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Colorado - Thu. 04/02/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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NASA LAUNCHES ARTEMIS II ASTRONAUTS ON HISTORIC MOON FLIGHT
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Four astronauts lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on a 10-day mission meant to revive U.S. deep space exploration after years of delays. NASA’s SLS rocket launched at 6:35 p.m. ET, sending Orion and its crew more than 250,000 miles from Earth for a lunar flyby, the first such journey since 1972. Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen will test Orion’s systems in tight quarters of about 330 cubic feet while circling the moon, with NASA prepared to cut the mission short if life support or other systems falter. The flight is a key step toward a planned 2028 lunar landing and part of a broader competition with China’s growing space ambitions.
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USFS REORGANIZATION PLAN: MOVING HEADQUARTERS TO SALT LAKE CITY
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On Tuesday, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture announced the U.S. Forest Service will move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah, and "begin a sweeping restructuring of the agency to move leadership closer to the forests and communities it serves." “This is about building a Forest Service that is nimble, efficient, effective and closer to the forests and communities it serves,” Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in the announcement. “Effective stewardship and active management are achieved on the ground, where forests and communities are found... not just behind a desk in the capital.” Alongside the relocation of its headquarters, the Forest Service will begin transitioning to a state-based organizational model.
Under the new model, 15 state directors will be distributed throughout the country to oversee Forest Service operations within one or more states. State directors will serve as national leaders with primary oversight of forest supervisors, operational priorities, and relationships with states, tribes and other partners. Each state office will include a small leadership support team responsible for functions such as legislative affairs, communications, and intergovernmental coordination. Under the plan, regional Forest Services offices will close. The Rocky Mountain Region 2 Office, serving Colorado and several other states, is located in Lakewood. The Forest Service plan calls for a new state Forest Service office to be located in Fort Collins and serve both Colorado and Kansas.
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NO FLOCK, BUT DENVER CITY COUNCIL OK’S LICENSE PLATE READING CAMERAS
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The Denver City Council on Tuesday narrowly approved (7-6 vote) a contract with Axon Enterprise allowing 50 license plate-reading cameras to be used at intersections across the city. The deal replaces the city’s existing contract with Flock Safety, which has been under fire. The Flock contract expired on Tuesday. Denver started a pilot program with Flock’s license plate readers at Denver International Airport, which had been struggling with high vehicle thefts, in 2023. The next year, officials expanded the program to other parts of the city, placing 111 cameras at 70 intersections. In April 2025, Johnston’s administration attempted to extend the contract for two more years, but the council rejected the proposal, citing concerns about the company creating a mass-surveillance network. The mayor's office announced the contract with Axon in February, declaring it would provide a more secure option compared to Flock.
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DOUGLAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MOVE AHEAD WITH $65 MILLION SPORTS COMPLEX
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The Douglas County commissioners Tuesday gave unanimous approval to four contracts for the design, construction and financing of the Zebulon Regional Sports Complex, with a target of 2028 completion. The $65 million facility originated from a voter-approved sales tax extension used to finance recreation in the county. Preliminary designs for the 46-acre complex include multiple indoor hockey rinks, eight full-size multi-sport basketball courts, a covered sports dome with 160,000 sq. ft. indoor turf, 15,000 sq. ft. fitness and lifestyle center and outdoor baseball fields and multipurpose soccer fields. County commissioners awarded a contract for the design, construction and long-term operation to KT Development.
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EAGLE COUNTY SUES AGAIN TO STOP THE INCREASE IN OIL TANKER TRAINS
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On March 26, Eagle County filed another lawsuit to halt the increase in oil trains running along the Colorado River through the northwestern part of the county. The lawsuit is directed at the approval of the federal expansion of the Wildcat Loadout Facility U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land near Price, Utah, where heated oil tanker trucks can transfer waxy crude oil from the Uinta Basin oil fields to heated oil-tanker rail cars on Union Pacific’s tracks. The oil is too thick for pipelines. Eagle County contends the “BLM arbitrarily reversed its commitment to provide an opportunity for public participation in the agency’s decision-making process for the Wildcat Facility Expansion in violation of FLPMA, NEPA, and APA." It states the BLM, in 2023, had committed to a public process with opportunity for comment.
By using what are called “Alternative Arrangements” to approve the amended railway right-of-way that allows for the loadout expansion, Eagle County argues the previous comments and assertions it made in the case have essentially been thrown out without consideration. “The county urged BLM to consider the increased risk of accidents, derailments, wildfires, and oil spills that could devastate public lands, critical water sources, including the Colorado River, and nearby communities who would endure the increased daily traffic of oil trains originating from the Wildcat Facility,” the Eagle County lawsuit reads. The Uinta Basin Railway would increase oil-train traffic to 350,000 barrels a day on five, two-mile-long trains - up from the current level of about 90,000 barrels of waxy crude a day that is being trucked to refineries in Salt Lake City and also to the main Union Pacific railroad near Price and Helper, Utah.
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DENVER BOTANICAL GARDENS SIGN OF SPRING, IT’S TULIP GARDEN, A VICTIM OF FUNGUS
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One of Denver’s most beautiful indications that spring has arrived is the blooming of 10,000-15,000 tulips at the Denver Botanical Gardens each April and May…but, not this year, nor for a few springs to come. Gardens spokeswoman Erin Bird said the tulips had become infected with "tulip fire," the Botrytis tulipae fungus that can only be treated by immediately digging up the tulip bulbs and destroying them. In addition, new bulbs should not be planted in the same area for three years, so there likely will be no tulips at the Botanical Gardens until 2029. Most of the tulips at the Gardens come from Europe, and Bird said one of their vendors may have unknowingly sent blighted bulbs in the fall of 2023.
On the positive side, tulip fire doesn’t spread through the air, so it didn’t affect the smaller tulip displays at the Gardens, including the ones out front, which aren’t changed out as often. It also doesn’t affect other kinds of flowers, so instead of tulips, the annuals garden includes thousands of daffodils, hyacinths and lilies this year — and they are peaking right now.
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FRIDAY IS OPENING DAY FOR ROCKIES BASEBALL
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The Colorado Rockies are not off to a spectacular start to the 2026 Major League Baseball Season, losing their first four games, but Friday, April 3, will be the home opener at Coors Field at 2:15 p.m. vs. the Philadelphia Phillies. Of course, Opening Day is much more than just nine innings of baseball. There will be Opening Day activities all weekend. A sampling: First, there still are Opening Day tickets, go to ticketmaster.com/colorado-rockies-vs-philadelphia-phillies-denver-colorado-04-03-2026/event/1E00636AD2CF9002
- McGregor Square Pregame and Watch Party: starts 9 a.m. Friday, 1901 Wazee St., Denver, CO, 80202
- Larimer Square Block Party: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, 1430 Larimer St., Denver, CO 80202
- Gameday on the Block: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1800 Wazee St., Denver, CO 80202
- Rockies Opening Day Patio Party: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop St., Denver
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JOB OPENINGS & HIRING FELL IN FEBRUARY
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The U.S. Dept. of Labor’s monthly report of job openings and labor turnover survey showed job openings and hiring fell in February. Available positions fell to 6.9 million in February, down from an upwardly revised 7.2 million in January. The rate of job openings was 4.2 percent in February from 4.4 percent in January. Hiring fell to its lowest rate since April 2020, with about 4.8 million workers finding new roles in February. The rate of hires decreased over the month to 3.1 percent compared with 3.4 percent in January. The number of layoffs was unchanged at 1.7 million. The layoff rate was 1.1 percent in February, compared with 1 percent in January.
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OWNER OF GJ DAILY SENTINEL BUYING THE MONTROSE & DELTA NEWSPAPERS
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Seaton Publishing Company, owner of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, which operates under the company Grand Junction Media, announced it is acquiring the Montrose Daily Press and the Delta County Independent, which are currently owned by Wick Communications, with the deal expected to close this week. The move will bring the three largest newspapers in the region under shared ownership. The transaction includes an extension of the leases for the offices in which the newsrooms operate as well as all internal and external operations related to the printing facility in Montrose.
Wick Communications CEO Josh O’Connor said, “Grand Junction Media is an excellent fit for these titles, as they align perfectly with their existing footprint in southwest Colorado. We are excited about the future of these community publications and the talented employees who work tirelessly to provide local news and advertising to Montrose and Delta.” The Montrose Daily Press is the oldest business in Montrose County, launching as a weekly publication in 1882. The Delta County Independent began as the Delta Chief in 1883. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel was founded in 1893.
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BETH HOWARD TO RETIRE AFTER 41 YEARS WITH VAIL ASSOCIATES/VAIL RESORTS
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Vail Mountain announced Monday the retirement of Beth Howard, vice president and chief operating officer of Vail Mountain. In 1985, Howard began working as a college intern in food & beverage at Beaver Creek Resort. She continued at Vail Associates/Vail Resorts for 41 years, working her way to lead company-wide food and beverage initiatives, overseeing operations at more than 100 restaurants and eight private clubs across all Vail Resorts mountains. She went on to serve as general manager of Northstar, California, where she was recognized with the 2015 Ski Area Management SAMMY Leadership Award. In 2016, Howard became chief operating officer of Beaver Creek Resort, and in 2019 was named chief operating officer of Vail Mountain, the company’s flagship resort.
Among her notable accomplishments: she pioneered the cabin dining concepts at Beaver Creek Resort, brought forth Vail's Legacy Hut and Camp Hale at Vail, and she played a key role in securing USFS approvals for McCoy Park at Beaver Creek Resort, leading the 2019 Vail Mountain snowmaking expansion, and advancing major lift upgrades including Beaver Creek lift 5 and Vail Mountain lifts 7 and 17. Howard will continue to lead Vail Mountain through the ski season and then serve in an advisory capacity until her retirement in mid-October.
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A MAJOR UNDERTAKING: COUNTING ALMOST A BILLION AND A HALF PEOPLE, INDIA CENSUS
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On Wednesday, India undertook the world’s largest census, with more than three million government workers seeking to count more than 1.4 billion citizens of the country. It is the first census in more than 15 years and the eighth since India’s independence in 1947. The exercise will span 36 states and federally administered territories, more than 7,000 sub-districts, over 9,700 towns and nearly 640,000 villages, with fieldwork carried out by enumerators and supervisors - typically schoolteachers, government staff and local officials. For the first time, the census will be conducted digitally, with enumerators using mobile apps to collect and upload data.
The census includes 33 questions, with self-enumeration and two phases of physical door-to-door surveys. The first phase, known as the House Listing and Housing Census, will gather information on housing conditions, amenities and household assets. The second phase - population enumeration - is scheduled for February 2027 and will collect detailed data on demographics, education, migration and fertility.
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IN NORWAY IT IS NOT EASTER BUNNIES & EGGS, IT IS BINGING ON CRIME NOVELS
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Norway may have one of the most unusual Easter celebrations in the world. It is Påskekrim (Easter crime). Instead of gathering together or joining in celebrations with others, Norwegians retreat to cabins or other quiet settings to read murder mysteries. It started in 1923 with Norwegian crime novel Bergenstoget plyndret i nat (The Bergen Train Was Looted Last Night), a rather simple tale of a train robbery, not unlike many American Westerns, on the Oslo-Bergen railway where the villains looted affluent travelers who were going skiing, then jumped off the train and skied away. It became a sensation because the title of the book was printed directly below the masthead of Norway's national newspaper in the days leading up to Easter. Readers mistook the book's title for a headline, and the confusion generated enormous publicity – and sales.
Ever since, the Easter period has become associated with crime fiction, and eventually Norwegians began celebrating by reading suspenseful stories, from murder mysteries and heists to detective tales and true crime. The weeks before Easter also sees Norway’s largest crime fiction festival, Krimifestivalen, a free three-day event in Oslo. Attendees and bookish travelers leave with armloads of books to read over Easter break. But by far, the most popular way to celebrate påskekrim is by decamping to mountainside cabins over Easter break (which in Norway typically lasts up to 10 days) to read and stream crime fiction.
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LOOKING FOR A SECOND PASSPORT?
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International Living breaks down the countries offering the fastest and most straightforward paths to citizenship in 2026. Here are 11 countries offering formal citizenship-by-investment programs in 2026, with a rough approximation of cost:
- St. Kitts & Nevis: $250,000 donation
- Antigua & Barbuda: $230,000 donation
- Dominica: $200,000 contribution
- Grenada: qualify for a U.S. E-2 investor visa with $235,000 donation
- Saint Lucia: $240,000 donation
- North Macedonia: $235,000 donation
- Turkey: $500,000 bank deposit or investment
- Egypt: $100,000 donation
- Jordan: $1.4 million in qualifying investments
- Cambodia: $245,000 donation
- Vanuatu: $130,000 donation
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MARKET UPDATE - 04/01/2026 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 03/26/2026)
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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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