Sarah Tober writes: Alliance delivers 10x return, investing over $1M into local economy
Economic development in La Plata County can look like many things. It looks like unlocking key funding to develop attainable housing. It looks like building local business capacity by addressing the key challenges that stifle growth. It looks like strengthening workforce skills through industry-led career training and targeting gaps in our talent pipelines.
In this Opinion column, published in the Durango Herald on March 18th, 2026 the Executive Director of the La Plata Economic Development Alliance details the impact the organization has made on the local economy in 2025.
2026 is another opportunity to build a more vibrant and resilient economy. In the first few months of the year, the Alliance has launched an Economic Feasibility Study for light-industrial possibilities at the Animas Airpark, launched an Internship Funding program, and created two new industry-led microcredential supporting career development.
We welcome feedback on how we can help make our economy more prosperous and our community more resilient.The Alliance’s monthly Investor Member meeting is a forum to discuss community priorities, bringing together public, private, and philanthropic partners to shape our economic direction.
