COLORADO DAY IS AUG. 1

August 1 is Colorado’s birthday, and this year our great state turns 141! Colorado officially became a state on Aug. 1, 1876; we’ll be celebrating at Alpine Bank. Visit our MyColorado page, https://www.alpinebank.com/mycolorado, to learn how we’ll be honoring Colorado and how you can join the fun.

HOUSE BILL FUNDS ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE PROGRAM

The Essential Air Service program which subsidizes flights to small towns across the country was one of the many programs cut in the proposed 2018 budget of President Donald Trump. However, in the bill brought forth by the U.S. House, the Essential Air Service program was funded at $150 million same as last year. When combined with $119 million in fees, the total funding for the program would be $269 million or $6 million more than this fiscal year. Denver International Airport has the most Essential Air Destinations of any hub in the continental U.S., serving 22 rural communities.

GIVING A GRADE TO OUR RIVERS

Conservation Colorado last week released its first-ever report card on Colorado's rivers. Most of the rivers in the state, with the exception of the Yampa, received very poor grades, with the Colorado River getting a D on issues such as water quality and flow levels. The "near-pristine" Yampa received the highest ranking, an A. The Dolores was graded at D-minus. The Arkansas and South Platte both received C; a B for the Rio Grande; the North Fork of the Gunnison got a B-minus; and the Rio Grande received a B.

THE APES DISPLACE SPIDEY

"The Rise of the Planet of the Apes" opened in 2011 with a first-weekend box office of $55 million. In 2014, "The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" opened to $72.6 million. The third version opened this weekend and the "War for the Planet of the Apes" registered an estimated $56.5 million in the U.S. and Canada. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" fell 61 percent from its opening weekend total to place second with a take of $45.2 million.

IT WAS A BUSY WINTER AT THE ASPEN AIRPORT

The Aspen-Pitkin County Airport had slightly more than 200,000 seats on flights this winter from Dec. 1 to April 30 and the carriers serving Aspen carried almost 150,000 passengers, making it the busiest ski season at the airport since the 1990s. However, there have been major changes from 25 years ago. In the 1990s, United and Continental provided service from Denver and those flights constituted most of the passenger traffic. This winter, there were as many as 38 flights per day, but only nine from Denver. United, American and Delta all serve Aspen through SkyWest Airlines using CRJ-700 aircraft, configured to seat 70 passengers.

WILL THE BRIDGE BE DONE ON TIME? THERE ARE PENALTIES IF NOT

The joint venture of Granite/RL Wadsworth is the construction contractor for the Grand Avenue Bridge project, with a $125 million contract to complete the bridge project in 95 days after the Aug. 14 closing of the old bridge. There is a substantial incentive built into the contract, with the contractor receiving a bonus of $25,000 per day for up to 10 days if the bridge can be opened to one lane of traffic in each direction before the end of the 95-day period. Conversely, there is a $25,000 per day penalty that will be imposed for each day the bridge isn't open after the 95-day period.

TWO NEW LEADERS FOR STATE WATER POSITIONS

Rebecca Mitchell recently was named the executive director of the 15-member Colorado Water Conservation Board. Mitchell replaces James Eklund, who resigned to take a position with a law firm. Mitchell was instrumental in creating the Colorado Water Plan and will now direct a 45-member staff for the water board that provides policy direction and is the state's most comprehensive water information source. Gov. John Hickenlooper has also selected Kevin Rein as the new state engineer and director of the Colorado Division of Water Resources, also known as the State Engineer's Office.

FLY-IN, SPLASH-IN AT KENNY RESERVOIR

Colorado is the only state in the U.S. that does not allow seaplanes to land in state-owned lakes. However, the law does not apply to privately-held lakes and the Colorado Seaplane Pilots Association sponsored a "splash-in" at Kenny Reservoir near Rangely on Saturday. Kenny Reservoir was built and is managed by the Rio Blanco Water Conservancy District and is only one of two private lakes in the state large enough to accommodate seaplanes. The other is Lake Meredith in Crowley County.

IT'S GETTING CLOSE TO SWEET CORN TIME

The owner of the Tuxedo Corn Company, John Harold, is getting ready for his 31st harvest, and Harold believes this year's harvest of his roughly 1,800 acres will be his best ever. Harold and another dozen or so local farmers are the only ones raising corn with the "Olathe Sweet" trademark. Harold and the other farmers will begin harvesting this week. Harold will be running three crews of about 44 workers each from sunrise to sunset, and he expects this year he will harvest some 40 million ears of corn.

CICADAS IN WESTERN COLORADO?

There is a 17-year mountain cicada brood that has emerged in portions of the Uncompahgre National Forest. Although 13-year or 17-year cicada are common in the forested areas east of the Mississippi River, there are cicadas in the West, including Colorado, Oklahoma and Utah among other states. The 17-year cicadas remain underground for 17 years, emerge for four to six weeks, breed, lay eggs and die. Find out everything you want to know about cicadas at: http://www.cicadamania.com/.

SCORECARD ON STATE ECONOMIC CLIMATE

America's top states for business - 2017

1. Washington
2. Georgia
3. Minnesota
4. Texas
5. North Carolina
6. Colorado
7. Virginia
8. Utah
9. Tennessee
10. Massachusetts

COMPANIES TO WATCH

ColoradoBiz magazine selected its 50 Colorado Companies to Watch this year and included were a few from the Western Slope.
In the Build It, And They Will Buy category:

• ShadeScapes: a Hotchkiss company that distributes premium umbrellas, shade solutions and outdoor furniture. The company offers its showroom-office in downtown Hotchkiss to nonprofits and community organizations at no cost.

In the To Infinity & Beyond category:

• Prostar Geocorp Inc.: is a Grand Junction company that provides geospatial intelligent software as a service to pipeline and utility industries.

In the Adventure Unleashed category:

• Bonsai Design: based in Grand Junction, Bonsai Design designs, installs and maintains aerial adventure courses, including Big Zip Rides, Canopy Tours, Zipline Tours and the like.
• Tailwind Nutrition: Tailwind Nutrition is a Durango company that manufactures and sells sports drinks for endurance athletes. The company donates one percent of gross revenues to the community.

ALPINE BANK PROUD SPONSOR OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS

The 33rd annual Special Olympics Colorado Golf Tournament takes place today at the Omni Interlocken Golf Course in Broomfield. The mission of Special Olympics Colorado is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community. Alpine Bank is a proud sponsor of Special Olympics. For more information, click on the link below.