Business & Real Estate – The Durango Herald

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Sorrow after Choco Taco is discontinued

A tech millionaire offered to buy it. A U.S. senator suggested that the government should force manufacturers to make it. But so far, Klondike isn’t budging from its plan to discontinue the...

DATE: Jul 26, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

R1 Colorado Realtors hires new agent

R1 Colorado Realtor recently hired a new agent, Kim Chism-Plotnik. Chism-Plotnik has experience in construction management and was regional manager of a recovery clinic. Through her experie...

DATE: Jul 26, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

Advantage Physical Therapy & Wellness welcomes new physical therapist

Advantage Physical Therapy & Wellness announced its newest physical therapist Preston Wolff. Wolff was born and raised in Washington, where he received his undergraduate degree from Whitwort...

DATE: Jul 21, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

Mountain to Desert Mortgage opens office in Durango

Mountain to Desert Mortgage has opened its first office in downtown Durango at 700 Main Ave. Longtime mortgage veteran Andy Roach is the broker/owner and his longtime associate Suzie Morse ...

DATE: Jul 19, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

Utah crude trains could roll through Colorado after Forest Service denies objections

New railroad would connect northeast Utah oil fields with the national rail network

DATE: Jul 19, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

Inflation hits Durango restaurants, leading to higher prices and fewer menu options

Crab and chicken wings skyrocket in price, while labor and gas prices also drive up costs

DATE: Jul 18, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

Two new faces in New Mexico oil and gas

Ryan Merrion and Sean Dugan take over family businesses during disruptions of pandemic and war

DATE: Jul 16, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Columbine Landscapes hires new designer

Columbine Landscapes recently hired Allyssa Williams as a designer. Williams has professional experience in the design of public projects with an emphasis on water harvesting for urban envir...

DATE: Jul 12, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

Region 9 hires new regional project manager

Region 9 Economic Development District of Southwest Colorado welcomes Shak Powers as its newest regional project manager. He will lead regional coordination and management of transit, broad...

DATE: Jul 12, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

Custom bike shop opens on north Main Avenue

Sanitas Cycles embraces titanium frames, sustainability and Durango’s cycling history

DATE: Jul 10, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

Animas Occupational Medicine hires new provider

Animas Surgical Hospital hired a new occupational medicine specialist, Lysa Marquez. Occupational medicine specialists provide care for those injured on the job, so employees can return to w...

DATE: Jul 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Business

Durango-based company empowers women to learn coding

GeekPack offers online courses and support in web development

DATE: Jul 5, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Fort Lewis College football takes on Arizona ChristianFLC drops first game of 2022, 52-12

FLC drops first game of 2022, 52-12

Pride parade and festival

Photos: Family fun at the La Plata County Fair

La Plata County Fair is off and running

La Plata County Fair schedule of eventsThursday8:30 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA breeding swine, market swine. 9 a.m.-8 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public.9 a.m.: Judging open class home economics, horticulture, floriculture, creative arts.9 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA and open class fleeces.9 a.m.: 4-H poultry judging followed by open class.1 p.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA goat show, all classes followed by open class goat.5 p.m.: Fair Royalty speeches and modeling.7 p.m.: Talent contest, patio.7 p.m.: Livestock verification swine, poultry, goat, general project cards due.

Friday9 a.m.-8 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public.9 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA rabbits.10 a.m.: 4-H/FFA breeding beef, beef showmanship.1 p.m.: 4-H/FFA market beef, grand champion and reserve grand champion market beef, champion selection.2 p.m.: Dairy cattle, all classes.3:15 p.m.: Pee wee showmanship.4 p.m.: 4-H/FFA livestock round robin, all-around showmanship.7 p.m.: Asleep at the Wheel concert.7 p.m.: Livestock sale verification rabbit and beef cards due.

Saturday9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public. 9 a.m.: 4-H dog show.9 a.m.: Judging open class beef all classes.10 a.m.: Rooster crowing contest.10 a.m.: FFA showmanship.11 a.m.: Open class dairy cattle, all classes.12 p.m.: Demolition Derby.12-4 p.m.: Community 4-H barbecue cook off (senior center lawn).2 p.m.: Rabbit costume contest.2 p.m.: Poultry costume contest.5 p.m.: Silver steaks, silver loin and silver chop award presentation.5:45 p.m.: Fair Royalty crowning.6 p.m.: Junior livestock sale pavilion.9 p.m.-midnight: Fair family dance.

Sunday8 a.m.: Cowboy church. 8 a.m.: Carcass animals loaded.9 a.m.- 2 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public.1:30 p.m.: 4-H/FFA Catch-It contest.2-3 p.m.: Payment of premiums. 2-3 p.m.: Exhibits released in all departments. 2-5 p.m.: Booths taken down.2-5 p.m.: Poultry and rabbit exhibits released.2 p.m.: Animals released.Beer garden is open Thursday through Saturday.

La Plata County Fair schedule of events Thursday 8:30 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA breeding s...

Patriotic drone show unfolds above Durango’s night skyAbout 1,200 people watched production from city Transit Center

One hundred forty drones took to the skies above Greenmount Cemetery at 10 p.m. sharp Saturday in a glowing and patriotic spectacle featuring vibrant images colored red, white and blue against the black backdrop of night.About 1,200 people gathered Saturday at the Durango Transit Center to watch the city’s premiere drone show produced by Verge Aero after a street dance and band performance by McCurry Trio and Desert Child for Independence Day celebrations.Spectators were treated to drone depictions of the American flag, star patterns, a soaring bald eagle and a homage to the city with drones flying in formation to spell out “Durango” to close out the street dance that started at 6 p.m. Across the valley from Greenmount Cemetery, the headlights of cars shined from Rim Drive near Fort Lewis College where more spectators watched.

Ellen Babers, Durango community events administrator, said the show went well. She heard “Ooh’s” and “ah’s” from the crowd when the drones transitioned from one image to another.She said a segment that consisted of stars rotating at various intervals, shrinking into smaller stars before expanding into the shape of a larger star, appeared to be a crowd favorite.“People really liked the Durango part,” she said. “When it spelled out Durango, people seemed surprised. Like, ‘Oh, this isn’t just a generic show, this is about us.’”Other images included an outline of the continental United States, the letters “USA,” and a spinning globe shape that gave the drone show a 3D feel.

The drones were laid out earlier in the evening in a square grid, with each drone placed 4 feet apart. Peter Smiatek, pilot and designer of the drone show, worked with a crew of about six people, including volunteers. Saturday evening at Greenmount Cemetery where the drones launched and landed, Peter Smiatek, pilot and designer with Verge Aero, and his crew of about six people, including volunteers, had laid all the drones out on the grass in a square grid. Each drone was placed four feet apart. Smiatek synced the drones to a GPS and radio tower in preparation for the evening’s show. Six minutes before takeoff, a deer wandered straight past the drone grid, narrowly avoiding stepping on them.“That could have been a disaster,” Smiatek said as his crew scanned the nearby area with flashlights. No other deer were visible.Two minutes before takeoff, the crew’s portable generator shut off – out of gas.

“We have double secure power,” he said. “The generator fell off two minutes before the show started. It’s like Murphy’s law, anything that could happen will happen. So it’s best to be prepared.”During prep, the crew ran several tests with the drones. The drones shot up 3 to 4 meters, hovered for about one second and then dropped back to their designated grid space on the grass.

Smiatek worked from a makeshift command station where his laptop and transmission tower were perched.“The base station is the heart of the show,” he said. “It’s a computer and it’s a distribution system connected to radios and an antenna. And that’s it, basically. Very flexible and a good system.”Chris Lutts, vice president of sales at Verge Aero, said he thinks Durangoans enjoyed the performance. From Greenmount Cemetery, he could hear the cheers and whistles of the audience at the Durango Transit Center.“The people we’ve been working with have been great,” he said. “Clearly, the city enjoyed it, so that’s awesome. That’s why we do this. It’s no different than any other entertainment, man. You love that feedback. It’s validation that what you’re doing is something that people really like.”cburney@durangoherald.com