Publisher’s Letter: The Year of New Beginnings!

Wow! 2021 started off with a bang! First came the new year, the insurrection in Washington, the return of kids to school in the Poudre School District, a peaceful transition of power at the national level, the transition of Larimer County businesses down to code orange on the Covid dial, and BAM! January was nearly gone.

Like so many of our readers, I can’t wait to see what’s in store going forward. Over the past several weeks, North Forty News has been talking with event organizers, musicians, businesses, and our readers. Everyone seems to be buzzing about getting our lives back to something like “normal.” And that’s exciting!

We are so fortunate! And it’s not just that we live in beautiful surroundings — it’s the “people,” many of whom are your neighbors. With all we’ve been through with wildfires and the pandemic, Northern Colorado remains so vibrant. Events and live music here are typically plentiful and a lot of people are waiting for the return of in-person entertainment. Music performance has moved to mostly online streaming, but a few musicians are getting booked and small venues are starting to re-open with Covid restrictions and precautions. Restaurants are re-opening at reduced capacity and people are venturing out again.

Since the pandemic, North Forty News and the New SCENE have adapted to provide a weekly communications vehicle about current events via our online and print calendars. Every week, we print the events we know about and we encourage the people we talk to, to share their events with us. Our calendar that once boasted more than 2,000 events, now has about 200. But we are starting to see and publish more events and we remain committed to keeping the calendar accessible and ready for what I predict will be a “blizzard” of events in the months to come. If you have an event, submit it at calendar.northfortynews.com.

Personally, I got to witness a new “normal” last week when dropping off and picking up my young sons at school. We have practiced going to school, off and on over the past year with limited schedules and “group days” for partial in-person school. But never, have I seen the lines and the number of parents I have seen this time around. The kids are excited and their parents are too. Of course, there’s always a concern for safety during this pandemic. And every day I reinforce with my kids, CDC protocol such as washing hands, wearing masks, and using hand sanitizer. It’s good to see the teachers, the kids, the parents, and yes, as it points to a return to normal, even the traffic.

Another exciting undertaking over the past week has been the response we are getting from our readers for our “Photo of the Week.” We love hearing from you. Seeing these images through your eyes has been a rewarding and thoughtful addition to our weekly newspaper. Photos are coming from every corner of Northern Colorado. And better yet, we were able to partner with Artizen Photo Printing to provide a certificate for a complimentary high-quality 8×12 print to the individuals who get their photos selected for publication going forward. Keep those submissions coming by sending an email to [email protected]

Here’s to an upbeat and prosperous 2021, the year I am calling “The Year of New Beginnings.”

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