NEWS: Gunnison County caucuses on March 9, A8
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Wonderland folds after financial trouble
New nonprofit child care center moves in with help from GVH Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
After years of financial uncertainty, Gunnison child care center Wonderland Nature School is dissolving. To ensure doors stay open, Gunnison Valley Health intervened and brought in a new provider Access Early Education Foundation. Wonderland, a nature-based early child care center at the west end of Tomichi Avenue, has been renting a building from Gunnison Valley Wonderland A6
AT LAST, A CHAMPION: Gunnison senior wrestler Miles Harris (right) won his first championship title at the 2024 state tournament at Ball Arena in Denver on Feb. 17. The victory comes after a years-long battle with injury, three surgeries and thousands of hours of practice. Co-captain Royce Uhrig joined him on the podium after winning his third-straight state title. For more, see B6. (Photo by Jacob Spetzler)
Anonymous donor RTA launches TODAY to offer Masonic largest schedule Lodge to Western yet for spring, INSIDE
NEWS: Renewable energy projects delayed, A12
COMMUNITY: Moving to a ‘nowhere’ town, B1
Board approves five-year lease Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
SPORTS: Titans hockey moves into postseason, B6
OBITUARIES A3, A5 OPINION A4 CLASSIFIEDS A15-A18 SPORTS B6 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
Pending a successful sale and signed agreement, an unnamed donor has offered Western Colorado University the opportunity to lease and eventually own Gunnison’s former Masonic Lodge. The plan will allow the university to have its first-ever physical presence in downtown Gunnison. The Masonic Lodge, located at 120 North Iowa St., has been on the market since August of 2023. The two-story brick building was most recently listed at $1.3 million dollars, and sits on seven parcels in the city’s
Central Business District. Late last year, an anonymous donor approached the university and offered to buy the building and surrounding land. The donor’s sole intent is to transfer ownership to the university after a five-year lease term of $1 a month, said Western president Brad Baca at a trustees meeting on Feb. 8. He anticipates the sale will go through by April. “The bottom line is having this piece of property in the Central Business District positions Western to be a key player in helping to revitalize the downtown of Gunnison,” Baca said. But the building, which is nearly 70 years old, may be in need of extensive repair. Masonic lodge A7
summer and fall
New AI that more frequent bus service leads to increased ridership. surveillance Commuter buses in the valley more than 327,000 passystem to boost carried sengers last year, 31% higher than in 2022. Each month broke safety new passenger records, while Bella Biondini Times Editor
St a r t i n g i n e a r l y Ap r i l , the Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority (RTA) will begin running its largest commuter bus schedule to date for the spring, summer and fall seasons. Numbers from the RTA’s endof-year review for 2023 show
99 AV
the RTA ran its largest winter schedule yet, with 41 round trips daily. The RTA has continued to expand its bus schedule over the past few years, both during and outside of ski season. For example, during the summer of 2022, the organization only ran 19 round trips (a full lap from Gunnison to Crested Butte)
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RTA A10 Sign up by scanning the QR code to download our NEW mobile app today!
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