STATE JOBLESS RATE REMAINS AT RECORD LOW

The unemployment rate in Colorado in June stayed at an all-time record low of 2.3 percent for the third straight month. That is more than a full percentage point lower than it was in June 2016. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported that the number of people actively participating in the workforce in June increased 10,300 from May to 2,969,100. The number of unemployed, defined as workers without a job who actively sought one in the past month, dropped to 67,200 in June.

NATIONAL PARKS RECEIVE $53M IN PUBLIC-PRIVATE GRANT PROGRAM

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was in Colorado over the weekend for the annual Western Conservative Summit and announced a $200,000 grant for Rocky Mountain National Park as part of a $53 million public-private grant program to support maintenance and infrastructure projects at 42 national parks. The $200,000 grant for RMNP was matched by $200,000 from the Rocky Mountain Conservancy and will be used for maintenance on the Alluvial Fan Trail, which was devastated by the 2013 flood.

SAVING ZION: 1ST PARK TO HAVE RESERVATIONS?

Utah's Zion National Park recorded 4.3 million visitors last year and park rangers have had to deal with overcrowded tour buses, plants trampled by hikers who have cut some 30 miles of unmapped trails, and human waste near trails. The National Park Service is considering implementing a reservation system in Zion, the first for a U.S. national park. People without reservations could pay an entrance fee and drive through the park, but only those with reservations could stop to hike or picnic. Overall, more than 300 million people visited U.S. national parks last year, a record.

VISITORS STILL COMING TO GLENWOOD, SPRING SPENDING UP

Retail sales in Glenwood Springs in May were up slightly over May 2016, with the city reporting about $37.3 million in sales, and sales tax collections of $6.5 million, an increase of 1.26 percent from a year earlier. There was a slight upward adjustment for figures in both March and April, bringing the year-to-date total for the first five months of 2017 up 1.54 percent over the corresponding period in 2016. Accommodations tax collections were up 5 percent in May and for the first five months are running 4.9 percent ahead of 2016.

RFTA ON THE WAY TO ANOTHER RECORD

System-wide ridership on the buses of the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority was up 4.75 percent January through May compared with the same period in 2016. Ridership on the Bus Rapid Transit, the mainstay of RFTA's service between Glenwood Springs and Aspen, was up by about 5 percent, or some 17,500 passengers through May. RFTA has carried 2.43 million passengers, system-wide, through May and will likely rack up its second year of record numbers as service from Glenwood Springs to Parachute-Battlement Mesa will be free and there will be more frequent service during the Grand Avenue Bridge closure, beginning Aug. 14.

HOPEWEST HOPING TO ADD MORE VOLUNTEERS…THERAPY DOGS

Grand Junction's HopeWest and Hospice Care Center relies heavily on volunteers, with more than 1,400 people serving in some capacity at HopeWest as a volunteer. Hope West is now looking for special volunteers…the four-legged variety. Currently, there are 15 to 20 registered therapy dogs available to HopeWest, but dog testers with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs are working to get more dogs trained and registered as service dogs.

WHAT TO DO WITH WILD HORSES?

This fall, the Bureau of Land Management is hoping to gather and remove as many as 72 horses that are roaming outside of the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area southeast of Rangely. What will happen to the horses that are gathered remains uncertain as the House Appropriations Committee has approved an amendment that removed a longstanding prohibition against the destruction of healthy, unadopted wild horses and burros. If the amendment passes the full House and Senate it could change how the BLM deals with the excess wild horses which are now estimated to total 100,000 animals.

MASTER PLAN FOR TEX

Michael Becker is the aviation consultant hired to draft the 2016 Airport Master Plan for the Telluride Regional Airport and he made a presentation on the master plan to the San Miguel County commissioners last week. There were about 6,500 passenger boardings expected at the airport this year, with 9,000 overall operations, which includes both take-offs and landings. Projections indicate passenger boardings could be as high as 35,000 in the next 20 years and Becker outlined short-term plans of updating the existing general aviation terminal and adding space for more aircraft parking. Mid-term plans include building a new apron and a new facility to house snow removal equipment.

MCDONALD STEPPING DOWN AS VAIL ECO-DEVO DIRECTOR

In 2002, Kelli McDonald left her position with an advertising firm in Denver and relocated to Vail after being hired by the Vail Valley Chamber and Tourism Bureau (now Vail Valley Partnership) to be vice president of marketing. Five years later, the town of Vail hired McDonald to become the town's first economic development manager. She has led the efforts to recruit major events to Vail including the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships.

COLORADO: A TALE OF TWO STATES

Pattie Snidow heads the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Rural Development in Delta, one of the six offices in the state for the USDA Rural Development Program. She says the rural communities in Colorado are what give the state "the flavor and feel of Colorado. We're the culture of Colorado." The Denver Post has launched a series looking at the great divide between rural and urban areas. It is a divide so great and the issues so significant that in 2013, 11 counties on the Eastern Plains launched a secession movement. Rural and urban counties were even in population growth from 1900-1940. After that, urban growth spurted ahead and has not stopped. Between 2000 and 2015, Denver grew nearly 23 percent. During the same time, four counties along the state's southern border dropped nearly 12 percent in population. Twenty-three counties in Colorado were so sparsely populated, they met the definition of "frontier," i.e. fewer than seven residents per square mile.

TOP WINERIES IN COLORADO

Ranked by cases produced in 2016:

1. Colorado Cellars, Palisade: 20,000
2. Talon Winery LLC dba St. Kathryn Cellars and Meadery of the Rockies, Palisade: 11,592
3. Two Rivers Winery, Grand Junction: 10,600
4. The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey, Canon City: 9,000
5. Decadent Saint Winery, Boulder: 6,763
6. Spero Winery, Denver: 6,000
7. Sutcliffe Vineyards, Cortez: 4,523
8. Bookcliff Vineyards, Boulder: 4,400
9. Kingman Estates Winery, Denver: 4,000
10. Vino Salida Wine Cellars, Poncha Springs: 4,000

PROJECT C.U.R.E. GOLF TOURNAMENT

The Project C.U.R.E Golf Tournament takes place today at the Sanctuary Golf Course in Castle Pines in Sedalia. Project C.U.R.E. is the largest provider of donated medical supplies and equipment to developing countries around the world. This tournament is one of the most important fundraisers each year. In fact, over the past 13 years, Project C.U.R.E. has raised more than $2 million, sending more than $35 million worth of life-saving medical relief to children, women, and men in developing nations. Alpine Bank is a proud partner with Project C.U.R.E. For more information, please contact Karen Rosen at 720-490-4022 or karenrosen@projectcure.org.