|
Colorado - Fri. 07/24/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
|
|
View in Browser
|
|
|
| |
OIL PRICES ROAR BACK, THREATENING ECONOMY
|
| |
|
|
| |
Oil prices roared back Thursday to crack the $100-a-barrel mark, an inflation-triggering threshold that threatens to bedevil the U.S. economy. Brent crude, the global gauge, topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May. The U.S. oil price shot up 6.2 percent to $92.19 a barrel. Higher energy prices quickly reverberated through markets, stoking a selloff in government bonds that sent the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a barometer for borrowing costs, to the highest level of President Trump’s second term. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both lost around 1 percent, while worries about runaway artificial-intelligence spending by big tech companies dragged the Nasdaq composite down more than 2 percent.
Mortgage rates rose to their highest level in nearly a year, with the average 30-year fixed rate hitting 6.58 percent. Some economists now predict that a U.S. mortgage rate of nearly 7 percent looms. The national average retail price of unleaded gasoline pushed back above $4 a gallon this week. Diesel prices have been rising even faster than those for gasoline or crude oil. Diesel, which fuels trucks, construction equipment and farming implements, tends to have an even greater impact on the economy and inflation when its price rises. The national average retail price was about $5.21 on Thursday, up 39 percent from a year earlier.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
DOUGLAS COUNTY BEAR REPORTS UP 155% FROM 2025
|
| |
|
|
| |
Colorado’s drought has pushed bears closer to urban areas in search of resources, Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports. Douglas County’s fourth bear fatality of the month occurred Wednesday after a car hit a bear in Lone Tree. After impact, the adult male bear retreated to a nearby tree line and was then taken into the care of CPW officers. The organization later reported that the bear died due to internal injuries. The county has seen 191 bear reports since January, according to CPW Northeast Region Public Information Officer Kara Van Hoose. This is a significant increase from the 75 reports made within the same time frame in 2025. “We are attributing this large increase to drought depleting the natural food sources for bears,” Van Hoose said.
Though there have been no attacks on humans, chances of property destruction and roadkill accidents have increased. To decrease chances of encountering bears, residents should be mindful to lock up trash cans and other food resources. Residents should be alert and watchful for bears while driving, honking their horns at any who wander near the road. For more information, visit online at cpw.state.co.us/living-bears.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
NEARLY 460 MILES OF RIVERS IN COLORADO UNDER FISHING RESTRICTIONS AS A RESULT OF HEAT & DROUGHT
|
| |
|
|
| |
The stretch of the Rio Grande through South Fork, Colorado, is labeled a “Gold Medal” fishery by the state, meaning flyfishers have a better chance of catching more and bigger trout. It’s typically a prime destination for late afternoon casting right in sight of the nearby golf course. Not this summer. The Rio Grande River running through the town is about 87 percent lower than normal for this time of year. Those trickling flows and well above normal water temperatures have led Colorado Parks and Wildlife to place a voluntary fishing closure on 74 miles of the Rio Grande from noon until midnight. It’s the same story on the nearby Conejos River and the Animas and San Juan rivers further west. And the Dolores River. And the Colorado River. And the Elk and the Eagle and the Yampa and the Gunnison.
CPW has placed mandatory or voluntary closures on portions of 16 rivers and streams. The scale of the fishing closures in Colorado is unprecedented. Nearly 460 river miles are under some form of drought-related fishing restriction. The agency has also placed fishing closures on 10 lakes, ponds and reservoirs in efforts to preserve sensitive species. Meanwhile, water levels in five other reservoirs are drawn down so much that CPW has taken the opposite approach: removing all catch limits for anglers to harvest as many fish as possible before they die.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
USFS HAS STAGE 3 FIRE RESTRICTIONS, BUT THEY'VE ONLY BEEN USED ONCE IN COLORADO
|
| |
|
|
| |
The U.S. Forest Service has the ability to implement Stage 3 fire restrictions which ban federal lands to all public entry but has only done so once in Colorado. Amid a historic drought and extreme wildfire danger, Colorado mountain communities have spent weeks under Stage 2 fire restrictions, leading some to wonder whether another stage of restrictions could be on the table. “Stage 3 is a tool available if we are seeing significant compliance issues or human starts or otherwise do not feel Stage 2 restrictions are adequate,” White River National Forest public affairs officer David Boyd said. Stage 3 fire restrictions are a full closure of a national forest or other public lands.
Boyd said the White River National Forest, the most-visited national forest in the U.S. with nearly 18 million visitors per year, is not currently considering Stage 3 fire restrictions and has never implemented Stage 3 restrictions. The only time that a national forest has implemented Stage 3 fire restrictions in Colorado is in 2018, when the San Juan National Forest implemented a full forest closure due to extreme fire conditions and a large, active wildfire. Stage 3 fire restrictions are the highest level of restrictions available to federal land managers. Stage 3 fire restrictions are issued at the national forest-level. Under federal law, violations of fire restrictions on federally managed lands are punishable as a Class B misdemeanor and with a fine of up to $5,000 or six months in prison.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
ASPEN AIRPORT MOVES FORWARD WITH FAA GRANTS FOLLOWING PITKIN COUNTY APPROVAL
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved Wednesday the adoption of two resolutions related to Federal Aviation Administration grants for the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport. The first is a resolution allowing the acceptance of a FAA grant in the amount of $2,104,034 for the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport’s Runway 15/33 Shift Design Work. The county initially received approval of the Airport Layout Plan from the FAA in November 2024. The approved Airport Layout Plan opened federal funding opportunities for the new terminal and a relocated and reconstructed runway. As part of the grant, the FAA will provide up to 95 percent of all eligible costs up to $2,104,034, and the airport sponsor is responsible for a 2.5 percent cost share in the amount of $55,369, where the other 2.5 percent or $55,369 is covered by a separate Colorado Dept. of Transportation grant.
Commissioners also on Wednesday approved the submission of an FAA Airport Improvement Program grant application and, if awarded, the acceptance of the grant agreement for 2026 enabling work and 2027 relocation work related to the Runway 15/33 modernization project at the airport. The enabling work must be completed in advance of the major airfield construction anticipated to begin in 2027, the staff report confirms. The work includes utility coordination, roadway modifications, navigational aid coordination and other supporting improvements. The estimated total project cost for this grant-funded phase is up to $50 million — the FAA has indicated that approximately $30 million is known to be available at this time. A second reading and public hearing for both resolutions will be held on Aug. 12.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
GRAY WOLF ACTIVITY IN JULY CONCENTRATES IN NORTHWEST COLORADO: NEW PACK, PUPS
|
| |
|
|
| |
After June saw Colorado’s collared gray wolves covering large swaths of the state, including one briefly traveling east of I-25 for the first time, the animals’ activity in July was concentrated in a portion of northwest Colorado. This is according to the latest wolf activity map from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which illustrates the watersheds where Colorado’s collared wolves were located between June 23 and July 21. The map shows wolf activity was primarily located in watersheds that span portions of Jackson, Grand, Routt, Rio Blanco, Eagle, Mesa, Delta, Gunnison, Summit, Pitkin and Chaffee counties. The map was released on the same day Parks and Wildlife announced that a new pack formed this spring in Eagle County. Dubbed the Piney Ridge Pack, it was one of four packs that successfully had wolf pups this year, the wildlife agency reported.
The One Ear, Copper Creek and Three Creeks packs — in Jackson, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, respectively — also had litters. Parks and Wildlife estimated there were at least 32 wolves in Colorado as of March 31, including 18 adults and 14 pups. One of these adults was killed in June after it was tied to attacks on at least 22 sheep in Rio Blanco and Routt counties since July 2025. Of the 17 surviving adults, only about half are collared, and the majority are living as part of a pack.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
'BUMPER CROP' FOR PEACH FEST THIS YEAR DESPITE HISTORIC DROUGHT
|
| |
|
|
| |
Palisade is in the thick of the peach season with harvest underway and the annual celebration of peaches, the Peach Festival, less than one month away. Palisade Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jessica Burford said local growers have been having a great season despite this year’s historic drought and a spring freeze that damaged crops in other regions of the state. “We did have early peaches come on, but it looks like we’ll still have plenty of inventory well through Peach Fest and beyond into September like we’re used to,” Burford said. “And the longer we wait and the warmer the temps are, the juicier those peaches are going to be getting.” Unlike other peach growing areas like the North Fork Valley in Delta County, which lost its entire crop to a spring freeze, Palisade growers are overflowing with peaches this summer, Burford said.
- The harvest celebrations begin Thursday, Aug. 13, in downtown Palisade with an Ice Cream Social and Street Dance starting at 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 15, sees the annual Peach Days Parade at 9 a.m., as well as the Just Peachy 5K and 10K.
- The Peach Fest itself runs Friday, Aug. 21 through Saturday, Aug. 22.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
COALITION LAUNCHES TRUE WEST WITH OUTDOOR RECREATION SURVEY
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Grand Valley Outdoor Recreation Coalition has launched True West, a community engagement and planning effort to help shape the future of Mesa County’s outdoor recreation. True West is an initiative to build a shared vision and action-oriented roadmap that balances conservation, stewardship, economic vitality, and responsible growth through community engagement, stakeholder collaboration, data-driven analysis and practical implementation. The initiative aims to identify strategies to protect outdoor assets, improving access and infrastructure, supporting local businesses and jobs, and strengthening regional partnerships.
The Grand Valley Outdoor Recreation Coalition is inviting community members to take an online survey. People can participate in the survey through Aug. 14. The survey can be accessed at surveymonkey.com/r/C3JSYYB. Throughout the rest of the summer and autumn, community members will have more opportunities to get involved through a series of campfire sessions focused on specific user groups, community visioning workshops and other engagement events.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS APPROVES CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH STEAMBOAT SKI & RESORT CORP
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
The Steamboat Springs City Council has approved a proposed one-year memorandum of understanding with Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation regarding the resort’s upcoming paid winter parking program. Under the agreement, approved at council’s Tuesday meeting, Ski Corp. will commit $200,000 to support additional service for Steamboat Springs Transit during weekends and peak periods, and expand the Yellow Zone in the Blue Sage, Highpoint and Brooklyn neighborhoods — areas identified as having the greatest potential to minimize impacts and provide alternatives to driving. Additional transit services will be targeted in areas that tend to see high volume, like downtown Steamboat and the Gondola Transit Center. The memorandum can be renewed annually for up to two more years and includes a provision allowing for termination should the city, Routt County or the state place a lift-ticket, business or occupational tax measure on the ballot.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
THE NO. 1 WAY AMERICANS SPEND THEIR FREE TIME
|
| |
|
|
| |
Americans spend the majority of their leisure time on screens, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Out of an average of five hours and 10 minutes of leisure and sports time per day, people ages 15 and older spend an average of about two and a half hours watching TV, and another 37 minutes on activities like video games and social media. Lance Garrison, dean for the College of Professional Psychology at the Chicago School, and Gloria Mark, a chancellor’s professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine and author of “Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity,” believe screens are Americans’ favorite pastime. With screens, it’s instant gratification,’ and the medium has become even more enticing because of today’s myriad on-demand options on streaming services. It’s also a low-energy activity. Spending time with people takes effort, and the benefits are not felt immediately.
Even within the travel category of leisure time, screens are often part of the experience. At some amusement parks, for example, visitors use smartphones to order food. “Our whole society is shifting toward spending more time on screens,” she says. Other research has found much higher rates of phone use by kids and adults. In 2023, Gallup found that the average U.S. teen spends 4.8 hours per day across various social media platforms. Mark also believes the fast-paced nature of both traditional media and short-form content has negatively affected people’s attention spans, which can affect stress levels as well as quality of performance on an activity. When you’re trying to figure out what to do in your leisure time, “you can read books, you can walk in nature, you can play sports, you can have conversations with people,” she says. “Those things require us to have longer periods of attention.”
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
THE SURPRISING SMALL CITIES WHERE AMERICANS ARE FINDING JOBS
|
| |
|
|
| |
The U.S. added just 57,000 jobs in June, far below expectations, while unemployment held at 4.2 percent and labor force participation slipped to 61.5 percent. LinkedIn data shows nearly 80 percent of professionals feel unprepared to navigate the 2026 job hunt, and that anxiety is reshaping where Americans choose to build their careers. LinkedIn’s new Cities on the Rise ranking, which identifies the 25 U.S. small and mid-sized metros with the strongest combination of job growth and inbound migration, shows momentum spreading into corners of the map that rarely make these lists. LinkedIn built the ranking by looking at how fast hiring and job postings are growing in a metro relative to its size, and whether more LinkedIn members are moving in than out. To qualify, a metro needed to rank in the top half of all U.S. areas on hiring, job, and migration growth, with positive net migration over the past year.
The top 10 metros on the list are:
- Augusta, Ga.
- Richmond, Va.
- Reno, Nev.
- Sarasota, Fla.
- Harrisburg, Pa.
- Charleston, S.C.
- Pensacola, Fla.
- Austin, Texas
- Portland, Maine
- Tulsa, Okla.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
MARKET UPDATE - 07/23/2026 Close
|
| |
|
(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
|
| |
|
Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 07/23/2026)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
|
| |
|
| |
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.
|
| |
|
|
| |
| Make changes to your subscription or unsubscribe here. |
| © 2026 Alpine Bank. |
| |
|
|
