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Colorado - Thu. 06/11/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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AT BID – CABIN WITH PRIVATE SKI AREA: $25.7 MILLION
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Real estate auction house Concierge Auctions, in cooperation with Compass Real Estate Broker Steven Shane, will offer Hideaway Creek Cabin, which is inside Cimarron Mountain Club, a private, members-only ski community in the San Juan Mountains, at auction at a listed price of $27.5 million. Hideaway Creek Cabin is the only completed private residence in Cimarron Mountain Club, a 1,900-acre community limited to 13 families. The cabin is over 4,000 square feet on a 35-acre lot and has four bedrooms and five full bathrooms. It features radiant heat throughout, two wood-burning fireplaces and a solar energy system.
Cimarron Mountain Club is about 30 minutes from Montrose Regional Airport, covers an area larger than Aspen Mountain and is accessible only by snowmobile. Members have access to three snowcats, a newly completed 15,000-square-foot private lodge, Michelin-caliber dining and professional concierge services. Bidding for Hideaway Creek Cabin is scheduled to open on July 14 via the firm’s online marketplace, conciergeauctions.com. The auction will close live on July 28 at Sotheby’s New York as part of the New York Global Sales lineup.
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CAMPING IN VAIL SOON? GORE CREEK CAMPGROUND HAS BAN ON TENTS, TENT-TRAILERS
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Across western Colorado, the warm, low-snow winter resulted in bears emerging from hibernation early and there have been many reports of bear sightings. On Tuesday, the White River National Forest banned tents, pop-up tent trailers, truck-bed tent campers and other soft-sided shelters at Gore Creek Campground after a bear “that shows little fear of humans” damaged two unoccupied tents in separate incidents, “and continues to return to the campground.” Located at 8,700 feet, Gore Creek Campground has 24 sites.
The bear has been visiting at all hours, day and night. In addition, the U.S. Forest Service “has a food-storage order in place for all its developed campgrounds and many dispersed camping areas to help prevent black bears and other wildlife from obtaining food from humans and becoming a nuisance or dangerous,” according to the order. “Each campsite at Gore Creek Campground has a bear-resistant food locker, and there is information about proper food storage posted throughout the campground.”
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DPS TO BAN CELLPHONES DURING SCHOOL HOURS BEGINNING IN THE FALL
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Beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, students in Denver Public Schools will not be able to use their cellphones during school hours. The DPS Board of Education unanimously passed a “bell-to-bell” ban on third reading on Monday. The ban drew wide support from the community committee tasked with creating a policy, with 100 percent of members agreeing there should be no smartphones, watches, earbuds (that connect to a cell phone), or non-school-issued computers or tablets used during school hours. The committee also recommended adequate and secure storage be provided since the ban prohibits student use while on school property. A new state law requires school districts to adopt a cellphone policy before July 1. The policy must describe any prohibitions and exceptions, if any, for student use during the school day.
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PITKIN, GARFIELD COUNTIES ENTER INTO STAGE 1 FIRE RESTRICTIONS
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Officials of both Pitkin and Garfield counties announced Tuesday that they will implement Stage 1 fire restrictions beginning Wednesday, June 10. This announcement comes the same day that the Paradise Creek fire began to burn near South Canyon near Glenwood Springs, closing I-70. The cause remains to be determined and there were no evacuations by the time of publication. Stage 1 restrictions are put in place when fire danger and preparedness levels increase, and when the risks of keeping areas open to all activities begin to outweigh the benefits. The restrictions are intended to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires by limiting activities known to create higher fire danger, including campfires and smoking in certain areas.
Under Stage 1 restrictions, building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire is prohibited except within a developed recreation site or improved site. Smoking is also prohibited unless a person is inside an enclosed vehicle or building, within a developed recreation site, or stopped in an area at least 3 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material. The restrictions also prohibit operating or using any internal or external combustion engine without a properly installed and maintained spark-arresting device that is in effective working order.
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FIRE DANGER MOVES TO “HIGH” IN SUMMIT COUNTY
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Matt Benedict, a Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District division chief, announced that Summit County moved from "moderate" to "high" fire danger this week. Benedict wrote that “occasional moisture” has kept the county’s fuel moisture from reaching critical levels, but the weather forecast predicts a few days of critical fire weather this week before a potential storm early next week. He added that officials will monitor fire danger levels during the critical fire weather and adjust as needed. The county has not yet implemented fire restrictions.
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DOWNTOWN GRAND JUNCTION IS BACK IN THE MESA COUNTY ENTERPRISE ZONE
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Downtown Grand Junction has officially been reinstated into the Mesa County Enterprise Zone. The Grand Junction Business Incubator Center (BIC), the administrator of the zone, announced the news Tuesday after approval of a boundary amendment by the Colorado Economic Development Commission. The amendment restores Census Tract 3 to Enterprise Zone eligibility for the next 10 years. Tract 3 includes the downtown corridor between First Street and Seventh Street and Pitkin Avenue to North Avenue. Enterprise Zone maps are redrawn every 10 years, with new maps going into effect Jan. 1 of this year, set in place through 2035. Businesses inside the zones can be eligible for tax credit incentives.
Originally, the downtown Grand Junction corridor was set to be excluded after being in the previous zone, but that has changed thanks to the boundary amendment, so downtown businesses are immediately eligible for these credits. Activities that can make businesses eligible for state income tax credits include new job creation, employee training costs, equipment and capital purchases, research and development activities, and rehabilitation of qualifying vacant buildings. Information, eligibility maps, and certification links are available at gjincubator.org/mesa-county-enterprise-zone.
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CONSUMER PRICES ROSE 4.2% IN MAY, HIGHEST IN 3 YEARS
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The consumer price index, a broad gauge of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 4.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The level was the highest since April 2023 and up 0.5 percent from the 3.8 percent reading from April this year. Economists said May’s reading, which was in line with expectations, is likely to be the high-water mark in the recent run-up in inflation from this year’s energy-price shock. That’s assuming gasoline prices, which have ticked down in June, don’t accelerate again on renewed conflict in the Strait of Hormuz. Prices excluding food and energy categories, the so-called core measure economists watch in an effort to better capture inflation’s underlying trend, rose 2.9 percent on the year. That was in line with forecasts and was slightly hotter than 2.8 percent the previous month.
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WORLD CUP = BIGGEST BETTING EVENT IN HISTORY
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off today, June 11, in Mexico City. Over the next six weeks, there will be 104 matches with 48 teams participating. Financial services firm Macquarie projects global wagers on the 2026 World Cup will exceed USD$50 billion. That is up from the $35 billion wagered during the 2022 tournament. This year’s Cup will have 40 more matches than 2022 and the access to legal betting in the U.S. is greatly expanded, especially for online betting opportunities. There may be 200 million people watching the Super Bowl, while the World Cup finals in Qatar in 2022 had 1.5 billion viewers. About 65 percent of the U.S. population now has legal access to betting, compared to about 40 percent in 2022. Caesar’s Sportsbook is offering 10 times more betting options than it did for World Cup 2022 and FanDuel could take about $1.3 billion in U.S. World Cup handle, with DraftKings at about $1.1 billion.
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WORLD CUP – A LOOK AT SOME OF THE STARS
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A quick look at some of the star players in the 2026 World Cup:
- Although it will likely be their last World Cup, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the sport for the last two decades
- France is a favorite to win this year led by Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, who have powered their individual clubs in Europe's top competitions
- Spain, another favorite, has 18-year-old Lamine Yamal to lead them to a second major trophy in two years
- Others to look out for are Brazilian playmakers Neymar and Vinícius Júnior, England's Jude Bellingham, USA's Christian Pulisic, Canada's Alphonso Davies, South Korea's Son Heung-min, Ghana's Antoine Semenyo and his Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland of Norway, who has scored the most goals in three out of the last four English Premier League seasons
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BRAZIL: THE BIGGEST, UNDEVELOPED SOURCE OF RARE-EARTH RESERVES
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China holds almost half (49 percent) of the rare-earth reserves in the world and processes close to 70 percent of the rare-earth minerals. The U.S. has been scouring the planet for rare earths, backing projects from Africa to Australia to combat the control that China has. Yet, there is one country looking to develop its raw minerals, Brazil. Brazil holds the world’s second-largest rare-earth reserves after China, but processes less than one-tenth of one percent. Brazilian leaders are willing to hear any and all options for investment in its rare-earth reserves as Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira says, “Brazil is open to investments from whichever country respects our sovereignty.” There is keen interest as more than 3,000 applications for research permits related to the country’s rare earths have been filed since 2023. That compares with 476 filed between 1975 and 2020.
Today, most rare-earth supply chains remain dependent on China for the lucrative processing stages that separate individual elements and convert them into the metals, alloys and magnets that are used in everyday electronics. Brazil wants a greater share of that business. Currently, China controls more than 90 percent of processing and magnet production. That allows China to dominate global supply chains. Building a complete supply chain takes time. That is the challenge for Brazil in developing legislation governing its rare earths. Industry executives warn that overly strict local-content requirements could discourage investment, while overly lax rules could leave Brazil exporting raw materials and missing out on higher-value processing.
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GLOBAL PEACE INDEX
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The Institute for Economics & Peace created the Global Peace Index in 2007 and the 2026 index ranks 163 nations across 23 indicators, from military expenditure and ongoing conflict to homicide rates and perceptions of safety. In its preface to the 2026 index, the Institute notes, "Overall peacefulness deteriorated in 99 countries, marking the 12th consecutive year of global decline."
Top 10 countries in the 2026 Global Peace Index:
- Iceland
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Slovenia
- Ireland
- Austria
- Portugal
- Singapore
- Finland
- Japan
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MARKET UPDATE - 06/10/2026 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 06/04/2026)
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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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