NEW AEROSPACE BUILDING GOING UP AT CU-BOULDER

Thursday construction began on the new state-of-the-art aerospace building on the East Campus of the University of Colorado-Boulder. The $82.5 million, four-story, 140,000-square-foot building is designed to serve as a hub for the entire state's aerospace sector from CU's Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. The building is slated for completion in times for fall classes in 2019 and will house areas to flight-test drones and ground robots, a control room, and laboratories with new equipment.

DENVER HOUSING MARKET BACK ON THE "HOTNESS INDEX"

The metro Denver housing market has been one of the hottest in the country for the last two years, but it cooled off in the spring, and in April it dropped from the “top 10” monthly list produced by Realtor.com of the hottest markets for sales. After ranking 17th in August and 13th in September, the metro Denver market ranked 9th in October on the "Market Hotness Index.” Realtor.com looks at days on the market to measure how tight supply is and the numbers of views a listing receives as a measure of demand.

COLORADANS CHEAP ON TREATS? 5TH WORST FOR HALLOWEEN SPENDING

Colorado is the fifth worst state for trick-or-treating, according to a recent analysis of candy-buying trends over the last two years. In the week before Halloween, Coloradans spent an average of $12.37 per person on candy in 2015 and 2016. That’s well below the national average of $16 per person. The survey was released by Denver-based shopping rewards app Ibotta and it ranks Oregon and Washington No. 1 and 2 in the U.S. on Halloween candy spending, the average spending in Oregon is $40.29 per person.

FREE RFTA BUSES WILL CONTINUE TO RUN FOR A WHILE

Earlier this week, officials of the Grand Avenue Bridge project said the bridge is now on target to open in early November, well ahead of the scheduled Nov. 17 opening. Even with the early opening, the free Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and city of Glenwood Springs buses will continue to operate at least until the day before Thanksgiving (Nov. 22), according to RFTA officials. RFTA will no longer serve Parachute after Thanksgiving, but the plan is to keep free Hogback service in place from Rifle until Dec. 8.

NO MIDVALLEY CELL TOWER UNTIL 2018

Although Verizon has obtained permission from the town of Basalt to build a new cell tower in the Basalt Industrial Center, the wireless company said there are "still several more steps required before we can proceed to construction." As a result, Verizon Wireless customers will still experience a hole in coverage in the midvalley until the new cell tower is in place, which will now be sometime in 2018, according to Verizon. The Basalt Town Council granted approval in July for a 70-foot tower disguised as a pine tree and Verizon's application referenced a 90-day construction period.

BACON FOUNDATION GIVES $1 MILLION FOR HOPEWEST CENTER

The Bacon Family Foundation operated by the children of Herb and Laura May Bacon is giving $1 million for the renovation of the Crossroads Building for a center to help aging Baby Boomers. The center will be named the Herb and Laura Bacon Center for Living Your Best, in honor of the Bacons. The renovation of the 80,000-square-foot building will create a center to allow clients to age at home or in assisted living while maintaining access to medical care, social activities, recreation and other services at the center.

ROSS HERZOG: NEW TELLURIDE TOWN MANAGER

After hiring a recruiting firm which conducted a national search and interviewing three finalists culled from 67 applicants, the Telluride Town Council selected Ross Herzog to succeed Greg Clifton as Telluride Town Manager. Herzog currently works for the Town of Winchester/City of Winsted in Connecticut as the assistant chief financial officer and manager. Herzog was in town on Oct. 16-17 for an in-person interview with staff and council members, and a meet-and-greet with the public.

DURANGO HAS PLAN FOR $1M IN IMPROVEMENTS AT CHAPMAN HILL

The city of Durango has a draft of a master plan for the Chapman Hill ski area that includes more than $1 million in improvements over the next 10 to 15 years. The master plan was developed by consultants Russell Planning & Engineering and Zehren and Associates. The three phase program includes Phase I which would replace the little rope tow and create a beginning ski area next to the ice rink. The second phase would be replacing the big rope tow with a platter pull, T-bar or chair lift.

CDOT READY FOR ANOTHER WINTER ON I-70

It was a Sunday in early February 2014 when a major snowstorm hit and paralyzed Interstate 70, stranding skiers returning to Denver for as long as 10-12 hours. Since then, the Colorado Department of Transportation has taken major steps to improve their response to winter storms. CDOT now has a winter-storm coordinator to put equipment and people where they're most needed. CDOT moves much more swiftly to declare "safety closures" along the Interstate, with those closures giving plows time to clear portions of the highway. This winter, CDOT crews will be using a solution to pre-treat I-70 just before snow falls.

OUR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS: A BILLION DOLLAR PROBLEM

The estimated cost of repairing roads, bridges and dams in the U.S. is projected to top $2.4 trillion by 2025. An estimated 17 percent of American dams, 15,500 in total, are categorized as high hazard potential, meaning their failure would almost certainly result in loss of life. States with the highest number of bridges, roads and dams in a state of disrepair or potentially hazardous:
1. Hawaii
2. Rhode Island
3. West Virginia
4. Connecticut
5. Pennsylvania
23. Colorado