NOTICE OF HOLIDAY CLOSURE FROM ALPINE BANK

All Alpine Bank branches will be closed Monday, Jan. 16, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Have a safe and happy holiday. We invite you to use Alpine Online or the Alpine Mobile app for 24/7 banking access, even when we are closed. Learn more at the link below.

WINTER SNOWS LEAVE 40 PERCENT OF THE STATE DROUGHT FREE

At this time last year, zero percent of the state of Colorado was drought free, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. This week, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported 40 percent of the state was drought free, including most of the Western Slope. Heavy snows have raised the statewide snowpack to 127 percent of the median level, as of Wednesday, Jan. 10. The snowpack is well above average in all river basins except the Arkansas and Upper Rio Grande. While the snowpack and drought readings are all positive, state water officials and meteorologists caution that the heart of the “wet” season is from late February to the start of spring, and that period has a much greater impact on drought conditions and wildfire risk for the rest of the year.

MORE GOOD NEWS, INFLATION EASED FOR SIXTH STRAIGHT MONTH

The consumer-price index, a measurement of what consumers pay for goods and services, rose 6.5 percent in December from a year earlier, down from 7.1 percent in November and well below a 9.1 percent peak in June. It marked the sixth month of decline in the primary marker of inflation, an indication that the aggressive move by the Federal Reserve in raising rates was making an impact. Many economists view core CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, as a better signal of future inflation, and it climbed 5.7 percent in December, which was lower than the 6 percent in November. Core prices increased at a 3.1 percent annualized rate in the three months ended in December, the slowest pace in more than a year and down from 7.9 percent in June. The good news on inflation resulted in investors pushing all the major U.S. stock indexes up Thursday.

U.S. GOVERNMENT REPORTS MORE THAN 500 UFO SIGHTINGS IN PAST TWO YEARS

The Pentagon's Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Thursday released its “2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” Input was gathered from various intelligence community agencies and military intelligence offices, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Dept. of Energy (DoE), and NASA. The study said there were 510 sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or UFOs, with 366 of those coming since March 2021. Almost half the new sightings remain unexplained. The report notes, “Some of these uncharacterized UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis.”

GARCO ENDS AGREEMENT TO HOUSE PITKIN COUNTY PRISONERS

Immediately following the inauguration of Michael Buglione as Pitkin County Sheriff, Pitkin County Manager Jon Peacock and Buglione received emails from Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario saying he was terminating the intra-governmental agreement reached about two years ago that provided for the housing of inmates from Pitkin County in the Garfield County jail. By Thursday, Pitkin County had reached a “fluid” agreement with Eagle County to hold Pitkin County inmates who are incarcerated for more than 48 hours, such as those who do not bond out or are awaiting trail at the Eagle County Detention Facility. Seven inmates were transferred to the Eagle County facility on Thursday.

ASPEN CHAMBER KICKS OFF WINTERSKÖL

The Aspen Chamber Resort Association kicked off Wintersköl Thursday with its annual awards luncheon, the Helen K. Klanderud Wintersköl Luncheon at the St. Regis Hotel. Wintersköl continues through Saturday's bonfire and fireworks show, before the beginning of Aspen Gay Ski Week on Sunday. At the chamber luncheon, Nancy Mayer, publisher of Aspen Sojourner magazine, and Aspen Skiing Co. executive John Rigney, received toasts as this year's Wintersköl royalty. ACRA named the Buddy Program its Nonprofit of the Year and Pure Barre CycleBar Aspen as Business of the Year.

INTERIOR DEPT. CREATES ORPHANED WELLS OFFICE

The U.S. Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure law, which provides $4.3 billion to plug orphaned wells and clean up adjacent surface facilities across the country. This week, the U.S. Dept. of Interior issued a news release saying Interior Secretary Deb Haaland had ordered the establishment of an Orphaned Wells Program Office to implement the cleanup of orphaned wells. There were 22 states, including Colorado, identified as eligible for orphaned wells funding, and each have been allocated $25 million in initial grants. In Colorado, 140 wells have been identified for plugging and remediation using that money, according to Interior.

NEW EMERGENCY WARNING SYSTEM IN WESTERN COLORADO: SIGN UP

The six counties in the 7th Judicial District, Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel, switched emergency management systems, going to the Genasys Emergency Management notification system. Genasys will now provide emergency notification service, replacing the CodeRed system. Officials say the Genasys has GIS mapping capabilities, a dedicated app, and multiple bilingual resources. People need to sign up for alerts from the new system with a cell phone number or email address. Registration can be completed by going to (countyname).genasys.com/portal/en, as in delta.genasys.com/portal/en.

BIG TIME IN STEAMBOAT: BALLOONS SUNDAY AND COWBOY DOWNHILL ON MONDAY

It was almost 50 years ago that the director of skiing at Steamboat Resort teamed up with six-time all-around world champion cowboy Larry Mahan to invite rodeo stars from the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo to come to Steamboat and race in the Cowboy Downhill. On Monday, the 48th annual Cowboy Downhill will be held with more than 100 professional cowboys and cowgirls coming to Steamboat. To kick the event off, on Sunday evening, about 5 p.m., six large, colorful hot air balloons will launch from Steamboat Square, the Cowboy Up Balloon Glow. The Cowboy Downhill will begin at 1 p.m. on Monday on Stampede, the run nearest to the Steamboat Gondola.

FEELING LUCKY ON FRIDAY THE 13TH, MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT 2ND HIGHEST EVER

The Mega Millions drawing Friday, Jan. 13 will be for the second largest Mega Millions jackpot ever, $1.35 billion:

• The only Mega Millions jackpot larger than tomorrow’s estimated prize is the record $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018
• Don’t be too concerned about the date Friday the 13th - there have been six Mega Millions’ jackpots won on Friday the 13th
• If you are in Michigan, Friday the 13th is especially lucky - four of the six jackpots won on Friday the 13th were in Michigan: June 2008; May 2011; June 2014; and October 2019
• The others were in New York, March 2009 and Ohio, November 2015
• Remember there are winning tickets in the drawing besides the jackpot winner
• On Jan. 10, there were 6,154,167 winning tickets at prize levels ranging from $2 to $3 million
• Since the last Mega Millions jackpot winner on Oct. 14, there have been more than 30 million winning tickets sold in the 25 drawings
• There have been 68 tickets worth $1 million or more sold in those 25 drawings