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Colorado - Mon. 10/26/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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NATIONAL GUARD ACTIVATED, EVACUATIONS, ROAD CLOSURES IN PLACE
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Although flood waters were receding in southwest Colorado, state and local officials were preparing for more storms in the forecast Sunday and kept evacuation orders in place and roads remained closed. The Colorado National Guard was activated Saturday, with nearly 100 members, two helicopters and 30 tactical vehicles responding to flood-affected areas in the southwestern state, agency officials said. In one rescue, a National Guard helicopter hoisted a couple and their pets from a recreational vehicle that had been swept away by floodwater. A flood watch remained in effect for the San Juan Mountains, Four Corners area and the Dolores, Animas and San Juan river basins until late Sunday. A separate warning for ‘catastrophic flooding’ will be active for Colorado’s Montezuma County and Utah’s San Juan County until 6 a.m. Tuesday, especially along the San Juan River from Four Corners to Mexican Hat.
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FAA IMPOSES RESTRICTIONS AT CENTENNIAL AIRPORT
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Centennial Airport is the second busiest in the Denver area, behind only Denver International Airport, and now private pilots flying out of Centennial Airport are spending more time taxiing on the ground after a surprise Federal Aviation Administration edict that curbed how takeoffs and landings work from the airport’s three runways. Federal authorities, who cited a yearlong review of departures, determined several events posed “major” risks and that prompted the imposing of restrictions. Following the FAA notice, the airport has notified its operators that “simultaneous parallel departure operations” would be ceased pending “additional safety mitigations.” In simpler terms, it meant that “touch-and-go” operations, which is where pilots can practice making a landing, then push the throttles to full power and take off again without making a stop, would be essentially suspended at the busy airport.
KAPA, as Centennial is known to pilots, handles around a thousand flights per day, including by student pilots training with flight instructors and by licensed pilots who regularly need to make takeoffs and landings to keep their licenses current. Centennial is widely recognized as the second busiest or third busiest general aviation airport in the country.
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COLORADO ENERGY OFFICE AWARDS $13.9 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR CUTTING POLLUTION
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The General Assembly created the state’s Clean Air Program in 2022, transferring $25 million from the state’s General Fund, and last Wednesday, the Colorado Energy Office announced it is awarding $13.9 million to help companies cut pollution from factories and other industrial sites. The energy office said the awards bring total state spending on industrial pollution cuts to more than $73 million since 2023. Officials said the projects should reduce emissions by an amount equal to taking 14,507 gas-powered cars off the road each year. Included in the grants are awards to two technology companies: Grand Valley Instrumentation of Grand Junction gets $101,400 for equipment that finds methane leaks at landfills; and Vycarb gets $2.7 million for a system that captures carbon from wastewater treatment plants.
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UNITED AIRLINES & AIR CANADA EXPAND OPTIONS FROM DIA
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United Airlines and Air Canada have created 20 new routes between Canada and the U.S. since 2022. United and Air Canada just renewed their agreement, and United will launch two routes to Ottawa and Quebec City starting in the summer of 2027. United will also increase daily seats between Denver International Airport and Winnipeg by 65 percent. The two airlines announced the new Denver routes as part of a broader expansion of offerings between destinations in the U.S. and Canada. Those include new service from Toronto to Louisville, Montreal to Indianapolis and Edmonton to Newark. United Airlines will also launch seasonal service to St. John’s from Newark and will increase flights offered between Washington, D.C., and Quebec City.
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HERE’S WHAT THE WALL STREET JOURNAL SAYS ABOUT EL NIÑO & SKIING THIS WINTER
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The Wall Street Journal in its weekend edition has an article on the impact of El Niño on skiing this winter, highlighting four areas that hold promise. The article titled, "What El Niño Means for This Year’s Ski Season - After a dismal ski season across the American West, El Niño could bring on the powder this winter.
Here are four mountains "worth watching":
- The Upscale Escape: Telluride Ski Resort, Colorado
- The Big-Snow Bet: Mammoth Mountain, California
- The Sleeper Hit: Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico
- The Wild Card: Sun Valley Resort, Idaho
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GRAND JUNCTION CITY COUNCIL OK’S MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS
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At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the Grand Junction City Council voted 6-0 in favor of an ordinance that blocks development and pre-development steps for large data centers in town for up to the next year, as municipal officials rush to address the buildings in local planning and development codes. The move follows in the footsteps of Mesa County, which passed a resolution to the same effect Sept. 29. And the neighboring city of Fruita appears close on Grand Junction’s heels, holding a first reading for its own moratorium ordinance at a council meeting Oct. 20. Building regulators for the local governments say a temporary block on data centers will buy time to develop requirements for the structures, which can have an outsized impact on nearby water and energy resources and become considerable sources of light and noise pollution.
Grand Junction’s temporary ban applies only to data centers that have a “projected, designed or requested electrical load of one megawatt or more,” according to the ordinance. That means it doesn’t impact small additions within businesses that add new IT rooms or computer servers. A poll by Magellan Strategies, published Sept. 13, found 82 percent of Colorado voters opposed data centers in their own cities or towns. A marginally smaller majority, 75 percent, said they opposed data center construction anywhere in the state. The registered voters surveyed cited concerns about water conservation and electricity rates, as well as heat, noise and light emitted by the buildings 24 hours a day.
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SOME DROUGHT IMPROVEMENT BUT ASPEN RETAINS STAGE 3 RESTRICTIONS
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The city of Aspen’s drought response committee has recommended, and the city council has agreed, to keep the Stage 3 drought restrictions in place. While the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor report showed a slight improvement in drought conditions on the Western Slope, uncertainty around how the predicted El Niño pattern will impact Colorado is driving the city’s drought response committee to recommend maintaining the stage 3 restrictions. Aspen adopted stage 3 water restrictions on May 15 due to significant drought conditions within Aspen, the Maroon and Castle Creek drainages (the city’s main water sources) and the Roaring Fork Valley. It was the first time the city entered such stringent restrictions since its formal drought response was established in 2020. It sets a water-use reduction goal of about 15-25 percent.
Under the restrictions, the city estimated about 65 percent compliance from the community with the water restrictions, which include strict watering schedules and other conservation measures. The city called the compliance “an extremely good response.” According to the informational memo, the city saw a 20-40 percent reduction in water use from May 15 to Oct. 19, compared to the same time period in 2024 and 2025.
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GLENWOOD SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL: GLENWOOD RIDES FARE TO INCREASE TO $3
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The city of Glenwood Springs in May 2025 launched a pilot program to provide an on-demand transportation service for $1 per ride anywhere in the city. One of the purposes of the pilot program was to determine where underserved residents lived and that would be used to adjust the Ride Glenwood system. However, City of Glenwood Springs Transportation Engineer Lee Barger said that information was not apparent and the increase to $3 per ride would provide a better idea of which trips were deemed essential as a round-trip cost of $6 rather than $2 will cause people to think twice about using it. Barger told councilors the increase is intended not only to generate additional revenue but also to encourage riders to use the service the way it was intended.
To encourage people to use the Ride Glenwood and RFTA's systems, under the new $3 structure, rides beginning and ending at the West Glenwood Park and Ride and the 27th Street Park and Ride will remain $1 to encourage connections. Ride Glenwood fixed route buses remain free to ride.
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A LOOK AT THE LABOR FORCE IN COLORADO
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Here are some statistics on the Colorado labor force:
- There are 3.18 in the state’s labor force
- The state had a labor force participation rate of 65.2 percent
- That is significantly higher than the U.S. average of 61.8 percent
- Colorado’s labor force has shrunk by about 95,000 people in the last two years
Tim Wonhof, director of the state’s Office of Labor Market Information, tracks adult workers who left the workforce but want back in, and his sampling indicates:
- There are 116,300 workers who left the labor force but want a job right now
- That is up from 78,000 four years ago
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GAS & DIESEL PRICES REMAIN SKY HIGH
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According to AAA, gas prices in Colorado on Friday averaged $4.28 a gallon for regular gasoline:
- That is 46 percent higher than at this time last year
- Diesel average $6.55 a gallon statewide
- That is a whopping 90 percent higher than a year ago
- It is up 83 percent since Feb. 28 when the U.S. war with Iran began
- Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of gas was $4.29
- Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of diesel was $6.31
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MARKET UPDATE - 10/23/2026 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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