Why we started Mesa County Compass

By Ruth Kinnett and Lisa Fry | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

In June 2023, we were sitting at a kitchen table watching headlines move faster than facts. A recall effort was underway against District 51 School Board member Andrea Haitz, and something didn’t sit right. We kept hearing fragments — social media posts, clipped quotes, secondhand outrage — but we couldn’t find the full conversation.

So we decided to start one.

Mesa County Compass began on June 10, 2023, during that recall effort. At the time, we believed the full truth had not been properly revealed and that Haitz was being unfairly accused of something she had not done. What started as a response to that moment grew into something larger — a platform dedicated to conversation, clarity, and giving people space to speak for themselves. 

From the beginning, the goal has been simple: sit down, look people in the eye, and ask real questions. No shouting matches. No clipped sound bites. Just thoughtful, one-on-one conversations about the issues shaping Mesa County. 

Over time, we’ve truly enjoyed sitting down with the people we’ve interviewed. Some of those conversations have surprised us. Officials we expected to be guarded ended up talking more openly than we imagined — but only when the cameras weren’t rushed and the clock wasn’t ticking. We’ve had tough moments, too. We’ve disagreed. We’ve pushed back. But more often than not, we’ve ended those interviews shaking hands and continuing the conversation afterward.

We’ve learned that citizens want more than slogans. They want process explained. They want to know who decided what, and why. And they want to feel like their questions are legitimate.

Each guest brings a story, a perspective, a layer of humanity that often gets lost in headlines. Some of the most revealing conversations have been with members of the Grand Junction City Council — particularly during the controversy surrounding the 4th and 5th Street redesign, as well as in the months leading up to local elections. 

There is something about sitting across from someone, without a crowd or a clock counting down, that brings out a different side. People are more reflective. More nuanced. More real. 

By the time we invited Councilmen Ben Van Dyke and Scott Beilfuss to sit down with us, the 4th and 5th Street project had become a dividing line in the community. Business owners, residents, cyclists, longtime locals — everyone had a stake, and people weren’t just reacting — they were bringing charts, traffic counts, and lived experience to the table.

We invited them on because we had questions — the same questions a lot of other residents were asking.

What we learned is that when you slow a conversation down, people open up. We heard about executive sessions, community frustration, business owners feeling blindsided, and council members wrestling with the weight of their votes. That kind of nuance rarely fits in a headline — but it matters.

The podcast has featured city leaders, school board candidates, county officials, and community advocates. When the timing is right, we also plan to interview candidates for state offices, recognizing that decisions made beyond Mesa County still shape life here at home. The intention is not to ambush, but to illuminate. To let voters hear directly from those asking for their trust. 

Supporters see Mesa County Compass as a needed local voice, a place where conversations are allowed to breathe. 

Critics may see it through a political lens. Some people hear ‘citizen journalism’ and think it automatically means partisan. That hasn’t been our goal. We ask direct questions. We invite candidates and officeholders to explain their decisions in detail. We don’t edit conversations into thirty-second soundbites.

But our goal has never been to ambush or inflame. It’s to let people hear the full story and decide for themselves.

We started Mesa County Compass because we believe local government affects everyday life. And it doesn’t improve unless people get involved — whether that’s attending a meeting, casting a vote, or simply asking better questions from their own kitchen table.

More than once, we’ve walked into an interview thinking we knew the story — and walked out realizing our first impression wasn’t the whole picture.

As our tagline says: “These are the facts as we know them. The truth as we see it.  You decide.”

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.