MICROSOFT PURCHASES LAND NEAR DIA FOR $63.5 MILLION

Microsoft has an office in the Denver Tech Center, but it is expanding its presence in the metro area this week with a purchase of a parcel of land of approximately 260 acres just south of Denver International Airport. According to property records, the computer software giant paid $63.5 million for the land which is directly south of Denali Logistics Park, a joint industrial and logistics development between L.C. Fulenwider and Hines. The Denali Logistics Park is adjacent to Windler, a new 5,000-home master-planned community slated to break ground this year.

INFLATION, HIGHER PRICES DON'T SEEM TO AFFECT VISITORS TO LAS VEGAS

Like every other business in the country, casino operators in Las Vegas faced the problem of generating revenue to make up for profits lost during the pandemic. Their problem was compounded by rising prices and inflation. Las Vegas has always been known for freebies and bargains, but even those evaporated. However, even though prices are higher than they have ever been, they haven't deterred people from coming and spending money. Gambling revenues on the Strip are soaring. Las Vegas Strip casinos reported an all-time high of $7 billion in gambling revenue last year, exceeding pre-pandemic numbers and breaking the previous record of $6.8 billion in 2007, according to state regulators. Many casino operators say they expect travel demand to continue this year, even as visitors take note of the higher tab.

HUBBLE SPOTS DISTANT STAR

In an article published in Nature magazine Wednesday, scientists said the Hubble Space Telescope had spotted the oldest and most distant star ever recorded. The scientists named the star Earendel, meaning "morning star" or "rising light" in Old English. The star may be up to 50 times the mass of our sun and millions of times as bright, and because of its distance from Earth, it took 12.9 billion years for its light to reach us, NASA said. Earendel formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang created the universe some 13.8 billion years ago, according to NASA. Scientists hope to prove Earendel is a single star and not a cluster of stars and they plan to use the newly-launched James Webb telescope to make that confirmation.

WILDFIRE SEASON ISN'T FAR AWAY, "SEVERITY PATROL" SET FOR THIS SUMMER

Roaring Fork Fire Rescue fire chief Scott Thompson says long-term drought has changed conditions in the Roaring Fork Valley and extended the wild fire season in the high country to six months from April until ample snowfall in October or November. Roaring Fork Fire Protection District’s board of directors have established a "severity patrol" for the summer, which will be four full-time firefighters hired to drive a fire truck around particularly susceptible portions of the sprawling district. They would be available to respond quickly to lightning strikes and other sources of wild fires before the fires can spread.

FIRST ENERGY SUMMIT IN GRAND JUNCTION

The Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce hosted the first-ever Energy Summit at the Grand Junction Convention Center Wednesday. There were more than 100 people in attendance for presentations from keynote speakers Alice Jackson, president of Xcel-Colorado and Jim Sims, vice president of NioCorp Development. Another presenter was Nu-Scale Director of Sales Steven Breeding, who spoke on the future of small-scale nuclear plants and their role in delivering clean energy. Western Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association Executive Director Chelsie Miera gave a presentation on the challenges and opportunities in the natural gas industry in addressing climate change and other concerns.

OAK VIEW GROUP BUYS LAND IN LAS VEGAS FOR ARENA, HOTEL AND CASINO

Oak View Group, the sports and entertainment arena development and management company headed by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, which manages the Grand Junction Convention Center and Avalon Theater in Grand Junction, has acquired a 25-acre plot of land near Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas with plans to break ground on a $3 billion entertainment hub with a 20,000-seat arena, and hotel for 2,000 guests and casino. Leiweke conceived the plans for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but envisions the new arena as a $1 billion venue, more than twice the cost of T-Mobile.

MORE RECORDS SET AT MONTROSE REGIONAL AIRPORT

The Montrose Regional Airport is continuing its terminal expansion project, which started in the fall, but that has not slowed down any operations at MTJ. In December 2021, 32,647 passengers disembarked at MTJ, a new monthly record. The record numbers continued into 2022, with records set in January and February. More than 61,000 passengers came into MTJ in the first two months of 2022. The northern part of the terminal expansion is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 1. The paving of the expanded parking lot at the airport is scheduled to begin April 18 and 570 spaces should be available by June 1.

NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF SKIERS WILL HOLD 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN VAIL

This week, Vail Resorts announced that the National Brotherhood of Skiers had selected Vail for its Golden 50th Anniversary Summit, with a tentative date of Feb. 4-11. The National Brotherhood of Skiers has nearly 5,000 members and all are invited. The National Brotherhood's annual Black Ski Summit is considered to the largest gathering of skiers and snowboarders in the country. In announcing the selection of Vail for the 50th Anniversary, Henri Rivers, NBS president said, "Next year’s event is particularly special because we will be celebrating our Golden 50th Anniversary alongside Vail Mountain’s 60th Anniversary, marking a shared vision and set of values for the industry moving forward.”

100,000 VISITORS TO BRECKENRIDGE HISTORIC SITES LAST YEAR

Museums in Breckenridge saw visitor numbers begin to return to pre-pandemic norms this past year. The Breckenridge Heritage Alliance manages sites that include six museums and exhibits, eight walking tours and six other attractions, including archival and special event spaces. The 2021 report of the Heritage Alliance documents 114,133 people visited a historical site in Breckenridge, a 49.8 percent increase over the 76,152 visitors in 2020. Most of the historic visitors opted for outdoor spaces and exhibits, totaling 45 percent of trips, which is about 51,458 visitors. The Welcome Center Museum brought in another 40 percent, and the rest of the museums attracted 11 percent of visitors.

SKATING THROUGH THE WOODS…IT'S WINTERTIME IN OTTAWA

Ice skating for most of us means going round-and-round on an oval ice rink, either inside or outside. In the winter in Canada's capital city Ottawa, skating means gliding on paths of ice that wind through forests. There are new trails being added almost every year providing even more recreational options. The best known and most accessible is Rideau Canal Skateway, an almost five-mile, 19th-century canal in the city that has been flooded for skating by the federal government for the last 52 years.
In addition, however, there are five more private trails. The private trails charge between $11 and $15 a day, as opposed to free canal skateway, but offer a more pristine experience. The latest trail to open, which opened in January, was Icelynd, located on 25 acres of land about 30 minutes from downtown Ottawa. The land is owned by Chris Neil, who played for the Ottawa Senators for 17 years, and he and his business partner Jarrett Gibbons cut the trails by hand with chainsaws. Neil also uses an ice-surfacing machine similar to a Zamboni to ensure the ice on the trail remains smooth. The smooth ice of the private trails is a definite selling point as the canal skateway can get large cracks in the ice due to heaving of the ice during temperature fluctuations.

BEST PLACES FOR EXPATS IN THE U.K.

As working remotely has become a fundamental part of the world of work, and as more people look to overseas locations, one of the first countries that many consider is the U.K. Although it is a logical choice for expats, London has an extremely high cost of living. There are many other locations significantly cheaper that offer charming options and more access to the British countryside. Here are the 10 best, according to Expatica:

• Birmingham
• Glasgow
• Oxford and the Cotswolds
• Brighton
• Cardiff
• Edinburgh
• Reading and the Thames Valley
• Manchester
• Leeds
• Bristol