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Colorado - Wed. 10/21/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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AMAZON TO HIRE MORE THAN 300,000 U.S. WORKERS FOR HOLIDAY SEASON
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Amazon is launching a major holiday hiring drive with plans to bring on more than 300,000 workers for its U.S. operations this holiday season. The company said it is seeking people for seasonal, part-time and full-time roles at its core operations nationwide. Job openings will be posted weekly from October through December. The target hiring number is a 20 percent increase from a year ago, when Amazon said it planned to hire 250,000 workers to help with the busy holiday season. The push comes amid positioning by companies seeking to boost their ranks to meet demand for the holiday season. United Parcel Service aims to hire 100,000 seasonal employees in hundreds of locations around the country.
Amazon’s seasonal employees earn an average of $20 an hour and have access to a range of benefits and the opportunity to transition into full-time roles, the company said. Full-time operations employees start at a minimum of $20 an hour, with average hourly pay reaching nearly $24 before benefits. As well, it said seasonal employees who work at least 30 hours a week will be offered healthcare coverage on their first day, with plan options starting at $5 a week with $5 copays.
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MAKING THE CASE FOR WATER-SAVING GRAINS - ONE ZUNI CAKE AT A TIME
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At the back of Pueblo Seed & Food Company, just off the main drag of Cortez in southwestern Colorado, past the shelves bearing bags of pancake mix and seed packets, down the hall from the grain literacy display, Nanna Meyer is fighting for a food revolution. “I’m not a trained baker,” she said as she prepared a sample of Zuni cakes paired with vanilla yogurt, Palisade peaches and a green chile sauce made from peppers grown at the company’s farm. The nutty, round cakes were filled with sunflower seeds from ancient varieties historically cultivated by the Hopi and Zuni peoples. The cakes are also part of a growing movement to use age-old grains as a more nutritious, less water-intensive option for both farmers and customers.
Which is why Meyer, a former Olympic sport dietitian and associate professor at the University of Colorado, has set her creativity loose in the bakehouse. She calls her Swiss holiday cookies, inspired by a family recipe, the “gateway” to ancient grains. Her Pueblo chile twists and cinnamon rolls keep people coming back. Then rye sourdough loaves and Zuni cakes inspire loyalty for the health benefits, organic practices and cultural roots. “They try all those things, and they come back,” said Meyer, who co-owns the company with her husband, Dan Hobbs. “They come back.”
- Meyer and Hobbs, the company’s farmer and seedsman, seemingly can’t stop trying to tackle challenges in the agricultural industry. When the company moved from Pueblo County to Cortez in 2021, they realized there wasn’t a food-grade facility for smaller farms to “clean” seeds, or sort out the unwanted chaff, metal fragments and waste. So, they got a Colorado Dept. of Agriculture grant and built one.
- When stores struggled to get customers to pick strange-grain loaves over the familiar sliced white? Pueblo Seed & Food Co. created a bakehouse to be a living laboratory garbed in stainless steel kitchen appliances and grain literacy posters. People can drop in, learn about the seeds and grains and try out a cinnamon roll to better imagine what can be done with unfamiliar ingredients.
- When big industrial farming companies patented seeds, precluding smaller farmers from adapting them to local growing conditions? Well, Pueblo Seed & Food Co. started a seed repository that represents 30 years of careful seed selection and expertise — and the seeds are public domain for other farmers.
- When drought and a record-dry winter cut the water supply? Hobbs turned to that repository to pick varieties of heritage grains and legumes that had deep roots, grew quickly, could withstand heat, or could produce a crop after being irrigated once or twice. That helped stabilize the farm’s finances when its water was cut off weeks early and Hobbs couldn’t finish some money-making crops, like Pueblo chiles.
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CDOT KICKS OFF ON 7-YEAR PROJECT: MAJOR I-270 RECONSTRUCTION IN NORTH METRO DENVER
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Colorado transportation officials broke ground Monday on a long-planned makeover of Interstate 270, a key metro Denver artery that has been plagued by crumbling infrastructure and intense congestion. Built in the mid-1960s, the nearly seven-mile-long I-270 connects Interstates 25 and 70 from the I-25/U.S. 36 interchange to northeast Denver. The freeway serves as a major corridor for commuters in and around Commerce City, as well as for freight trucks hauling goods and supplies. CDOT officials say the highway wasn’t built to handle its current traffic demands, which have risen to more than 100,000 vehicles per day. It was the only interstate serving many motorists that had yet to see a major upgrade. At the heart of CDOT’s project is the addition of tolled express lanes in both directions, which will be free to access for buses, motorcyclists, and drivers of cars with three or more passengers.
Other aspects of the I-270 project include replacing 12 aging bridges, rebuilding the Vasquez Boulevard interchange, building a pedestrian bridge over the interstate between East 56th Avenue and Quebec Street, improving on- and off-ramps at Interstate 76, and adding a smattering of sidewalks, multiuse paths and bus stops along local streets. At $806 million, the project’s price tag is already nearing that of the I-70 Floyd Hill Project in the mountains, which is currently at its midpoint and is CDOT’s largest single road project now underway. The I-270 project is set to be completed across three phases. In the first, crews will redo the roadway and replace bridges that are in the most critical conditions. Those include bridges over the South Platte River, Burlington Ditch, Brighton Boulevard and East 60th Avenue. CDOT projects the first phase will be completed in 2030, with the rest of the project finished in 2033.
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ALBERTA VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY REJECT PLAN TO LEAVE CANADA IN REFERENDUM
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Voters in Canada’s Alberta have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to begin the process of independence, delivering a decisive victory for supporters of Canadian unity and deepening divisions within the separatist movement. With nearly 1.9 million votes counted, roughly 76 percent of people supported remaining in Canada, while 24 percent backed beginning a process toward separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta. The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, who grew up in Edmonton, Alberta’s capital, celebrated the result. “Albertans made a clear choice. They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other. Above all, Albertans chose Canada.” He said the result would allow Canadians to move forward together and accelerate efforts to diversify trade, develop major infrastructure projects and make Canada a global energy powerhouse, with Alberta at its center.
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LIFT-UP, ASCENDIGO PARTNERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH
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For years, Lift-Up and Ascendigo Autism Services Inc. have worked together to provide adults with developmental disabilities opportunities to build workplace skills while giving back to the community. The partnership continues year-round, but according to both Lift-Up Executive Director Samantha Freese and Ascendigo Vocational Director Jeo Mendez, it means more in October, which is recognized as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Through the partnership, Ascendigo learners spend time at Lift-Up doing everything from organizing food and supplies in the warehouse to practicing workplace routines and communication in the offices. The experience helps participants develop skills that can support future employment opportunities.
Freese has issued a call to action for the rest of the community. To her, Ascendigo isn’t just trying to make certain people feel as if they have a place in the world; they are contributing to a thriving community. “I think more organizations in our area should welcome this opportunity to bring folks from Ascendigo in for work experiences,” she said. “It is really rewarding, and we can all find a lot of value in it.” For more information about the two nonprofits, visit liftup.org or ascendigo.org.
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NEW TERRAIN BREWERY OPENS IN FORMER WINERY LOCATION IN PALISADE
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Golden-based New Terrain Brewing opened its second location in Palisade earlier this month with food trucks and live music to help mark the occasion. The new brewery is located in the former Red Fox Cellars building at 691 36 Road. New Terrain Director of Marketing and Social Media Michael Roberts said the property has been completely renovated inside and out. New Terrain owners Kaylee and Josh Robbins have connections to the Western Slope and had been looking for a second location on this side of the state for several years.
The brewery is new to the Palisade community, which is famous for its many wineries, as well as other adult beverage businesses. Roberts said they held an event prior to the grand opening to introduce New Terrain to their colleagues in the local adult beverage industry. The Palisade location will be a manufacturing brewery, Roberts said, which means they will be brewing beer on site. He said they have not begun brewing yet and are still working on details of the brewing operation.
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FLC NAMES NEW DIRECTOR OF FOUR CORNERS WATER CENTER
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Fort Lewis College named Rica Fulton, an FLC alumna from Durango, the new director of the Four Corners Water Center on Tuesday. The center supports water education, research and professional development for FLC students. She will start as the center’s director next week. She has spent over a decade working on river conservation and water policy. Previously, she was the advocacy and stewardship director for the Dolores River Boating Advocates. In that role, Fulton coordinated a coalition of more than 15 non-governmental organizations to help secure permanent protections for the Dolores River Canyons. In addition, she worked with local partners to secure funding for conservation efforts and improve the health of the lower Dolores River.
Fulton grew up in Durango and graduated from FLC in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. She received a master’s degree in geography, environment and natural resources from the University of Wyoming in 2019. Her graduate research was on how collaborative efforts can influence reservoir management in the Colorado River Basin with a focus on the Dolores River. She has also been a restoration coordinator for RiversEdge West and helped lead efforts to restore lands along the Dolores and Colorado rivers.
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STEAMBOAT CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES RESOLUTION ENDORSING YAMPA VALLEY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
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The Steamboat Springs City Council has unanimously approved a resolution in support of the Yampa Valley Regional Transportation Authority’s ballot measure this November for a half-cent sales tax to fund regional transit service. The decision, made at council’s Oct. 13 regular meeting, came after several community members made public comment — with almost all speakers in favor of the sales tax measure and, by extension, the city’s support of it — as well as a discussion over the ballot language itself and how exactly the revenues would be used.
The ballot measure, which goes to voters in Steamboat Springs, unincorporated Routt County, Hayden, Oak Creek, Yampa and Craig, states that the funds would be used for the following purposes:
- Enhancing public safety on U.S. Hwy. 40, decreasing the risk of accidents, and providing safer alternatives for residents and workers traveling between communities
- Improving transportation options for local workers, residents, seniors and visitors across the Yampa Valley
- Participating in regional planning for future commuter rail service between Craig, Hayden, Steamboat Springs, Oak Creek and Yampa
- Providing affordable regional transportation options to areas that are not currently served by transit
The Yampa Valley Community Foundation also endorsed Ballot Measure 7A in a recent letter to the editor. The RTA board recently announced its list of finalist candidates for its first executive director, with two community meet-and-greet events planned for Friday, Oct. 23. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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ICE CASTLES WILL NOT OPERATE IN COLORADO THIS WINTER
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Organizers said Ice Castles, the frozen ice attraction, will not operate in Colorado this winter, at either its Silverthorne or Cripple Creek locations. “We’re deeply grateful to the Town of Silverthorne and the Outlets at Silverthorne, and to the City of Cripple Creek and the property owners who hosted us there, along with the guests and communities across Summit and Teller counties and the greater Front Range who made Ice Castles part of their winter tradition,” the attraction’s organizers said in a statement to 9NEWS. In addition to Colorado, the Ice Castles had operated last year in New Hampshire, Utah and Minnesota. Organizers said the Ice Castles will operate this winter in New Hampshire. “Colorado has been an important home for Ice Castles, and we hope to return in the future,” the company said.
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LIONEL MESSI SETS TRADING CARD SALES RECORD, TOPPING SHOHEI OHTANI & LEBRON JAMES
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Lionel Messi’s record-setting ways on the pitch spilled into the sports card world again, surpassing a mark set by hobby darling Shohei Ohtani. According to Topps parent company Fanatics, a record 664,325 orders were placed for the “Final Farewell” Topps Now packs celebrating the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s final international match with Argentina earlier this month. The card’s total print run, sold only for a limited time under the Topps Now program, eclipses the previous record of 653,737 orders for the card celebrating Ohtani’s historic 50-home run, 50-steal season in 2024. It’s a remarkable achievement in a space where baseball has long been dominant and soccer is still finding its footing.
Launched in 2016, Topps Now cards commemorate specific milestones and memorable moments in sports and pop culture as they happen. In recent years, Topps Now has featured everything from NBA Draft selections to the election of a new Pope and the end of the U.S. penny. The cards are printed to order and usually sold as individuals for just a few days, unlike traditional trading card releases. The Messi Final Farewell packs represented a bit of a twist on the concept, however, with two cards in a pack — one being a base, a parallel (a more limited version of the base card) or a one-of-one autograph card; the other being a variation (a variety of cards commemorating Messi’s Argentina assist, goals scored and appearances records), a super short print or a one-of-one variation autograph card. The packs were sold for $19.99 each from Oct. 9 to 16. Topps received 250,000 orders on Oct. 13 and 450,000 by Oct. 15.
Top 5 highest Topps Now print runs:
- Lionel Messi Final Farewell: 664,325
- Shohei Ohtani 50/50 season: 653, 737
- LeBron James/Kevin Durant/Stephen Curry 2024 Olympic Games: 588,030
- Lionel Messi retirement announcement: 335,283
- Jack Hughes Olympic Golden Goal: 332,447
Top 5 most expensive Topps Now cards ever sold:
- Shohei Ohtani 50/50 one-of-one autograph — $686,250 (sold Aug. 2026)
- Stephen Curry 2024 Olympics ‘Night Night’ celebration one-of-one autograph — $518,500 (June 2025)
- Jack Hughes 2026 Olympics golden goal Foilfractor autograph — $396,000 (Sept. 2026)
- 2026 New York Knicks starting five one-of-one autograph — $317,200 (Sept. 2026)
- Shohei Ohtani 50/50 one-of-one autograph — $225,700 (Feb. 2025)
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DO COLORADO PAYCHECKS GO FAR ENOUGH?
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A new report shows that the median paycheck in Colorado’s largest metro areas gives a little more breathing room than median earners see in most other large metros. Financial advice website SmartAsset looked at the 100 largest metropolitan areas by population, ranking them by the percentage of the median worker’s earnings needed to pay for necessities such as food and shelter. The total cost of those necessities is considered the living wage in each market. Colorado’s two largest markets are more affordable by that measure than most of the U.S., a finding in line with other research into affordability. It’s not the cheapest place to live, but the median paycheck can do a pretty good job of keeping up with it.
The Denver-Aurora-Centennial area has the 21st most powerful paycheck, according to the study. With a $57,013 living wage, 69.9 percent of the $81,575 median income is needed to cover necessities. That leaves $24,562 for saving, investing or discretionary spending. The Colorado Springs area sits further behind, ranking 48th in the country. The study says 75.2 percent of the $66,708 median income is needed to cover $50,190 in necessities, leaving about $16,518 for investing, saving or other uses.
Here are the 10 markets where a median paycheck goes furthest, listed with the shares of the median income in each market that needs to go to the average cost of necessities:
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas, 64.6 percent
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, Virginia, 65.3 percent
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland, 66.7 percent
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington, 66.7 percent
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota, 66.8 percent
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California, 66.8 percent
- Toledo, Ohio, 67.0 percent
- Cincinnati, Ohio, 67.1 percent
- Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut, 67.1 percent
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 67.4 percent
Where do paychecks struggle to cover the cost of living? Sometimes, the median paycheck barely keeps up. Five of the 10 metro areas where median income does the worst job of covering necessities are in California, and all of the top 10 are in sunny states.
- Urban Honolulu, Hawaii, 98.9 percent
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida, 97.4 percent
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida, 95.3 percent
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California, 92.8 percent
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California, 92.5 percent
- Fresno, California, 92.1 percent
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, 91.3 percent
- Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, Nevada, 91.2 percent
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California, 90.5 percent
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, 88.9 percent
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MARKET UPDATE - 10/20/2026 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 10/15/2026)
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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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