LOCKHEED MARTIN: $7.2B CONTRACT FOR AIR FORCE SATELLITES

The U.S. Air Force Friday announced that Lockheed Martin Space in Jefferson County would receive $7.2 billion to build the next 22 GPS III satellites for the military. The fixed-price contract works out to an average cost of $327.2 million per satellite. Lockheed Martin was the prime contractor to build the first 10 GPS III satellites. The goal for the Air Force is to have at least 27 functioning GPS satellites in orbit at all times.

ENROLLMENT UP ACROSS THE ENTIRE CU SYSTEM

Preliminary fall semester enrollment figures show that numbers are up at each of the University of Colorado's campuses. At CU-Boulder, there are 6,721 freshmen enrolled this year, 2.3 percent higher than last year. Of those freshmen students, 3,411 are from in-state and 3,310 from out of state. Total enrollment on the Boulder campus, both undergraduates and graduate students, is 34,595.

FLORENCE DOWNGRADED AS A STORM BUT STILL CAUSING MASSIVE FLOODING

The NOAA Weather Prediction Center downgraded Florence to a tropical depression Sunday, but radar showed the massive storm spread over six states and centered over North and South Carolina. More than a half-million homes and businesses were without power in North and South Carolina as of 5 a.m. Monday. At least 18 people have died in storm-related incidents. Wilmington, North Carolina is completely cut off by floodwaters and officials are asking for help from state law enforcement and the National Guard.

ALPINE BANK PROVIDES $250,000 MATCH TO RED CROSS DONATIONS

When wildfires hit western Colorado in June, Alpine Bank committed to matching all community donations to the American Red Cross disaster relief. Last Thursday, Bob Young, founder and chairman of Alpine Bank, presented a check for $250,000 to the American Red Cross of Colorado and Wyoming. The bank's campaign ended Aug. 31, but the actual total to-date raised by individuals, businesses and foundations was $304,000, making a total contribution of $554,000.

GLENWOOD HOT SPRINGS POOL TO ADD NEW WATER PARK-KID AREA

The Glenwood Hot Springs Resort announced that it will undertake a multi-million dollar renovation that will involve replacing the waterslides, kiddie pool and mini-golf course with a new integrated water park. The water park will feature the "Adventure River," a custom-designed tube ride. There also will be mini waterslides and shallow play areas for kids, with a separate water fountain that will be a splash area for kids in the day and lighted fountain at night. Pool officials plan to begin removing the mini-golf course and waterslides this fall and begin construction in January, with opening in July 2019.

GRAND VALLEY TRANSIT LOOKING FOR MORE FUNDING

Officials of the Grand Valley Transit are formulating the 2019 budget and are seeking a total of $1.5 million from local municipalities and Mesa County in 2019 to match federal dollars it receives for operations. That is an increase of $200,000 over the 2018 budget. Overall ridership on GVT is up, but transit officials have eliminated one route because of low ridership and high cost. The route serving Palisade is up 12 percent in total ridership. Local governments pay GVT based on a percentage basis. Mesa County pays 65 percent; Grand Junction, 30 percent; Fruita 3 percent and Palisade, 2 percent.

CORNERSTONE CLUB TO REOPEN GOLF COURSE

The Cornerstone Club, 15 miles southwest of Montrose, opened with its Greg Norman-designed golf course in 2008. The recession hit, financial problems ensued and the golf course closed in 2011 and has remained closed. After several ownership changes, the current owners decided to reopen the golf course and some club owners will be able to play a round today. The course restoration was overseen by Matthew Dusenberry of Dusenberry Golf Course Design, who was a member of the original Greg Norman design team. The private golf course is set to completely reopen in the summer of 2019, but membership is required in order to play the course.

BULL DRAW FIRE FLARES UP, NEW COMMAND TEAM TAKES OVER

After being 60 percent contained for weeks and in a holding stage waiting for a "season-ending" event, i.e. a snowstorm to completely extinguish the blaze, the Bull Draw Fire blew up last week as summer temperatures and windy conditions returned. Because the 31,100-acre fire spread rapidly to the north and crossed Long Canyon, the Type 4 local management team was replaced by a Type 3 fire management team.

FIRES CONTINUE IN NW COLORADO, ALL THE WAY TO WYOMING

Firefighting crews were battling four fires in northwest Colorado as the Silver Creek Fire, northwest of Kremmling, continued to grow, increasing another 800 acres from Saturday to Sunday. Latigo Guest Ranch, the Yost Ranch and homes in the Gore Lakes and Old Park have been evacuated. Colorado Highway 134 is closed from mile marker 17 to 27. The Ryan Fire was reported Saturday night and had already burned more than 500 acres right at the Colorado-Wyoming border. A Rocky Mountain Black Type 2 Incident Command team was called in to battle the fire. In addition, the Boone Draw and Three Wash fires continued to burn in Moffat County.

A DECADE OF TURNAROUND

In was ten years ago, Sept. 15, 2008, that Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. The next day, the Dow Jones Industrial average dropped four percent, and the U.S. entered a recession. The unemployment rate in Colorado in 2007 was 3.8 percent; two years later, the state's jobless rate soared to 8.9 percent. The state lost 104,500 jobs in 2009 and 23,400 in 2010. Between 2004 and 2014, more than 300,000 homes in Colorado went into foreclosure. A significant element of rebuilding the economy, especially on the Front Range was the in-migration of millennials. However, with the rush of new home buyers, pressure increased on the available inventory of housing and as a result, home prices in the metro area ranked second only to San Jose, Calf. in the percentage increase in home prices compared to the pre-recession high. Since Lehman's collapse, Colorado's home-price index is up nearly 77 percent.

WATER, WATER: LOOKING AT NEEDS, NUMBERS

• Colorado has more than 2,000 reservoirs
• Lake Dillon is currently 85 percent full, compared with usual 91 percent
• Blue Mesa Reservoir is only 39 percent full
• Water storage in reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin: 47 percent of capacity
• Agriculture accounts for 85 percent of the water used in Colorado
• Under the Colorado River Compact, nearly two-thirds of the water that originates in Colorado must be left in streams and rivers