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Colorado - Tue. 01/20/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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RARE SOLAR STORM STRIKES EARTH, TRIGGERS STRONGEST RADIATION EVENT IN TWO DECADES
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A powerful solar storm struck Earth on Monday, producing the most intense solar radiation event recorded since 2003, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. The storm was triggered by a strong solar flare and a coronal mass ejection that sent high‑energy particles and magnetic fields toward Earth, intensifying geomagnetic activity. While the planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere protect people on the ground, the storm poses risks to satellites, GPS systems, aviation—particularly on polar routes—and space operations. Officials warned that disruptions to radio communications and navigation systems are possible. The storm is also expected to produce widespread auroras, with the northern lights potentially visible across much of the northern United States. Experts say the event highlights the growing impact of space weather as solar activity increases during the current solar cycle.
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BOULDER FILMMAKERS, OFFICIALS HEAD TO PARK CITY AHEAD OF SUNDANCE’S MOVE TO BOULDER
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A group of Boulder filmmakers, city officials, and cultural leaders are traveling to Park City, Utah, to observe the Sundance Film Festival’s final year there and prepare for its relocation to Boulder in 2027. Boulder County Film Commissioner Bruce Borowsky is among those attending in person, treating the festival as a live case study in logistics, public safety, transportation and filmmaker experience. Others, including University of Colorado Boulder International Film Series programmer Jason Phelps, are participating virtually while coordinating technical upgrades at CU’s Muenzinger Auditorium that will support future Sundance screenings. The article highlights collaboration between Sundance organizers and local institutions, with an emphasis on integrating the festival into Boulder’s existing arts community without disrupting it. Local filmmaker Jeff Orlowski‑Yang also described the move as an opportunity to build a year‑round film culture in Boulder.
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FIXING FEDERAL BLVD.: CDOT’S $318 MILLION OVERHAUL PROMISES FASTER BUSES & A SAFER ROAD
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Federal Boulevard, one of Colorado’s deadliest and busiest roadways, is slated for a $318 million, three‑year reconstruction aimed at improving safety, transit reliability, and pedestrian access. The corridor currently carries up to 46,000 vehicles a day and averages nearly 20 crashes a week, with dozens of fatalities recorded since 2021. Colorado Dept. of Transportation officials say the project will transform the car‑oriented state highway into a more urban boulevard by adding Bus Rapid Transit with raised stations, wider sidewalks, protected turn lanes, landscaped medians, and slower posted speeds. While buses would run every 7.5 minutes along the 18‑mile route, neighborhood groups and transit advocates argue that plans allowing shared bus‑and‑car lanes in some sections fall short and want dedicated bus lanes throughout. CDOT counters that removing vehicle lanes or widening the road further would worsen congestion or require taking private property.
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UNITED AIRLINES ADDS ROUTES FROM DENVER, REVEALS ROME FLIGHT RETURN
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United Airlines will add three new domestic routes from Denver International Airport in 2026, including two destinations that will be served from Denver for the first time. The airline plans to launch daily service to Albany, New York, along with seasonal Saturday flights to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Bangor, Maine. The additions will expand United’s Denver network to 200 destinations this summer. United also announced the return of its daily nonstop seasonal flight from Denver to Rome, operating from late March through late October, after debuting last year as Denver’s first direct connection to Italy. The article notes that United holds exactly half of DIA’s market share and has been the only airline to significantly increase passenger traffic at the airport in recent months.
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CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE UNVEILS $26.5M EXPANSION IN DENVER
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Cleo Parker Robinson Dance has opened a $26.5 million, 25,000‑square‑foot expansion in Denver, doubling the size of the nonprofit’s longtime home inside the historic Shorter Community AME Church. The new wing adds four dance studios, a 240‑seat theater, offices and community spaces designed to support expanded programming and long‑term financial stability. Founded in 1970, the company has operated out of the church since the 1980s, a building that was burned by the Ku Klux Klan nearly a century ago and later rebuilt. The expansion was funded through a multi-year capital campaign supported largely by individual and foundation donations, New Market Tax Credits, loans and renewable‑energy incentives.
Designed by Fentress Architects and built by Mortenson, the addition features a solar‑collecting facade, electrochromic glass, and design elements inspired by Parker Robinson’s choreography and African textiles. Leaders say the project will allow the organization to serve more students, host larger audiences, and strengthen its role as a cultural and community hub while preserving the historic church.
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COLORADO PARKS & WILDLIFE PREPARES TO LAUNCH SEMIAUTOMATIC FIREARM SAFETY PROGRAM
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife is developing a new firearms safety training program required under Senate Bill 3, a 2025 law that creates new purchase and training requirements for certain semiautomatic firearms, including AR‑ and AK‑style rifles. The agency must implement the program by Aug. 1, 2026, and has begun gathering public and stakeholder feedback through a series of meetings across the state. A Western Slope meeting is scheduled for Feb. 26 in Palisade, with a virtual meeting planned but not yet scheduled.
The law requires buyers of specified semiautomatic firearms to pass a background check and complete an in‑person safety course within five years of purchase, though it does not affect current owners or prohibit use of the firearms. Course length will vary depending on whether participants have completed a certified hunter education course, and all classes must include a final exam. Parks and Wildlife will oversee curriculum development, record‑keeping and coordination with county sheriffs and certified instructors, while sheriffs have raised concerns about staffing and resource demands tied to implementation.
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HABITAT COMPLETES WAPITI COMMONS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN RIFLE
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Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley has completed Wapiti Commons, a 20‑unit for‑sale condominium development in south Rifle that marks the nonprofit’s first condo project and its largest building to date. The development is designed to help address the region’s housing shortage by offering attainable homeownership opportunities for local workers, older adults, and smaller households. Twelve of the units are three‑bedroom, three‑story workforce townhomes with garages starting at $295,000, while eight single‑story one‑bedroom units start at $195,000. Habitat leaders said the project reflects a commitment to long‑term housing stability and innovative solutions, noting that homeowners come from a range of financial backgrounds but share the goal of building a stable future. The organization called the completion a milestone and urged continued momentum toward additional housing developments in the valley.
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JOBS HARD TO FIND IN GRAND VALLEY DESPITE SHRINKING WORKFORCE
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Job seekers in the Grand Valley are facing an increasingly competitive labor market even as the region’s workforce continues to shrink. The Grand Junction metropolitan area saw year‑over‑year declines in non‑farm employment from August through October 2025 — the first sustained drop since early 2021 — with preliminary data suggesting the trend continued into November. Despite fewer workers overall, the local unemployment rate also fell, dropping from 5.4 percent in January to 3.6 percent by November, signaling fewer available jobs rather than increased hiring. Workforce officials say rising business costs may be prompting employers to leave positions unfilled, contributing to frustration among job seekers who report submitting dozens of applications with little response. Employment declines were spread across multiple sectors, including goods production, construction, and leisure and hospitality, underscoring the broad nature of the slowdown.
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NEWLY DISCOVERED DINOSAUR FOSSIL EXCAVATED AT DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT
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A newly uncovered dinosaur fossil dating back about 150 million years has been excavated beneath a parking lot at Dinosaur National Monument, marking the first dig in that area in more than a century. Park paleontologist ReBecca Hunt‑Foster and her team discovered the remains while monitoring construction near the Quarry Exhibit Hall, a site already famous for its dense concentration of fossils. The find includes tail vertebrae, limb bones, and toes from what researchers believe is a diplodocus, a long‑necked herbivorous dinosaur from the late Jurassic period. About 3,000 pounds of rock and fossil material were removed, revealing roughly 20 feet of the animal so far, with more believed to extend deeper into the hillside.
Excavation will resume in the spring after winter conditions ease. The discovery connects directly to the monument’s early 20th‑century fossil history and offers visitors a rare chance to see new paleontological work unfolding alongside the historic Quarry Wall.
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ICE FEST GOES ICELESS, BUT OURAY’S CLIMBING COMMUNITY STILL SHOWS UP
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Unseasonably warm temperatures have left the Ouray Ice Park without enough safe ice for traditional climbing clinics, forcing organizers of the annual Ouray Ice Festival to cancel on-ice instruction this year. Despite the lack of climbable ice, festival leaders have rebranded the event as “Ice(less) Fest” and assembled a full schedule of workshops, competitions, social events, and parties aimed at preserving the gathering’s community spirit. Running Jan. 22-25, the festival will feature clinics on topics such as dry tooling, alpinism, rescue skills, photography, and expedition planning, along with mixed climbing competitions, a vendor village, film screenings, and a block party.
The event will kick off with a pool party and a new drone show celebrating both the festival and Ouray’s 150th anniversary. Organizers say the focus remains on connection, education, and celebration, with hopes that colder weather will soon allow ice climbing to resume after the festival. More information is available at ourayicepark.com.
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BAYFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER WINS VAIL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENPLAY AWARD
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Peter Bloomquist, a sixth-grade teacher at Bayfield Middle School, won first place in the 2025 Vail Film Festival Feature Screenplay Competition for his script Age of War. The screenplay tells the story of Roman general Arminius, who used the military training he received in Rome to lead Germanic tribes to a decisive victory against the Roman Empire. Bloomquist said the project is his second screenplay and his first major award, following an earlier Western script about Britt Johnson, the first Black member of the Texas Rangers. He began screenwriting after taking a class at Fort Lewis College, where he earned his teaching license in 2012.
The Vail competition, run by the Colorado Film Institute, connects winning scripts with major film and television executives. Bloomquist said the recognition has already generated interest from industry professionals and is helping him pursue both film and publishing opportunities, including adapting Age of War into a novel.
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COCKTAILS FOR CONSERVATION FUNDRAISER SET FOR JAN. 29 IN DURANGO
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La Plata Open Space Conservancy will host its annual “Cocktails for Conservation” fundraiser on Thursday, Jan. 29, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the D&SNGRR Museum in downtown Durango. Held during Snowdown, the event is the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year and supports land conservation and outdoor recreation across La Plata County. The evening will feature craft cocktails from Honey House Distillery, food from EsoTerra, and a silent auction. Tickets and additional event information are available at lposc.org/events/cocktails-for-conservation.
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FOREIGN VISITS HOLD STEADY IN VAIL DESPITE LOW SNOW & GLOBAL TURMOIL
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Foreign visitation to Vail remained steady this winter despite historically low snowfall and international political tensions. While Vail Resorts reported a 20 percent drop in visits across its North American ski areas during a dry holiday season, local indicators show Vail fared better. Hotel occupancy in December was up slightly year over year, and passenger traffic at Eagle County Regional Airport increased by 20 percent, driven in part by strong international travel. Latin American visitors, particularly from Mexico, continue to make up the majority of Vail’s 10 percent international clientele, and local tourism officials say those guests have not been deterred by U.S. immigration policies or geopolitical unrest. In contrast, in-state visitation appears to be declining, likely due to poor snow conditions. While January bookings are down, reservations for February through April are trending higher as visitors hope for improved snowfall later in the season.
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SILVERTHORNE ANNOUNCES NEW TOWN MANAGER
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Silverthorne has selected Greg Camp as its next town manager, filling the vacancy left by Ryan Hyland’s departure last May. Camp, who currently serves as city administrator for Festus, Missouri, will begin his new role on March 9 after a search that started in July. He brings more than two decades of public service experience and oversees 110 employees and budgets exceeding $38 million in his current position. Camp was recognized in 2025 with the Jay T. Bell Award for professionalism and ethical conduct and holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration as well as professional credentials through the International City/County Management Association. Town officials said the selection reflects community and staff input and aims to continue Silverthorne’s growth as a modern mountain town. Camp’s compensation includes a $260,000 annual salary, a monthly housing stipend, moving expenses, and a car allowance.
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10 MOST SUSTAINABLE SMALL TOWNS IN THE U.S. — AND WHY THEY’RE WORTH THE TRIP
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Some of the most rewarding trips in the United States are happening in small towns that have made sustainability part of everyday life, according to a BBC Travel feature. Across the country, these communities support local food systems, reduce waste, rely on renewable energy, and encourage slower, more mindful travel. Visiting these towns offers travelers a relaxed pace while helping sustain ways of life rooted in care for the land and the people who live there.
- San Luis Obispo, California — The town operates one of the first municipal high‑heat, dry anaerobic digestion facilities in the US, turning organic waste into renewable power, and is home to a long‑running downtown farmers’ market and a regional center for sustainable winemaking.
- Missoula, Montana — A river town surrounded by mountains, Missoula has created a network of clean‑air spaces in public buildings through Climate Ready Missoula to provide respite during wildfire smoke events.
- Flagstaff, Arizona — The city hosts Fix‑It Clinics where residents repair household items to keep them out of landfills and was named the world’s first International Dark Sky City in 2001.
- Hanover, New Hampshire — Home to Dartmouth College, Hanover has committed to transitioning toward 100 percent renewable electricity and features a compact, walkable downtown and a river trail along the Connecticut River.
- Ithaca, New York — One of the first U.S. municipalities to adopt a Green New Deal, Ithaca aims for carbon neutrality by 2030 and is known for its farmers’ market and access to nearby waterfalls and gorges.
- Lander, Wyoming — Outdoor recreation groups in Lander work directly with the U.S. Forest Service to repair trails, protect sensitive habitats, and maintain footpaths on public lands.
- Vail, Colorado — Certified under the Mountain IDEAL standard, Vail tracks and audits its sustainability efforts and operates a free, town‑wide bus system to reduce car use.
- Silver City, New Mexico — With more than 300 days of sunshine each year, Silver City increasingly relies on solar energy and serves as a base for visiting the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.
- Arcata, California — The town’s 225‑acre Arcata Marsh uses wetlands to treat wastewater while creating habitat for birds and wildlife, alongside a walkable town center.
- Moab, Utah — Through its “Do It Like a Local” initiative, Moab encourages visitors to stay on trails, pack out waste, and support certified sustainable businesses to protect fragile desert soil.
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MARKET UPDATE - 01/16/2026 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 01/15/2026)
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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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