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Colorado - Mon. 02/03/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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“BIRD ABATEMENT” AS FALCONS ARE USED TO RID DENVER OF CROWS
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Downtown Denver has a crow problem. Crows that migrate to Denver in the summer have remained through the fall and were causing problems with their presence especially in the court campus area, which includes the U.S. Customs House, the Byron Rogers courthouse and the Byron White courthouse which are all in the 19th and Stout area of downtown. In other areas downtown, building owners were paying hundreds of dollars to power-wash their property to eliminate the bird waste. To resolve the bird problem, some building owners and the federal government contracted with Wings Over Colorado to bring falcons and hawks downtown to scare off the crows. Since November, the falcons and hawks have worked the area from 17th to 19th streets and Arapahoe to Stout, and now there are no more crows downtown.
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THE LUNAR NEW YEAR, A COLORADO HOLIDAY, A DENVER CELEBRATION
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Last week, Jan. 29, was the second new moon after the winter solstice, and that is the designated start of the Lunar New Year. The new year is celebrated around the world, especially in Asia, and is now recognized as an official Colorado holiday. In 2023, Gov. Jared Polis signed HB23-1271, which designates Lunar New Year Day as an observed, but not a legal, state holiday that may be observed on the first Friday in February in each year. This year that is Friday, Feb. 7. Over the weekend for the 34th year, the Far East Center hosted a Lunar New Year celebration. On Saturday and Sunday, some 3,000 visitors jammed into the small square just off south Federal Blvd. to see lion dances, martial arts performances, a children's fashion show and browse items available from local Asian vendors.
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SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
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Eugene Hernandez, director of the Sundance Film Festival, has announced finalists for location/re-location of the renowned independent film festival, which has been in Park City, Utah for the last 41 years. The finalists are Cincinnati, Ohio, Boulder and a combination of Park City and Salt Lake City. An announcement is expected in early spring. The Colorado Legislature is considering legislation to give up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036. That is on top of the $1.5 million already approved to bring the festival to Boulder.
Cincinnati has approved a resolution allocating $2.5 million to Sundance to relocate to Ohio. Now, Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah, who previously said that Utah would not throw much money at the festival, is now urging the Legislature to allocate $3 million for Sundance in the state budget. With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival now underway, thousands of festivalgoers placed bright yellow “Keep Sundance in Utah” stickers on their parkas and winter coats.
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NEXT SUNDAY IS SUPER BOWL SUNDAY…AND SUPER BOWL AD SUNDAY
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At least 100 million people are expected to tune in to next weekend’s Super Bowl 2025, taking place on Sunday, Feb. 9 in New Orleans. Last year’s game was the most watched telecast in U.S. history with 123.7 million viewers, or over a third of the U.S. population. The cost for a 30-second spot during this year’s game has surged, with at least 10 commercials going for about $8 million apiece, Variety reported. This $8 million figure represents an increase of 88 percent from a decade ago, and a more than 20,000 percent jump from the first-ever Super Bowl.
A 30-second Super Bowl ad cost $4.25 million in 2015 and just $37,500 in 1967. Already, 40 brands are going public with 2025 Super Bowl campaign plans. At the forefront are brands like Bud Light, Doritos, Uber Eats, and Hellmann's, all of which created plenty of pre-game buzz. GoDaddy is back in the national lineup, as is Taco Bell, Pringles, WeatherTech, Homes.com, the NFL, and Dove. Two-time Ad Meter-winning brand Rocket Mortgage (now Rocket Companies) is returning with a new look in the advertising rush.
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BILL KOCH LISTS HIS ELK MOUNTAIN LODGE PROPERTY AGAIN, THIS TIME FOR $125M
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Billionaire Bill Koch has listed this 52-acre Elk Mountain Lodge property up Castle Creek for $125 million. The property, about 10-15 minutes from Aspen, has a rustic log lodge of 16,631 square feet, seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, 30-foot ceilings, an oversize dining room and temperature-controlled wine storage. There are seven other cabins, totaling 8,646 square feet. The property has two hot tubs, ponds and multiple trails.
Koch originally bought the roughly 52-acre lodge property for about $26.5 million in 2007, according to county records, converting what had been an event venue into a private retreat. Over time, he made improvements and added around 31 acres to the property. Koch first listed the compound for $100 million in 2015 before dropping the price in 2016 to $80 million, or $60 million for the 52-acre parcel with the lodge and $20 million for the other 31 acres. Koch sold the 31 acres for $14.5 million in 2020, records show, but he took the lodge off the market.
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FEWER SINGLE-FAMILY HOME BUILDING PERMITS BEING ISSUED IN SUMMIT COUNTY
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Summit County has been issuing fewer building permits for new single-family residences with the decline starting in 2022 and anticipated to continue. In 2019, Summit County issued 78 building permits for single-family residences. In 2020, the county issued 88 building permits, and in 2021, it issued 80. Then in 2022, the number of building permits dropped to 66, and the county also issued 66 in 2023. By late December 2024, the county had issued 62 building permits. Realtors, builders and county officials say a few factors come into play when it comes to a decline in building permits including dwindling inventory of available and buildable land, pandemic-related impacts and climbing construction costs.
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SUMMIT’S COMMUNITY DINNER PROJECT MILESTONE: 200,000 MEALS SERVED
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In 2009, as many communities were suffering the effects of the 2008 financial crisis, Summit County Rotary member Deb Hage began looking for ways to address the problems apparent in the county, with people losing jobs, some losing their homes and all dealing with the downturn. She turned to a local nonprofit, Family & Intercultural Resource Center, to get some direction for a way to help. Staff members said what would truly help is a weekly meal, not a soup kitchen, but a weekly meal with meat, potatoes, salad and the like. She recruited financial assistance from Vail Resort’s charitable arm, Epic Promise, as well as the Summit Foundation and others and she started the Community Dinner Project in March 2009.
Since that first meal, there has not been a Tuesday without the community dinner in Summit County. During the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteers packed meals in to-go containers to ensure there was a Tuesday community dinner. On Jan. 28, 2025, Hage was present as the Community Dinner Project served its 200,000th plate at the Summit County Elks Lodge.
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ANOTHER BUSY YEAR FOR SUMMIT COUNTY RESCUE GROUP
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With the increase in numbers of visitors to the backcountry, hikers, skiers, mountain bikers and the compounding factor of weather and avalanches, the all-volunteer Summit County Rescue Group has seen an increasing number of calls for service over the past four years. The SCRG has about 65 active members, including seven who are mission commanders. Less than a decade ago, the SCRG responded to less than 100 calls per year. Since 2020, they have received more than 180 per year. The rescue group’s busiest year ever was 2021, when the group received 217 calls. In 2024, they responded to 187 calls. Last year, the SCRG received about 50 calls involving people out day hiking, 22 calls for avalanches, between 10 and 15 non-avalanche related calls involving skiers and about 10 calls involving mountain bikers, Butler said. The 22 calls for avalanches represent a slight increase from prior years, according to Ben Butler, SCRG President.
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THE DISTRO LIVES ON, NOW IN ITS 5TH YEAR
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Stephania Vasconez was looking to do something impactful and meaningful during the COVID-19 pandemic, so in August 2020, she founded a nonprofit, Mutual Aid Partners (MAP). Its focus was to distribute food and toilet paper to Grand Valley community members, and the beginning was holding a Tuesday Distribution Day each week. It came to be known as distro day, and it was located at the parking lot of the Unitarian Universalist Church at 536 Ouray Ave. in Grand Junction. As Vasconez noted, "It was just a few tables in that parking lot."
Now, Tuesday Distribution Day is in its fifth year, and MAP has expanded its reach of services to provide information on taxes, Medicare and Medicaid, veterans assistance, medical assistance, even pet vaccinations. The distro had outgrown its parking lot location in a few years and in December 2023, the distro moved to the resource center and 261 Ute Ave. The HomewardBound Resource Center is losing its lease in April, however, so the distro will have to move with it to a new location. The distro now has two full-time staffers and more than 30 volunteers, most of whom show up every week to work. Also, the distro has expanded its delivery with volunteers taking food and services around town.
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COLORADO CELEBRATES THE LUNAR NEW YEAR FRIDAY: THE YEAR OF THE WOOD SNAKE
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The Lunar New Year began with the second full moon after the winter solstice, Thursday, Jan. 29; Colorado will officially celebrate the Lunar New Year on the first Friday of February: Feb. 7. The is the year of the Wood Snake:
- There are 12 zodiac signs in Chinese astrology, each possessing a unique set of qualities, this is the Year of the Snake
- Each year, an animal is paired with one of the five elements: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, that adds wood to the snake
- You are a Snake sign if you were born in the following years: 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 and 2025
Some well-known people born in the Year of the Snake:
- 1869: Mahatma Gandhi
- 1881: Pablo Picasso
- 1893: Mao Zedong
- 1917: John F. Kennedy
- 1929: Anne Frank
- 1941: Bob Dylan
- 1953: Xi Jinping
- 1965: J.K. Rowling
- 1989: Taylor Swift
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79TH ANNUAL LOVELAND RE-MAIL VALENTINE’S PROGRAM
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Once again, the city of Loveland and the Loveland Chamber of Commerce will hold their Valentine’s re-mailing program. There is time left to participate as the deadline for mailing to Loveland from the continental U.S. is Feb. 7 and for mailing from Colorado is Feb. 10.
- You can go online and purchase a Valentine’s Card for $10 at Loveland.org
To re-mail:
- Pre-address and pre-stamp your Valentine card
- Enclose the addressed, stamped card inside a first-class envelope
- Address the envelope to Postmaster Valentine re-mailing program, 446 E. 29th St., Loveland, CO 80538
- Your Valentine is taken out and hand-stamped with the Loveland Cachet & Cancellation
- It is re-mailed the same day it is received
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MARKET UPDATE - 01/31/2025 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 01/30/2025)
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*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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