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Colorado - Wed. 12/03/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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CDOT WARNS OF UPCOMING WINTER STORMS AFTER 50 VEHICLES WERE INVOLVED IN PILEUPS ON I-70
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The Colorado Dept. of Transportation is warning drivers that one of the “most far-reaching snowstorms of the season thus far” could impact roadway conditions, including on the I-70 mountain corridor, this week. Plow drivers will be deployed throughout the state during the storm, according to a news release from CDOT, which comes on the heels of a Thanksgiving holiday period that experienced multiple crashes and extended closures on I-70.
I-70 and mountain roadways are expected to receive two rounds of snow this week. About 2 to 6 inches of snow is expected Tuesday night through Wednesday evening, accompanied by winds. Snow is also in the forecast for Friday afternoon into Saturday, which could bring skier traffic to I-70.
Last Sunday, which was one of the busiest days for travel over the Thanksgiving holiday period, there were multiple incidents on I-70 that resulted from snowy conditions. A little before noon Sunday, there was a pileup with about 30 vehicles near Mile Post 119 east of Glenwood Springs. There was also a second pile-up of about 20 cars near Mile Post 116 west of Gypsum the same day, causing delays.
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HOLIDAY SHOPPING TURNOUT JUMPS TO 202.9M PEOPLE DURING THANKSGIVING WEEKEND
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A desire for deep discounts inspired 202.9 million U.S. consumers to shop during the five-day stretch from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That estimated total surpassed the major trade group’s forecast that 186.9 million people would shop during the five-day period. It also increased from last year’s turnout of 197 million shoppers during the same period. The shopping turnout is the largest since NRF began tracking the five-day total in 2017 and topped the previous high of 200.4 million shoppers during the same days in 2023. During the five-day stretch, Adobe said consumers spent $44.2 billion online overall — a 7.7 percent year-over-year jump. A significant chunk of that came from online spending on Black Friday, which totaled $11.8 billion and grew by 9.1 percent year over year as shoppers sought out early deals.
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CAMPING MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND IN COLORADO? RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW
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If Coloradans want to go camping on Memorial Day weekend this summer, they might want to start planning now. Some of the state’s most popular campgrounds take reservations six months in advance. That includes campgrounds at Rocky Mountain National Park. At the start of this month, a glance at Recreation.gov showed Memorial Day weekend spots starting to fill at the park’s largest campground, Moraine Park, as well as at Glacier Basin and Aspenglen campgrounds. Plenty of sites appeared to be available at the Timber Creek Campground on the national park’s western, Grand Lake side. At that campground and the others, some sites are set aside for booking 14 days in advance.
Rocky Mountain National Park’s smaller Longs Peak Campground opens reservations at the start of January. That’s also the case at Piñon Flats Campground at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve — what camping app The Dyrt has ranked as Colorado’s “hardest-to-book” campground. That ranking also listed South Rim Campground at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Memorial Day weekend reservations are open for some of the most popular campgrounds in White River and San Juan national forests, as well as those closer to Front Range populations: Arapaho and Roosevelt and Pike and San Isabel national forests.
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DOE RENAMES NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LAB
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The U.S. Dept. of Energy has changed the name of a federal lab outside Denver to downplay its work on renewable energy, the agency announced on Monday. The National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden was rechristened as the National Laboratory of the Rockies by the DOE. It’s the latest move of the federal agency to distance itself from efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and de-emphasize renewable energy. A spokesperson for the Golden lab said there were no impacts from the name change to the facility's research projects or staffing at this time. The new name reflects the Trump administration’s broader vision for the lab’s applied energy research, which historically emphasized alternative and renewable sources of generation.
In October, the DOE announced that it was cancelling $7.56 billion in grants, in large part meant for greenhouse gas reduction and electrification projects. In Colorado, that totaled over $500 million in funds cancelled. In May, 114 employees at the Golden lab were laid off.
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DENVER YMCA LEAVING DOWNTOWN BUILDING AFTER 119 YEARS
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YMCA of Metropolitan Denver officials are selling the organization’s North Capitol Hill location to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in what leaders say is an effort to address the city’s growing affordable housing crisis. The YMCA and Coalition have shared the space at 25 E. 16th Ave. since 2001, when the YMCA sold a majority of the space to the homeless nonprofit while continuing to operate wellness programs, adult sports and summer camps in the remaining 45,000 square feet. Those programs will come to an end when doors close Dec. 30, allowing Colorado Coalition for the Homeless to convert the space into “affordable rental and supportive housing units, ensuring lasting solutions for individuals and families experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity,” YMCA and CCH officials said in a news release Monday.
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless currently runs 216 single-resident units in the building, with communal bathroom and kitchen facilities. The national YMCA organization opened the downtown Denver location in 1906, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
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GOLDENS IN GOLDEN EXPANDS COLORADO EVENT
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After last year’s “Goldens in Golden” event overwhelmed Golden with traffic, limited parking and heavy crowds, city officials are rolling out changes to keep the celebration fun while reducing chaos. The “Goldens in Golden” event has grown into one of the city’s most recognizable celebrations, drawing nationwide attention each February as golden retrievers and their owners gather downtown. While city officials acknowledge that the popularity has outpaced the event’s original footprint, they say the new measures are designed to preserve the charm while easing the pressure on the city’s infrastructure. City leaders say the annual "Goldens in Golden" gathering, which draws thousands of people and golden retrievers from across the country, will double in length next year. The 2025 gathering drew about 7,500 people and 3,000 dogs.
Instead of the usual two-hour window from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the 2026 event will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Golden will also introduce a free, dog-friendly shuttle service from new off-site parking lots, a first for the event. The city of Golden also plans to double the number of vendors and spread them across two locations around town. The goal is to give people and pups more space to roam around and improve crowd flow. By dispersing attractions and amenities, the city hopes attendees will move more freely rather than bunching up in the most popular areas. Another first for the event will be the introduction of official sponsors, which leaders say will help make the celebration financially self-sustaining going forward. The 2026 event is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7.
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URANIUM DISCOVERY PAUSES $600M COLORADO DAM PROJECT
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Construction of the Chimney Hollow Reservoir west of Loveland has been halted after Northern Water found uranium in granite rock used for the dam embankment. The $600 million project, designed to store 90,000 acre-feet of water for more than one million Front Range residents, is now delayed while investigations continue into how much uranium may leach into the reservoir. Officials stress that all water will be treated before reaching taps, with the EPA limit set at 30 micrograms per liter. Uranium exposure at high doses can cause kidney damage and other health risks. Northern Water has already spent $90 million mitigating environmental impacts on the Western Slope, but the timeline for completion remains uncertain. The reservoir was expected to be the largest built in the U.S. in two decades, serving communities from Broomfield to Greeley.
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TELLURIDE SKI RESORT ANNOUNCES OPENING DAY
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Telluride Ski Resort announced that Opening Day for the 2025–26 winter season will be Saturday, Dec. 6. Thanks to recent snowfall, cold temperatures and productive snowmaking, the resort is ready to welcome guests back to the slopes. For Opening Day, skiers and riders will be able to enjoy Village Bypass, connecting to Lower Boomerang and Upper Misty Maiden. Additionally, early-season park enthusiasts can look forward to a small rail garden in Pick N Gad, with ski access in and access out by hiking only. The Chondola (Lift 1) will open for public transportation access only, offering convenient connectivity between Mountain Village and the Meadows. Ski access from the Town of Mountain Village parking garage to the Chondola via Lower Double Cabin will also be available. For beginners, the Vista Magic Carpet adjacent to Gondola Plaza will be open, along with the magic carpet at the top of the Meadows, offering two ideal areas to learn, practice, and gain confidence.
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ANIMAS RIVER TRAIL RECONSTRUCTION NEARING COMPLETION
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A stretch of the Animas River Trail between Santa Rita Park and the Doubletree Hotel in Durango is in its final phase, as crews pour concrete and reinforce the trail’s edges. However, snow and cold temperatures could cause delays to setting concrete, which prevents the city from having a definitive end date, said city spokesman Tom Sluis. Sluis said the city understands the public’s eagerness to see the trail reopen after months of construction and urged patience as crews complete their work. “We understand this is a very popular and heavily used trail and appreciate the public’s patience,” he said. “We look forward to celebrating its completion soon.”
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VAIL PD REQUESTS NEW AI TECH FOR REPORT WRITING, LANGUAGE TRANSLATION
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The Vail Police Dept. has asked for council approval of an $83,541 per-year plan to adopt new AI technology from Axon into the department’s workflow. Axon designs “software that reduces paperwork so officers can prioritize what really matters in their community.” The Vail Police Dept. is seeking to implement the Axon AI Era Plan, which includes a suite of AI-powered tools including software, which automatically generates report narratives from body-worn camera audio; auto-transcribe tools, which enable rapid conversion of audio into searchable transcripts for faster evidence review; smart capture tools, which extract information such as IDs or license plates from images; software that summarizes large case files to aid investigators; software that pre-fills common forms using audio transcripts and metadata; and software that automates video redaction to speed public-records processing. The system will also include real-time translation tools for 57 languages.
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PIKA POPULATIONS DECLINE SHARPLY IN ROCKY MOUNTAINS AS CLIMATE WARMS
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A University of Colorado Boulder study finds juvenile pika recruitment has dropped more than 50 percent over 40 years at Niwot Ridge near Rocky Mountain National Park. Researchers warn the iconic mountain mammals, adapted to cold talus habitats, are struggling with rising summer temperatures and limited snowpack insulation. Genetic studies show young pikas rarely migrate far, making it harder to colonize new sites as heat exposure increases. Scientists say the species’ decline signals broader cryosphere losses, including permafrost and seasonal ice, which could affect Colorado’s reservoirs. Statewide, average temperatures have risen 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1980 and are projected to climb another 1 to 4 degrees by 2025.
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DIA REVENUE JUMPS DESPITE FEWER PASSENGERS
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Denver International Airport’s revenue has soared this year despite a dip in the number of passengers that flew from there compared to 2024. The airport's operating revenue in the nine months ending Sept. 30 hit $1 billion, a 12.2 percent increase from the same period last year. Though DIA's revenue increased, it wasn’t from more people boarding flights. Sixty-two million flyers used DIA this year through Sept. 30 compared with 62.1 million over the same nine months in 2024. DIA’s revenue increase stemmed from charging more for facility rentals and landing fees: the former increased by $90.1 million, the latter by $9 million.
- The only airline to add any significant passenger travel in the past nine months was United Airlines, which accounted for about half of the total passengers at DIA. It added about 2 million passengers from Denver in 2025, increasing to flying a total of 31.1 million people through Sept. 30.
- The rest of DIA’s major carriers — Southwest, Frontier and Delta — had fewer total passengers at the airport.
- Southwest's passenger count dropped by over 1.4 million passengers to 18.15 million at DIA this year compared to the first nine months of 2024.
- Southwest, which accounted for 29.3 percent of total passengers at DIA this year — second only to United — is systematically cutting flights at DIA as part of a restructuring of its nationwide flight network.
- American Airlines added 11,000 passengers this year, and all other airlines combined added 128,000 passengers.
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MARKET UPDATE - 12/02/2025 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 11/26/2025)
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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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