RED CANYON FIRE SETTLING DOWN
Glenwood Springs—The Red Canyon fire southeast of Glenwood Springs settled down last night thanks to a little cloud cover, cooler temperatures and less wind. Officials with the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team say the fire has burned close to 400 acres but is nearly 30 percent contained. Evacuees from Lookout Mountain may be able to return to their homes later today. Bill Kight with the White River National Forest says crews hope to have the fire fully contained in the next few days. Kight says it looks like the fire was sparked by lightning but they’re still investigating.
WEED REGS ON TONIGHT’S GLENWOOD CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
Glenwood Springs—Regulations for sale of recreational marijuana is on tonight’s agenda for the glenwood springs city council. the council plans to hold a worksession to talk about legalized weed tonight after the regular meeting. The regular meeting begins at 6 while the marijuana worksession is scheduled for 8:15.
MIDWEST STATES ECONOMY SLUGGISH
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new report suggests that healthy economic growth slowed down this month in rural areas of 10 Midwest and Plains states.
The overall economic index for the region slipped to 55.8 in August from 57.3 in July but was far ahead of the 47.1 in August 2012. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the monthly survey of rural bankers. He says drought weighed down the economy last year. He says lower farm commodity prices are dampening the current outlook for the farm economy. The index ranges from 0 to 100, with 50 representing growth neutral. A score above 50 suggests economic growth in the months ahead.
The index is based on a survey of rural bankers in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
AIR QUALITY RULES DISCUSSED FOR OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
DENVER (AP) – Colorado regulators looking at new air quality rules for oil and gas drillers are getting more time to set the rules. Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission originally aimed to have new proposed air-quality rules by November. At a regular meeting on Thursday, the commission talked about extending negotiations on the air-quality ruled until next February. The air-quality discussion is a delicate one. Environmental activists hope the commission adopts more stringent rules and penalties than those adopted by the agency that regulates spills, the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission.
