Republican Colorado Senator Cory Gardner will hold a town hall meeting Friday, September 8, in Grand Junction. It will be Senator Gardner’s fifth town hall since August.

The event will be held at the Robinson Theatre in the Moss Performing Arts Center on the Colorado Mesa University campus, 1100 North Avenue, Grand Junction from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Doors will open at 9:00 a.m. Constituents are encouraged to arrive early, as space is limited.

As of 12:05 p.m. Wednesday, the Colorado Department of Transportation reports Highway 287 in Baca County has reopened following cleanup from a crash that occurred earlier in the day. The highwasy was closed for over five hours.

Around 7:30 a.m., the Colorado State Patrol reported it was investigating a crash on Highway 287 12 miles north of Springfield.

Three vehicles were involved in the Wednesday morning crash, and the southbound lane was blocked due to a fire.

CDOT reported at 7:41 a.m. that the road was closed in both directions.

Hurricane Irma continues its path through the Caribbean today as a category 5 storm – a major hurricane - with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour.

Irma is expected to bring life-threatening wind, storm surge and rainfall that could produce flooding and mudslides to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later Wednesday. Hurricane warnings are in effect for those areas, and officials warn that preparations for the storm’s impacts should be completed quickly.

Hunters looking for information to help with their big game adventure will find plenty of helpful material on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife web site, cpw.state.co.us. The information includes how to apply for a license, where to hunt, tips for hunting elk, detailed maps, how to field dress a big game animal and much more. 

The box office has been in a bad place lately. Last week didn’t bring much in the way of new wide releases other than the pathetic “Leap!” This week there were no new wide releases at all. Nada. Nothing wanted to open on Labor Day weekend. This lack of competition allowed the slowly-growing “Wind River” to mosey its way into the Top 3 at the weekend box office. The movie isn’t some skyrocketing small-time gem, but it’s one of the better options from the doldrums of August.

The Lamar Community College Rodeo team is working hard and looking forward to the 2017-2018 season. The team participates in ten rodeos within the Central Rocky Mountain Region: five in the fall and five in the spring. 

This year’s roster is comprised of 20 members including 12 on the women’s team and eight on the men’s.

“Our women’s team will be led by two good returners, Tacie Canfield and Ashten Marchant,” LCC Head Rodeo coach Fred Sherwood said. “Both were seated in the top ten in the region in their events, so they should do well this year.”

Three sessions of online courses are still available this fall at Lamar Community College.  LCC is offering over 200 late start online courses in ten or six-week formats that are currently open for enrollment.  This means anyone interested in taking a course or two can complete them in a shorter period of time while working around their existing schedule.

The Big Red Fire, discovered in Routt County Friday, experienced major growth over the holiday weekend, reaching over 1,400 acres.

The fire is believed to have been started by lightning August 19 – the last time storms were in the area. The fire is burning in the Routt National Forest north of Big Red Park about five miles south of the Colorado-Wyoming border or 45 miles north of Steamboat Springs.

Wildland fires are typically named after the closest prominent geographic feature or landmark.