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Colorado - Thu. 02/19/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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MIKAELA – FINALLY – WINS GOLD IN SLALOM
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The sigh of relief could be heard all the way from Cortina, Italy to Edwards, Colorado, as Mikaela Shiffrin had two outstanding runs and won the gold medal in Women’s Slalom by a massive 1.50 seconds, the third-largest margin of victory in a women's Olympic slalom. Her mom and coach, Eileen met her at the bottom of the second run and for both it was a release of all the pressure after failing to win an Olympic medal since adding gold and silver to her collection in Pyeongchang in 2018. A nightmarish 0-for-6 performance in Beijing was followed in Cortina d'Ampezzo with a fourth-place finish with Breezy Johnson in the team combined, in which Shiffrin placed 15th in the slalom portion, and an 11th-place in the giant slalom. However, in addition to being acknowledged as the world's best-ever slalom skier, Shiffrin, now with three gold medals, has the most Alpine skiing wins by an American skier.
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DANGEROUS WIND & DUST TO CONTINUE ON EASTERN PLAINS UNTIL FRIDAY
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On Tuesday, an extremely fast-moving dust storm caused a massive 36-vehicle pileup on Interstate 25 near Pueblo that killed five people. The National Weather Service implemented a Red Flag Warning Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for Lincoln and Elbert counties. It will shift north Thursday with a high wind watch in effect from 8 p.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday for parts of Larimer, Boulder, Jefferson, Douglas, Park, Gilpin, Clear Creek and Broomfield counties. Motorists are advised high winds and dust will create hazardous driving conditions through Thursday.
The Colorado Dept. of Transportation advises motorists to avoid driving into or through a dust storm, if possible. If you encounter a dust storm, keep your headlights on; exit or pull off the roadway immediately; stop a safe distance from the main roadway and away from other vehicles; turn off all lights on the vehicle, including emergency flashers, as other vehicles approaching may use the lights as a guide, possibly crashing into other vehicles.
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BIG SNOW BRINGS MAJOR AVALANCHE DANGER
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The snowpack across Colorado remains at its lowest point in decades, but the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) advises it does not reduce the danger statewide from avalanches triggered by one of the biggest snowstorms so far this winter season. CAIC's deputy director Brian Lazar said avalanche danger will continue to increase as the storm totals stack up and will remain elevated throughout the weekend. What sets this storm apart from others this season is that it will be much more widespread across Colorado, leading to heavy snowfall over most mountain areas and a statewide increase in avalanche danger as a result, he said. In its forecast issued Feb. 18, the CAIC has Level 4 or 5 across most of the state, with the danger remaining into the weekend.
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DU ANNOUNCES FIRST-EVER REDUCED-CREDIT BACHELOR’S DEGREE
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Officials at the University of Denver Wednesday announced it will offer a new Accelerated Bachelor of Professional Studies, an online bachelor’s degree that requires only 136 quarter hours of credit instead of the traditional 180 quarter hours. The new degree is specifically designed for adults who want to finish a degree efficiently. Students must have completed 24 quarter hours or 16 semester hours to apply but can transfer in enough hours that it may take just a year to complete the bachelor’s program. DU officials said it is the only such program in Colorado. The first course will be in Information Technology, with more options to be added next year, according to DU officials.
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BUREAU OF REC BEGINS $32 MILLION VALVE REPLACEMENT AT BLUE MESA DAM
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The Bureau of Reclamation is replacing all four original valves at the Blue Mesa Dam, in a multi-year, $32 million project. It is the first replacement of the valves since construction of the dam was completed in 1966. The project entails replacing two ring follower gate valves and two butterfly valves. Ring follower gates are located in the dam’s outlet works and let water bypass the turbines during maintenance or emergencies, ensuring uninterrupted flows to the Gunnison River. Butterfly valves are located inside the penstocks and act as flow-control and isolation devices for water entering the turbines to generate hydropower.
Work started in January with the removal of the first ring follower gate. Before that could happen, crews installed a blind flange, which is a heavy steel plate that temporarily seals the opening to hold back water. The Bureau of Reclamation has sent the gate and its components to California for refurbishment, and they are to be reinstalled in August. Once irrigation demands ease in the fall, the blind flange will be removed and normal operations restored. After work on the first gate is complete, crews will move on to the second gate, followed by the two butterfly valves.
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DURANGO, LA PLATA COUNTY FIRE OFFICIALS: NOW IS THE TIME FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION
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As the winter is winding down, and it is clear that the drought not just continues but has intensified with a lower-than-average snowfall, La Plata County fire departments are anticipating a particularly severe wildfire season. “We’re set up for a really bad year,” said Durango Fire Protection District Chief Randy Black. “We thought last year was going to be bad, and this year’s looking worse.” The snowpack in the San Juan Mountains is about 49 percent of the historical February average, or levels similar to 2002 and 2018, when the Missionary Ridge and 416 fires ignited, according to the National Resources Conservation Service.
As local fire agencies are already working to assemble resources and prepare for the wildfire season, they are also encouraging homeowners to begin wildfire mitigation efforts. Fire agencies and community nonprofits like Wildfire Adapted Partnerships will send certified staff members to a resident’s house and examine its risk. The home assessments are free of charge and can be a valuable tool to help people learn where to start on their home fire mitigation. The Home Ignition Zone by the Colorado State Forest Service is a guide to creating defensible space around homes.
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AS IF THE LOUVRE HASN’T HAD ENOUGH PROBLEMS, NOW $12 MILLION SCAM
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Over the past year, the Louvre in Paris has suffered some major setbacks. In October, there was the $100 million heist of France’s crown jewels from the museum and following a shutdown for that, there were waves of shutdowns due to worker strikes. Now, Louvre officials revealed that French officials arrested nine people, including two Louvre employees, in a $12 million scam involving guides who escorted Chinese tourists through the museum using the same ticket for multiple people in the group. Wiretaps and surveillance revealed that the guides reused tickets and split up groups to avoid paying the fees the museum charges tour guides. They then bribed employees of the museum to avoid security checks. Authorities said they seized $1 million in cash from the suspects and around $500,000 from bank accounts.
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ONE OF THE LARGEST GLOBAL PERILS…INVASIVE SEAWATER
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From the U.S. to Africa to China and Southeast Asia, previously reliable coastal freshwater supplies are turning to salt, invaded by seawater. This is the strange, slow-moving crisis of saltwater intrusion, and it is increasingly affecting communities around the world. Saltwater intrusion refers to the inland movement of saline water, i.e., from the ocean or sea into freshwater aquifers. It is impacting low-lying countries like The Gambia, Vietnam and Bangladesh most so far, but is a global problem, including for the U.S. All continents except Antarctica are projected to have coastal areas with at least 1km (0.6 miles) of inland saltwater intrusion by 2050. The encroaching saltwater occurs very gradually but extends over a long time and constitutes a long-term impact on drinking water sources, rice farming and coastal communities around the world.
Because of slow onset it is not as alarming as other global impacts, but the long-term effects could be devastating, especially in developing countries. In the U.S., there are already impacts in Florida, Louisiana and Rhode Island. Greater impacts are being felt in locations like The Gambia, which is among the world's lowest-lying countries where saltwater intrusion was first reported in the 19th century. Between 2009 and 2023, The Gambia saw a 42 percent reduction in the areas used for rice cultivation and a 26 percent drop in production due to saltwater intrusion. Many engineering solutions are now being implemented around the world to basically create channels, collection areas, desalination methods, or other lower- water rice farming techniques.
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DOES THE COST OF GETTING MARRIED SEEM OVERWHELMING? TRY ELOPEMENT
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The cost of weddings has skyrocketed, with the average cost of a wedding in 2026 in the U.S. now estimated to be $36,000. As a result, elopements to a remote international location are the new "hot" wedding alternative. The average destination elopement costs between $2,500 and $8,000.
Here's a collection of exotic and exciting elopement destinations from wedding planners (note: some require time to secure proper documentation):
- Scotland's Highlands and Islands
- Mallorca, Spain
- Folegandros, Greece
- Zermatt, Switzerland
- Sardinia, Italy
- The Faroe Islands, Denmark
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DELTA RESTARTS BOSTON-HONOLULU FLIGHT: THESE ARE LONGEST FLIGHTS FROM U.S.
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Delta Air Lines announced earlier this month that it will bring back its Boston-Honolulu flights next winter. The flight will be the longest domestic flight in the U.S., at 11 hours and 40 minutes to fly 5,095 miles. However, although it is the longest domestic flight, it is not even close to the longest flights from the U.S.
Here are the top 10 longest departures from U.S. airports according to Cirium, an aviation data analytics company:
- New York (JFK) - Singapore (SIN) 9,487 miles: 18 hours and 55 minutes, Singapore Airlines
- Newark (EWR) - Singapore (SIN) 9,484 miles: 19 hours and 10 minutes, Singapore Airlines
- Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) - Melbourne, Australia (MEL) 8,973 miles: 17 hours and 40 minutes, Qantas
- New York (JFK) - Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) 8,813 miles: 17 hours and 40 minutes, Qantas
- Los Angeles (LAX) - Singapore (SIN) 8,758 miles: 17 hours and 50 minutes, Singapore Airlines
- Houston (IAH) - Sydney, Australia (SYD) 8,587 miles: 17 hours and 30 minutes, United Airlines.
- Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) - Sydney, Australia (SYD) 8,596 miles: 17 hours and 25 minutes, Qantas
- New York (JFK) - Manila, Philippines (MNL) 8,513 miles: 17 hours and 20 minutes, Philippine Airlines
- San Francisco (SFO) - Singapore (SIN) 8,440 miles: 17 hours and 25 minutes, United Airlines
- Atlanta (ATL) - Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) 8,433 miles:15 hours and 5 minutes, Delta Air Lines
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MARKET UPDATE - 02/18/2026 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 02/12/2026)
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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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