ONGOING Friday Health expansion, Colorado legislative redistricting maps, renowned professor Ron Rael speaking at Adams State, the Adams State Board of Trustees Friday meeting, and the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area call for new board members all in Friday’s daily report. Read on:
Friday Health sees early 2022 groundbreaking on second Alamosa building
Friday Health Plans’ hiring shows no signs of slowing down. Friday is adding 10 to 15 employees a week and recently made a commitment to start all new employees no lower than $15 per hour, Derek Sisneros, senior director of finance operations for Friday Health, told The Alamosa Citizen.
Friday Health, already with 200 employees, has been looking to add several hundred more employees to its Downtown Alamosa headquarters as it continues to expand and offer its healthcare plans in more states. The growth of Friday Health has created a need to add a second building to its downtown footprint. Sisneros said Friday Health expects to break ground on its new building off San Juan Avenue and Sixth Street by early 2022.
CEO Sal Gentile talked to The Citizen earlier about Friday Health, its business model, and why it chose Alamosa for its headquarters. That interview is here.
New state senate and state house redistricting maps head to Colorado Supreme Court
The Colorado Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission on Tuesday approved final state senate and state house plans that will be submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court. The San Luis Valley shows up in state Senate District 6 in the plan being submitted to the state Supreme Court; the San Luis Valley currently is part of Senate District 35. No matter the number of the district, current state Sen. Cleave Simpson of Alamosa will remain the Valley’s state senate representative.
The San Luis Valley remains in Colorado House District 62 in the state house redistricting plan being submitted with the state Supreme Court. State Rep. Don Valdez is the current representative of the house district.
Adams State Board of Trustees meets Friday
The Board of Trustees for Adams State meets Friday, ahead of Adams State’s Homecoming of the Century. The Trustees at the start of the fall semester in August penned a letter to the community to assure the San Luis Valley that the campus was in good shape and in good hands. Tensions on the campus between President Cheryl Lovell and employee groups continue to cause unrest within the Adams State community. Adams State continues to struggle in its efforts to attract new undergraduate students and is balancing its lower undergraduate enrollment with growth in its graduate degree programs. Join the meeting via Zoom with this LINK.
Renowned scholar Ronald Rael headlines Adams100 Speaker Series
University of California-Berkeley professor and San Luis Valley native Ronald Rael will kick off the Adams100 Speaker Series at Adams State. Rael, the Eva Li Memorial Chair in Architecture and Director of the Masters of Architecture program at UC Berkeley, will give a presentation “New Ways of Building” at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20. The event is free and open to the public.
Rael is a world-renowned artist and 3D print innovator. His iconic border wall project, created with Virginia San Fratello, won the Design Museum Design of the Year Award in 2020. He is the author of “Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary.” He has several projects in the works in his native Valley.
Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area seeks three volunteer board members
The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area (SdCNHA) is seeking to fill three volunteer board member positions from residents in Alamosa, Costilla, and Conejos counties. If you enjoy cultural preservation, heritage tourism, and historical work, then come and thrive in a friendly and collaborative environment. The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area (SdCNHA) Board of Directors provides the opportunity for local residents to become engaged in a leadership role. Volunteers in these positions represent the voice of citizens in support of local heritage, preservation efforts, and the community-oriented mission of the Heritage Area. Must be willing to commit to one meeting per month and participation on sub-committees.
Applications can be found here. Completed application, a letter of interest, and a resume should be mailed or hand delivered to SdCNHA at the address noted below:
Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area
Attention: “Board Application”
P.O. Box 844
Alamosa, CO 81101
Or hand deliver application to: 231 State Avenue in Alamosa, or email to info@sdcnha.org
Deadline for applications is November 15,2021.
