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July 29, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
JeffcoTranscript.com
VOLUME 38 | ISSUE 1
Taking a look at Mount Evans’ new reservation system Rangers and many guests say new system for fee sights is working well BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The night before Lakewood’s Joyce and Steve Koenig visited Mount Evans with their daughter and her boyfriend, they went to recreation.gov and purchased a vehicle ticket. On July 22, the Koenigs and hundreds of others visited the Mount Evans Scenic Byway, stopping at Mount Goliath, Summit Lake and/ or the summit parking lot along the way. Many of the parked vehicles had various tags or reservation receipts displayed on their front dashboard or windshield — proof that they were OK to park at a given fee area. When the scenic byway reopened for vehicle traffic on June 4, the
Event has a new name and look but the focus on youth continues STAFF REPORT
Lakewood’s Joyce and Steve Koenig watch from the Mount Evans summit parking lot as their daughter and her boyfriend descend the actual summit on July 22.
SEE MT. EVANS, P19
PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
Economic development in Lakewood: the latest numbers New report sheds light on city’s economic strengths BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Robert D. Smith, Lakewood Economic Development Director, gave a presentation on the city’s economic
County fair competitions return with Jeffco 4-H Junior Fair
development efforts during the July 21 Lakewood City Council meeting. Smith said the city measures a lot of things in economic development, but almost all of them fall into three basic categories. “The first is jobs,” he said. “We want jobs in our area. The second is capital investment. We want to attract private sector capital investment into our community. And the
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 20
third (measurement) is a rise in tax base. With tax base going up, we’re able to support the community in a lot of different ways.” According to Smith’s numbers, Lakewood has a current population of 158,400, covers 44 square miles, has 70,560 total housing units and a median household income of SEE DEVELOPMENT, P9
Jeffco 4-H kids are busy preparing their cows, pigs and goats for Jeffco’s annual county fair. But when they get to the fairgrounds, they may no longer fully recognize the event they know and love. That’s because the county announced in 2019 that it was dissolving the annual fair and festival, which included food trucks, bands and rodeos and other festivities along with the kid’s 4-H shows and competitions that are the centerpiece of the fair. However, those shows and competitions, as well as the annual livestock auction and youth market, are now continuing on with a smaller new event called the Jeffco 4-H Junior Fair. Now, after a year in which the fair had to be scaled back even further because of COVID-19, Jeffco is set to get its first taste of this new version of the fair from July 31-Aug. 8. Jaren Tolman, a Jeffco 4-H leader whose kids will be competing in the fair, said that while the changes mean attendees will no longer be able to enjoy as activities as they have in the past, the actual 4-H activities will look much as the same as they have in previous years. The one major change? The fair SEE JUNIOR FAIR, P3
GOOD TIMES ON THE GREEN Metro area mini golf offers variety and adventure P14