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Colorado - Mon. 12/15/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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J. ROBERT “BOB” YOUNG, FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN OF ALPINE BANK, DIES
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J. Robert “Bob” Young, founder and chairman of Alpine Bank and its holding company Alpine Banks of Colorado, died Dec. 11, 2025, in Florida surrounded by loved ones. Bob began his banking career in 1961 after graduating from Wichita State University and, with other investors, founded Alpine Bank in Carbondale in 1973. He built Alpine Bank into a statewide institution with 39 locations, $6.8 billion in assets and 890 employees. Just twelve years after the founding of the first bank, in 1983, he introduced an employee stock ownership plan, making employees stockholders.
Bob was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame in 2011 and had an unending commitment to community service. He was named Colorado’s Outstanding Philanthropist in 1995 and in 2023, the Association of Fundraising Professionals Colorado Chapter presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Bob Young created Alpine Fax in 1993, which evolved into the Alpine e-line, as another service to communities and to support local nonprofit organizations. Please go to the link below to share in the celebration of the life of Bob Young.
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COLORADO WATER QUALITY COMMITTEE APPROVES STREAM, WETLANDS PROTECTION
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After more than a year of public hearings, meetings with environmental groups, water providers, farmers and other interests, the nine-member Colorado Water Quality Control Commission last week approved an extensive set of rules designed to protect thousands of miles of streams and wetlands. Colorado is one of the first states in the country to adopt such comprehensive rules. The rules were written to regulate dredge and fill activities in state waters as authorized by House Bill 1379, a hard-fought bipartisan measure approved by Colorado lawmakers in May 2024. The state commission oversees the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division, which will enforce the rules. The rules cover dozens of issues related to how the state will issue permits dictating how construction, homebuilding and farming activities that disturb waters and wetlands can occur.
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BLM PROPOSING ANOTHER LARGE ACREAGE LEASE SALE IN COLORADO
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Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management took in nearly $4.9 million at its oil and gas lease sale, however, much of the acreage in the offering went unsold. The sale offered nearly 51,000 acres, all in northwest Colorado. A total of 30,528 acres was leased, with no bids on the remaining acreage. Now, the BLM is proposing an offer totaling 160,628 acres for lease in a June sale. The initial public comment on the June proposal ends Jan. 8, 2026, with information available at eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2041562/510. The proposed June sale would include about 112,500 acres in Moffat County. Also proposed in the region for leasing are more than 27,000 acres in Rio Blanco County, more than 10,000 acres in Garfield County, and 3,566.5 acres in Mesa County.
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I-70 WESTBOUND WILL BE CLOSED MONDAY, TUESDAY NIGHTS AT EXIT 244
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The Colorado Dept. of Transportation announced that Interstate 70 will be closed westbound overnight Monday and Tuesday to erect temporary supports for a new cast-in-place concrete bridge over the highway. The full closures run from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. between the U.S. Hwy. 6 interchange at exit 244 near Idaho Springs. Drivers must exit, turn left under the highway and immediately re-enter westbound I-70. Flaggers guide traffic through the detour. In case of poor weather, the closure will be the same hours Dec. 17-18. CDOT said there will be no lane restrictions at the Floyd Hill Project from Dec. 20 through Jan. 5 to ease holiday travel. Motorists are advised to check updates at codot.gov/projects/i70floydhill or on the COtrip Planner app.
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MANY IN COLORADO COULD LOSE THEIR SNOWPACK BEFORE NEXT SNOWFALL
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With unending rain in the Northwest from an Atmospheric River and Alberta Clippers bringing a series of snowstorms and very cold weather to the upper Midwest, all the recent weather activity, indeed all the storm tracks, are well to the north of Colorado. The best chance for any change in that pattern, according to the National Weather Service, is Dec. 18, but even then, the chance of snow is only for the northern mountains. Tom Renwick, a Grand Junction meteorologist for the National Weather Service, says that between now and Dec. 18, Coloradans can expect dry weather and mostly sunny skies, with higher-than-normal temperatures in the 40s and 50s for the Western Slope. If that pattern holds, the meteorologists at OpenSnow say the statewide snowpack "might flirt with a record-low snowpack by late December." Longer-range forecasts suggest more meaningful snowfall might be possible for all Colorado mountains around Christmas Day.
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COLORADO IS EXPANDING ITS FREE RECYCLING PICKUP STATEWIDE
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Last week, the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment’s Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division approved a program that will create free statewide recycling, shifting the cost to companies that produce packaging and away from residents and local governments. It’s called the Producer Responsibility Program and is expected to begin its rollout in 2026. The program will add recycling to an estimated 700,000 residences across Colorado, said Wolf Kray, who oversees recycling programs at the Dept. of Public Health and Environment. And it should eliminate recycling costs for those who already pay for curbside recycling in their cities. The program will be run by Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit managed by 20 companies from the food and beverage, consumer goods and retail sectors that create and use packaging. The list of companies includes Amazon, Colgate-Palmolive, Mars Incorporated, the Coca-Cola Company and Walmart.
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UNITED AIRLINES LOOKING AT BUSIEST WINTER HOLIDAY SEASON EVER
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United Airlines expects a record number of travelers on its flights during the year-end holidays. The projection for a strong, if not record, holiday season follows the carrier’s record Thanksgiving holiday numbers, when United flew an estimated 6.6 million customers between Nov. 20 and Dec. 2. United Airlines is projecting it will fly about 10.3 million across its network during the holiday season from Dec. 18 to Jan. 6. That is the most passengers United has ever flown for the winter holiday season. Those numbers work out to almost 520,000 passengers flying 4,700 flights a day nationwide. The busiest day during the holiday period is forecast to be Saturday, Dec. 27, when United expects 560,000 passengers to fly globally.
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WHAT A RETURN! LINDSEY VONN WINS, FINISHES 2ND IN HER RETURN TO WORLD CUP SKIING
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At age 41, Lindsey Vonn returned to World Cup downhill racing Friday at St. Moritz, Switzerland, and proved age had not slowed her down very much, as she won the downhill by almost one second (0.98) over Magdalena Egger of Austria. Vonn became the oldest winner, male or female, in Audi FIS World Cup history, on her 409th World Cup start. No woman aged at least 35 ever was on a World Cup race podium until March when Vonn placed second in a super-G at Sun Valley. No women aged at least 36 ever had a points-scoring result in downhill until Vonn last season. No women aged at least 37 ever had a points-scoring result in any World Cup event until Vonn.
On Saturday, Vonn proved it was not just a fluke win as she was the runner-up at the second downhill of the season at St. Moritz. In the second downhill of the weekend, she finished a strong second, narrowly edged out by Germany’s rising star Emma Aicher. Vonn’s runner-up performance came as part of a highly contested podium, with .24 second separating first and second place, and .29 second between Vonn and 3rd-place finisher Sofia Goggia of Italy. The margins were razor thin, the skiing fast and wild, and Vonn was right there the entire time with a physical, bumpy run that was slightly off of yesterday’s time and not quite as clean.
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MOTORISTS: BE PREPARED FOR DELAYS ON U.S. HWY. 550 & COLORADO 145
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The Colorado Dept. of Transportation advises motorists to be prepared for delays on U.S. Hwy. 550 through Friday, Dec. 19 between Purgatory Resort and Silverton as crews remove snow and clear ditches on the mountain passes. Additional maintenance will require a full overnight closure of 21 miles on U.S. Hwy. 550 between Ouray and Silverton, starting at midnight Tuesday and reopening at 8 a.m. CDOT said the closure, from mile markers 71 to 92, is necessary to provide space for heavy equipment while crews clear snow from shoulders and ditches. Drivers on Colorado Hwy. 145 may experience delays between Rico and Telluride through next week as CDOT performs routine snow clearing. Drivers can expect alternating traffic on Colorado 145 south of Telluride and delays of up to 15 minutes as flagging crews guide vehicles through work zones.
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COLORADO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GIVES A SCORECARD OF RANKINGS FOR THE STATE
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The Colorado Chamber of Commerce last Thursday released its Colorado Scorecard, which provides a summary of studies on the state’s economy, business climate, cost of living, quality of life, among other categories. Colorado saw improvements in many areas, including the cost of doing business, GDP and median full-time salary, however, Loren Furman, the state chamber's president and CEO, said, “Colorado’s strengths remain clear, but the state’s rising cost of living is becoming impossible to overlook.”
A look at some of the rankings in the Scorecard:
- Colorado's population: 5,957,493, rising
- Best State for Business: 11th, improving
- Cost of Doing Business: 38th, improving
- Cost of Living: 47th, declining
- Housing Affordability State: 48th, declining
- Wellness Ranking: 3rd, unchanged
- Healthiest State: 2nd, unchanged
- Median Full-time Salary for Open Positions: $57,491, increasing
- State GDP: $557 billion, increasing
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REVIEWING SKI MAGAZINE’S TOP RESORTS IN THE WEST 2026
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Colorado dominated Ski Magazine’s Top Ski Resorts in the West, 2026 rankings. The 2026 top 30 for the West are part of the magazine’s annual naming of the top ski resorts in each region of North America. Eleven ski resorts in Colorado made the list.
Colorado resorts on the 2026 list:
- 4. Aspen Snowmass
- 12. Vail
- 13. Telluride
- 16. Breckenridge
- 17. Beaver Creek
- 18. Arapahoe Basin
- 19. Winter Park
- 20. Copper Mountain
- 21. Keystone
- 24. Loveland Ski Area
- 25. Steamboat
Top five 2026 Best Ski Resorts in the West:
- Sky Resort, Montana
- Banff Sunshine, Alberta, Canada
- Snowbasin Resort, Utah
- Aspen Snowmass
- Grand Targhee, Wyoming
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MARKET UPDATE - 12/12/2025 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 12/11/2025)
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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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