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Colorado - Mon. 08/04/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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CPW: FREE ADMISSION TO ALL STATE PARKS IN AUGUST FOR ACTIVE MILITARY, VETERANS
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To thank U.S. military members for their dedicated service and sacrifices, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is offering free admission to all Colorado state parks for active-duty military, veterans, and National Guard members during the month of August. Qualifying military members can pick up their free Military Parks Pass, valid for the month of August at any Colorado state park or CPW office by simply showing proof of their military service.
Applicable forms of military identification include:
- DD214; DD Form 2 or DD Form 2765
- An active, retired or veteran military identification card
- A current Colorado Driver’s License or state issued identification card with the word ‘Veteran’ printed on it as specified in 42-2-303 (5)(a), C.R.S.
- A VA medical card
Passes are only available to military service members, not their spouses or dependents, and can only be used at Colorado state parks. All other park fees remain in effect, including camping reservations; boat and off-highway vehicle registrations; and hunting and fishing licenses. The passes are not valid for access to State Wildlife Areas.
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BIG GAME HUNTING LICENSES NOT SOLD IN FIRST DRAWS GO ON SALE THIS WEEK
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that big game hunting licenses not sold from primary and secondary draws will go on sale at 9 a.m., Aug. 5. Over-the-counter (OTC) licenses for elk, bear, archery pronghorn and whitetail deer will be available at the same time. The available licenses can be purchased online at CPWShop.com, by phone at 1-800-244-5613 and in-person at CPW offices.
The available licenses include:
- Limited licenses left over after the primary and secondary draws for elk, deer, pronghorn and bear
- Limited elk, deer, pronghorn and bear licenses that someone drew but surrendered or did not pay for during the secondary draw that took fewer than five resident preference points
- Limited licenses that were returned for refund/preference point restoration since the opening of the secondary draw but prior to July 30 and took fewer than five resident preference points to draw
- OTC licenses for elk, archery pronghorn, whitetail deer and bear
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FOUR LOCATIONS IN COLORADO RANKED IN HOTTEST LUXURY HOUSING MARKET SURVEY
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A survey of the hottest luxury housing markets in the U.S. had four ZIP code regions in Colorado make the list. The American City Business Journals compiled the rankings, using a weighted ranking of ZIP codes across four categories: listings-to-sales ratio, average list price, average sale price and how long listings sat on the market before being sold. To be considered, the postal code had to have an average sale price of $1.5 million. In the ACBJ rankings, the ZIP code covering Cherry Hills Village, 80113, was the top one in Colorado, ranking No. 11.
In addition to the Cherry Hills Village ranking, three other Colorado ZIP codes made the list:
- No. 26: 80498; Silverthorne, Summit County
- No. 113: 80304; North Boulder, Boulder County
- No. 271: 224; Crested Butte, Gunnison County
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JOBS REPORT FOR JULY SHOWS U.S. ECONOMY IS SLOWING
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Nonfarm payroll growth was slower than expected in July and the unemployment rate ticked higher, a sign that the U.S. economy is beginning to show signs of slowing. Job growth totaled a seasonally adjusted 73,000 for the month, above the June total of 14,000 but below even the meager Dow Jones estimate for a gain of 100,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. June and May totals were revised sharply lower, down by a combined 258,000 from previously announced levels.
At the same time, the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent, in line with the forecast. The June total came down from the previously stated 147,000, while the May count fell to just 19,000, revised down by 125,000. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent. The number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or longer increased to 1.83 million from 1.65 million in June. That increase in the ranks of the long-term unemployed could be a reflection of an environment where layoffs have been low, but companies have been reluctant to hire, making it harder for people without work to find employment.
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WILDFIRES IN UTAH, ARIZONA AND CANADA: SMOKE AND “WEATHER MAKERS”
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Two wildfires burning close to Colorado, the Dragon Bravo fire on the north rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the Monroe Canyon Fire in central Utah, are burning so hot that they are creating “fire clouds” that can create their own erratic weather systems. Fire clouds form when air over the fire becomes superheated and rises in a large smoke column. In Utah, the smoke cloud produced a fire-fueled thunderstorm known as a pyrocumulonimbus cloud, which sent rapid winds shooting in all directions last week. The phenomena are extremely dangerous because if they get high enough, they can also create downdrafts which can rapidly spread the fire and can place firefighters in serious danger.
While those fires rage in the West, wildfires in Canada are spreading smoke across the upper Midwest, producing air quality advisories in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Michigan. Air quality became so bad that Minneapolis ranked as the third-most polluted major city in the world on Saturday, according to the global air quality tracker IQAir. Chicago ranked as the ninth-most polluted city, with a PM 2.5 level of 105.
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AFTER INITIAL REJECTION, OFFER FROM RESIDENTS OF MOBILE HOME PARKS ACCEPTED
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On Monday, July 28, the owners of two mobile home parks in the Roaring Fork Valley, the Mountain Valley Mobile Home Park and the Aspen-Basalt Mobile Home Park accepted an offer from the residents of those parks to purchase the mobile housing communities for $42 million. The residents with Thistle, a Boulder-based nonprofit that manages various affordable housing schemes in Boulder, and the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition, a Roaring Fork-based nonprofit also focused on affordable housing to convert their respective mobile home parks into “Resident-Owned Communities,” or ROCs. An ROC functions similarly to a mortgage on a standard house; however, instead of one person paying their mortgage monthly, the entire community pays it down as rent. Their first offer to purchase the parks was rejected on grounds of "language." The residents have worked to secure funding and still need to raise about $6 million before the closing date of the sale in mid-October.
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TWO FORMER SOMMELIERS WIN SOMMELIER CHOICE AWARDS FOR HOTCHKISS WINES
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The husband-and-wife team of Steve Steese and Jayme Henderson worked as sommeliers in Denver before they bought their West Elks American Viticultural Area vineyard in Hotchkiss in 2007 to create The Storm Cellar winery. They entered two wines in the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards contest and both wines, 2023 grüner veltliner and riesling vintages, won gold medals. The Storm Cellar winery concentrates on producing white and rosé wines. The grüner and riesling grapes in their wines are smaller, juicier and have thicker skins than many and have even clogged their equipment during harvests. The Storm Cellar also relied on other producers for the grüner and riesling grapes, including Handshake Acres in Palisade and Reeder Mesa Vineyards in Whitewater. Henderson and Steese have had success before with award-winning wine as well as being recognized in 2022 as the Winery of the Year by Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology.
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PATRICIA BARELA RIVERA HONORED WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
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For the 26th year, the Denver Business Journal presented its Outstanding Women in Business Awards, honoring 25 businesswomen that were selected from 180 nominations. The Denver Business Journal also presented its Outstanding Women in Business Lifetime Achievement Award to Patricia Barela Rivera, honoring her career dedicated to public service. Barela Rivera spent 11 years as the Colorado district director for the U.S. Small Business Administration and was the first Latina to do so. During her tenure she transformed SBA's approach and distributed $1.2 billion in loans. After graduating from the University of New Mexico with a degree in business, she worked with the regional civil rights office of the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico.
A few years later, she moved to Colorado when Gov. Roy Romer appointed Barela Rivera as the deputy director for Colorado’s Dept. of Local Affairs. During her tenure, she created a diversity plan for each of the 27 state agencies at the time. While working for Gov. Romer, she ran her own consulting firm, giving presentations to women and minority entrepreneurs on how to grow their businesses. Today, Barela Rivera works as the president and owner of Denver-based PBR Solutions, a consulting firm specializing in small-business advising, strategic planning, public policy and community engagement.
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COLORADO LANDOWNERS RANK IN TOP 10 AMONG LARGEST IN THE U.S.
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Billionaire cable and media giant John Malone recently placed a 500-acre equestrian property for sale in Maryland, but he still remains the second largest landowner in the U.S. Stan Kroenke, owner of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids and the Ball Arena, is ranked No. 4.
Top ten U.S. landowners, with locations of primary holdings and total acreage in 2025:
- Emmerson Family (California, Oregon, Washington): 2.44 million acres
- John Malone (Wyoming, New Mexico, Florida, Colorado): 2.20 million acres
- Ted Turner (New Mexico, Montana, Nebraska): 2.00 million acres
- Stan Kroenke (Texas, Wyoming, Arizona): 1.76 million acres
- Reed Family (Washington, Oregon, California, Montana): 1.66 million acres
- Irving Family (Maine): 1.26 million acres
- Buck Family (Maine): 1.23 million acres
- Singleton Family (New Mexico, California): 1.10 million acres
- King Ranch Heirs (Texas): 911,215 acres
- Pingree Heirs (Maine): 830,000 acres
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BEST PLACES TO SWIM IN NATIONAL PARKS
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U.S. National Parks are great places for sightseeing and hiking, but what about swimming? Outside Magazine ranked the nine best swimming holes in the National Park System.
Two are in Colorado:
- Muir Rock, Kings Canyon National Park, California
- Bass Lake, Point Reyes National Seashore, California
- Ely Creek Falls, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah
- Firehole Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho
- Sandbeach Lake, Rocky Mountains National Park, Colorado
- Doubtful Lake, North Cascades National Park, Washington
- Little Falls, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Alabama
- Steel Creek Campground, Buffalo National River, Arkansas
- Midnight Hole, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee
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MARKET UPDATE - 08/01/2025 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 07/31/2025)
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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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