WE SPEND $887 BILLION ON OUTDOOR RECREATION

A report released Tuesday by the Boulder-based Outdoor Industry Association estimated Americans spend $887 billion on outdoor recreation. The study measured bike, snow, trail and water sports as well as camping, fishing, hunting, motorcycling, off-roading and wildlife viewing. The outdoor industry supports more than 7.6 million jobs and pays $124.5 billion in federal, state and local taxes. The report comes as the outdoor industry is mounting a greater political lobbying role in support of public lands, with 130 industry leaders in the nation's capital to support the use of Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park lands.

BILL TO ALLOW CPW TO RAISE FEES READY FOR A VOTE

House Bill 1321 has cleared all committee reviews and is expected to be considered on the House floor this week. The bill would give the Colorado Wildlife Commission permission to increase resident permit fees by as much as 50 percent and allows price hikes based on the Consumer Price Index. The broad permit fee system would allow the commission to spread the cost of conservation, access and habitat protection beyond hunters and anglers to the broader base of hikers, boaters, bikers and other outdoor users. The commission sees the broadening of the fee based system as establishing a new funding model for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

NASDAQ COMPOSITE TOPS 6000 FOR THE FIRST TIME

The Nasdaq Composite Index is back on a roll not seen since the days of the dot.com era, and in a broad rally yesterday, the Nasdaq topped 6000 for the first time, some 17 years after the dot.com boom. The top five contributors to this year's gains for the Nasdaq are Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. and they account for 41 percent of the index's advance. Technology shares have also boosted the S&P as well with tech shares rising roughly 14 percent this year, compared with 6.7 percent for the S&P as a whole.

HOTEL JEROME PROJECT GETS UNDERWAY

The Hotel Jerome began its $11 million expansion project April 11 which includes the old Aspen Times building in the 300 block of East Main Street. The project includes removing the old swimming pool, replacing it with a new one, and gutting the old Aspen Times building which will be replaced by a speakeasy-type bar. The hotel is scheduled to re-open May 25 but the pool and courtyard will remain closed until the project is completed next year.

GLENWOOD LOOKS TO REBUILD SOUTH MIDLAND AVENUE

The Glenwood Springs City Council last week awarded a $217,928 contract to SGM engineers to begin the process of designing the complete rebuilding of South Midland Avenue between 27th Street and the Four Mile Road intersection. The total design work will cost about $425,000 and will be spread across this year and completed in 2018. Actual construction will depend on funding, but is estimated to cost at least $12 million and will entail upgrading the county road to city street standards, with curbs and gutters, drainage system and sidewalks.

TELLURIDE ADOPTS DRONE RULES

The town of Telluride has adopted new rules regulating the use of drones in town. The new rules require drone users to be approved by the town or private property owners before flying their units over respective spaces. The regulations also prohibit endangering wildlife and people, and operating a drone in a reckless manner. Drones cannot be flown near people or wildlife not directly involved in the operation. The rules, including securing proper approvals, apply to locals and visitors alike.

SEEKING INPUT ON ALTA LAKES PLAN

The Norwood Ranger District of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests is hosting its third Alta Lakes area stakeholder meeting at the Miramonte Building conference room today from 4 to 6 p.m. The meetings are designed to formulate a "vision document" that would be used to define a master plan for the Alta Lakes region, about 10 miles southwest of Telluride. Following the development of a master plan, the district hopes to have National Environmental Policy Act approval by 2019, which would allow development of the area to proceed.

MORE PEOPLE CARPOOLING ON I-70

The I-70 Coalition, a nonprofit group of governments and business interests on the Interstate 70 corridor, commissioned Boulder-based RRC Associates to conduct a study of highway users in February and March this year. RRC surveyed highway users at the Hogback Park 'n Ride west of Denver. The study showed more people are carpooling on rides to the mountains, with nearly half the respondents saying they are carpooling for environmental reasons and to reduce traffic. While the Colorado Department of Transportation is encouraging the use of the peak-period toll lanes in Clear Creek County, only about one-third of the drivers reported using the lanes.

BIG SNOW TO HIGH COUNTRY, BUT LEVELS STILL LOW IN ROUTT

The town of Yampa recorded 5 inches of snow from yesterday's storm, the weather station on Rabbit Ears had 8 inches of new snow, while the Tower monitoring station on Buffalo Pass had 12 inches of snow by Tuesday morning. Historically, the snowpack on Buffalo Pass peaks on May 8. The snowpack for the entire Yampa and White river basins was at 78 percent of average as of Tuesday. The city of Steamboat Springs announced that water restrictions will go into effect May 1.

ENERGY JOBS IN THE U.S.

There were 1.9 million jobs in power generation in the U.S. in 2016:

• Oil: 515,518
• Natural gas: 398,235
• Solar: 373,807
• Coal: 160,119
• Bioenergy: 130,677
• Wind: 101,738
• Nuclear: 76,771
• Hydroelectric: 65,554

CELEBRATE NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK WITH ALPINE BANK

Volunteerism empowers individuals to find their purpose by taking their passion and turning it into meaningful change. Whatever your passion, change starts with you. Spark change in your community by giving back. Join Alpine Bank during National Volunteer Week 2017, April 23-29, and your favorite nonprofit could win $2,500! Like the Alpine Bank Facebook page and comment on the video telling us which Colorado nonprofit is your favorite to enter to win a donation made to that nonprofit in your name. Click on the link below to read more about how Alpine Bank gets involved with National Volunteer Week and to read the full contest rules.

YAMPA VALLEY BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

The Yampa Valley Entrepreneurship Center is hosting the sixth annual community business plan competition for 2017. This program promotes effective planning for new business startups. The competition, sponsored by the city of Steamboat Springs, Alpine Bank and Colorado Mountain College, offers a first-place prize of $10,000 and a second-place prize of $5,000 plus other benefits. Plans are due by Sept. 18. Finalists will present their business concept to a panel of judges from Yampa Valley SCORE in October. Click on the link below for guidelines and rules.

ALPINE SUPPORTING DELTA FOOD PANTRY

In recognition of the 10th Anniversary of Alpine Bank in Delta, the bank and staff are planning various monthly activities throughout the year. For the month of April, the Delta staff has selected to support the Delta Food Pantry. Throughout the month there will be collection boxes at our Delta branch located at 1660 Highway 92 in Delta to support the needs at the pantry. The pantry is serving 40 more families per month then last year. With that increase there is even more need for donations to support their organization. Join us in supporting of the Delta Food Pantry; bring your donations by today! Call Alpine Bank in Delta at 970-874-0922 for more information.

THE MOST TAX-ADVANTAGED WAYS TO REIMBURSE EMPLOYEES' EDUCATION EXPENSES

What are the most tax-advantaged ways to reimburse employees’ education expenses? One option is the working condition fringe benefit. It allows you to exclude reimbursements of job-related education costs from employees’ wages. This means employees don’t have to pay tax on them and you don’t have to withhold income tax or withhold or pay payroll taxes on them. Another option is an educational assistance program, which allows the same tax treatment but can also cover reimbursements for non-job-related education up to $5,250 annually.