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Colorado - Thu. 02/20/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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DENVER HAS A NEW NWSL TEAM…VOTE FOR THE NAME OF THE TEAM
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At the end of last month, the announcement came that Denver was awarded the bid to be the 16th team in the National Women’s Soccer League. The NWSL Denver team will begin play for the 2026 season, but right now it doesn't have a name. Team owners have invited fans to pick the new team name. On Wednesday, the team announced a ranked-choice vote, with six name options. The six proposed names came from feedback from fans at its launch event on Jan. 30 and from social media. The six proposed names:
- Denver FC
- Denver Peak FC
- Colorado Summit FC
- Denver Gold FC
- Denver Elevate FC
- Colorado 14ers FC
On the voting page, it is possible to suggest another name and choose whether the team's name should represent Denver or Colorado. Voting ends Feb. 26. To vote, go to denvernwsl.com/pages/name.
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GREELEY WORKING TO RESTORE THE POUDRE RIVER
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The city of Greeley has been able to launch a two-phase program to restore the Poudre River and provide new recreational opportunities thanks to funding from the American Rescue Plan received in 2023. The city’s public works department recently completed the first phase of the Poudre River Restoration Initiative. Phase I focused on public meetings, pop-up events and conducting a survey to gauge what the public wanted most from the river. The river through the city is mostly bordered by private ownership. Based on the more than 900 responses, it was clear the community wanted improved access to the river and its connection with the rest of Greeley. Phase 2 will produce a master plan for the river by the end of August. More information about the initiative, online surveys and future pop-up events can be found at speakupgreeley.com/poudre-river-restoration.
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DENVER CITY COUNCIL APPROVES ORDINANCES TO LIMIT GAS STATIONS
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The Denver City Council Tuesday night voted 12-1 to approve a pair of ordinances that prohibit new gas stations being built within a quarter mile of existing gas stations or rail stops, and from within 300 feet of low-intensity residential districts across the city. The amendments to the Denver Zoning Code will take effect on Feb. 25 but apply retroactively to any projects submitted to Denver's Dept. of Community Planning and Development after May 14. Denver has 16 new gas station projects under review, 10 of which were applied before the May cutoff date, Andrew Webb, a city planner, told the council. Lawyers, developers and others indicated the retroactive nature would cost the city millions of dollars in lawsuits if the council proceeded to approve the ordinances.
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ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL ANNOUNCE 76TH SEASON, SUMMER 2025
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The Aspen Music Festival and School announced its summer 2025 schedule, which will bring some 450 young artists from around the world to Aspen, along with artists and faculty from the foremost orchestras and music schools around the country. There will be nearly 200 public events presented over eight weeks, July 2 to Aug. 24. The 2025 festival explores the theme “Concerning the Spiritual in Art,” inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s book of the same title. It does so through works including “Siddhartha, She,” an AMFS co-commission from composer-in-residence Christopher Theofanidis and his longtime collaborator, librettist Melissa Studdard.
Other festival highlights include a fully staged production of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” marking Co-Artistic Director Renée Fleming’s directorial debut; an Opera Benefit headlined by mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard; the U.S. premiere of Thomas Adès’s “The Origin of the Harp,” which is another AMFS co-commission; world premieres of new AMFS co-commissions from Samuel Adams, Christopher Stark, and Max Vinetz; performances of recent AMFS co-commissions from Jasmine Barnes, Anna Clyne, Avner Dorman, Edgar Meyer, and Tyshawn Sorey; and a celebration of this year’s Boulez centennial with conductor David Robertson, a leading exponent of the composer’s work. Complete information is available at aspenmusicfestival.com.
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HEAVY SNOW FROM DAYS OF WINTER STORM BRING SNOWPACK UP
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Six straight days of snow brought up to 50 inches of snow to some Colorado ski resorts. Although the heavy snow totals have been substantial, they generally brought the state's snowpack levels only back to normal levels in terms of the 30-year average. The last six days and 50 inches of snow have brought Vail Mountain from 81 percent to 103 percent of its 30-year normal, according to OpenSnow.com. Vail reportedly received the most snow in the state between Friday and Wednesday. At the Steamboat Resort, 40 inches of snow fell at the mountain, bringing the resort’s snowpack to 110 percent of the 30-year median.
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MIRACLE RESCUE OF SNOWMOBILER BURIED OVER AN HOUR IN AVALANCHE
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The Summit County Rescue Group and Colorado Avalanche Information Center have provided more details on the recovery efforts to save a snowmobiler who was buried in an avalanche in the Shrine Bowl at the Vail Pass Recreation Area Monday. The snowmobiler was buried for more than an hour and avalanche officials say he was “extremely fortunate” to be alive. Some studies indicate a person’s chance of surviving an avalanche burial is about 86 percent if they are dug up within the first 10 minutes but drop to less than 10 percent after 35 minutes of burial. The key elements in this event were the immediate 911 call from others in the group when the avalanche occurred, and the quick response from rescue teams.
The Summit County Rescue Group responded with four avalanche dog teams and 27 rescue group volunteers. The Rapid Avalanche Deployment team from Copper Mountain also responded with an avalanche dog, handler and avalanche technician, and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office provided equipment and two additional personnel. A Flight for Life helicopter was unavailable to support the operation because of the conditions. The rescue teams began digging the snowmobiler out about 65 minutes after he was buried. The man, who had a full-face helmet that did not get packed with snow, was conscious, breathing and able to converse with rescuers. After extricating the buried man, he was transported to the trailhead and taken by a Summit Fire & EMS ambulance to CommonSpirit St. Anthony Summit Hospital.
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AARP FOUNDATION TAX-AIDE: FREE TAX FILING ASSISTANCE
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Since 1968, the Tax-Aide program of the AARP Foundation has helped over 80 million taxpayers in filing their income taxes. Tax-Aide is the nation's largest free tax assistance and preparation service. From early February through mid-April, the Tax-Aide volunteers serve from over 3,600 locations around the country. All the Tax-Aide volunteers are IRS-certified every year. The volunteers offer free tax-return preparation to anyone who needs it, regardless of age or income, but their focus is on those over 50 years old.
In Routt and Moffat counties, the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program will return for its fourth year. Taxpayers can make appointments at the Bud Werner Memorial Library from Feb. 24 through April 12 on Mondays and Saturdays. AARP volunteers will also visit Craig and Walden. To book an appointment, visit cotaxaide.org/appt. Outside of Routt and Moffatt counties, information is available at aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp-taxaide, by calling 888-227-7669 or via email at taxaide@aarp.org.
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JASPER NATIONAL PARK: A TRUE DARK SKY SANCTUARY
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As Colorado’s state parks move forward with pursuing designation as International Dark Sky sites, and Colorado having 15 dark sky places, including some national parks, monuments and communities, one of the largest and most accessible dark sky locations is Jasper National Park in Canada. Jasper National Park was designated as a Dark Sky Preserve in 2011 by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and the area covers more than 4,000 square miles where minimal to no light pollution is allowed. It does have unusual access due to the fact that the 4,700-person town of Jasper is located entirely within the park. It is located about three-and-a-half hours from either Calgary or Edmonton, and stargazers can drive right into the preserve.
This year will be especially notable because the northern lights are expected to be as strong as they have been in 20 years. Even with the town located in the preserve, 97 percent of the park is designated as wilderness and the town has such little light pollution that while driving in at night it is nearly impossible to determine if there is a town there. Northern Lights are visible in the park every ten days to two weeks, according to personnel of the Jasper Planetarium. The highlight of autumn will be the 15th anniversary of the Jasper Dark Sky Festival, featuring the Symphony Under the Stars, Oct. 17- Nov. 2, 2025.
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NEW APPROVAL PROCESS FOR ENTRY INTO THE U.K. CAUSING DELAYS, DENIED ENTRY
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At the beginning of the year, a new travel authorization process for entry into the United Kingdom was launched. Travelers to the U.K. are now required to apply online for the electronic travel authorization, or ETA, at a cost of about USD$13. The process has hit some snags, according to some Americans who reported problems uploading photos and scanning their passports. The U.K. government website says the turnaround time is no longer than three days. There is a more significant problem for those with a criminal record who must provide details of the conviction. In many cases, travelers with criminal records were denied travel authorization.
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COST OF LIVING INDEX FOR CITIES AROUND THE WORLD
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Online database Numbeo, which is the largest cost-of-living database in the world, produces a periodic cost-of-living index for cities around the world, using elements including cost of rent, groceries, restaurants, and purchasing power index. The index uses New York City as a base, with all elements for New York at the 100.0 level.
Here is the cost-of-living index for 2025:
- Zurich, Switzerland: 103.8
- Lausanne, Switzerland: 100.9
- Geneva, Switzerland: 100.7
- New York, U.S.: 100.0
- Basel, Switzerland: 98.0
- Bern, Switzerland: 95.0
- San Francisco, U.S.: 90.5
- Honolulu, U.S.: 86.9
- Reykjavik, Iceland: 83.7
- Boston, U.S.: 83.7
- Singapore, Singapore: 79.1
- Seattle, U.S.: 78.9
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MARKET UPDATE - 02/19/2025 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 02/13/2025)
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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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