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Colorado - Mon. 09/21/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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KROENKE SPORTS TO UNDERTAKE A $135 MILLION MAKEOVER OF BALL ARENA
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Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Ball Arena, announced plans on Friday for a $135 million renovation of the 27-year-old complex in the city’s Central Platte Valley. The plans call for a 30,000-square-foot expansion of the arena’s east lobby, enclosed within a new glass facade. The expansion will add escalators, increase the number of east entrance doors from eight to 20, widen entrances, exits and concourses in high-traffic areas, and include a new team store that will be roughly twice the size of the current shop. A large LED screen will also allow fans outside the arena to watch sports content, while a 34,000-square-foot pedestrian plaza will face Chopper Circle. The project also includes technology upgrades aimed at reducing waiting times and three new clubs, including one with access to reserved 100-level seating.
The renovations will be done in phases and are expected to be completed in time for the 2028/2029 sports season. KSE said the heaviest work will be scheduled for the offseasons, and continuous work will occur during the day and on days that won't interrupt events at Ball Arena or the guest experience. KSE previously announced it would upgrade 24 of its luxury suites that are set to debut for the upcoming 2026/2027 Nuggets and Avalanche seasons. It has also planned upgrades to its teams’ practice facilities, installing a 1,100-square-foot observation platform above the Nuggets’ practice court.
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COLORADO’S BUDGET WOES INCREASE, NOW $1.6 BILLION DEFICIT FORECAST
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On Friday, economists and staff from the governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting, told the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee that the rise in healthcare costs continue to outpace projections and although revenue projections have increased slightly, they do not offset the growth in Medicaid spending. Analysts now expect the state to face a $1.6 billion deficit next fiscal year. “Medicaid alone is causing the vast majority of this issue,” said Mark Ferrandino, director of the governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting. The dire financial news comes ahead of a November election that will feature several ballot measures that could either help or hurt the state’s budget picture.
Legislative Democrats and their allies are backing two proposals that would raise billions in new tax dollars to pay for education, healthcare and other services, while conservative groups are pushing a measure that would block any future income tax increases. Forecasters expect the state economy to continue to grow at a slow pace, much as it’s done in recent years.
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ST. MARY’S GLACIER MELTS AWAY
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St. Mary’s Glacier, located just 10 miles off Interstate 70 about 90 minutes west of Denver, is not a true glacier, but a “perennial snowfield,” but nonetheless, it is iconic and Dan McGrath, a Colorado State University associate professor of geosciences, who specializes in glaciers, calls it “…a bit of the culture of Colorado.” But it is no more. This past winter’s record-low snowpack and 2026’s hottest average summer temperatures have caused the snowfield to completely vanish for the first time in at least 100 years. “This is a significant event, that it completely melted out,” McGrath said. “It would take multiple years of above-average snow to survive the summer and rebuild itself.” The same conditions have also shrunk the state’s actual glaciers, including the Arapaho Glacier in the Indian Peaks Wilderness in Boulder County and the Andrews Glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park.
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NEW $1 COIN FOR COLORADO WILL FEATURE PUEBLO GREEN CHILES
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The United States Mint American Innovation $1 Coin Program is a multi-year series to honor innovation and innovators by issuing $1 coins for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U. S. territories. Four new $1 coins with distinctive reverse designs will be released each year from 2019 through 2032 in the order the states ratified the Constitution of the United States or were admitted to the Union. The Colorado coin will be issued in 2028, and it will feature the Pueblo Mosco chiles. Mosco chiles were developed by Mike Bartolo at the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station and released to growers in the early 2000s. Mosco chiles have thicker, meatier walls that hold up well to roasting and are typically hotter than other green chiles.
Colorado submitted five coin designs featuring the Pueblo chile, and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday voted to move forward with the first design, which depicts a plant laden with chiles against a background of mountains, forests and plains. A citizen advisory board will review the coin design in October, after which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will give the final stamp of approval.
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ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES FOR CU SYSTEM MOVING TO NEW DENVER LOCATION
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The University of Colorado System has its administrative offices located in an office building at 1800 Grant St., in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Built in 1985, the 115,580-square-foot office building is appraised at $21.6 million. Last Thursday, University officials announced that it will sell its Denver offices on Grant Street as it prepares to move into Independence Plaza, the $30 million downtown office tower it purchased in June. CU will list the office building for sale, and in 2027, plans to move those offices into Independence Plaza, the 25-story, 567,287-square-foot office tower the university purchased because of its location on the 16th Street Mall, and the possibilities for use coupled with the Denver campus. The office tower, located at 1050 17th St., is a full-block property spanning 17th Street, Curtis Street, Arapahoe Street, and the 16th Street Mall.
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MOTORISTS NOTE: BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION WILL AGAIN CLOSE I-70 THIS WEEKEND
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The Colorado Dept. of Transportation last week advised motorists that there would be closures of Interstate 70 in both directions to complete “critical bridge repairs” of interstate bridges over Kipling Street, or Colorado Hwy. 391, in Wheatridge over the weekend. CDOT again advises motorists that I-70 will be closed Sept. 25-29 for the bridge work. Each of the closures were scheduled for about 80 hours, from 7 p.m. Friday evenings to 6 a.m. Tuesday mornings. A detour rerouting I-70 traffic through the Kipling Street interchange using the on- and off-ramps will be in place throughout the closures. Because the on- and off-ramps will serve as temporary travel lanes, motorists will not be able to enter or exit I-70 at Kipling Street, which will be closed in both directions at the interchange. Travelers can visit COTrip.org for a map of active road conditions and closures or visit codot.gov/projects for more information.
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CPW ADDS MORE K9 PATROLS
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After a successful pilot program, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received funding to create K9 patrols which were implemented in 2025. The dogs and CPW handlers undergo an extensive training period before going on assignment. CPW K-9s are trained to detect wildlife parts as well as locate physical evidence, whether that be in poaching cases or crimes against people. They are also trained in the tracking and location of humans in both a search and rescue function as well as law enforcement. On state parks, CPW has been able to utilize the training and discipline of the K-9s to assist with high profile cases including assaults, sexual assaults and attempted murders.
In addition, the K9s are also trained and proficient in hazing black bears. In that training, the trainer commands the K9 to "speak" before a bear is released. The dog immediately begins barking at a high volume and frequency. After the trap door opens and the bear begins to run off, it is followed by the handler and dog in pursuit. They follow the bear a short distance with the dog restrained by its lead. By chasing the bear into the woods with a barking K-9 in pursuit, the goal is to leave the bear with a negative association of humans.
Of course, all of the K-9s also play a pivotal role in educational and public outreach events conducted by CPW. Whether entertaining families visiting state parks or helping inspire the next generation of CPW officers at school programs, the K-9s are always the star of the show. The latest additions are one covering the Colorado Springs, Lamar and Pueblo areas and the surrounding state parks and one covering the Hot Sulphur, Meeker and Steamboat Springs areas and those state parks. They join the K9 teams covering the area wildlife offices in Durango, Montrose, and Monte Vista, as well as state parks in those areas and the area wildlife offices in Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction and Gunnison and associated state parks within that territory.
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LDS DELIVERS 40,000 POUNDS OF FOOD TO DURANGO FOOD BANK
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Last week, a tractor-trailer filled with 40,000 pounds of food pulled into the Durango Food Bank. It was a delivery from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' American 250 initiative. That LDS program is dedicated to donating 250 tractor-trailers full of food to 250 food banks across the country. The Durango Food Bank will split the payload with Our Community Eats in Pagosa Springs and share the donations with the Fort Lewis College Grub Hub and the Silverton Food Pantry, said Sarah Smith, Durango Food Bank executive director. This truck’s delivery will help fill a lot of needed gaps for the food bank, Smith said. The LDS church typically donates higher-cost items such as pasta sauces, baking mixes or dish soap, which don’t get donated frequently during drives. In a typical full-day food drive, the food bank will receive 12,000-15,000 pounds of food. The America 250 initiative is a huge donation in proportion as far as volume, Smith said.
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GRAND JUNCTION AIRSHOW RETURNS WITH THE BLUE ANGELS
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Grand Junction has a long history of hosting an airshow, dating back to 1912, the first year of recorded flight in Grand Junction. However, there has not been an airshow for three years, but that will change Oct. 3-4 this year. Making the event even more special is the return of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. The Blue Angels appear at only 33 public shows each year. There will also be flight demonstrations by the F-16 Viper Demo Team, an L-39 fighter jet painted pink for breast cancer awareness and more antique aircraft like a “Tuskegee Airmen” Mustang and a TBM Bomber. There also will be aerobatic acts like the “Franklin Flying Circus,” among other stunt plane performances. Ticket-buyers must also reserve space at one of several designated parking lots around Grand Junction. From there, they’ll be shuttled by one of 56 buses prepared for the weekend.
While the setup will mean more travel miles for most guests, it’s expected to drastically reduce the time attendees spend waiting on the road and prevent their competition with air travelers for parking spaces near the terminal. An on-site tow truck, airport-imposed fines and traffic control officers are expected to enforce the rule and prevent airshow attendees from parking in the airport’s parking lot, which will stay open exclusively for its regular customers planning to leave or return to the area on commercial flights. General admission tickets for the air show are available at gjairshow.com, priced at $30 for adults, $10 for children and $15 for veterans, if bought in advance. At the gate, the price for adults jumps to $40. Reserved seating tickets are available at higher price points. VIP tickets are sold out.
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COLORADO DEPT. OF EDUCATION NAMES FINALISTS FOR TEACHER OF THE YEAR
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The Colorado Dept. of Education has announced the eight finalists for Colorado’s 2027 Teacher of the Year. This year’s finalists were selected from 298 educators across 74 districts who applied for the honor. The 2027 Colorado Teacher of the Year will be announced in October. Each finalist received a $1,000 award from the Boettcher Foundation and their schools also received $500 from the foundation. The 2027 Colorado Teacher of the Year will receive a $10,000 award from the CDE and the Boettcher Foundation and will become Colorado’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year competition.
The 8 finalists are:
- Alex Adkisson teaches math, construction trades and business at Green Mountain High School in Jeffco Public Schools and has been teaching for 12 years.
- Merci Ames teaches science at Strasburg High School in Strasburg School District 31J and has been teaching for 35 years
- Shandra Botello teaches language arts and AVID at Merrill Middle School in Denver Public Schools and has been teaching for 14 years
- Jason Cochrane teaches science and cybersecurity at Mountain Vista High School in Douglas County School District and has been teaching for 20 years
- Melissa Corwin is a dual-language humanities teacher at Summit High School in Summit School District and has been teaching for 11 years
- Viviana Martinez teaches Spanish and world languages at Vista Peak Preparatory High School in Aurora Public Schools and has been teaching for 18 years
- Jessie Russett teaches sixth-grade English language arts at Trinidad Middle School in Trinidad School District and has been teaching for six years
- Arjun Sahdev teaches fifth grade at Minnequa Elementary School in Pueblo School District 60 and has been teaching for five years
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MARKET UPDATE - 09/18/2026 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 09/17/2026)
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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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