Meeker, Stories

Hickenlooper visits RBC

Colorado governor John Hickenlooper was in Rio Blanco County Monday at the Natural Soda facility in the Piceance Basin for a groundbreaking ceremony on a $30 million expansion project. Colorado senator Jean White, Natural Soda V.P. Of Operations, Brad Bunnett, president of Natural Soda, HPD representative ?? and Summit Industry ?? and state representative Randy Baumgardner also attended the catered event.
Natural Soda held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $30 million expansion, which was attended by several local and state officials, including Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper.
“Today we stand here to break ground on a $30 million investment in not only a facility and our employees but the community here in western Colorado,” Brad Bunnett, president of Natural Soda Inc., told a large crowd gathered at the Natural Soda processing facility in the Piceance Basin. “Two thousand feet beneath us where we stand right now is a world class reserve of naturally occurring sodium bicarbonate and in the current facility we process, package and deliver to market more than 125,000 tons and the market continues to grow.”
Natural Soda has operated in Colorado for 28 years and currently employees 39 onsite employees, in addition to the contractors and vendors who provide services at the mine and truck drivers who transport the sodium bicarbonate.
Natural Soda processes sodium bicarbonate into several grades of baking soda used in baked goods, foods, industrial and pharmaceutical uses.
“It truly touches our lives everyday in ways we don’t imagine, it’s really an important product,” Bunnett said before introducing the governor. “There is tremendous growth in the markets and the time was right to make the investment. We are very pleased and excited about the opportunity ahead of us and the growth of the business.”
Governor John Hickenlooper was also excited that the timing of the Natural Soda project will allow them to double its annual production from the largest known deposits of sodium bicarbonate in North America.
“This is a happy day,” Hickenlooper said, thanking Bunnett, his staff, senator Jean White, representative Randy Baumgardner and Rio Blanco County commissioners Shawn Bolton, Ken Parsons and Kai Turner, all of whom were in attendance.
“This $30 million expansion comes at a time as we are just starting to come out of a recession, a time when we need to get construction going, trucks on the road, it couldn’t have come at a better time. The expansion will increase production yet lower harmful emissions,” Hickenlooper said. “This is another classic case of being pro-business and doing it right in reference to the environment but that’s Colorado, pro-business with high standards.”
“The facility we are planning to build will better represent the purity standards we are focused on and we are really excited about the growth that will occur and it will occur efficiently so we can operate here for a long time,” Bob Warneke, vice president of operations said about the new facility. “We will be able to better service the full baking soda market in North America and that is what we are trying to accomplish.
Warneke said HPD will be the general contractor and Summit Industrial Contruction will be the sub-contractor on the project. More than 70 individuals will be employed during construction and 10 new jobs will be created in the new facility.

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  • Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
  • The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
  • It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
  • It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line. The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale. Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch. See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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