Cortez Radio Station and Theater Turns Saturday Nights Into $aturday Nights for Local Businesses | LOR Foundation
Complete Economy

Cortez Radio Station and Theater Turns Saturday Nights Into $aturday Nights for Local Businesses

  • Local Champion: KSJD Community Radio
  • Date Funded: August 21, 2023
  • Grant Amount: $23,100

The sidewalks don’t roll up on Saturday nights in Cortez, but there sure aren’t many people on them—which creates a problem for local businesses. To help drive more traffic (and spending) downtown the local community radio station—which also manages Sunflower Theater—had an idea. The Sunflower’s summer move series had been very successful and had coincided with an increase in business for nearby establishments like WildEdge Brewery. So what if the theater showed low-cost ($5) films on Saturday nights and helped organized food trucks and other local vendors, creating a good reason for folks to come downtown? All they needed to make this happen was a digital projector and server to show documentaries and other films (instead of asking production houses to send film reels, which is more expensive and becoming antiquated). The proceeds of the showings will help support the purchase of future films. LOR’s support will help with the purchase of the digital projector and server to make downtown the hottest place to be on Saturday nights.

Contact our community officer in Cortez. Meet Nicci Crowley
More Economy Solutions
Economy / Taos A Taos Tutoring Program Creates Career Pathways While Supporting Students
Local Champion:
Embudo Valley Tutoring Association
Date funded:
March 10, 2025
Grant Amount:
$9,874
Economy / Monte Vista Shelving, Signs, and Cameras Support Monte Vista’s Community Thrift Shop
Local Champion:
La Puente Home, Inc.
Date funded:
March 6, 2025
Grant Amount:
$9,991
Economy / Libby A Traveling Volleyball Program Benefits Libby Youth — and the Local Economy
Local Champion:
Libby K-12 Schools
Date funded:
March 3, 2025
Grant Amount:
$11,775
Economy / Cortez Summer Institutes Connect Cortez Students with Career Training
Local Champion:
Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative
Date funded:
February 27, 2025
Grant Amount:
$6,750
Economy / Lander Bathroom Upgrades Improve Basic Amenities at Lander’s Popular Rodeo Grounds
Local Champion:
City of Lander, Wyoming
Date funded:
February 24, 2025
Grant Amount:
$29,100
Economy / Cortez Artificial Insemination Training Strengthens Skills for Cortez Women in Agriculture
Local Champion:
Agricultural Women of the Southwest
Date funded:
February 21, 2025
Grant Amount:
$2,035

Share an Idea

If you have an idea for improving quality of life in Cortez or Monte Vista, Colorado; Lander, Wyoming; Libby, Montana; Questa or Taos, New Mexico; or Weiser, Idaho, use this form to start a conversation with us.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.