Good morning, Grand Junction.

On Aug. 19 at Colorado Mesa University, the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce gave BestSlope NEXTGen Awards to 20 young professionals for leadership, innovation and lasting impact in Mesa County.

The Business Incubator Center partnered with APEX to host APEX Days, an event that will help local entrepreneurs connect with government contracting officers and gain new business prospects (boosting local economic growth) in Grand Junction.

The Chase Bank branch under construction at 2405 Patterson Road (next to Natural Grocers) will open early in Q2 next year as part of the American Dream Initiative expansion.

Salon owners Maddii Pink and Kaitlyn Fournier merged their hair, lash and nail businesses into Luxe Oasis x Mad Lash at 1048 Independent Ave., A-101 at Independence Plaza.

The salon will host its grand opening Saturday, Aug. 29 at 10 a.m. with tattoo and jewelry artists, brunch, snacks + raffles.

Alpine Bank promoted three employees in Mesa County + Nikki Clark was named assistant vice president at its downtown branch while Carissa Crawford and Brandon Cummings advanced their roles at the downtown and Clifton branches.

The Museums of Western Colorado will host Harvest the Moment at Oktoberfest on Sept.

19 from 1 to 6 p.m. at Cross Orchards Historic Site (3073 F Road) where guests will enjoy performances by Izzy Burns and Keith McCloud, train rides, games, food, contests, and craft beer options for adults.

CSU Extension professors are comparing sainfoin and alfalfa to help local farmers save water during drought.

Researchers have begun distributing sainfoin seed to selected growers and will continue the study at the Fruita research center (early results may guide farmers’ choices).

A six-day intensive cohort for nonprofit executives begins Sept.

23 at the Gem and Mineral Club (2328 Monument Road) and runs in two sessions Sept. 23-25 and Oct. 14-16 at a fee of $750, which covers materials, lunch and snacks from local nonprofit consultants Third Sector Innovations.

The Palisade Insectary is testing a parasitic wasp (trichogramma) to protect Olathe Sweet corn from resistant corn earworms that have hurt harvests.

The research, done with Tuxedo Corn Company, aims to keep Colorado’s staple crop thriving.

City officials are urging residents to water city-owned street trees as a survey revealed 373 trees on 181 properties are at risk during the drought.

The education campaign will offer door-hangers in the historic core to help maintain shade & unique neighborhood character.

The Colorado e-bike rebate program returned on Monday, Aug.

24 offering up to $1,000 off standard e-bikes (an extra $300 for e-cargo and adaptive models). Registration remains open until noon Aug. 31, with about 700 registrants to be randomly selected to receive vouchers after taxes.

Guardian Storage opened a new self-storage facility in May at 640 24 1/2 Road that includes six buildings with 85,000 sqft of drive-up and climate-controlled units & on-site security to meet local demand.

The Fruita Rimrock Rodeo Series will wrap up this Saturday, Aug.

29 at 7 p.m. at the grandstands after Tuesday summer events helped team members meet their goals. The team is accepting applications for the 2027 season until the end of September (on Facebook).