Summer has arrived in Southeastern Colorado and there’s a lot of activities going on around the area as the kids are in the middle of their summer ball programs, the swimming pool will soon be giving lessons, and the library is gearing up for their summer reading program starting in July. In addition, water and outdoor enthusiasts have been making their way out to the lakes as the water and fishing is good in the nearby waters of Kiowa County and at John Martin Reservoir.

We think about it more during this graduation season, and then especially when school begins and our youth, year after year, makes their way to college, or a new job in the city, or perhaps a stint in the military. We wonder if we have prepared them well enough to meet the high demands that await them. And, deep down, we wonder if they will ever return to their own hometown.

Last week, with a community solar garden in Arvada serving as backdrop, Governor Polis signed into law seven pieces of legislation that were passed in the 2019 general legislative session related to energy efficiency, community based renewable energy and requiring the collection and reporting of data collected on greenhouse-gas emissions. Polis also presented a series of goals for making Colorado’s electric grid free of fossil fuel use within three decades, and, in so doing, made good on one of his major campaign promises to set Colorado on the road to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2040. Polis described the legislation as “building blocks” to achieve that goal and drastically reduce climate-changing emissions.

Over the past two weekends area schools have held their graduation ceremonies sending the Class of 2019 out into the world to face many challenges including college, trade school, the military, or work. It’s an emotional time of year as the best and the brightest of our rural kids receive their much-deserved recognition and accolades, and at the same time look toward their future lives.