By Richard Dyer | Apache Junction Independent
In 2020 the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent covered the city of Apache Junction and the unincorporated Pinal County community of Gold Canyon, offering reporting of local issues that quickly spun into the pandemic’s impacts on all aspects of the area.
In a year where wearing a mask for health reasons became fashionable and political, local news included COVID-19 restrictions and concerns; the sale of nearly 2,800 acres of State Trust Land for nearly $250 million; new individuals being elected to govern city, county and school boards in charge of combined budgets of nearly $650 million; a call for $200 million in appropriations at the state Legislature for a bus service to Apache Junction to bring much-needed transit to the area; the start of sole-provider solid waste services for Apache Junction; council candidates weighing in on if they would approve the annexation of Gold Canyon; the city council making preparations to purchase the Apache Junction Rodeo Grounds on Bureau of Land Management property; volunteers entering the home stretch on plans for a founder’s day event in 2022 marking the 100th anniversary of designating the area as Apache Junction; and work beginning on a 5-mile stretch of State Route 24 to reach Ironwood Drive south of Apache Junction.
