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Colorado - Tue. 09/08/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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FEDERAL ASSISTANCE APPROVED FOR COLORADO COUNTIES AFFECTED BY WILDFIRES
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Gov. Jared Polis announced Friday that President Trump has approved public assistance for Colorado counties affected by the Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain and Ferris wildfires, which burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed hundreds of homes in southern and western Colorado. The federal aid will help Custer, Dolores, Ouray and Pueblo counties cover the costs of debris removal and repairs to public infrastructure, including roads, water systems and electric grids. Dolores County in western Colorado is included in the disaster declaration because it was affected by the Ferris fire, which burned nearly 65,000 acres and damaged public power infrastructure there.
Polis made the formal request for federal aid to the White House on Aug. 23, after state and local officials worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to document and validate eligible damage. The state’s requests for two other types of disaster assistance are still under review. The Aspen Acres fire has burned more than 100,000 acres, or roughly 159 square miles, mostly in southwest Pueblo County. It is the seventh-largest wildfire in Colorado history. The Gold Mountain fire has burned nearly 40,000 acres, or 62 square miles, mostly in Ouray County.
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SATURDAY EVENING POST WILL STOP PRINTING AFTER 205 YEARS
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For more than two centuries, The Saturday Evening Post has chronicled American life in its pages, enshrining a homespun national identity and printing some of the nation’s greatest writers. That’s changing next year. The magazine’s January issue will be its last in print, according to Joan SerVaas, the president and publisher. In a letter to The Post’s 50,000 subscribers in the most recent issue, she attributed the decision to a combination of “rising production costs, declining advertising revenue and shifting reader habits.” “We’ve been dealing with it for over a decade,” Ms. SerVaas said in an interview. “We continued hoping it would turn around or life would get better. Now we’re pretty sure it’s not going to get any better.”
The magazine, which debuted in 1821, will continue to publish new articles and fiction online. Ms. SerVaas said she had decided to end the print edition because it was a financial drain on the Saturday Evening Post Society, which owns The Post. The archives, which will be preserved online, contain news articles as well as poetry, fiction and art, including iconic images by Norman Rockwell. Though many magazines have been depleted by the nosedive in print advertising, The Post has fallen from particularly stratospheric heights.
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UNITED UNVEILS MOUNTAIN-THEMED LIVERY FOR DENVER SKI FLIGHTS
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United Airlines is showing off its presence in the Rockies with a new mountain-themed aircraft paint scheme for select in-state flights from its hub in Denver. The new livery appears on the tail section of regional aircraft, showcasing snow-capped peaks with rolling green hills and pine trees. United nicknamed the plane the “Mountain Ascent” and said it will “remind customers of United’s strong Denver ties” and service to mountain destinations. United is flying the company's new Embraer E175 aircraft for the routes, which United said is because the planes have a “better dispatch reliability than other regional aircraft.”
The airline has already started flying the E175 to those airports, but not yet with the distinctive new paint job. The regional jet features 12 first-class seats and up to 32 economy plus seats. During the winter, United flies seven flights a day from DIA to the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) and three flights from DIA to Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), according to the airline website. The Chicago-based airline carries approximately 50 percent of the market share at Denver International Airport with more than 550 daily departures from the Mile High City. Kirby has previously said he aims to increase daily departures to 700.
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NEW CASTLE APPROVES 66 TOWNHOMES IN CASTLE VALLEY RANCH
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New Castle Town Council members approved 66 new townhome units to be built on just over 10 acres, expanding the Castle Valley Ranch community. The new Archwood subdivision will be built along the eastern border of the over 1,000-home master development, which different developers have steadily expanded since 1989. The homes will take up a vacant lot directly east of the roundabout on Castle Valley Boulevard. Developed by the Dallas-based TC Midwest LLC, the townhomes will be two stories, 1,280 to 1,960 square feet and include garages. Roughly 2 acres of the development will be open space. Three of the homes will initially be offered at a 10 percent discount as deed-restricted workforce housing.
After 180 days on the market, the home will be sold at market value and drop its deed restriction. When one of the homes is resold, the discount and deed restrictions are on the table again for another 180 days. New Castle has not broadly defined who can qualify for affordable housing. The town instead routinely consults affordability metrics to define deed restrictions. New Castle’s median income hovers around $95,000, and a household making that can afford to spend about $2,375 a month on housing, according to federal guidelines. That household can afford a home listed for roughly $435,000, according to New Castle calculations — well below the town’s median home price of $660,000.
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STEAMBOAT SPRINGS AWARDED OVER $1.3M IN GRANTS TO UPGRADE AIRPORT LIGHTING
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The city of Steamboat Springs has received over $1.3 million in federal and state grants to support key lighting upgrades at the Steamboat Springs Airport at Bob Adams Field. The funds will be used to improve critical airport infrastructure by replacing runway lighting, adding new taxiway lighting, replacing the Precision Approach Path Indicator system and relocating the airport beacon. The work is designed to ensure that the airport can continue to operate safely and efficiently for pilots and aircraft, especially during nighttime and low-visibility conditions.
The enhancements will also help the airport meet Federal Aviation Administration and Colorado Dept. of Transportation requirements and maintain compliance with important grant assurances. The funding is composed of $600,000 from the FAA Airport Improvement Program, $435,000 from the FAA Infrastructure Grant Program and slightly over $320,000 from the CDOT Division of Aeronautics, totaling over $1.35 million.
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COLORADO'S WINTER DRIVING RULES TAKE EFFECT; NEW TRACTION LAW PROVIDES CLARITY
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Colorado’s winter traction laws, which require drivers to prepare for snowy conditions, are now in effect. These laws, which apply to all vehicles driving on the Interstate 70 mountain corridor and other mountain roads, are designed to keep traffic moving safely during icy and snowy conditions. The traction laws remain in effect through May 31. A new law clarifies the requirements of Colorado’s passenger vehicle traction law, updating the passenger vehicle traction law to apply to all vehicles, including two-wheel-drive vehicles as well as four- and all-wheel-drive vehicles.
Under the passenger vehicle traction law, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation can restrict travel on roads, like I-70 and mountain passes, when they are snowy or icy if vehicles do not meet minimum traction requirements. During these times, CDOT will announce that the passenger vehicle traction law is active via variable message boards along mountain highways and on the state’s interactive map available at COTrip.org. The law requires all passenger vehicles to have tires with a tread depth of at least 3/16-inch and rated as “all weather” or “mud and snow” tires. Drivers can look for markings stating, “All season,” “M+S” “M/S” or an icon of a mountain with a snowflake to determine whether their tires meet the requirements.
- If passenger vehicles do not have the proper tread depth and tire type, the law requires drivers to have chains or an approved alternative traction device on two or more tires when the law is activated.
- There is a $50 fine plus a $17 surcharge for violating the passenger vehicle traction law.
- Colorado also has a passenger vehicle chain law, which, when in effect, requires all drivers on mountain roads to put on chains or an approved traction device, regardless of whether the vehicle has snow or all-season tires.
- CDOT officials have said that activation of the passenger vehicle chain law is “exceedingly rare.” The law was last activated during a bomb cyclone event in March 2019.
- The commercial vehicle chain law requires all vehicles over 16,000 pounds to carry chains at all times when driving in the mountains between Sept. 1 and May 31 because of the unpredictable weather.
- In 2024, Colorado expanded the number of roadways where the commercial vehicle chain law applies to include I-70 west of Mile Post 259 at Morrison, Colorado Hwy. 9 between Frisco and Fairplay, U.S. Route 285 from Morrison to the New Mexico border, U.S. Route 50 from Salida to the Utah border and Route 40 from Empire to the Utah border, among others.
- The penalty for commercial motor vehicles that fail to comply with the winter driving restrictions is a fine up to $500 plus a $79 surcharge, or up to $1,000 plus a $157 surcharge, if the vehicle is stuck and blocking a traveled portion of the roadway.
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WESTERN SLOPE TOWNS POSTING FEWER JOBS
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The Western Slope’s second-quarter job postings are in the red, with fewer employers hiring for vacant positions compared to last year despite recent quarter-over-quarter growth. Business experts say this could signal the region’s recovery from pandemic-era turnover. A Colorado jobs report for the months of April, May and June shows that Western Slope markets drove the state’s quarter-over-quarter momentum in job postings as recreation hiring picked up ahead of the winter ski season. Although many of those same mountain communities reported negative growth in job postings compared to last year, local business experts say it could be a sign of a stabilizing workforce. Colorado had 127,508 active job postings in June, up 1.5 percent from June 2025 and 1.1 percent from March 2026. The state’s median advertised full-time salary also reached $67,590 in June, up 4.4 percent from last year and $5,356 above the U.S. median.
Colorado’s outdoor recreation sector emerged as an industry spotlight in the report. A selected sample of 50 outdoor recreation employers posted 1,580 openings in June, up 17.3 percent year-over-year. Demand was concentrated in resort communities including Aspen, Vail and Keystone. Aspen’s 307 second-quarter job postings in outdoor recreation marked a 184 percent increase from 2025 — the largest increase in the state. Vail had the second-largest job growth in the sector, posting 18 percent more jobs than last year. The increase in job postings in Colorado’s recreation sector was largely tied to hospitality, with food and beverage roles making up 40 percent of postings, according to the report. Lodging and guest services made up 16 percent of open positions and recreation-specific roles accounted for 8 percent.
- While Western Slope towns recorded the largest quarter-over-quarter job posting increases in the state when looking at all sectors — with Montrose growing by 21.5 percent, Grand Junction by 18.9 percent and Durango by 15.9 percent — year-over-year changes paint a different picture for some mountain communities.
- Edwards, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs and Rifle all recorded fewer overall job postings compared to the second quarter of 2025.
- Edwards and Breckenridge saw 7.9 percent and 7.5 percent drops, respectively, while Steamboat Springs had 3.7 percent fewer job postings and Rifle lost 2.8 percent.
- Meanwhile, Denver, which accounts for more than half of the state’s job postings, rose 2 percent.
- The majority of Western Slope towns identified in the report saw modest quarter-over-quarter losses in median full-time salaries, ranging from a 3.3 percent decrease in Rifle with a median salary of $54,080 to a 0.7 percent decrease in Breckenridge for a $58,864 salary.
- Compared to 2025, however, Breckenridge’s median full-time salary saw a notable 8.9 percent increase — standing out against Edwards’s 0 percent change and Rifle’s 3.7 percent decrease.
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THE PRETTIEST TOWN IN COLORADO?
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Interior design, architecture and lifestyle magazine Architectural Digest has picked the prettiest town in every U.S. state. It focused on selecting towns “that are both stunning and abundant in culture,” and it looked to Colorado’s Western Slope. Its pick for Colorado was Breckenridge, giving a nod to its history as a gold mining hot spot in the 1850s and its modern identity as a draw for skiers and hikers. The publication also highlighted Breckenridge’s historic district.
What are the prettiest towns in Colorado’s neighboring states?
- Arizona: Sedona
- Kansas: Lawrence
- Nebraska: Valentine
- New Mexico: Chimayo
- Oklahoma: Davis
- Utah: Moab
- Wyoming: Jackson
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U.S. ADDS A WHOPPING 162,000 JOBS IN BRIGHT SPOT FOR THE ECONOMY
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The U.S. added 162,000 jobs in August, the Labor Dept. reported Friday, a much-stronger-than-expected result that suggested the labor market shook off its early-summer doldrums.
The numbers
- The unemployment rate stayed steady at 4.1 percent. That leaves it at a historically low level that indicates the labor market remains generally healthy.
- Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast the report would show the economy gained just 53,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was in line with their expectations.
- The jump in jobs came in part from rebounds in restaurant and in local-education employment that many economists viewed as one-off factors. But the U.S. has added an average of 80,000 jobs a month so far this year, which compares with monthly growth of 10,000 jobs in 2025.
- Investors upped their expectations for a rate hike at the next Fed meeting. The 2-year yield, which often rises and falls with traders’ expectations for short-term rates set by the central bank, was up.
- The jobs counts for both June and July were revised higher. The Labor Dept. now says that the economy added 21,000 jobs in July, rather than losing 23,000 jobs. June’s jobs gain was revised up to 31,000 from 20,000.
- Average hourly earnings rose 3.1 percent from a year earlier, indicating that pay continues to struggle to keep up with inflation.
- Consumer prices were up 3.4 percent from a year earlier in July.
- High gasoline prices continue to strain budgets. A gallon of regular averaged $4.07 nationally in August, according to AAA, versus $3.95 in July. On Friday, it averaged $4.15.
- Food services and drinking places were a standout, with an increase of 59,000 jobs. The sector had shed 17,000 jobs over the prior two months.
- Similarly, local government education gained 42,000 jobs after losing 58,000 jobs the prior month.
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TOP PARTY SCHOOL IN COLORADO?
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When it comes to being a party school, the reputation of one university continues to reign supreme in Colorado. The University of Colorado’s flagship campus in Boulder was named the top party school in the state by Niche, a demographic, real estate and educational statistics portal. It ranked CU No. 25 in the U.S. on its 2027 list of the nation’s top party schools. CU was the only Colorado school in the site’s top 200. Niche ranked 1,495 colleges and universities. The University of Colorado and local groups have worked for decades to downplay and challenge its reputation as a party school, with students and staff both recognizing it could negatively affect the school’s reputation. The university offers resources for students to be safe when many are living independently for the first time.
Colorado’s top party schools, with national rankings in parentheses:
- University of Colorado, Boulder (No. 25)
- Colorado State University (No. 202)
- University of Denver (No. 252)
- Colorado Mesa University (No. 346)
- Denver College of Nursing (No. 446)
- Colorado College (No. 450)
- Fort Lewis College (No. 514)
- Colorado State University Pueblo (No. 599)
- University of Northern Colorado (No. 612)
- Adams State University (No. 621)
Top party schools in the U.S.:
- Florida State University
- Tulane University
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- University of Dayton
- University of Southern California
- Penn State
- The Ohio State University
- University of Georgia
- West Virginia University
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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MARKET UPDATE - 09/04/2026 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 09/02/2026)
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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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