Election – The Durango Herald

La Plata Electric Association cancels director elections

Candidates in all four districts ran unopposed

DATE: Mar 18, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Colorado election deniers sued by civil rights groups over door-to-door ‘intimidation’

Canvassers reportedly wear badges, pretend to be associated with government and sometimes carry guns

DATE: Mar 15, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Republicans report boost in turnout while Democrats see a slide at caucuses

La Plata County parties express confidence heading into November elections

DATE: Mar 9, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Tina Peters indicted; criminal complaint details alleged conduct

Colorado GOP calls for her to exit secretary of state’s race

DATE: Mar 9, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Ethical dynamics shift as Griswold and Peters run for same office

Ethics expert: Secretary of state must ‘step away’ from investigations of county clerk

DATE: Mar 8, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Republican U.S. Senate candidates are relying on ‘dumpster fire’ ballot-access process

Six GOP hopefuls are battling for support of at least 30% of delegates

DATE: Mar 7, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

La Plata County Republicans energized at caucuses

Voters’ priorities include county land-use code, education, state and national issues

DATE: Mar 2, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Republicans file federal lawsuit to block unaffiliated voters from Colorado’s primary election

La Plata County Republican Central Committee chairman signs on as a plaintiff

DATE: Mar 2, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Eight would-be challengers to Boebert meet in forum hosted by La Plata County Democrats

Candidates tackle questions on environment, bipartisanship, and local and national policy

DATE: Mar 1, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Montezuma Democrats to limit registration after Zoom bomber hits Colorado forum

Videos of child sex abuse posted during meeting

DATE: Feb 28, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

How to caucus in La Plata County

La Plata County Democrats and Republics will hold caucuses next week. The Democrats, for the most part, will meet on Zoom, while Republicans will hold in-person meetings. Here’s how to parti...

DATE: Feb 23, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

So you want to caucus? Here’s how to do it when parties gather next week

Precinct-level events start March 1; times and locations vary by county

DATE: Feb 22, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

‹ Prev
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Next ›

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