Happy 150th Birthday to Weld County, Colorado

Happy 150th Birthday to Weld County, Colorado

HON. JARED POLIS

OF COLORADO IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, November 4, 2011 Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to recognize the 150th birthday of Weld County, Colorado. Weld is the sunny, rolling home to 31 towns filled with Coloradans of all backgrounds and aspirations. In 1821, Major Stephen H. Long made an expedition to the area now known as Weld County and declared the land was not fit for human prosperity. Almost two centuries later it is without question that Major Long did not have the vision or the admiration for this great place as those of Weld County have today. Located in the north central part of Colorado, Weld County provides an impressive supply of opportunity and industrial support being the State's leader in production of cattle, grain, and sugar beets and the second leader in production of oil and gas. It is ranked as the third leading agricultural area in the United States. But it is not the natural resources or the environmental make up of Weld County that make it what it is today, on its 150th birthday. It is the people of this county that have taken it from a prairie region first settled by railroad workers, to a vibrant and growing home to thousands of Colorado families. Beyond its industrial value, one of the State's strongest public universities, the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, is located within Weld County and provides thousands of students the opportunity for higher education and a more fertile future every year. I congratulate the people of Weld County on 150 years of progress and prosperity and eagerly anticipate what the future holds for this forward-looking Colorado County.

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