Good morning, Grand Junction.

Voting in The Daily Sentinel’s Best of the West 2025 contest ends Sunday, June 15 at 11:59 p.m. MST as Grand Junction residents cast their votes for local businesses in eight groups and 162 categories.

Winners will be celebrated at an event on Aug. 21 at the Grand Junction Convention Center — results will be published in the Sentinel magazine on Aug. 23.

Yesterday, Habitat for Humanity of Mesa County dedicated its 97th home as part of its work to provide affordable housing.

The organization built the home with family help and will sell it at zero percent interest while planning to build six new homes next year.

On June 12, a 19-year-old man died near Sunset Lake after a family member found him in less than a foot of water and performed CPR until paramedics arrived—investigators said his death is not considered suspicious—and the Mesa County Coroner’s Office will determine the cause.

The Grand Junction Police Department warns local business owners that scammers posing as bank representatives have stolen over $500,000 so far by using spoofed caller IDs and urgent tactics — red flags include requests for sensitive financial information.

On Friday, multiple agencies in Grand Junction joined forces to crack down on dangerous driving as Officer Vaughn Soderquist noted speeding, red light running and aggressive lane changes as key problems—an effort intensified by increased summer traffic—and preliminary data shows inattentive driving crashes have dropped 19% since the new hands-free law took effect.

Officers responded to a domestic dispute on June 12 at a Grand Junction home on N 21st Street—arresting 26-year-old Dominic Roberts whose history of building explosives led bomb technicians to safely remove a homemade IED from the scene as he was booked on multiple charges.

Two Clifton Elementary staff members—principal Amy Shepeherd, on administrative leave since April, and secretary Rebecca Fowler—were charged with felony theft after school property valued at $300 was taken without approval on April 14.

Staffing shortages have affected early childhood education, so the Mesa County Workforce Center has partnered with CMU Tech to launch an apprenticeship program that gives students hands-on classroom training and eases local staffing gaps.

The Career Development Program reimburses up to 75% of wages and guides employers through the process—strengthening the region's workforce.

City officials reported that utility work on Crosby Ave is closing traffic from Main St. to W.

Gunnison through June while roundabout construction at Horizon Dr. and G Rd. continues until October, and lane shifts on 29 Rd. will cause an overnight closure on June 16 at 7 p.m. with reopening by 6 a.m. on Tuesday — CDOT projects and a chip seal program will also narrow lanes until July 18.

Federal lawmakers and local officials expressed their intent last Friday to oppose a proposal by Sen. Lee—who aims to sell up to 3 million acres of public lands for housing and tax cuts—arguing that auctioning these lands would risk local livelihoods and recreational access.

Colorado representatives, including a Grand Junction lawmaker, warned that such measures would harm community heritage and set back conservation efforts as the matter moves through Congress.

Summer Solstice Celebration

1-2 a.m. — Wingate Park — Free entry — Celebrate the energizing Light and Love of the Summer Solstice at sunset.