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Colorado - Fri. 04/24/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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BOULDER’S NEWEST SISTER CITY IS VINNYTSIA, UKRAINE
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Boulder and Vinnytsia formally launched a sister city partnership with a joint Zoom event and an in person signing at Boulder’s Highland City Club on April 22. The Boulder City Council approved Vinnytsia, a city southwest of Kyiv, for the sister city program. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he hopes the agreement will lead to student exchanges, cultural and economic collaboration, and other joint projects. Mayor Aaron Brockett and Vinnytsia Mayor Serhii Morhunov signed a declaration establishing the friendship and held up their signed documents to the camera. The Boulder Vinnytsia Sister City Foundation grew from ties formed after Russia’s 2022 invasion, including trauma response training for Ukrainian clinicians and visits by Boulder residents to Vinnytsia. As sister cities, the two communities plan to collaborate on research, mental health initiatives, Rotary projects and cultural exchange trips. Vinnytsia is Boulder’s 11th sister city.
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COLORADO PANEL REJECTS TWO OF THREE POLIS APPOINTEES TO WILDLIFE BODY
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A legislative committee on April 22 rejected two of Gov. Jared Polis’s three nominees to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission after a contentious hearing. The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee approved Francis Blayney to represent outfitters by a 7-0 vote. The panel rejected Christopher Sichko’s nomination to represent sportsmen by a 3-4 vote and rejected John Emerick’s at-large nomination by a 2-5 vote. Committee members said Sichko lacked big game hunting experience and that sportsmen’s groups opposed his nomination. Committee chair Sen. Dylan Roberts said Emerick was not qualified or prepared to serve in the at-large seat.
Department officials defended the nominees as meeting statutory requirements for the commission’s composition. Emerick said he was secretly recorded at a public meeting and criticized opponents who circulated the recording. Sichko apologized for comments about “rewilding” after questions about the term’s connotations. All three nominations will advance to the full Senate for confirmation.
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CHIMNEY HOLLOW RESERVOIR GETS WATER, BUT URANIUM STILL AN ISSUE
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For the first time on April 21, Northern Water began pumping Colorado Big Thompson Project water into Chimney Hollow Reservoir, but the flow was limited to a 1,500-acre foot test pool drawn from a concrete tower below the dam and not intended for drinking. The test pool will let engineers measure uranium leaching from rock quarried for the 350-foot tall, 3,700-foot-long dam after earlier rainwater samples showed naturally occurring uranium at levels ranging from the hundreds to about 1,000 parts per billion. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s safe drinking standard is 30 parts per billion. Northern Water says lab work has guided planning so far and that this pilot scale, real world test will inform how to reduce uranium before any full fill. The delay affects a dozen municipalities and water districts, including Loveland and Greeley, and it also puts planned 2027 reservoir releases and Larimer County’s adjacent recreation opening on hold indefinitely.
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NORTHWEST COLORADO REMAINS HOTSPOT FOR WOLF ACTIVITY IN APRIL
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s April map shows collared gray wolves concentrated in northwest watersheds between March 24 and April 21. GPS points were recorded roughly every four hours and indicate wolf activity across Moffat, Routt, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Eagle, Summit, Grand, Pitkin, Mesa and Jackson counties. There was also some activity in watersheds touching Delta, Gunnison, Montrose and Saguache. Several highlighted watersheds reach the Utah and Wyoming borders, and the map covers only activity inside Colorado. The April map shows wolves pulling away from Front Range watersheds and no exploration along the Colorado–New Mexico border. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says it is monitoring four northwest packs: Copper Creek, King Mountain, One Ear, and Three Creeks.
The agency notes denning season typically peaks in April and May and has not confirmed additional dens or new pack formations this spring. Since reintroduction began, Colorado has released 25 wolves from Oregon and British Columbia. Thirteen of those wolves have died and 12 survive, including eight females and four males, with at least six in breeding pairs or packs.
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PITKIN COUNTY APPROVES PARTNERSHIP WITH AVLT FOR GRANT APPLICATION
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The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved an agreement to partner with Aspen Valley Land Trust on a Great Outdoors Colorado Community Impact Grant application that would fund construction of a public trail and restoration work at Coffman Ranch. Pitkin County holds the conservation easement on the AVLT owned property and will be part of the application without providing additional funding. AVLT plans to formalize an existing game trail into a family friendly route to the Roaring Fork River and to carry out plantings and irrigation to restore cottonwood groves damaged in a 2008 fire.
Jonathan Rose said that if the grant is awarded, trail construction could begin this summer, and restoration work would continue over the next three years. Commissioners voiced unanimous support and noted that grant selections should be finalized in early June. AVLT is also developing programming and site improvements that include a pole barn, a learning lab, a community kitchen and restoration of a historic dairy barn.
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GJ AIRPORT APPROVES $67 MILLION FOR ONGOING RUNWAY PROJECT
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The Grand Junction Regional Airport authorized a $67.3 million contract with United Companies for about three years of paving work as part of a years' long effort to replace an aging runway. The project is expected to receive more than $62.6 million in grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration through the Airport Improvement Program. The airport will match part of the grant using $750,000 from Colorado Dept. of Transportation allocations and nearly $4 million from the airport’s fund. The work is divided into three phases with built in off ramps if federal funding lapses, and only $38 million has been awarded so far. Project managers said the airport would owe a $1 million cancellation fee if later phases are halted. When finished, the new runway will replace a 50-year-old strip and be converted to a taxiway, removing an intersection between the two runways and increasing capacity for the next 50 years.
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POST OFFICE PLANS MORE PASSPORT FAIRS STARTING SATURDAY
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Staff at Grand Junction’s central post office will hold a passport fair on Saturday, April 24, to help residents facing long waits for passport appointments. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 241 N. Fourth St. and will have three passport clerks available to process appointments and walk ins. Postal staff say typical waits have ranged from weeks to months and that Saturdays are in high demand because children are out of school. An appointment usually takes about 15 minutes when paperwork is in order. A passport fair held last month processed 55 people, and organizers hope to exceed that number this weekend. The post office plans additional fairs tentatively in June, September and October. The events are not expected to eliminate the roughly 3-to-4-week appointment backlog, but they will help some Western Slope residents get documents sooner.
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VAIL RESORTS REPORTS SHARP VISITOR DECLINES AFTER WARM, LOW SNOW SEASON
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Vail Resorts said North American skier visits fell 14.9 percent this season and that visitation in the Rockies declined about 25 percent as record low snowfall and unusually warm temperatures depressed late season travel and forced earlier closures at many western resorts. The company reported that season to date lift revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue, was down 5.6 percent while ski school, dining and retail/rental revenues also declined year over year. Vail Resorts said these results leave company-wide operating results and Resort Reported EBITDA likely at the low end of its prior guidance. The company also reported a moderate decline in early pass product units and a slight decline in sales dollars through the April 12 reporting cutoff and said it will provide more detail with third quarter results in June.
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LOVELAND SKI AREA ANNOUNCES CLOSING DAY
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Loveland Ski Area will close for the 2025-26 season on Sunday, April 26. Closing weekend will be full of celebrations, including the 25th Annual Corn Harvest Benefit Ski Party on Saturday, April 25. The party will be all day, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and will include a barbecue lunch, refreshments, a raffle and live music. Guests are encouraged to preregister in advance at SkiLoveland.com. Mark Morris and the Rope Duckers will play at the base area from 2-5:30 p.m. on both days. On-Mountain music will be at Ptarmigan Roost Cabin from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 pm. both days. Loveland is still offering more than 500 acres of terrain, including 41 open trails and four lifts.
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ARAPAHOE BASIN TO CLOSE 2025-26 SEASON MAY 3
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Arapahoe Basin Ski Area will end its 2025 26 season on Sunday, May 3, after a 194-day run that the resort says is the longest this season in Colorado despite a historically low snowpack. A Basin was the second Summit County resort to open this season, after Keystone. To mark closing, the resort will offer $39 lift tickets starting April 27, beer specials at 6th Alley all weekend and live music from Moonstone Quill and Don Fuego noon to 3 p.m. on May 2–3. The resort usually stages themed May days such as swimwear, denim and a Star Wars Day on May 4, and organizers invited riders to join “one giant party” on closing day. A Basin will tie Copper Mountain for the latest Summit County closing this year.
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COLORADO BANKRUPTCIES CLIMB 23% IN MARCH
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Colorado bankruptcy filings climbed 23 percent in March compared with the prior year, but increases were modest throughout much of the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado. That’s according to a BizWest analysis of U.S. Bankruptcy Court data. Numbers cited include all new filings, including open, closed and dismissed cases. Data may differ slightly from official bankruptcy statistics. Colorado recorded 900 filings in March, compared with 730 for the same period a year ago. Individual filings totaled 890 in March, up from 716 a year ago, but business filings declined from 14 in March 2025 to 10 this year. Year-to-date filings total 2,129, up 19.3 percent from 1,784 through March 2025. In the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado, filings increased in Boulder, Broomfield and Larimer counties but declined slightly in Weld.
- Boulder County recorded 27 bankruptcy filings in March, up 4 percent from 26 in the same month the prior year. Boulder County recorded 15 bankruptcy filings in February. Year-do-date filings total 64, down 1.5 percent from 65 through March 2025.
- The City and County of Broomfield recorded eight bankruptcy filings in March, up 33 percent from six in the same period in 2025. Broomfield recorded 11 bankruptcy filings in February. Year-to-date filings total 23, down 11.5 percent from 26 through March 2025.
- Larimer County filings totaled 41 in March, up 11 percent from 37 the prior year. Larimer recorded 35 bankruptcy filings in February. Year-to-date filings total 103, down 6 percent from 110 through March 2025.
- Weld County bankruptcy filings totaled 55 in March, down 2 percent from 56 the same month a year ago. Weld recorded 48 bankruptcy filings in February. Year-to-date filings total 161, up 6.6 percent from 151 through March 2025.
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COLORADO BREWERIES WIN IMPRESSIVE 26 MEDALS AT WORLD BEER CUP
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Colorado breweries don’t just make some of the best beer in the country, they make some of the best beer in the world. That’s according to the 30th annual World Beer Cup, which announced winners Wednesday night during the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia. Local beer purveyors made an impressive showing, collecting 26 medals this year, including four gold, up from 21 medals in 2025. Winners were selected from a pool of 8,166 beers submitted from breweries in 50 countries from across the globe, according to competition organizers at the Brewers Association.
- The winningest local outfit was Denver’s River North Brewery, which scored three medals: gold for Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun in the coffee beer category, silver for Espresso Hello Darkness in the coffee stout or porter category, and silver for Pumpkin Spice J. Marie in the pumpkin/squash/pumpkin spice category.
- Several other breweries won two medals including Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. in Golden, Bull & Bush Brewery in Denver, and New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins.
- Colorado dominated the competition’s most competitive category, West Coast-style IPA. Out of 293 entries, gold was awarded to Cannon Ball Creek Brewing Co., and silver was awarded to Crystal Springs Brewing Co. in Louisville.
- Durango’s Ska Brewing and the namesake Telluride Brewing Co. represented the Western Slope with gold and silver medals, respectively.
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MARKET UPDATE - 04/23/2026 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 04/23/2026)
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*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.
*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.
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