Colorado - Thu. 05/25/23 A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank View Online View in Browser
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SNOW MELT ON WESTERN SLOPE, RAIN ON FRONT RANGE, STILL MORE RUNOFF TO COME

 
 
 
As Coloradans prepare for the Memorial Day weekend, water seems to a major factor. On the Front Range, there have been 10 days of rain in May and on May 11 in Denver, Cherry Creek hit its highest flow rate since 1980. In southeastern Colorado, the Arkansas River flooded U.S. Hwy. 50 near La Junta. For the holiday weekend, people are advised that campgrounds, trails and even some roads may be closed and most of all, there will be high water in rivers across the state. Even with the runoff, there is more snow melt to come. SNOTEL data for May 22 shows the Gunnison River Basin and the San Miguel, Animas, Dolores, San Juan basins in western and southwest Colorado are more than 200 percent of normal snow water equivalent. The Upper Colorado Headwaters and Yampa/White River Basin are both at 115 percent or above.
 
- Colorado Sun, 05.23.23
 

JUCO BASEBALL STARTS SATURDAY MORNING

 
 
 
Grand Junction’s kick-off to summer, the Alpine Bank JUCO World Series, starts Saturday morning at Sam Suplizio Field. There will be a first-time winner this year, as none of the 10 teams this year have won the JUCO World Series. Saturday’s opening day games include: Delgado (LA) vs Weatherford (TX) at 9 a.m.; Andrew (GA) vs Central Florida (FL) noon; Shelton State (AL) vs Johnson County (KS) 3 p.m.; and Salt Lake (UT) vs Wabash Valley (IL) 7:30 p.m. On Sunday morning, May 28, Gaston (NC) will play Blinn (TX) at 10 a.m. Individual game tickets are available at jucogj.org, under “Tournament.” Stadium seats are $15 for day games; $18 for night games; Bench seats are $12 days; $15 nights; and General Admission tickets are $10 for Day and Night games.
 
- JUCOgj.org, 05.24.23
 

GERMANY NOW OFFICIALLY IN RECESSION

 
 
 
Economists say two consecutive quarters of negative growth constitute the technical definition of a recession. Data from the German statistics office on Thursday indicated that a revision to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter was made taking the GDP from zero to -0.3 percent. That number, combined with the 0.5 percent contraction in the last quarter of 2022, means Germany is officially in recession. Germany is Europe’s largest economy and it has been under significant pressure after European leaders cut off trade with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. Economists say it is unlikely the German GDP will continue to fall. However, there is no indication there will be a strong recovery either.
 
- CNBC.com, 05.25.23
 

INDEPENDENCE PASS OPENING TODAY IN TIME FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

 
 
 
The Colorado Dept. of Transportation announced Wednesday that Independence Pass will open at noon on Thursday between Aspen and Twin Lakes. According to CDOT Northwest Colorado Regional Communications Manager Elise Thatcher, crews had cleared snow, did avalanche mitigation work and made road repairs and there were no construction projects planned for Colorado Hwy. 82 over Independence Pass this summer. Because of the heavy traffic expected on all mountain highways over the Memorial Day weekend, CDOT will suspend all construction and maintenance projects from noon Friday until May 30.
 
- Aspen Daily News, 05.25.23
 

“HEIGHTENED DUI ENFORCEMENT”: CSP READY FOR THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND

 
 
 
A joint release from the Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Dept. of Transportation advises motorists that there will be “Heightened DUI Enforcement” over the Memorial Day weekend as CSP enters what it calls the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer.” The period between Memorial Day and Labor Day “sees a spike in impaired driving,” according to CSP. Local law enforcement agencies will be joining with CSP to patrol roads. With so much area to cover across the Western Slope, local law enforcement officials say there may only be one officer covering up to 1,000 miles of roads. Also, with only small towns, rural Colorado doesn’t have the number of taxis, Uber or public transportation options, so all motorists need to drive carefully and be on the lookout for inebriated drivers.
 
- Telluride Daily Planet, 05.24.23
 

VAIL HAS FINAL AGREEMENT, READY TO BEGIN $165M REDEVELOPMENT OF TIMBER RIDGE

 
 
 
This week, the Vail Town Council finalized its agreement with Triumph Development and is now ready to launch its largest-ever capital project, the $165 million redevelopment of the Timber Ridge Village apartments in West Vail. Currently, Timber Ridge has 96 units with approximately 196 bedrooms. The redevelopment project is planned to construct 288 new deed-restricted units and 569 bedrooms. There are seven buildings planned, with 56 studios, 50 one-bedroom units, 102 two-bedroom units, 64 three-bedroom units and 16 four-bedroom units. There will be units both for-sale and for-rent.
The town will contribute around $49.5 million to purchase the site, which is owned by the Colorado Dept. of Transportation, as well as seed money for the project. Triumph will provide the additional funding amount, an estimated $114 million. Already, 165 businesses in Vail have put down $5,000 deposits to purchase units in the project.
 
- www.vaildaily.com, 05.25.23
 

VAIL MOUNTAIN TO OPEN ONE GONDOLA JUNE 10, WITH FULL SUMMER OPENING JUNE 16

 
 
 
Vail Mountain will open Gondola One during the Mountain Games, June 10-11. For the opening, Gondola One will operate from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., offering scenic rides and dining at Mid-Vail. Then on June 16, Vail Mountain will begin its regular summer season, with both the Eagle Bahn Gondola and Gondola One offering daily operations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Sept. 4. Atop the Eagle Bahn Gondola at Eagle’s Nest, the Forest Flyer Alpine coaster will begin operating again on June 16. Vail Mountain’s tubing hill, which also has not been operational for winter use in recent years, will return for summer using an astroturf-like surface for guests to glide down.
 
- www.vaildaily.com, 05.25.23
 

A-BASIN WILL FINALLY END A GREAT SKI SEASON FOR COLORADO ON JUNE 4

 
 
 
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area officials announced Wednesday that the ski area will be closing for the 2022-23 season on Sunday, June 4. A-Basin will operate seven days a week until it closes on June 4 and will present a lineup of events to close out the year. To kick off the festivities, A-Basin will host Pride Weekend on Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28. The event will feature talented DJs, a drag ski event, a mural at Black Mountain lodge and live music. The following weekend will be A-Basin’s closing weekend. With its ending June 4, A-Basin operated 224 days in the 2022-23 season.
 
- Summit Daily, 05.25.23
 

BARBEQUE TURNS TOWN IN CHINA INTO HOTTEST TOURISM SPOT FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

 
 
 
Zibo is an industrial city in eastern China, located in Shandong Province about four hours south of Beijing. Zibo was just an obscure chemical manufacturing city before barbeque. Yes, barbeque has now turned Zibo into China’s hottest tourist destination. Zibo has a population of 4.7 million and in March, it had 4.8 million visitors. During a public holiday earlier in May, a Zibo vegetable market was more popular than the Great Wall, according to a mapping service. High speed rail tickets from Beijing sold out a minute after their release. The Zibo local government set up 21 buses to transport visitors from the train station directly to barbeque restaurants.
Zibo officials created a barbeque festival on the site of a sprawling seafood market, where there were hundreds of grills set up to accommodate 11,000 people. Diners grill their own skewers on tabletop charcoal stoves, then wrap them in a tortilla-like shell which is a local specialty. The meals are cheap, at most popular restaurants, skewers start at 15 cents-a-piece. These are all reasons for the boom in people coming to Zibo as the craze was basically created by college students posting rave reviews on social media.
 
- New York Times, 05.21.23
 

FRANCE BANS SHORT-RANGE DOMESTIC FLIGHTS

 
 
 
The World Wildlife Fund describes the environmental footprint of aviation as “one of the fastest-growing sources of the greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change”:
  • WWF goes on to say, air travel is “currently the most carbon intensive activity an individual can make”
  • France has now implemented a ban, which came into force this week, on domestic short-haul flights when alternative train journeys exist
  • The ban prohibits domestic flights between destinations in France when a train journey of under 2 hours and 30 minutes is available
  • It means public passenger flights between Paris-Orly and cities like Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon, are affected by the law
  • The law does not affect private jet flights
  • A recent analysis showed in March 2023 the number of private jet flights in Europe increased by 64 percent to a record high of 572,806
 
- CNBC.com, 05.24.23
 
 
 
MARKET UPDATE - 05/24/2023 Close
 
(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
 
 
Close
Change
Dow Jones Industrials
 
32799.92
 
-255.59
 
S&P 500
 
4115.24
 
-30.34
 
NASDAQ
 
12484.16
 
-76.08
 
10-year Treasury yield
 
3.71
 
+0.02
 
Gold (CME)
 
1962.80
 
-9.60
 
Silver (CME)
 
23.11
 
-0.36
 
Oil (NY Merc)
 
74.34
 
+1.43
 
Natural Gas ($/MMBtu)
 
2.39
 
+0.07
 
Cattle (CME)
 
166.10
 
+1.82
 
Prime Rate
 
8.25
 
NC
 
Euro (per U.S. dollar)
 
0.93
 
+0.01
 
Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
 
1.35
 
NC
 
Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
 
17.80
 
-0.17
 
30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 05/18/2023)
 
6.39
 
+0.04
 
*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
 
 
 
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.

*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.​
 
 
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