Susan Marshall: Covering North Routt
I found it curious when I studied the “news contacts” in the paper. In addition to the central coverage of Steamboat Springs and special topical areas, I discovered that reporters are assigned to cover the news in South Routt and Hayden. It’s comforting to see a commitment to covering two important communities outside of Steamboat Springs.
My problem? I live in North Routt, a vibrant and close-knit community that begins just 7 miles north of Steamboat and covers more than 400 square miles. We have great diversity with many newsworthy events but little coverage. It seems odd that there is little interest in our goings-on.
We are home to two state parks, numerous hiking and skiing trails, great restaurants that also serve as top-notch musical venues and community centers and several guest ranches ranging from affordable cabins to high-end and highly revered “dude” ranches. We also have some of the most productive ranches in the county, and many multigenerational families and others are ensuring these properties remain as the rural land we all love.
Our community has its center in Clark, anchored by the Clark Store (which is our post office, lending library, liquor store, deli, grocery store and overall “meet your neighbors” gathering place), the North Routt Community Charter School (delivering the highest quality education to 80 K- through eighth-grade students in a state-of-the-art facility), the North Routt Preschool (providing a solution for working parents with prekindergarten children), a North Routt Community Church that meets weekly and one of the two North Routt Fire Protection District fire stations.
Not far from Clark is the eclectic Hahn’s Peak Village, complete with a historical society and several museum buildings, reflecting the history of its economic and political importance within the county.
Besides the annual Steamboat Marathon (the course of which occurs primarily in North Routt), we offer the Glide the Divide Nordic skiing race and have reintroduced July Fourth fireworks at Steamboat Lake just this year. I know I’ve failed to mention many organizations, events and activities that are a critical element of our community. I learn about many in our tiny free newspaper, North Routt Rumors, but wouldn’t it be nice to see them in the Steamboat Today? I’m sure visitors and other Routt County residents would like to know more about what is happening in North Routt and the issues it faces.
Susan Marshall
North Routt
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