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Colorado - Wed. 04/23/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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COLORADO ANNOUNCES DIGITAL PASSPORT AS PART OF STATE'S 150TH ANNIVERSARY
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Colorado announced the launch of a digital passport as part of the state’s “America 250-Colorado 150” commemoration, allowing residents to access exclusive discounts and offers from a variety of local businesses, parks and landmarks. The digital passport will soft launch this summer with a full rollout planned for 2026. The passport features destinations in all 64 counties, with challenges that reward participants with points, discounts and badges, according to Tim Wolfe, commission co-chair and director of the Colorado Tourism Office.
The program is launching as part of the celebration of 250 years of American independence and 150 years of Colorado statehood in 2026. The passport is one of 12 signature initiatives the commission is rolling out. Other initiatives include Stories in the Sky, a series of more than 40 drone shows across the state, and Colorado Heritage for All, an initiative dedicated to historic preservation, with a final goal of adding 150 historic sites by 2026. The passport will be free and accessible through the myColorado app or Colorado.com.
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HOTEL, RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS & CONCERT VENUE PLANNED AROUND DENVER’S BALL ARENA
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Kroenke Sports and Entertainment has submitted a concept plan for the first phase of a multi-use development around Ball Arena in downtown Denver that includes a 13-story hotel, two 12-story residential buildings and a 5,000-seat performance venue. The entire project is expected to include up to 6,000 new housing units, with 18 percent of those qualifying as affordable housing, as well as a new city recreation center, retail space and a park with walking and biking trails surrounding the sports arena. The hotel, two residential buildings and concert venue would be bordered by Speer Boulevard on the east, Chopper Circle on the north and west, and Wynkoop Way on the south. The roughly 4-acre site would be just east of Ball Arena. The hotel would have 244 guest rooms as well as eating and drinking spots, and retail. One of the residential buildings would have 160 units and the other would have 140.
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POPE FRANCIS’ FUNERAL TO TAKE PLACE SATURDAY, TENS OF THOUSANDS EXPECTED TO ATTEND
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The funeral of Pope Francis will take place on Saturday morning, an event that is expected to draw tens of thousands of Catholic faithful, as well as world leaders including President Trump. Cardinals began meeting on Tuesday to prepare the funeral rites of the 88-year-old pontiff, who died Monday morning. His death was ceremonially certified on Monday evening by the Vatican’s camerlengo, or chamberlain, who called the deceased pope’s name three times and broke his signet ring, the Fisherman’s Ring. The camerlengo, American Cardinal Kevin Farrell, also sealed the pope’s apartments with ribbon and red wax.
The Argentine-born Francis decreed that his funeral and the rituals that precede should be simpler than the elaborate affairs held for his predecessors. His body was placed in a plain wooden casket lined with zinc, as he requested. Past popes were placed in three coffins nested into each other. On Wednesday morning, the casket will be carried from the Santa Marta chapel in a procession through the Vatican to St. Peter’s Basilica, where it will be put on display until the funeral. In another break with tradition, the pope asked to be buried outside the Vatican at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, a church in Rome that is home to an icon of the Virgin Mary before which he often prayed. He asked for a simple tomb with a single-word inscription: Franciscus. The funeral will begin a nine-day mourning period during which memorial services will be held around Rome.
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REGIONAL AIRLINE EXPANDS WITH TWO NEW DESTINATIONS FROM DIA
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Passengers at Denver International Airport will be able to fly directly to new Southwest destinations beginning in June. Tennessee-based Contour Airlines said Tuesday that it will add a flight to Taos, New Mexico, a first for DIA, and restore service to Page, Arizona. The regional airline in January became the Denver airport's 27th airline partner when it announced service to Moab and Vernal, Utah, which started earlier in April. Contour will inaugurate nonstop flights to Taos on June 26 with the initial schedule at three days per week.
The flight marks the first time that Taos will be connected to a large U.S. hub airport. Flights to Page are scheduled to operate two days per week between June 25 and Aug. 30 and could expand in future seasons. Page has not been served nonstop from DIA since 2018. Contour is the second airline in the last week to announce expanded service after recently partnering with DIA. Mexican low-cost carrier Viva will expand its route network from Denver with a nonstop flight to Mexico City beginning in November.
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'ICONIC' VIEWSHED INCLUDING 4,800-PLUS ACRES CONSERVED IN NORTHERN COLORADO
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Larimer County's Natural Resources Dept. recently announced finalizing conservation easements across three ranches totaling 4,800-plus acres in the Livermore Valley, protecting the natural scene viewed along Red Feather Lakes Road. "The viewshed is such an iconic one," said Meegan Flenniken, the county's land conservation, planning and resource division manager. The conservation easements were agreed to by a family that has overseen livestock grazing and hay production for five generations. Their land will remain private as that work continues.
Flenniken noted the 4,800-plus acres, closer to 5,200 acres including a previous conservation easement, is surrounded by Roosevelt National Forest and state-owned lands. Larimer County credited the latest easements for achieving more than 100,000 acres of contiguous, conserved land. Larimer County committed $8.9 million to the project. The city of Fort Collins committed $3 million, and other contributions came from Great Outdoors Colorado and The Nature Conservancy. This part of the Livermore Valley has ranked high on the Colorado Natural Heritage Program's list of biodiversity sites. Lone Pine Creek streaks the valley of grassland overlooked by rocky bluffs and Livermore Mountain.
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STUDY SHOWS HOW FAR COMMUTERS TO ASPEN DRIVE
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More than half of commuters into Aspen come from Basalt or further downvalley, according to traffic data compiled by Jacobs Engineering and presented to the Aspen City Council on Monday:
- About 23 percent come from Basalt and El Jebel; 12 percent come from Carbondale, 12 percent come from Glenwood Springs; 1 percent come from along I-70 east of Glenwood Springs and 7 percent come from along I-70 west of Glenwood Springs
- A majority of the commuters coming into town pass over Castle Creek Bridge. But 15 percent of the 1,420 cars recorded coming into Aspen during peak morning hours (6 to 10 a.m.) took Power Plant Road.
- The city sees 1,650 vehicles leaving Aspen during peak hours (3 to 7 p.m.)
- Of that outbound traffic, 66 percent of commuters take Hwy. 82, while 34 percent take Power Plant Road
- While a majority of commuters who take Power Plant Road rejoin Hwy. 82, 9 percent of outbound traffic from Aspen uses the entirety of McLain Flats Road to bypass congestion on Hwy. 82
- The so-called “queue jumpers” cause congestion in the West End neighborhood and use a road (McLain Flats) that is not intended for heavy traffic
- About 55 percent of respondents said they travel to and from Aspen alone in a personal vehicle
- About 19 percent said they carpooled or traveled with others in a personal vehicle
- 13 percent said they used a Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus
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ASPEN'S ANNUAL SPRING CLEAN-UP RETURNS
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Aspen’s annual spring clean-up returns this year from May 5 to 8. The event offers residents a chance to dispose of large household items with curbside collection coordinated by the city’s streets department. Residents are required to make an appointment no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, May 2, by calling 970-920-5130. Items must be sorted by category — branches and wood up to 8 feet in length; metal, general trash, tires, and leaves in compostable bags — and each pile must be clearly labeled “City of Aspen Spring Clean-Up.” Branches and wood must be neatly placed parallel to the street, and alley pick-up is not available. The clean-up does not include household garbage, construction debris, batteries, paint, oil, refrigerators, hazardous waste, televisions, or any electronics containing memory chips. Unaccepted items left at the curb will be passed over.
For those looking to dispose of electronics, Aspen’s e-waste collection event will be held on Saturday, May 3, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Marolt Housing parking lot at 100 Marolt Place. Additional details about that event are available at aspen.gov/361/Electronic-Waste, while information about the spring clean-up can be found at aspen.gov/street.
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CLUB 20 2025 SPRING CONFERENCE IN GRAND JUNCTION APRIL 26
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Club 20 is hosting the 2025 Spring Conference this Saturday at the Grand Junction Convention Center, giving members and guests a chance to meet with local, state and federally elected and appointed officials. The event will be highlighted by U.S. House Rep. Jeff Hurd, the Grand Junction Republican representing Colorado's 3rd Congressional District. Hurd will speak at 8:20 a.m., 50 minutes after registration begins. Topics to be discussed include:
- Natural resource outlook under the Trump administration, featuring Colorado Mining Assoc. President Adam Eckman, Colorado Oil and Gas Association Executive Director Chelsie Miera and NioCorp Developments CCO Jim Sims
- Aerospace, featuring SG Aerospace and Gas President Michael Sneddon and Lockheed Martin Government Relations Director Chad Vorthmann
- Hands in the soil and eyes on the river, featuring Colorado Dept. of Agriculture Water Policy Advisor Robert Sakata
- Quantum frontiers and innovation, featuring Elevate Quantum Chief Commercial Officer Anjul Loiacono
- Lumber and timber industry rejuvenation, featuring State Forester and Director Matt McCombs
- Wolves in Colorado, featuring Lauren Dobson of the coalition Colorado Advocates for Smart Wolf Policy as well as former John Hickenlooper senior advisor John Swartout.
Additionally, Club 20 will be hosting its awards and recognition banquet Friday evening at the Convention Center to kick off the event. The Spring Conference is open to the public as well as Club 20 members. For registry information, visit club20.org or call 970-242-3264.
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MOFFAT COUNTY GETS $2 MILLION GRANT FOR MULTI-USE EVENT CENTER
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The first step toward the building of a multi-use events center at the Moffat County Fairgrounds was realized on Tuesday when it was announced that the Office of Just Transition intends to award Moffat County a $2 million Just Transition Community Funding grant. The construction of an event center was an integral part of a feasibility study commissioned by the county. According to the study, the intent was to “explore a range of fiscally sustainable options that will assist the County in making decisions about the future of the Fairgrounds.”
Among those options were to “maintain the core function of the Fairgrounds and facilitate the annual Fair and other major events, including Grand Old West Days, and to “increase year-round events, attendance and revenue generation, to maximize the Fairgrounds’ economic impact, and drive economic development and tourism.” The award will cover the architectural and engineering plans and specifications for what is envisioned to be a $49 million project.
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TENNIS IS BOOMING, BUT THERE ARE FEWER COURTS TO HANDLE INCREASED DEMAND
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Tennis is booming in Colorado and across the country, the number of available public courts isn’t keeping up with growing demand. Tennis participation in the U.S. hit a record 25.7 million players in 2024, an increase of 1.9 million over 2023; more than 8 million new players have come to the sport since 2019, an increase of 45 percent. USTA Colorado says adult leagues have doubled since 2020, adult tournament participation has almost tripled, and junior tournament play has increased by 65 percent.
Two dozen courts closed in Boulder in the past two years. When the Colorado Athletic Club at Inverness closed in 2023, eight indoor courts and 12 outdoor courts were lost. Like many outdoor activities, tennis saw an upward spike in participation coming out of the pandemic. It hasn’t slowed down. That has made it harder to find open tennis courts, which typically are available only on a first-come, first-served basis, except for league play and tournaments.
Multiple studies have found tennis to be the healthiest sport. An oft-cited study in Copenhagen found that tennis added 9.7 years to life expectancy when compared to the lives of sedentary individuals, ahead of badminton (6.2 years), soccer (4.7), and cycling (3.7). Tennis has been found to decrease the risk of heart disease by up to 50 percent while promoting mental acuity and mental health through social interaction.
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THE 'MAGIC NUMBER' TO RETIRE COMFORTABLY FELL TO $1.26 MILLION
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There’s been a persistent gap between how much money savers are putting away and how much they think they will need once they retire. This year, many Americans are scaling back their expectations. For 2025, the “magic number” to retire comfortably is down to an average $1.26 million, a $200,000 drop from the $1.46 million reported last year, according to a new study from Northwestern Mutual, which polled more than 4,600 adults in January. The 2025 figure is roughly in line with estimates from 2023 and 2022, which were $1.27 million and $1.25 million, respectively.
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, 401(k) and individual retirement account balances notched the second-highest averages on record, boosted by better savings behaviors and stock gains, according to the latest data from Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider of 401(k) savings plans. The average 401(k) balance was $131,700 in the fourth quarter, while the average IRA balance stood at $127,534, according to Fidelity. However, since then, U.S. markets have whipsawed. As of April 21, the S&P 500 is down roughly 10 percent year to date, while the Nasdaq Composite has sunk more than 15 percent in 2025. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has pulled back 8 percent.
- Even after lowering the bar, more than half, or 51 percent, of Americans in Northwestern Mutual’s study expected to outlive their savings. Just 16 percent said that outcome would be “very unlikely.”
- Last year, 54 percent of workers who were not yet retired said they expected to be financially ready for retirement when the time comes.
- Currently, only about two-thirds, or 67 percent, of Americans in their planning years feel confident about their retirement prospects — down 7 percentage points from last year.
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COLORADO'S TREE-EATING PINE BEETLES SURGING BACK
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In the mid-2010s, the swaths of rust-red dead lodgepole on your favorite drives or hikes in Grand County were depressing. Coloradans wondered if their beloved forests would ever recover from the onslaught of bark-boring pests, and if tourism would suffer a big bite. A decade later, there’s good news and bad news, according to the annual aerial survey of state trees from Colorado State University’s forestry department. The notorious spring rains and floods of 2013 slapped back one voracious, drought-opportunistic pest, the mountain pine beetle. And a relatively wet 2023 for much of the state bolstered many trees against the spread of that beetle, the separate spruce beetle and the spruce budworm. But a dry 2024 set the pests marching and eating again by sapping forests of the water they need to stay healthy and fight off infestations. Colorado’s higher-altitude forests need several normal-to-wet seasons in a row to build up true resiliency.
- One dry season meant Western spruce budworm affected 217,000 acres of state forests in 2024, up from 202,000 acres in 2023, according to the CSU survey. Precipitation in four of the last five years was below the 100-year average.
- Mountain pine beetle, which creates the highly visible rust patches in hillsides crammed with lodgepole, grew to 5,600 acres of impact.
- The Douglas-fir beetle impacted 21,000 acres in 2024, its largest total damage in almost 10 years.
- Western balsam bark beetle, which attacks subalpine fir and other species, is still the deadliest forest pest, as distinguished from being the most widespread by acreage. The acres affected by the balsam bark beetle held steady at 27,000, but more of those trees die. Other pests like the spruce budworm can damage trees but don’t necessarily kill them.
- Colorado has about 4.1 million acres of pines, such as ponderosa and lodgepole, at relatively lower elevations; and 4.5 million acres of spruce, such as blue and Engelmann, at mid- to higher elevations.
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MARKET UPDATE - 04/22/2025 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 04/17/2025)
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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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