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Colorado - Wed. 05/27/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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FERRARI LAUNCHES $640,000, JONY IVE-DESIGNED, GLASS-CLAD ELECTRIC SPEEDSTER
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An electric vehicle big on glass, light and space: This isn’t your father’s Ferrari. On Sunday, Europe’s most valuable automaker took the wraps off its first-ever model without an internal combustion engine. Named after the Italian word for light, the Ferrari Luce will test the appetite of the super-rich for EVs when electric vehicles have fallen out of favor in the U.S., the world’s top market for luxury cars. Designed in partnership with celebrated Apple alumnus Jony Ive, the model also represents a leap into a new technology for a brand built over decades around the size, sound and sensation of traditional engines.
The Luce (pronounced loo-chay) will be among the most expensive Ferraris that aren’t part of a limited production run. The company said the starting price would be 550,000 euros in Italy, equivalent to roughly $640,000. The launch event at Rome’s Vela di Calatrava—a stadium with a towering concrete “sail” that was opened for the Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee—featured tortellini by Italian chef Massimo Bottura, clips of Formula One stars Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc racing the car, and lots of lights. The unveiling sparked a debate among car fans online, with many pillorying the design as too far outside Ferrari’s design traditions. Ferrari’s Milan-listed shares slumped around 6 percent.
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BOLDER BOULDER DRAWS FOURTH-HIGHEST REGISTRATION MARK IN RACE HISTORY
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For the first time in the history of a race that began in 1979, the Bolder Boulder was forced to turn away potential customers. Organizers cut off registrations for the 2026 Bolder Boulder on Friday night at midnight, citing an entry total that was pushing the race to its operational capacity. The 46th running of the Memorial Day 10K on Monday showcased why the unprecedented cutoff was necessary. The final tally of entrants topped out at 53,801, the Bolder Boulder’s largest turnout since a record 54,554 entered in 2011. Monday’s total was the fourth-largest number of entries of all-time, trailing only 2011, 2008 (54,040) and 2010 (53,992).
Kenya's Patrick Kiptoo Kiprop crossed the finish line first in Monday's Bolder Boulder men’s pro race. For the second consecutive year and the fourth time in the past five races, Colorado Springs athlete Kendall Gretsch won the women’s wheelchair race, finishing in 26 minutes, 57 seconds to post her best time in six appearances at the Bolder Boulder. Canadian John Cassidy won the men’s wheelchair race with a time of 23:36.
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DIA WILL CREATE WALKWAY TO ALL CONCOURSES USING UNDERGROUND TUNNELS
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Denver International Airport officials plan to convert a dormant underground tunnel into pedestrian walkways, creating an alternative people-moving system so that air travelers and workers no longer have to rely on DIA’s trains for reaching concourses. Design work will begin this year on the project to repurpose this existing baggage tunnel, adjacent to a tunnel that carries the electric trains, at an estimated cost between $300 million and $700 million. Construction is scheduled to start next year, with the 17-foot-wide walkways opening in 2028. DIA’s trains broke down 262 times over the past two years, airport records show. While most of the breakdowns were brief, lasting an average of four minutes, DIA officials say the lack of a backup option as the airport grows, toward a projected 120 million travelers a year by 2045, increasingly causes problems.
Repurposing the tunnel, built before the airport opened in 1995, “gives us the most affordable and fastest way to solve the challenge,” Johnston said. “The whole world has speculated for decades about what exists in the tunnels under Denver International Airport. Now, the whole world will get to see it,” he said, referencing conspiracy theories that include bunkers under the airport to protect the global elite in case of an apocalypse or even evidence of aliens. Travelers choosing to walk along two one-third-mile walkways could move from the main terminal as far as Concourse C in 10 to 15 minutes – and faster if designs include moving sidewalks.
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IS THIS COLORADO'S MOST UNDERRATED CLASSICAL MUSIC FEST?
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There is a good reason the Denver Chamber Music Festival has completed five successful seasons but not all classical fans know about it. The fest competition in Colorado is enormous, with events in Vail, Aspen, Boulder and Central City lighting up the terrain for more than a month each summer and bringing with them an extended history of playing and a long list of global stars. The Denver fest performs publicly for less than a week, and there are only three main concerts on the program. While the musicians can come from far and wide, there simply are not that many of them to get attention. The fest also takes place at a time of year when other classical performances have died down — after the big orchestras and opera companies, like the Colorado Symphony, have ended their seasons, and before the major summer events start up around July 4.
All of the festival’s concerts take place indoors at the Newman Center on the University of Denver campus. The center’s Hamilton Recital Hall, with about 220 seats, is widely considered the best place to hear small ensembles in the city. This year’s fest has other known names as well, including busy touring violinist Yura Lee, who will perform Beethoven’s Sonata No. 10 for the opening night on Tuesday, June 9. The fest’s artistic directors also perform major pieces that evening, with Yoo featured on Luigi Boccherini’s Sonata in G major, and Zalkind on Harry T. Burleigh’s “Southland Sketches.” That night will have Lark performing a set of her existing compositions. Lee returns for the second concert on Friday, June 12, joining Yoo to accompany pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute on Haydn’s Piano Trio in G major. Zalkind joins them for Brahms’ Piano Quartet.
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CLEER TO HOST EV RIDE & DRIVE AT CARBONDALE FIRST FRIDAY
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The public is invited to test-drive new electric vehicles, see the Town of Carbondale’s new EV chargers and learn more about the police and public works departments’ new electric vehicles during the June First Friday Local Pride Celebration. Electric vehicles from Mountain Chevrolet, Columbine Ford, Bighorn Toyota, Phil Long Subaru, Nissan and Tesla are expected to be available for test drives from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 5, at Carbondale Town Hall. The event will also give residents a chance to see five newly installed dual-port Level 2 EV chargers at Carbondale Town Hall. Two of the dual-port chargers, providing four vehicle spots, are available for public use.
The other three were installed for the Carbondale Police Department’s new EV patrol vehicles and other town electric vehicles. The two publicly available dual-port Level 2 chargers can charge four vehicles at the same time and offer a low-cost charging option. All five chargers were funded largely through grants from the Colorado Energy Office’s Fleet ZERO and Charge Ahead Colorado programs.
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MANDATORY CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE TESTING SHIFTS TO ELK THIS YEAR
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Some Colorado hunters this year will face mandatory chronic wasting disease testing for the elk they harvest as part of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s continuing effort to better understand the reach of the fatal big game disease and the effectiveness of measures the agency is taking to try to combat it. The neurological disease is found in deer, elk and moose and generally kills animals within two to two-and-a-half years of infection. In Colorado, Parks and Wildlife has detected it in 43 of the state’s 51 deer herds, 17 of 42 elk herds, and two of 13 moose herds. If infection rates become too high, the disease can affect a herd’s ability to sustain itself. A CWD response plan adopted by the Parks and Wildlife Commission in 2019 includes a 15-year mandatory testing plan, including three five-year rotations of testing for deer. The first round of mandatory testing for elk occurred in 2021, with further mandatory testing planned for this year and 2031.
This year’s testing applies to elk harvested during rifle seasons from specific license hunt codes and won’t apply to all hunt codes in game management units. Information on hunt codes selected for mandatory testing may be found in Parks and Wildlife’s 2026 big game hunting brochure. There is no charge for mandatory testing. Hunters who weren’t selected for mandatory testing but wanted their harvested deer or elk tested can submit their animal’s head for testing and pay a fee of $25. Testing fees for voluntary submissions also will be waived for all moose statewide and for all elk from hunt codes not selected for mandatory testing but within the same game management units selected for mandatory testing. The Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment website, cdphe.colorado.gov/communicable/animal-related-diseases/prion-diseases, has recommendations on carcass testing and other preventive measures.
- Parks and Wildlife and state public health officials advise hunters not to shoot, handle or eat any deer, elk or moose that is acting abnormally or appears to be sick.
- It’s also recommended that when field-dressing game, hunters wear rubber gloves and minimize the use of a bone saw to cut through the brain or backbone. They should minimize contact with brain or spinal cord tissues, eyes, spleens or lymph nodes and wash hands and utensils thoroughly after dressing and processing game meat.
- Locally, prevalence of the disease in the Uncompahgre deer herd south of Grand Junction has risen from 3.9 percent to 14 percent, to 22.1 percent over three rounds of testing. Parks and Wildlife has implemented measures there including creating an August, either-sex, private-land-only rifle hunt to target a CWD hotspot.
- The La Sal deer herd southwest of Grand Junction has seen prevalence rise from 26.7 to 37.5 percent over two rounds of testing, and Parks and Wildlife has increased male licenses there.
- Prevalence in the Glade Park deer herd is below 1 percent, based on the most recent testing. It is 5.3 percent for the North Grand Mesa herd, 16.4 percent for the South Grand Mesa herd and 2.7 percent for the Bookcliffs herd.
- In northwest Colorado, prevalence is 23.4 percent in the Bear’s Ears herd and 25 percent in the White River herd.
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FOUR MOUNTAIN WEST STATES JOIN FORCES TO ACCELERATE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
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With a newly established Mountain West Geothermal Consortium, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico are joining forces to tap what could be hundreds of gigawatts of always on, clean energy lying underground in the Mountain West region. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, announced the new group last Wednesday after a Western Governor’s Association “energy superabundance” workshop citing the latest updates on geothermal technology in the region, and what it could become if investment is accelerated. Geothermal projects have the “bipartisan support of an energy source that we haven’t had in a long time,” Cox said during a news conference. Geothermal is a type of renewable energy that converts heat from under the surface of the earth into electricity.
In Utah, multiple projects and technologies are being deployed, including Fervo’s enhanced geothermal system, which is on track to generate about 100 megawatts of operating capacity by early 2027 in Beaver County. The consortium will bring together state officials from Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, and is expected to provide state officials with coordinated insights and resources to accelerate geothermal development. The group will seek for states to “develop creative finance tools and clear regulatory regimes to help de-risk this investment and protect ratepayers.”
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ROUTT COUNTY AWARDED $465K STATE GRANT FOR PLANNING, SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS AT INTERSECTION ON U.S. HWY. 40
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Routt County has secured $465,000 in state funding to support transportation planning and safety improvements at the Brandon Circle and U.S. Hwy. 40 intersection in west Steamboat Springs. The grant, awarded through the Colorado Energy Office’s Local IMPACT Accelerator program, will fund a two-part initiative focused on long-term multimodal planning and near-term safety upgrades in a growing corridor. County officials say the funding comes as development pressures increase in west Steamboat, including the Yampa Valley Regional Airport’s $86 million terminal expansion, planned improvements at Lockhart Fields, a workforce housing development near Sleeping Giant School and continued commuter traffic between Craig and Steamboat Springs.
A portion of the grant will be used to develop a countywide multimodal transportation policy intended to guide future planning and design. Work on that effort is expected to begin in 2026. The remaining funds will support preliminary safety improvements at the Brandon Circle and U.S. 40 intersection, including upgrades to lighting and signage, with construction anticipated in 2028. County officials said the intersection serves as a key access point for schools, businesses, neighborhoods and regional traffic.
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SILVERTHORNE INVITES RESIDENTS TO VOLUNTEER FOR COUNTYWIDE CLEANUP
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The Town of Silverthorne is inviting residents to participate in a county-wide Clean Up Day this Saturday, May 30. Starting at 9 a.m. at Rainbow Park in Silverthorne, volunteers will meet and be assigned a cleanup area. Breakfast snacks will be provided. After cleaning the designated area, participants are invited to a free celebratory lunch at Rainbow Park. Other towns across Summit County have also announced times and locations for cleanup day efforts. Participants are asked to bring a mug or water bottle to reduce all waste during the day and at each town’s subsequent picnic. Volunteer check-in will start at 9 a.m. in all towns.
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RECEIVED AN IRS LETTER? HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW
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If you receive a letter from the IRS, don’t discard it! Most IRS letters or notices relate to federal tax returns or tax accounts. A letter may reference changes to your account, taxes owed, a payment request, or a specific issue or credit on a tax return. You don’t need to respond unless the notice specifically instructs you to do so but keep a copy for your records. If you need to call the IRS, use the number in the upper right corner of the notice and have the letter and a copy of your tax return on hand. For more information from the IRS: https://bit.ly/4nv6ZQJ
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PINE BEETLES' FEAST ON PONDEROSAS ACCELERATED 150% IN 2025
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The voracious pine beetle’s renewed assault on Colorado forests expanded rapidly in 2025, chewing through nearly 150 percent more Front Range ponderosa pine than the year before, according to a new state forester’s report.
- The state’s urban canopy is also being nibbled to death — by the emerald ash borer. The ambitious invader showed up in six new cities in 2025 after years of warnings from local arborists about the spreading threat. Ash, which make up as much as 15 percent of city trees in many areas, are being eaten up in Aurora, Berthoud, Denver, Edgewater, Golden and Wheat Ridge in addition to previously affected sites. The ash borer was first discovered in Colorado in Boulder in 2013 and is now in at least 20 cities.
- The emerald ash borer has been spreading as predicted up and down Front Range suburban and urban communities, despite state and local warnings to not transport firewood or downed limbs between communities. The ash killer jumped across the Continental Divide to Carbondale in 2013 and is likely to be in Colorado Springs within five years.
- The pine beetle spread through ponderosa, after devastating Colorado’s lodgepole forests in the early 2000s and 2010s, is relentless and will soon become exponential, State Forester Matt McCombs warned. One goal of the brutal deforestation updates, McCombs said, is “getting communities prepared, not just for the practical considerations, but really the emotional and psychological impacts of seeing a forest in transition. Getting folks ready for what they’ll see over time.”
- Some landmark stands can be saved by public intervention, and individual property owners can work to save highly visible trees around their dwellings or buildings. There are pesticide injections that can ward off the pine beetle, and the state is employing another chemical that can fool nearby pine beetles into thinking a ponderosa has already been infested and thereby protect it.
- More of the state’s work will be identifying increased wildfire dangers as ponderosa in counties where homes mingle with wildlands die in place and add to potentially explosive fuels. That overload of dead trunk and limb fuel from the lodgepole infestation contributed to the destructive force of the 2020 East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires.
- The CSU update for 2025 forest health shows pine beetles impacting 5,444 acres in a nine-county Front Range area, up 148 percent from the 2,236 acres in the same counties in 2024.
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MARKET UPDATE - 05/26/2026 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 05/21/2026)
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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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