By Shannon Lukens.
It is Nov. 5, Election Day. Turn in your ballot before 7 p.m. Tuesday night. Or vote in person at a polling center from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In Craig, that’s at the Moffat County Courthouse. You can also vote in person in Routt County at 6th and Oak. Drop-off locations in Routt County are in the alley behind the historic Routt County Courthouse downtown, at the Combined Law Enforcement Facility on Shield Drive, at the Clark Store in North Routt, or at the town halls in Yampa, Oak Creek, or Hayden.
More on the Story — Election Information 2024
The Colorado Secretary of State’s office reports the number of ballots turned in as of midnight Sunday, Nov. 3:
- 4,237 ballots have been turned in to Moffat County
- 2,470have been turned in Rio Blanco County
- 11,572 have been turned in Routt County
Total Ballots Returned as of 11:59 p.m. Nov. 3
Moffat County Clerk and Recorder Stacy Morgan says the Moffat County bi-partisan election judges worked over the weekend to replicate those paper ballots that were impacted due to a print vendor error.
Morgan also sent a press release, that said she is, “grateful for the support of the Board of County Commissioners for their leadership, the Republican and Democratic party that have helped to recruit and appoint bi-partisan teams, and the voters for patience and enthusiasm voting their ballots this year.”
More on the Story — Moffat County Ballot Update
This year, conflicts with bears are up in Moffat and Rio Blanco counties and statewide, but down in Routt County. That’s from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The increase in Moffat and Rio Blanco is believed to be due to a higher bear population and a shortage of natural foods, and the spring weather and a late frost in mid-June. Area 6 Wildlife Manager Johnathan Lambert said when more natural food became available, conflicts between bears and livestock, mainly domestic sheep, decreased significantly.
Area 10 is Steamboat Springs, Jackson, and Routt counties where conflicts were below average this summer. Wildlife Manager Kris Middledorf says it’s because of natural forage and he thinks educational awareness may have also led to a reduction in conflicts. All Steamboat Springs residents now have to have bear-proof trash cans, which cannot be left out overnight.
Middledorf says make sure your home is bear proof for winter.
“…By making sure that we take all these food attractants, like bird feeders, our trash, everything, and make sure that they’re locked up and secure. We don’t need to have anything out right now. Make sure that you lock up your cars if you leave them outside. And make sure that you have your house locked up, all of your windows and your doors. We need to protect our wildlife. We need to protect our bears. But most importantly, we need to protect our community.”
CPW reports that statewide, there were 4,644 bear reports between Jan. 1 and Nov. 1, which is up from 3,414 reports during the same period last year.
More on the Story — Bear conflicts are up in Moffat County and statewide but down in Routt County
The Steamboat Sailors Boys Soccer team has the second game in the state 3A championships on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Junior Will Hall is the goalkeeper.
“We’ve got a good group of boys and spirits are high. All of the leaders here, the seniors, are really doing a good job at setting the tone and setting the spirit.”
Game time is 5:30 p.m. away, against Jefferson Academy. We’ll be covering that game on KTYV 105.7 Sports on FM, which you can listen to through our website.
Check out what’s happening in the Yampa Valley on the Community Calendar on our website.
For the KRAI Time, Temp, and Weather Hotline, call 970-824-1918.