Lyn Deal, the people’s mayor
Fort Morgan Mayor Lyn Deal is originally from Oregon and admittedly misses the vegetation sometimes, but is positive she will never leave Fort Morgan because of its people.
“The beauty is in the people. I love the people, and I love the projects. I love it here,” said Deal, who joked that she will still be pursuing volunteer work years from now in her future wheelchair.
Though she admits she didn’t exactly love politics at first, she did love creating visible change for the betterment of the city. It was her love for the community and the history of the town that inspired her to run for mayor, and she has greatly enjoyed learning more about the inner workings of Fort Morgan since being elected.
“I’m enjoying being mayor, but it’s not about the prestige or the title. I always say, I’m one of seven with a few privileges. But it has enabled me to learn a lot more about some of the groups and entities in our community that have invited me to come and see what they’re about. I’ve learned so much more about the town, even though I’ve lived here about 50 years,” she said.
Her involvement in the City first began back in 1977 when she and her husband purchased a historic home on Sherman Street from the granddaughter of the original builder, who built the home in 1898. That property and the history surrounding it inspired Deal to learn more about historic preservation.
She sought out Colorado Preservation Office in Denver and ended up bringing the profession of historic preservation to the city of Fort Morgan. Deal sparked the creation of the city’s historic district and was able to put multiple historic properties on the National Register of Historic Places, which meant they would be eligible for grant funding.
Deal, who wrote some of those grants herself, was always being put in touch with the city government and often ended up attending City Council meetings. She was definitely no stranger to seeking out projects and following through on her word to complete them. With the encouragement of a friend, Deal decided to run for a position on the Council.
She served on the City Council from 2008-2012 and again from 2020-2022 before being elected and sworn in as Fort Morgan’s first female mayor in January.
“This last year, I decided to run for mayor because… we need affordable housing. You just see the need in the community. So I decided to run for mayor to be able to be more hands-on with these entities on Council. I took it a step further to be able to work with more people and more projects. That’s where my passion is. It’s really that that drives me and makes me happy. I come home exhausted, but kind of on a high,” said Deal.
Her enthusiasm is truly unmatched, and she has a strong desire to be involved in every aspect of the city. She is an active member of the Community Police Panel, has been participating in the sevenweek Citizen’s Academy course and accepts nearly every invitation to go on a tour or attend a community meeting. Recently, she has toured Leprino Foods, the Morgan County Family Center, iConnect, Cargill, Rising Up, United
Way and has even discovered Orange Skies Skydiving.
Deal said being involved in the community is not only her job, but it’s also her favorite hobby. A few personal goals she is actively working towards include inviting more groups to attend Council meetings, furthering her relationships with members of the community and continuing to clean up the city.
She has asked senior students taking a speech class at Fort Morgan High School to prepare speeches about some of the city’s issues and come present them to Council so the councilmembers can “be (more) in touch with the feelings of the community.”
Coming up next weekend on May 7, Deal has gathered School Resource Officers and people from Rotary Club, Lions Club and Gladiator Boxing to help her clean up six select properties in the city.