Northeast counties emerge as hubs

What do a Wal-Mart Super Center and the new Sterling Correctional Facility have in common?

Both provide a major boost to the economy of Sterling and Logan County, and both draw people in from outlying areas for employment or shopping.

Sterling, the Logan County seat, is located in the northeastern corner of Colorado on Interstate 76, and serves as a hub for consumers of retail businesses, professional services and education.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Select your Republic Services residential cart now!

In preparation for Republic Services becoming the primary provider of residential recycling, yard trimmings, and trash, residents should now select the best cart size and service schedule for their household needs.

People travel from as far away as Sidney, Neb., to shop at the Wal-Mart Super Center in Sterling, said store manager Doris Woodard.

“Nearly 12 percent of total sales comes from outlying areas, including Kansas and Nebraska,” Woodard said.

Those traveling longer distances tend to stock up in monthly or bimonthly trips, she said. “They’ll come once or twice a month and buy huge orders, out of the norm, hundreds of dollars’ worth of merchandise.”

The store tracks customers who write checks by ZIP code, but is unable to account for those buying with cash or credit cards, Woodard said. So actually percentages could be even higher than 12 percent, particularly in the summer months.

Woodard said the installation of the large Wal-Mart store about five years ago created a draw from areas in nearly every direction, because the closest similar store in Greeley is 75 miles to the west.

Several factors are taken into consideration by corporate executives before a new Super Center can be built in any community, Woodard said.

Where the next-closest store is located is just one piece; another area important to the feasibility study is the size of the surrounding population and stores that provide the same products as the Super Center, such as grocery stores and other discount stores.

Although the population of Sterling stands at approximately 11,278, according to Stacey Scarpella, an administrative assistant at the Logan County Chamber of Commerce, more than 65,000 people look to Sterling for professional services, retail shopping, employment and recreation

Building a Super Center “usually doubles to triples sales at that location,” Woodard said.

Scarpella concurs: “People come from all over, from Nebraska to Wray and further down” she said.

The installation of a mega prison will likely boost Sterling’s economy also, with an expected employee base of 510 by June.

Warden Bob Furlong, who transferred from Limon’s state prison, will run the Sterling Correction Facility, the largest in the state.

Located just south of Sterling, the prison will eventually house 2,445 inmates and employ 810 workers by the year 2000, Furlong said.

Additional personnel will be hired on a contract basis for instruction, medical and mental-health services. Suppliers are being sought as well, Furlong said.

Scarpella noted that many northeastern Colorado residents have secured employment at the prison, with correctional-officer salaries starting at approximately $30,000 annually, plus benefits.

“For anyone living within the 55-minute response areas, we are hiring for all positions,” Furlong said.

Northeastern Colorado residents seeking more information about prison jobs should contact Gina Weingardt at (970) 521-7438.

In addition to offering shopping and employment opportunities, Sterling’s hospital provides up-to-date medical care.

The Sterling Regional MedCenter is a 36-bed acute care facility, with 275 employees and 30 doctors and dentists providing services to people throughout the county.

Northeastern Junior College, one of a few community colleges offering on-campus housing, draws the majority of its 1,000 full-time students from outside Logan County, said Tim Adams, director of admissions at NJC.

Only 270 full-time students actually come from within Logan County, with enrollment coming from 53 counties, 22 states and seven foreign countries.

The opportunity to reside on campus, the low cost compared with a four-year college or university and the availability of an agricultural program attract people to NJC, Adams said. Total cost for tuition, room and board and books comes to approximately $6,000 per year.

A large number of students come from Wyoming and Nebraska, Adams said, and many from Colorado.

Besides the 1,000 full-time students, NJC serves more than 3,500 part-time students, many of whom commute from outside Sterling or Logan County, primarily from the surrounding counties.

Logan’s neighboring county, Morgan, which lies directly east, also draws many consumers to its county seat, Fort Morgan, for retail business, health services and housing, said Lisa Noble, executive director of the Morgan County Economic Development Corp.

Noble said the new prison will likely affect Morgan County significantly as well, in terms of housing and employment opportunities.

Housing remains available and reasonably priced, with an average home in Morgan County selling for $76,546 in 1997, Noble pointed out. The average in Fort Morgan, with a population slightly over 10,000 is a little higher than the county average, or around $80,000.

Smaller towns in the county average in the $30,000 range, and those in rural areas with small acreages average much higher, near $121,000, she said.

Smaller towns such as Hillrose and Log Lane Village, both located within a few miles of Fort Morgan, have seen huge growth recently, Noble noted. “They’re doing a great job in terms of keeping up with the infrastructure to support the growth in those areas,” she said.

Another trend Noble said she has seen in Fort Morgan is the influx of chain retail businesses. A new Rite Aid pharmacy is under construction in the downtown area, and Great Copier, a local business, has accounts statewide.

With prime access to DIA and Denver via Interstate 76, Morgan County offers residents small-town living with close proximity to the metro area — 60 minutes to DIA or 75 miles to Denver.

Many travelers stop in Fort Morgan or in the restaurants located along Interstate 76, Noble said.

Retail sales for Morgan County, population 35,000, surpassed $389 million in 1997 and have topped $195 million as of June 1998, Noble said

In Logan County, population 40,000, sales totaled more than $353 million for 1997 and $174 million for the first two quarters of 1998.

Although the unemployment rate for both counties has risen some during the past year, with Morgan at 4 percent and Logan at 5.6 percent, Noble thinks the economy is strong overall.

Part of the increase in unemployment might be attributed to the recent closure of High Plains Youth Center, a 190-bed youth detention center located near Brush in Morgan County. More than 100 employees were laid off when the Department of Human Services revoked the center’s license to operate because of safety violations.