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Colorado - Tue. 10/27/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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MICROSOFT WILL OFFER BUYOUTS TO 60,000 EMPLOYEES
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Microsoft is extending voluntary buyout offers to thousands of employees across the U.S., the U.K., Canada and India. Around 60,000 employees are eligible for the program. Microsoft said the program was “time-limited” and would provide eligible employees with financial support and career planning resources. Microsoft in April announced a voluntary retirement program, which offered around 8,600 employees buyouts, the person familiar with the matter said, and more than 30 percent accepted the offer. The company expects a far lower percentage to accept the latest buyouts. Microsoft employed 223,000 employees as of the end of June. The voluntary retirement program was part of a broader shift by Microsoft to alter its performance system and how it awards bonuses and stock options, according to a memo to employees. Microsoft earlier this year announced 3,200 job cuts in its Xbox video games division.
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SPANISH IMMERSION DAYCARE COMING TO FIVE POINTS AS OWNERS INVEST OVER $2 MILLION
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A new Spanish immersion daycare offering is coming to a vacant office space in Denver's Five Points neighborhood. Local businessmen Robert Thesing and Geoffrey Williams plan to open a location of the Tierra Encantada daycare brand at 700 E. 24th Ave. The pair submitted plans to the city this week to renovate the approximately 9,500-square-foot property into a daycare and add a new playground. Tierra Encantada is a national chain with three locations in metro Denver. Malman Real Estate, a Denver company investing in underused office spaces across the metro area, bought the property for $1.65 million in July. The renovation will mark a significant investment in the building. Thesing estimated over $2 million could go into the effort.
Ten classrooms for children from infant to preschool ages, as well as an indoor activity room, a kitchen and a staff break room are depicted in the plans. The kitchen will be a commercial kitchen as, along with Spanish immersion, Tierra Encantada operates a high-quality meal program that encourages children to explore foods they may not encounter in their daily lives with scratch cooking and healthy ingredients. The renovation is projected to take between six to nine months.
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NEW TRADER JOE'S SLATED FOR COLORADO OPENING IN 2027
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Trader Joe's is set to open another Denver location next year. It currently has nine stores across eight Colorado cities: Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Greenwood Village, Littleton, Parker, and Westminster. This will be Denver’s third store. Denver’s newest Trader Joe’s is expected to open sometime in 2027 at 8564 E. Northfield Blvd. in the city’s Central Park neighborhood, near the Avenues at Northfield mall. An official opening date has not yet been set. The national chain already has Denver locations at 750 N. Colorado Blvd., on the edge of the Congress Park and Hale neighborhoods, and at 661 Logan St., on the edge of the Speer and Capitol Hill neighborhoods.
Trader Joe’s also announced in 2025 plans to occupy retail space on the ground floor of a five-story apartment building on the northwest corner of South Pearl Street and East Louisiana Avenue. That’s in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood. Trader Joe’s has already applied and been approved for a liquor license at that location, 567 E. Louisiana Ave., according to Colorado Department of Revenue records.
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SNOW FORCES CLOSURE OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK ROAD
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Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park remains closed due to snow and low visibility. The park closed the park's most popular road at 5 p.m. Oct. 23 and it remained closed the morning of Oct. 26 as light snow, sleet and freezing temperatures continued over the park. The road's closure is from Many Parks Curve on the east side of the park to the Colorado River Trailhead on the west side, according to a park news release. The forecast for the park calls for warmer and dry conditions starting later on Oct. 26 and continuing through the week. For Trail Ridge Road condition updates, call 970-586-1222. Trail Ridge Road opened May 29 for the season. The park closed Old Fall River Road to vehicle traffic earlier this month, according to previous Coloradoan reporting.
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FLOOD DAMAGE PROMPTS MULTIPLE REPAIRS ON SOUTHWEST COLORADO ROADS
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Temporary repairs could reopen flood-damaged highways in Southwest Colorado by the end of the week, but damaged county roads face a longer recovery. As of Monday morning, three major highway closures remain in place:
- U.S. Hwy. 160 is closed between Cortez and Tec Nos Pos, Arizona, because of rising water at the San Juan River Bridge.
- Colorado Hwy. 151 is impassable south of Chimney Rock after floodwater washed away a section of road.
- U.S. Hwy. 160 remains closed over Wolf Creek Pass because of damage to a culvert, retaining wall and highway shoulders.
Temporary repairs are expected to be made on U.S. Hwy. 160 over Wolf Creek Pass and on Hwy. 151 near Chimney Rock, but no timeline has been set for permanent repairs. Temporary repairs will likely include one-lane traffic or pilot vehicles to guide motorists through severely damaged areas. Several highways have reopened following emergency repairs and safety inspections, though motorists should expect alternating one-lane traffic and delays on Hwy. 160 west of Pagosa Springs and U.S. Hwy. 550 over Red Mountain Pass. U.S. Route 285 north of Monte Vista, Colorado Hwy. 112 between Del Norte and Center, and Colorado Hwy. 17 to the New Mexico state line have also reopened. Flooding has also prompted closures on County Road 334 and County Road 520, because of structural issues caused by the flooding. County Road 334 remains closed, with one lane largely submerged in water and debris and sections of the roadway completely washed out.
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SUBSIDIZED SHUTTLES TO EGE PLANNED FOR NEXT YEAR
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An early-bird flight can be hard enough to catch when the airport’s a few miles away. Add in a 90-minute drive to Eagle — as many travelers will during an eight-month closure of the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport next year — and getting out of town for a flight before breakfast could require a pre-dawn wake-up call. Local leaders are working on ways to smooth out the journey and reduce traffic on the road, with plans to subsidize shuttle service between the Roaring Fork Valley and the Eagle County Regional Airport while the Aspen airport shuts down April to November for runway reconstruction. Those shuttles, provided by the Basalt-based WildPath Transportation, could offer rides to thousands of travelers per day. The company is planning an “EGE Line,” proposed to stop at the Brush Creek Park and Ride, Basalt and Glenwood Springs, as well as a “Valley Loop” to help with connections.
The EOTC — which includes electeds from the Aspen City Council, Snowmass Village Town Council and Pitkin Board of County Commissioners, and which is funded by a countywide sales and use tax to support mass transit in the valley — approved a $300,000 subsidy for the shuttles along with its overall budget for 2027. That contribution could match another $300,000 from entities such as the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, Aspen One, the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and others. Some of those other contributions are still pending final approval. And it will help reduce fares for travelers by about 40 percent from what WildPath would otherwise charge. Without the subsidy, one-way tickets would cost about $115 per person; with it, they could be $69. The Aspen airport closure is expected to redirect travelers to several nearby airports, including Eagle, Grand Junction and Denver.
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ASPEN TO HOST OUTREACH EVENTS FOR GOLF CLUB FACILITIES MASTER PLAN
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The city of Aspen is inviting community members to review the proposed conceptual designs for the Aspen Golf Clubhouse Facilities Master Plan during two informal outreach events at the Aspen Golf Clubhouse. The events will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29. The city has gathered input from golfers, tennis and Nordic users, community members and other stakeholders to understand how the facilities are used and where improvements may be needed throughout the planning process. Key considerations have included clubhouse functionality, parking and circulation, shared spaces, year-round recreational use and creating a welcoming experience for all users.
Expanding on feedback from previous public engagement opportunities, the project team has developed conceptual designs exploring potential improvements to the facilities. Community input will help inform the next phase of planning and refinement of the Master Plan. Members of the community are welcome to stop by at any time during either event. No formal presentation is planned, and participation is open to all interested community members. For more information about the Aspen Golf Club Facilities Master Plan, visit aspencommunityvoice.com/aspen-golf-club-master-facilities-plan.
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NEW HIGH-SPEED LIFT SET TO OPEN AT POWDERHORN IN DECEMBER
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Snow has already begun flying on Grand Mesa and Powderhorn Mountain Resort is on track to open its new four-person high-speed lift as soon as Mother Nature allows. Most of the major mechanical milestones have been completed on the Wild West Express lift, which began construction last spring. Both the top and bottom stations have been installed and the towers erected. There is still work being done to finish out the installation by Grand Junction-based Leitner Poma. That includes wiring fiber optic cable to the top of the lift, which is needed for the drive system and safety systems. Electrical power has also been run to the top of the West End for the first time. If the weather cooperates, the mountain is planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the lift on Friday, Dec. 18.
The new lift is the culmination of around $20 million in investments made over the past few years by the resort for new grooming equipment, new snowmaking, a conveyor belt lift at the base and investments into the lodge. The new lift opening will also coincide with the mountain’s 60th anniversary year. The 60th season will start on Nov. 20 if the weather cooperates. The mountain has already fired up its snowmaking equipment to ensure it is working properly, though temperatures are not yet low enough to begin snowmaking in earnest.
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NAVAJO NATION HELPS INSTALL ADVANCED WEATHER STATION NEAR MONUMENT VALLEY, UTAH
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The Navajo Nation and state of Utah have partnered to install an advanced weather monitoring station near Monument Valley, to help monitor drought, changing weather patterns and other climate-related challenges in the region. The station was unveiled on Oct. 15, at an event in Monument Valley. Project partners remarked about the importance of science-based water management, drought response and the future of climate data programming. The station will benefit ranchers, community leaders, emergency responders and water managers. The Upper Colorado River Commission funded the installation and observations and measurements through 2029, with a grant from the Bureau of Reclamation. The Utah Climate Center will fund the station after that. The weather station is a project of the Upper Colorado River Commission, Colorado River Authority of Utah, Utah State University Climate Center, Utah State University Extension, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Navajo Nation.
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JUDGE RULES RIDGWAY HOTEL CAN'T HOUSE WORKERS BUILDING TELLURIDE'S FOUR SEASONS RESORT
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A Ouray County judge has sided with the town of Ridgway in a fight over a local hotel’s plan to lease its 52 rooms to construction workers working in Telluride. The town of Ridgway sued the MTN Lodge in March in Ouray County District Court, arguing the owners of the MTN Lodge were violating local land use codes by offering long-term leases for workers building the $1 billion Four Seasons Resort and Residences luxury hotel project in Mountain Village, an hour’s drive away. The owners of the hotel said they would not be able to remain open if they could not rent to the workers, pointing to visitor occupancy rates in the single digits in the winter months since they acquired the hotel in 2021. The town sued the hotel to stop the long-term rental contracts, arguing the deal qualifies as “household living” in a zone that allows only lodging facilities offering stays of fewer than 30 days.
Ouray County District Court Judge D. Cory Jackson agreed with the town and allowed a preliminary injunction that blocks the rental agreement between the MTN Lodge’s owner, Ridgway Suites LLC, and construction workers with developer Merrimac Ventures. Communities around Telluride and Mountain Village say all the benefits of the Four Seasons project are rolling into the resorts while outlying towns carry the burdens of housing, reflecting a common concern in resort regions. The multiyear Four Seasons project on four acres in Mountain Village includes 52 hotel rooms, 43 one-bedroom to five-bedroom hotel residences and 26 private apartments that are priced between $4 million and $35 million. MTN Lodge is appealing the decision and asking the judge to hold off on the injunction until the appeal can be considered.
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SKIING IN OCTOBER? THE LATEST ON RESORT OPENINGS
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Coloradans might be wondering if they’ll get to ski before the month comes to a close. That’s usually the case, as every year since 1992 at least one local resort has opened in October. Arapahoe Basin, Keystone Ski Resort and Loveland Ski Area on the Front Range all continued making snow on Monday, though none have yet announced when the chairlifts may begin spinning. The three resorts compete to open as soon as possible in the fall, in hopes of being able to report they are the first.
- Snowmaking began on Oct. 15 this year with the arrival of Colorado’s first wintry storm, but warm temperatures caused A-Basin to pause operations last week. The good news is that Mother Nature dropped 3 inches of fresh snow on the ski area, but it wasn’t enough to open terrain.
- Keystone had its best sustained period of snowmaking since mid-October overnight Sunday and into Monday morning. Keystone is expecting to see below-freezing temperatures at night, though forecasts call for highs in the 50s during the day this week. On Halloween, the town may see some snow and rain.
- Loveland Ski Area also received 2 inches of fresh snow to bolster snowmaking on its Catwalk and Mambo runs. The snow guns are still running with the priority being to build a 1,000-vertical-foot, top-to-bottom run with tree-to-tree coverage and an approximately 18-inch base of snow. Last year, Loveland opened on Nov. 8.
- Whatever the case, the ski season is already starting later than in 2025. Last year, Keystone opened first on Oct. 25 followed by A-Basin on Oct. 26. It’s unclear if current conditions will delay openings at other resorts across Colorado.
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MARKET UPDATE - 10/26/2026 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 10/22/2026)
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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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