|
Colorado - Fri. 06/12/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
|
|
View in Browser
|
|
|
| |
DENVER BRONCOS, SEAN PAYTON AGREE TO NEW FIVE-YEAR DEAL
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Denver Broncos gave coach Sean Payton a new five-year contract on Thursday, team owner and CEO Greg Penner announced. “Sean Payton has led an impressive turnaround over the past three seasons, instilling a winning culture with high expectations,” Penner said in a statement announcing the deal. “I appreciate the close partnership he shares with George Paton along with the alignment and stability across our football operations. We’re thrilled for Sean to continue leading our team as head coach, building on our progress during such an exciting time for the Broncos.”
The contract runs through 2030, aligning the contract terms for Payton and general manager George Paton, who signed a new extension earlier this spring. Payton was believed to be one of the highest-paid head coaches in the NFL on his initial contract in Denver at around $20 million per year and almost certainly will continue to be, though his exact salary on the new deal was not immediately known. Payton had two years remaining on his original deal, which ran through the 2027 season. The new pact, then, runs through 2030 and would take the veteran head coach through his 67th birthday.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
DAVID HOCKNEY, WHOSE PAINTING OF A SWIMMING POOL BROKE RECORDS, DIES AT 88
|
| |
|
|
| |
David Hockney, who rocketed into the art-world pantheon with exuberant landscapes, evocative portraits and vivid paintings of swimming pools, died peacefully at his home Thursday at 88. His depictions of familiar images, often made in a palette of bright acrylics, earned him the mantle of one of the fathers of British pop art. Hockney insisted that his vast oeuvre hinged simply on “looking, always looking. The world is very, very beautiful, if you look at it, but most people don’t look very much, do they?” From modest roots in West Yorkshire, England, Hockney established himself as an art-world dynamo, first conquering London, then setting out to become the “Piranesi of Los Angeles,” and later devoting himself to English and French landscapes. His exhibitions drew record numbers of visitors to museums. In 2018, his painting “Portrait of an Artist, (Pool with Two Figures)” sold for $90.3 million—at the time, the highest amount for a living artist at auction.
In recent years, Hockney headed from Southern California to northern France, settling into a house and studio on several acres in Normandy. He bought the property impulsively in 2018, he said, although France’s more relaxed approach to tobacco had something to do with his decision. “I’ve smoked for more than 60 years,” he told WSJ. Magazine in 2019. “But I think I’m quite healthy. I’m 82. How much longer do I have?" At Hockney’s 70th birthday party at Tate Britain in London, the museum’s smoke detectors were turned off for 10 minutes after dinner so the guest of honor could have a cigarette. During the pandemic, he whiled away lockdown by rising early and chronicling nature’s progress in more than 100 pictures on an iPad. Time didn’t diminish his creativity, Hockney explained to The Wall Street Journal in 2014, because “the joy and urge to draw is an ancient, 40,000-year-old impulse.”
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
X GAMES, ASPEN SNOWMASS ANNOUNCE THREE-YEAR DEAL TO KEEP CONTEST AT BUTTERMILK
|
| |
|
|
| |
Jeremy Bloom, CEO of the action sports franchise X Games, had voiced his desire to keep the winter contest at its longtime home at Buttermilk Ski Area and on Wednesday the official announcement was made for its return. “As the X Games League expands globally, Aspen remains our crown jewel, the iconic winter stop that athletes, fans and partners circle on the calendar every year,” Bloom said via a news release. X Games and Aspen Snowmass announced a new three-year host agreement that will keep the contest at Buttermilk through the 2028-29 winter season. Aspen has hosted Winter X Games since 2002, making this coming winter’s event No. 26 in a row. Snow Summit Mountain Resort in California hosted the inaugural Winter X Games in 1997, less than two years after the first Summer X Games was held in Rhode Island. The brainchild of Disney-owned ESPN, the controlling stake of the X Games franchise was sold to MSP Sports Capital in 2022.
Bloom, the former Olympic moguls skier and University of Colorado football star, was named CEO in December 2024. Exact dates for the 2027 contest at Buttermilk “will be announced in the coming months,” per the release. The locations of the other winter stops have not been announced. This summer’s lineup includes trips to Sacramento (June 26-28); Chiba, Japan (July 4-5); and New Orleans (July 24-26). And X Games isn’t the only competition to recently announce its return to Aspen, as Shaun White’s Snow League will bring its second season to Buttermilk from Jan 7-9. While the 2026 Winter Olympics are behind the athletes, this coming season does include March’s world championships in Austria. The full World Cup schedule has not yet been announced.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL'S HISTORIC APPOINTMENT
|
| |
|
|
| |
Meghan Martineau Umber has been announced as the seventh president and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School and the first woman to hold the position. Umber currently serves as president of the Hollywood Bowl and chief programming officer of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The 42-year-old is the seventh executive leader in the institution's 77-year history and the first woman to hold the position. She will assume the role Oct. 1, succeeding longtime president and CEO Alan Fletcher, who is stepping down after 21 years and will transition to the position of president emeritus of AMFS. Umber grew up in Minnesota playing classical piano. She received a degree from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California in 2006.
After graduating from USC in 2006, Umber landed an internship with the LA Phil. Over a 20-year career, she went from the mailroom to the boardroom. Umber has spent more than two decades helping shape the artistic identity of both Walt Disney Concert Hall and the iconic Hollywood Bowl. Today Umber oversees programming for the LA Phil which presents more than 300 events annually, serves approximately 1.7 million audience members and operates with a budget of roughly $210 million. AMFS leaders say that experience makes her uniquely qualified for managing the 38-acre Bucksbaum Campus and the AMFS venues at the Aspen Meadows Campus, Klein Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
BASALT RIVER JAMS FESTIVAL RETURNS TO BASALT
|
| |
|
|
| |
Basalt residents and visitors are invited to kick-off summer at the Basalt River Jams festival from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, at Basalt River Park. Hosted by the town of Basalt, this free, family-friendly festival is paying homage to local rivers through water activities, live music, food and beverage, according to a press release. The event will feature two music artists — The Know Bodies Band at 6:30 p.m. and Cruz Contreras and the Black Lillies at 8 p.m., as well as performances by Aspen Polynesia dancers, a group sponsored by Aspen Dance Connection. Prior to the festival and on the day of, attendees can sign up for an array of races that take place between noon to 4:30 p.m. The racing events include a Ducky Dash, tubing, kayak races, paddleboard races and raft races.
Frying Pan Anglers is also launching a fly-fishing casting competition at 5 p.m., followed by cash prizes and awards at 6 p.m. The Ducky Dash and tube races will feature free duckies and tubes for the first 25 participants. All other participants must bring their own personal floatation device, and both the rafting and kayaking events require helmets. The Roaring Fork Conservancy and Colorado Parks and Wildlife will support boat cleaning stations and help mitigate zebra mussel contamination. Free shuttles for river activities are being provided by Blazing Adventures. Community members and visitors can sign up early for river events at basalt.net/683/Basalt-River-Jams.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
MESA COUNTY TO ENTER STAGE 1 FIRE RESTRICTIONS TODAY
|
| |
|
|
| |
Mesa County will enter stage 1 fire restrictions Friday, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office announced. The restrictions prohibit personal use of fireworks, campfires outside of designated fire pits or fire rings, agricultural open burning without a Sheriff’s Office issued burn permit, use of explosive targets, smoking outside near combustible materials, operating equipment with internal combustion engines such as chainsaws without a spark-arresting device properly installed, and welding or operating Acetylene or other torches with an open flame except in cleared areas of at least 10 feet in diameter without a chemical pressurized fire extinguisher.
Mesa County Public Health has also issued a no burn advisory prohibiting burning of any kind through Monday with widespread fire conditions including high temperatures and winds expected throughout the week. Garfield County entered stage 1 fire restrictions Wednesday. Hot, dry and windy weather has fueled fire danger around the Western Slope this week and is expected to continue into next week.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
SUMMER AIR SERVICE INCLUDES NEW LA FLIGHTS
|
| |
|
|
| |
Colorado Flights Alliance announced expanded air service between Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for the summer 2026 travel season. United Airlines will operate flights on Saturdays from LAX to MTJ through the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, ending on Sept. 19. “It’s a great new addition from one of our core markets,” said Colorado Flights Alliance CEO Matt Skinner. Other changes include more frequent flights out of Chicago (ORD) and Houston (IAH) to Montrose. Chicago flights returned to five days per week, up from two last summer, running through Sept. 21. Houston flights will operate daily through Aug. 10 and then twice per week from Aug. 11 through Sept. 23.
United Airlines and Southwest Airlines will continue offering multiple daily flights from Denver to Montrose, while American Airlines will operate multiple daily flights from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW). Southwest Airlines will also provide Saturday service from Dallas Love Field (DAL) to Montrose. With American Airlines and United Airlines flying larger aircraft and Southwest Airlines operating seven days per week (versus five days) in April and May on its Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth routes, there was a 20 percent overall increase in capacity in April and a 40 percent increase in May. For full flight schedules and booking links, visit coloradoflights.org/schedule.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
WORLD'S FIRST ELECTRIC SKIS MAKE U.S. SKI TOWN DEBUT AT GOPRO MOUNTAIN GAMES
|
| |
|
|
| |
It was a little over a decade ago that an unheard-of electric board made its debut at the GoPro Mountain Games, saying it mimicked the sensation of snowboarding on land. It was called the OneWheel and has since become ubiquitous in ski towns across the globe. Since that time, and probably before, skiers have asked themselves when they will be able to use a personal transportation device that mimics the sensation they’re used to feeling on snow. That device is now here, it’s called Skwheel, and it made its American ski town debut at this year’s GoPro Mountain Games. “We knew Vail was a Mecca for skiing, so we thought this would be the perfect summer event to show off our product to skiers,” said Skwheel Business Manager Sacha Coulon, who was putting on Skwheel demonstrations and letting visitors try the product on Gore Creek Drive on Thursday. “People are picking it up on their first try.”
It’s the French company’s second visit to the U.S. to show off the product, with the first coming at the CES event in Las Vegas in 2024, when company officials visited the technological innovation conference to show off a prototype of the product they had been working on. Skwheel was well received at that conference, Coulon said, and by 2025, the first 200 units were delivered to customers. On May 10, Skwheel received the company’s crowning achievement thus far, winning the gold medal at the 125th Lépine Competition, recognizing the invention’s intersection of mobility, leisure and sports. Founded in 1901, the Lépine Competition showcases hundreds of inventions each year before a panel of expert judges, and 205 projects competed in 2026.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
DILLON APPROVES FUNDS FOR BUSINESS INCENTIVE PROGRAM
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Dillon Town Council approved supplemental appropriations to the town’s 2026 budget May 19, including one providing funding for a business incentive program. A memo from interim finance director Heather Pezzella stated $45,000 will be budgeted from the general fund for a targeted lease activation and vacancy reduction program. Pezzella said the program could not be funded with money from the Dillon Urban Renewal Authority as originally intended, but town staff is working on other programs for tenant improvement grants that would use authority funds. The council showed support for four programs proposed by town staff, which included facade or storefront improvement, vacancy activation, tenant improvement and relocation assistance. The targeted lease activation and vacancy reduction program would look to fill empty commercial space within Dillon’s town core, or the area within and around La Bonte Street, Buffalo Street and Lake Dillon Drive.
The town would issue grants ranging from $3,000 to $12,000 to help fill vacant spaces. At the April 14 meeting, then-town manager Nathan Johnson said the town core had around 20 open business spaces. Other supplemental appropriations approved by the council included $195,000 for new lights at the Dillon Amphitheater, $16,000 for concerts at the marina tiki bar and a $61,000 transfer from the parking fund to the general fund to cover the costs of the tiki bar concerts and business incentive program. Pezzella said the $61,000 from the parking fund is “essentially” its projected revenue for 2026, meaning its fund balance will not grow this year.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
ROCKY MOUNTAIN DISTRICT FIELD OFFICES ENTER STAGE 1 FIRE RESTRICTIONS
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Bureau of Land Management’s Rocky Mountain District entered stage 1 fire restrictions today because of dry conditions and high fire danger. These restrictions apply to the Royal Gorge and San Luis Valley field offices, which include all BLM-administered public lands within the boundaries of Alamosa, Baca, Bent, Boulder, Chaffee, Clear Creek, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Custer, El Paso, Fremont, Gilpin, Huerfano, Jefferson, Kiowa, Lake, Larimer, Las Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Mineral, Morgan, Otero, Park, Powers, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Saguache, Sedgwick, Teller, Washington, Weld, and Yuma counties. Restrictions remain in place until rescinded.
Under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions the following acts are prohibited:
- Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire except within agency-provided fire grates at developed recreation sites. Devices using gas, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel are permitted.
- Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
- Operating a chainsaw without a USDA or SAE approved spark arrester properly installed and working, a chemical fire extinguisher of not less than 8 ounces capacity by weight, and one round point shovel with an overall length of at least 36 inches.
- Using a welder, either arc or gas, or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame, except in cleared areas of at least 10 feet in diameter with a chemical pressurized fire extinguisher of not less than 8 ounces capacity.
- Using exploding targets.
Details about BLM Colorado year-round fire restrictions and tips for preventing wildfires are available online. Learn about fire restrictions throughout the state from the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. For more information, please contact the Royal Gorge Field Office at 719-269-8500, or the San Luis Valley Field Office at 719-852-7074.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
METRO DENVER INFLATION HITS 5% IN MAY, HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE 2023
|
| |
|
|
| |
A surge in gasoline and other energy costs because of the conflict with Iran has caused inflation to flare up in metro Denver, according to the latest update from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood rose 5 percent between May of this year and May 2025, driven primarily by a 25.3 percent surge in energy costs, including a 41.8 percent increase in gasoline prices.
- Higher energy costs alone accounted for about 60 percent of the increase in inflation that local consumers faced, according to the BLS report.
- Food costs are up 1.8 percent over the past year in Denver, with fruits and vegetables up 4 percent. Nationally, tomatoes cost 32 percent more, while lettuce is up 25 percent, both surpassing a 17.5 percent gain in coffee.
- Diesel prices, which have surged as much as 60 percent in some markets, are combining with higher tariffs and supply shortages to drive up the cost of produce on grocery store shelves.
- Most fruits and vegetables sold in the U.S. are imported, making them vulnerable to the higher tariffs the Trump administration has imposed, including a 17 percent tariff on tomatoes from Mexico.
- Denver's 8 percent rise in alcohol beverage prices far outstripped the 2.1 percent gain nationally, and apparel costs rose 13.9 percent in Denver versus 4.8 percent nationally.
- One fallout from the war was a jump in 30-year mortgage rates, which briefly fell below 6 percent back at the start of the year and are now back into the mid-6 percent range. Colorado homeowners have also been hit with increases in property taxes and insurance premiums.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
MARKET UPDATE - 06/11/2026 Close
|
| |
|
(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
|
| |
|
Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 06/11/2026)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
|
| |
|
| |
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.
|
| |
|
|
| |
| Make changes to your subscription or unsubscribe here. |
| © 2026 Alpine Bank. |
| |
|
|
