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Colorado - Tue. 04/29/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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UNITED ADDS TWO FLIGHTS FROM DENVER TO LATIN AMERICA
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United Airlines will begin offering routes from Denver International Airport to Mexico City, Mexico and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic beginning Oct. 26. Mexico City will operate daily as a winter seasonal service from October to March, while service to Punta Cana will operate daily nearly year-round. This will be the first time United has ever flown to Punta Cana from Denver. United has added eight routes between DIA and Latin America or the Caribbean since 2019, bringing the airline to 11 routes serving those areas. Among the destinations are Roatan, Honduras; San Jose and Liberia, Costa Rica; Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Mexican low-cost carrier Viva will also add a nonstop flight to Mexico City beginning in November, and Aeromexico added flights to Guadalajara and Monterrey in December in addition to its nonstop service to Mexico City. The new route announcement comes just ahead of United's inaugural nonstop flight to Rome, which takes off on Wednesday and will fly daily through Sept. 24. The carrier also offers nonstop routes to London, Frankfurt, Munich and Tokyo-Narita. The added destinations follow a record-setting year at DIA for international passenger traffic, which was also given a boost through new direct routes to Dublin and Istanbul and increased frequency to destinations like Paris.
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ULA LAUNCHES 27 AMAZON SATELLITES
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Centennial-based rocket maker United Launch Alliance fired 27 Amazon-made satellites into low-Earth orbit Monday evening to help Jeff Bezos' company start building a satellite internet array that can compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Blasting off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on an Atlas V rocket, the satellites are part of a 46-launch contract Amazon's Project Kuiper signed with ULA to use the company's Atlas and the newly certified Vulcan Centaur rockets to loft hundreds of Kuiper internet satellites into orbit in the coming years. Most of the 38 flights will be on the Vulcan.
Amazon did not disclose the financial terms of the contract, but in 2022, ULA CEO Tory Bruno called it the company’s largest-ever launch order. The launch price ULA, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., is charging for the Project Kuiper mission wasn’t disclosed. Vulcan launches can start at over $100 million, meaning the 38 future Project Kuiper launches on that rocket could, at the least expensive, hover around $3.8 billion.
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DIA ADDS MORE LOCAL RESTAURANTS
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Another slate of restaurants are opening at Denver International Airport this week. Four new Denver-based businesses will officially debut in a new marketplace within Concourse A on Tuesday, including Native-American restaurant Tocabe and speakeasy cocktail bar Williams & Graham. The marketplace will also feature The Bagel Deli and D Bar. Tocabe, a North Denver restaurant founded in 2008, specializes in Native American cuisine and includes family recipes from the Osage Nation. The airport will be home to its second location.
Williams & Graham will be hidden behind a “discreet bookstore facade” at the airport. The speakeasy is based in the Highland neighborhood on 3160 Tejon St. It offers classic and inventive drinks and takes inspiration from Prohibition-era bars. Another local name is expanding with its second location. The Bagel Deli has been a family-owned staple in Denver since 1967, offering New York-style bagels and deli meats at 6439 E Hampden Ave. off of Interstate 25. D Bar, which has a location in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood, will serve desserts and comfort foods such as milkshakes and cupcakes, as well as savory dishes. The airport marketplace by Gate A38 will be operated by Mission Yogurt, a Denver-based hospitality firm that specializes in airport dining and shopping in hubs like DIA and San Diego.
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NFL'S WASHINGTON COMMANDERS RETURN TO D.C. IN $3.7B STADIUM DEAL
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The Washington Commanders are headed back to the District of Columbia. The National Football League franchise announced Monday that it had struck a deal to relocate from its current stadium in Landover, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., on the grounds of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, its home field from 1961 to 1996, which is currently being demolished. The Commanders will invest $2.7 billion into the site, while the city government will contribute $500 million from its existing funding for sports facilities. The new stadium, expected to open in 2030, will be part of a larger redevelopment project that will include housing, restaurants, parkland and retail.
The city and the organization Events DC, which currently oversees the stadium campus, will invest hundreds of millions into infrastructure for parking, transportation and utilities, bringing the total cost to $3.7 billion. The new stadium will include a roof and have a capacity of about 65,000 seats. The Commanders expect the campus to produce 2,000 permanent jobs, $4 billion in tax revenue and more than $15.6 billion in direct spending over 30 years. The Commanders are worth $6.25 billion, according to CNBC’s Official NFL Team Valuations 2024.
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ASPEN AIRPORT READIES FOR 27-DAY CLOSURE
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Aspen-Pitkin County Airport’s annual spring closure is one week away when it temporarily shuts down at 9 a.m. Monday, May 5, for airfield pavement maintenance. The 27-day closure is through 7 p.m. Sunday, June 1. The closure time will allow planes arriving the night before, on May 4, to depart the next morning. Likewise, the evening reopening time will allow late plane arrivals to be ready to fly at 7 a.m. June 2. Besides Denver International Airport, the regional airports in Grand Junction, Montrose and Gypsum (Eagle County Airport) offer commercial service.
- At Eagle County, American Airlines has one flight daily to and from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Frontier flies DFW both ways on Saturdays. United flies three to four times daily between Eagle County and DIA. American and Frontier airlines offer respective daily and Saturday-only flights to Dallas-Fort Worth, and United Airlines has a Denver route it flies three to four times daily.
- In Grand Junction, American flies to and from DFW and Phoenix three times daily; Delta Air Lines flies Salt Lake City twice daily; United has a DIA route running five times daily; and Breeze Airways flies twice on Thursdays and Sundays to Las Vegas and Orange County.
- The Montrose airport also provides service to DFW on American once daily, along with five daily flights to and from DIA through Southwest Airlines and twice daily to and from DIA through United.
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport is coming off a record-setting March performance where it saw 100,000 passengers for the first time. Year to date through March, the airport served 281,390 passengers, pacing 6.6 percent ahead of the first quarter of 2024 and 10.7 percent over the same period in 2023.
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10TH ANNUAL PRISTINE RIDERS TRASH CRUSH RETURNS TO ASPEN
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The 10th Annual Pristine Riders Trash Crush is inviting volunteers to a morning of community clean-up and environmental stewardship in the Aspen area on Friday, May 23. Volunteers will meet rain or shine at 10 a.m. at the South Gate parking lot of the North Star Nature Preserve to gear up before dispersing to tackle litter along Colorado Hwy. 82 east of Aspen, the East of Aspen Trail, the ABC Trail, Castle Creek Road, Maroon Creek Road, McLain Flats Road, and Owl Creek Road. The effort, which runs until 12:30 p.m., is part of a larger push to address historic litter buildup and to encourage environmental stewardship through direct action.
Adults 18 years and older, as well as children 7 years and up accompanied by an adult, are encouraged to join. The first 25 volunteers to register by emailing sundog@sopris.net will receive a complimentary alfresco lunch courtesy of BUCK, a beloved local restaurant and bar. After the cleanup, volunteers can gather at Koch Park for a casual lunch. Organizers will also host a raffle featuring special prizes and present the ever-popular “Trashy Awards” to recognize standout participants. Volunteers can register by contacting Skarvan at sundog@sopris.net or 970-925-1069.
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NEW CASTLE, PARACHUTE, DE BEQUE PITCH IN FOR SHOSHONE WATER RIGHTS
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The town of New Castle has agreed to contribute $100,000 to the Western Slope’s efforts to buy the historic Shoshone hydroelectric power plant water rights, while the towns of Parachute and De Beque also have agreed to kick in smaller amounts. The donations were announced in a news release from the Colorado River District, which is seeking to buy the water rights owned by Xcel Energy and associated with the historic power plant in Glenwood Canyon. They come as Pitkin County recently also committed $1 million to the effort. Parachute will be contributing $25,000 and De Beque, $5,000. The De Beque Plateau Valley Soil Conservation District also is kicking in $5,000.
The river district is leading the effort to buy the water rights in an attempt to safeguard water flows on the Colorado River in western Colorado. The rights help control those flows due to their size and seniority. Combined, more than 30 Western Slope local governments, water entities and regional partners have committed over $17 million toward the $99 million purchase. The river district and state of Colorado also have committed $20 million apiece.
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VALUATION NOTICES HEADED TO LA PLATA COUNTY PROPERTY OWNERS
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More than 48,000 property owners in La Plata County will receive official notices of valuation from the county assessor next week. Postcards containing the notices will be mailed Thursday. Single-family home values rose an average of 20 percent. Property values are used as a basis for property taxes levied by local entities, including county government, school districts, fire departments and special metro districts. They are reassessed every two years. This year’s notices reflect changes in property values from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2024, and will be used as the basis for tax years 2025 and 2026, for which taxes are due in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
The value of condos north of Durango, such as those near Purgatory Resort and the Glacier Club, rose by as much as 40 percent over the last two years. Home values near Ignacio did not increase as much. Historically, about 5 percent of property owners appeal their valuation and 50 percent of those protests result in an adjustment. Some valuations increase upon reexamination. The deadline to file a protest over this year’s valuation is June 8. Protests can be filed online or by phone using information provided on the postcard.
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ROUTT COUNTY RESIDENTS CAN GET FREE RADON TEST KITS
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Radon is a naturally occurring gas with no smell, color or taste. It is produced from the radioactive decay of uranium, an element found in soil and rocks. When released into the air, it can move through cracks in home foundations and walls. When the radioactive gas is confined and stagnant in below-ground areas such as basements or crawl spaces, the radon concentration increases. This can be a health risk if there is long-term exposure to high levels. State and local health officials want Routt County residents to be aware of the potential danger that high levels of radon can pose for themselves and family members. Health experts say radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in Colorado and responsible for about 500 deaths annually.
The best way to find out if your home is safe from radon is a simple, do-it-yourself radon test kit. Free radon test kits are available from the University of Colorado Cancer Center Office of Community Outreach and Engagement and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Visit https://bit.ly/COERadon to order a kit, while supplies last. Additionally, Routt County Public Health has a limited supply of free, short-term test kits available. Visit their office at 135 6th Street in Steamboat Springs to pick up a kit.
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LOCAL NORDIC ATHLETES TO SHARE EXPERTISE ON COMPETING AT THE ELITE LEVEL
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As the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy draw near, Steamboat Springs Nordic combined athletes past and present will offer expertise in what it takes to prepare for the biggest event in athletics. From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, at Olympian Hall in Howelsen Lodge, Olympian Johnny Spillane will join U.S. Nordic Combined Team athletes Niklas Malacinski, Annika Malacinski and Alexa Brabec to discuss the physical, mental and emotional toll of competing at the highest level of sport. The panel will explore the complexities of training at the elite level and across continents. The event, known as The Athlete Climb to the Top, is hosted by Nordic Combined USA and John and Carrie Hayden. The event is free to join, though donations are accepted at NordicCombinedUSA.org/donate. Light appetizers and refreshments will be provided.
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ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME 2025 INDUCTEES
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Inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2025 have been announced. The newest entrants, announced during the live broadcast of the “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night” episode of “American Idol" on April 27, are:
- Bad Company
- Chubby Checker
- Joe Cocker
- Cyndi Lauper
- Outkast
- Soundgarden
- The White Stripes
The full induction ceremony airs live Nov. 8 from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Disney+ and arrives on Hulu the next day. A condensed version will air on ABC at a yet-to-be-announced date. Those who didn’t make the cut this year include The Black Crowes, Billy Idol, Maná and Phish – all first-time nominees – along with Mariah Carey and Oasis (both nominated in 2024 for the first time) and Joy Division/New Order (nominated once before in 2023). To be eligible for induction into the Rock Hall, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years before the year of nomination.
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TRANSPORTATION A TOP HOUSEHOLD EXPENSE IN THE U.S.
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Transportation expenditures are the second-highest expense for households nationwide, trailing only what they spend on housing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- In 2023, average overall household spending was $77,280, an almost 6 percent increase from 2022.
- Of those expenses, housing costs accounted for nearly 33 percent, around $25,436, while transportation accounted for 17 percent, about $13,174.
- Food expenses followed at about 13 percent of total expenses, at almost $10,000.
- Households spent an average of $12,300 on transportation in 2022, with increases attributed to greater spending on public transportation and an increase in vehicle purchases.
- Money spent on gasoline decreased 44 percent between 2022 and 2023.
- Denver metro area households spent an average of $94,236 per year in 2022 and 2023.
- During the same period, they spent about $15,300 annually on transportation costs, the vast majority on purchasing and maintaining private vehicles.
- Housing, transportation and food accounted for 63 percent of household spending.
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MARKET UPDATE - 04/28/2025 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 04/24/2025)
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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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