Grand Junction ranks among the best places to retire featured in a national magazine.

Grand Junction placed second among seven of what were billed as standout communities in which to retire and an image from the Colorado National Monument appeared on the cover of the August issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

Visit Grand Junction, the city’s destination marketing organization, purchased a full-page ad about Grand Junction on the back cover. Images Visit Grand Junction proposed were included with the story.

Elizabeth Fogarty, director of Visit Grand Junction, said destination marketing organizations don’t control such lists, but do play a role in the way cities gain recognition through media placements.

“From a marketing strategy standpoint, Visit GJ is creating a foundation of experiential articles through public relations channels focused on tourism,” Fogarty said. “When a city’s brand begins to gain recognition, the next step is often a ‘best place to retire’ followed by ‘best place to live.’ That is the natural progression of Visit GJ’s public relations and advertising strategy for Grand Junction. This is also indicative of the great work local organizations and businesses are accomplishing.”

The Kiplinger magazine article featured not only the Colorado National Monument, but also the Avalon Theater, Colorado Mesa University, Downtown Grand Junction, Grand Mesa, Museum of the West and Western Colorado Botanical Gardens. Such outdoor activities as golfing, rafting and skiing were mentioned.

The magazine has a print, online, email and social media presence of 18.5 million households.