Luxury guest ranch hires new manager

A 23,000-acre luxury guest ranch near DeBeque has hired a new ranch manager. Bruce Ruggs will oversee ranch operations at Kessler Canyon, including staff, budgets, projects and guest interaction. Ruggs brings to his new duties 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He began working in 1981 at the Keystone Resort, where he opened […]

Sales tax collections remain ahead of last year

Phil Castle, The Business Times:  Sales and use tax collections in Mesa County remain ahead of last year, a key indicator of increased retail activity. Lodging tax collections continue to lag behind last year, though, while other measures of tourism remain mixed. The City of Grand Junction reported collecting a total of more than $3.9 million […]

Entrepreneur: Store within a store computes

Phil Castle, The Business Times:  Tony Cabral expects to increase business for his computer services firm by opening a store within a store. Cabral soon will open an outlet of Aspen Street Computers inside U.S. Tech in Grand Junction. He believes computer repairs and sales will complement the consumer electronics retailer. “I think this is just […]

Colorado wine industry passes million-liter milestone

Phil Castle, The Business Times:  Doug Caskey sees another sign of growth for the Colorado wine industry in the latest production numbers. Wineries reported passing the million-liter milestone in total volume for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. “It’s a pretty positive trend,” said Caskey, executive director of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board. The board promotes and […]

Leading index rises, but also raises concerns

A monthly measure of future economic activity in the United States continues to increase, but slowing growth in the index raises concerns about recovery. The Conference Board reported its Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose three-tenths of a percent to 116.2. While the index has advanced four consecutive months, growth over the past six months was […]

Colorado ag exports on the rise

Agricultural exports from Colorado remain well ahead of last year with increases in the sale of beef, dairy products and grain. The value of agricultural exports through the first seven months of 2011 totalled $718 million, up 20 percent over the same span last year, according to figures reported by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. […]

Drill bit service caters to boring customers

Phil Castle, The Business Times: Don’t call this Grand Junction repair facility a two-bit operation. In August, in fact, Halliburton Drill Bits and Services refurbished a record 544 drill bits and sent them to rigs boring oil and natural gas wells throughout the region. The facility is in business to keep its customers in business. And […]

Activity slowing, but foreclosure rate still highest in Mesa County

The latest results of a monthly report confirm property foreclosure activity is slowing in Mesa County. Nonetheless, Mesa County continues to experience the highest foreclosure rate among 12 metropolitan counties in Colorado. According to the statistics from the Colorado Division of Housing, Mesa County reported 86 foreclosure filings and 99 foreclosure sales in August. Compared […]

New Web site offers insurance information

Dede de Percin, Executive Director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI), released the following statement regarding the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies’ (DORA) new consumer-friendly website for insurance rate information: “This announcement from the Division of Insurance (DOI) is a step forward for Coloradans. This website and the grant from HHS, made possible by […]