Lincoln County has applied to be part of the Coal-Reliant Communities Innovation Challenge, which is sponsored by the National Association of Counties.

The workshop will be held in Denver in early May. The challenge’s purpose is to help coal-reliant counties “retool their economies to become more resilient to changing conditions.”

If selected, Lincoln County would send a team of local elected officials and economic development representatives to participate.

At the March 5 commission meeting, commissioner Robert King said Lincoln County should learn this week if they have been chosen to participate in the workshop, which is open to leaders from Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. 

“It would be great to hear all those different perspectives,” King said. “This is designed for coal-reliant communities, and we definitely fit that description.”

King and commission chairman Kent Connelly agreed that Lincoln County’s leaders and residents could benefit from the program, which seeks to create solutions to the energy industry challenges that are common across the West.