AMTRAK MOVING HALF ITS DENVER CREW TO NEBRASKA

Amtrak hopes to save nearly $1 million a year by moving half its Denver-based train crew to Lincoln, Nebraska. The change will affect only conductors and engineers working on the California Zephyr east of Denver, and if all 21 employees designated to move agree to go to Nebraska, no one will lose their job and all will retain their seniority with the company. Train service will not be interrupted and the remaining 21-person crew will work the train between Denver and Grand Junction.

"BUSIEST DAYS EVER" FOR SKI INDUSTRY

The ski season got off to a very slow start in Colorado, with several areas delaying their opening because of the lack of snow after a warm, dry fall. However, there was substantial snowfall in December and the Christmas holidays produced record visitation for several areas, including the four areas of the Aspen Skiing Co. With massive snowfall in California and the Northwest and solid snow in New England, the three-day New Year's weekend produced "one of the biggest days that the ski industry has ever had," according to an official of the National Ski Areas Association.

STRONG NUMBERS FOR COLORADO BUSINESS IN 2016

The Colorado Secretary of State recorded 109,526 new business filings last year, and the number of businesses in good standing continued to move higher, according to the Quarterly Business & Economic Indicators released on Thursday. For all of 2016, new filings were up 6.7 percent, on par with the rate of annual increase averaged over the past five years. The number of businesses in good standing with the state, a sign of the health of existing establishments, rose 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter to 636,760. That is on par with the five-year average annual gain of 5.7 percent.

EVEN WITH STRONG HOLIDAY NUMBERS, SKIER VISITS DOWN

Colorado Ski Country USA, which represents 22 member resorts in the state, reported that cumulative skier visits from opening day through Dec. 31 were down 8 percent. Included in those numbers were skier visits for the Aspen Skiing Co., which were down 10 percent. The numbers from Vail Resorts are not included, as Vail Resort is not a member of Colorado Ski Country. Vail Resorts skier-visit numbers for Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge were down 13.2 percent through Jan. 8 compared with the same period a year ago.

GLENWOOD COUNCIL: NO CHANGE IN RECYCLING PLAN FOR NOW

It was an overflow crowd at the Glenwood Springs City Council meeting Thursday as close to 80 people packed into City Hall to voice their concerns over the plan to move the city's recycling center to the South Canyon Landfill. Although the residents voiced their objections to the change, the city council said that in March the South Canyon Landfill will be the only collection location for recyclables. However, the council did say they will continue to look for alternatives, but they were "not likely to have another solution by March," according to Mayor Michael Gamba.

HEMP-CONCRETE COMPANY SECURES JUMP-START STATUS

Hemp Adobe, operated by BioCorp US, plans to open in Montrose. The company uses industrial hemp to manufacture a bio-composite cement for building materials. The company was approved for the Colorado Rural Jump-Start program on Thursday. The bio-composite cement has insulating properties, has the ability to resist water and mold, repel insects, including termites, and is 60 percent lighter than conventional concrete structures. The production facility will need 30 tons of hemp per month initially and will rely on local farmers for the hemp.

COLOWYO MINE GETS OK FOR EXPANSION

The U.S. Department of Interior has approved the recommendation from the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to authorize a plan that allows for coal mining to continue for the long term at the Colowyo Mine between Meeker and Craig. The plan allows Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the owner of the mine, to access up to 79 million tons of coal in the Collom area. Included in the proposal, Tri-State donated 4,543 acre of high-priority sagebrush habitat to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

TELSKI AVALANCHE DOGS PUT ON SHOW

As part of National Safety Month, the Telluride Ski Resort has several events planned, including avalanche awareness and ID cards for children. Telski also had another treat for kids, and others, holding a short Avalanche Dog Demonstration Wednesday afternoon at the base of Chair 4 in Mountain Village. Two kids got to serve as avalanche "victims," situating themselves in man-made caves in a pile of snow. Mona, one of the five avalanche dogs, followed its prescribed zigzag search path and soon were digging through the snow to uncover the victims. For more information on the dogs, go to www.tellurideavalanchedogs.org.

DURANGO CHAMBER PRESENTS ANNUAL HONORS

Thursday night, the Durango Chamber of Commerce held its Durango Rocks, the chamber's annual awards ceremony. The chamber named Steve Short the Citizen of the Year. The Morley Ballantine Award was presented to Stephanie Moran, a teacher at the Durango Adult Education Center. The Barbara Conrad Award went to Tara Kiene, the executive director of Community Connections. Seasons Rotisserie and Grill was named Business of the Year. Laura McKinney was presented with the Bill Mashaw Volunteer of the Year award. The Durango Adult Education Center was named the nonprofit of the year.

CHAMONIX LOTTERY UNDERWAY

Construction is scheduled to begin on the 32 townhomes along Chamonix Road in West Vail and Tuesday, the town of Vail launched the process leading to a lottery drawing on May 3 to select buyers for the units. The process involves signing up for the lottery and completing a questionnaire. All prospective buyers are required to attend a Homebuyer Education Class to be held in February and March. Finally, all candidates must submit a Loan Prequalification Letter from a recognized lender or mortgage broker before attending the lottery on May 3 in person. The town has a website for the lottery at http://www.chamonixvail.com/.

BRECK: MORE PARKING AVAILABLE, MORE RIDING THE BUS

The town of Breckenridge launched its paid parking program in December and after a little more than a month in operation, the parking program is achieving what was intended, according to Breckenridge officials. There are two open spaces per block even on the busiest days. The paid parking system seems also to have increased bus ridership. The town had more than 885,000 commuters take the Free Ride bus system in Breckenridge in 2016. On Jan. 14, nearly 9,000 rode the bus in Breckenridge, an all-time record for single day.

THERE ARE PICTURESQUE SMALL TOWNS IN EVERY STATE

USA TODAY has a photo feature of its picturesque small town in each state. For Colorado, the selection was Ouray. Here is a selection of our neighboring states:

• Arizona: Bisbee
• New Mexico: Ruidoso
• Utah: Ogden
• Wyoming: Lander
• Idaho: Wallace, with the further note: Wallace, Idaho is the only city in the U.S. entirely listed on the National Register of Historic Places