village at Wolf Creek development. As part of the process, Rep. Mark Larson, R-Cortez, introduced Oyler on the floor of the House of Representatives. Larson presented Steamworks as an example of the economic development successes being realized in Southwest Colorado.

“It was an honor to be recognized on the floor of the House,” said Oyler. “Steamworks is contributing to the economic vitality of not only Southwest Colorado, but the state. It’s a positive thing for legislators from the rest of Colorado to learn first-hand about a Durango success story.”