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Colorado - Mon. 03/30/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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DENVER SUMMIT FC OPENER SETS ALL-TIME ATTENDANCE RECORD FOR WOMEN’S SPORTS
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Denver made American sports history on Saturday, with the home opener of Denver Summit FC, the new entry into the National Women’s Soccer League, drawing 63,004 spectators at Empower Field, a U.S. attendance record for a women’s professional sporting event. The inaugural match versus the Washington Spirit topped the previous record set last year of 40,091 fans for the match between the Spirit and Bay FC at Oracle Park in San Francisco. It’s also the largest crowd for a soccer match in Empower Field history. The capacity of the Broncos’ stadium, which has hosted Rapids games (and will do so again on April 18) as well as international matches, is 76,125.
The overall American record for attendance at a women’s sporting event belongs to Nebraska volleyball, which had 92,003 fans come to a doubleheader in August 2023 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The world record for attendance at a women’s pro sports event is 91,648, set when the Barcelona women’s team hosted Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League semifinal in 2022. Unfortunately, there wasn't even a goal scored and the teams played to a 0-0 draw.
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EXPECT OVERNIGHT CLOSURES ON I-70 AT FLOYD HILL
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After more than a year of work on the $900 million Interstate 70 Floyd Hill Project, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation said the project is entering “a major phase of construction.” The new phase will require intermittent overnight closures. The next step in the project, which covers about 8 miles of I-70 on the stretch between Evergreen and Idaho Springs, involves building a new westbound I-70 alignment along the hillside south of Clear Creek. The realignment will reduce the steep grade and sharp curves that drivers currently experience on I-70 at Floyd Hill.
Construction of a cast-in-place segmental bridge, which will carry the new westbound I-70 alignment, will also begin this spring and continue through mid-2027. This bridge will be built piece by piece above live traffic with crews on movable platforms pouring 15-foot concrete sections that will extend from each bridge pier column like a “T” until the full span of the bridge connects. To build a temporary framework system to support the bridge, crews will require two overnight full closures of eastbound I-70 between Exits 244 and 248 from 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. each night from Tuesday, March 31 to Thursday, April 2. A detour on U.S. Hwy. 40 will be in place during those times.
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CDOT WILL USE SNOWPLOW SURPLUS MONEYS FOR ROADSIDE WILDFIRE MITIGATION
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At a work session of the Colorado Transportation Commission in March, Bob Fifer, Deputy Director of Operations for the Colorado Dept. of Transportation, said CDOT would use the unused $12 million in snowplowing funds for use in roadside wildfire mitigation efforts this spring and summer. There are 9,000 miles of road in the state and to prioritize use of the funds, CDOT will utilize a Colorado State Forest Service Wildfire Risk Map to target areas that have the highest probability of burning. After the priorities are established, CDOT crews will remove diseased trees and trees that are 50 percent dead or more, especially within the first 15 feet of the right-of-way.
Fifer said most of the wood will be chipped and slashed, then left on site to decompose, while larger blocks and diseased trees will be removed. Ladder fuels, like lower branches, which could carry a fire up into the crown of the forest, will also be removed from trees within the right-of-way, Fifer said. He said stumps will be cut to about 4 inches off the ground.
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PRESIDENT TRUMP ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER TO PAY TSA AGENTS
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President Donald Trump Friday directed the Homeland Security secretary and the White House budget director to use federal funds that have a “reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations” to pay the TSA workers. In the memo to the federal officials, the president stated the situation at U.S. airports is an "unprecedented emergency." TSA officers who failed to receive their second paycheck on Friday after funding lapsed in February, could receive paychecks as early as Monday, March 30. The presidential action came following after the House leadership rejected a Senate-passed bill that would have funded most of DHS and both the House and Senate adjourned for a two-week spring break/recess.
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S&P 550 DOWN FOR 5TH CONSECUTIVE WEEK, DOW & NASDAQ IN CORRECTION TERRITORY
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Wall Street investors showed concern over the continuation of the war with Iran and Friday all three major indexes were down more than 1.6 percent. The S&P 500 ended the week down for the fifth consecutive week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite were down 10 percent from their recent high points, meaning they closed in correction territory. The leading cause of concern was the price of crude oil, with Brent crude on Friday closing at $112.57 a barrel, a sign that oil traders are increasingly bracing for more turbulence ahead.
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MORE EARLY CLOSURES: ASPEN HIGHLANDS, BEAVER CREEK & MAYBE LAST RIDES ON 1A
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Last week, Aspen One announced that Aspen Highlands was closing for the season Sunday, March 29. The scheduled closing date for Aspen Highlands had been April 12. Vail Resorts made the same decision last week for Beaver Creek. Beaver Creek also closed for the season March 12, two weeks ahead of its scheduled closing April 12. On Saturday, Aspen Snowmass announced that it was wrapping up operations on the Lift 1A side of Aspen Mountain over the weekend and that Lift 1A was closing at the end of the day, March 29. That may be the last day for the 1A lift as the new Aspen Mountain base area project, approved by voters in 2019, will include a Lift 1A replacement. Aspen Mountain officially opened Jan. 11, 1947, with the debut of Lift 1, which, according to the Aspen Snowmass website, was “the world’s longest chairlift at the time.” Lift 1 was eventually replaced by Lift 1A during the 1971-72 season, which has remained a cornerstone of the west side of Ajax since then.
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NEW MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR NAVAJO LAKE HAS 9 DESIGNATED CAMP SITES
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Officials of the U.S. Forest Service have been monitoring use and impacts to Navajo Lake, located within the 41,000-acre Lizard Head Wilderness, which spans the San Juan Mountains within the Uncompahgre and San Juan national forests. Navajo Lake is surrounded by three fourteen-thousand-foot peaks, Wilson Peak, Mount Wilson and El Diente Peak, and is the only alpine lake in the wilderness. Until now, dispersed camping was allowed in "previously disturbed" areas with a system of identified specific sites. Now, officials of the San Juan National Forest will implement a new management plan with camping limited to nine designated sites. There will be no reservation system, camping will be on a "first come-first served" basis. Existing unofficial campsites will be closed and allowed to naturally recover over time. More heavily used sites will be covered with natural materials to discourage use.
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WESTERN SLOPE WATER WOES CONTINUE, MANY FARMS WILL NOT PLANT
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Another water district/water user association faces the results of very low snowpack this winter and the prospects of low runoff. The Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association will only deliver shareholders 50 percent of their normal allocation at the beginning of the irrigation season, which is April 1, and if the water forecasts/models are correct, that will be cut to 40 percent. UVWUA Manager Steve Pope was very clear how serious the situation is, saying, “This is the worst year on record so far for snowpack. There is no good news." Pope said the Colorado River Basin Forecast Center is projecting a 50 percent chance of the local watershed seeing about 53,000-acre feet of runoff. The 53,000-acre feet of runoff the area is starting April with is less than what it finished with last July, and that’s if the forecast holds true.
Pope is asking residential property owners that use UVWUA shares "...to either conserve, curtail as best we can. I don’t know if we can stress how important it is that these production agricultural growers, they're going to need every drop of water we can get.” The UVWUA estimates a significant amount of farmground will be fallowed this year due to low water supply. In Pope’s words, “There’s no positive twist on this one. Hope for rain, hope for the monsoons, but we can’t plan on that. We have to live with the data and work with the water we have at our disposal.”
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TOWN OF AVON BRINGS BACK FREE PARKING FOR THE SUMMER
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Since 2023, the town of Avon, as well as Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate, which purchased much of downtown Avon in 2013, have charged for parking year-round. The Avon Town Council last week decided to bring back free parking in almost all of its bays and lots beginning April 1. The town will free up parking at its lots and bays on Lake Street, Benchmark Road, West Beaver Creek Blvd., and a small portion of East Benchmark Road. The free parking in town-owned spots will last through Nov. 30, and parkers will not be required to register their cars. Parking management will remain in place at Avon Town Hall and the Avon Recreation Center, meaning patrons of those locations must register their vehicles upon entering and will still be asked to pay $1 per hour to park for more than three hours between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Parking overnight will still not be allowed anywhere on town property in the summer. The town's decision follows an announcement by Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate on March 6 that it would shift to free parking during the non-ski season and reduce the penalty for failing to register to park in its lots and parking for more than three hours from $87 to $30. Hoffmann's change will go into effect April 1.
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THE “OLD DI” IS BACK, NOW IT IS JUST INSIDE THE BLUEBIRD MARKET
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The Old Dillon Inn has been a mainstay restaurant and bar since it first opened in the late-1800s. The Old Dillon Inn isn’t in Dillon; it is in Silverthorne. It was built when the town of Dillon was located where Lake Dillon is now and when the reservoir was created, it was relocated with dozens of other town buildings around the 1960s to its current spot in Silverthorne. Now, it has basically been surrounded by the Bluebird Market, and it reopened in January under new owners Joyce de la Torre and her husband, Michal Ulehla. It retains the original bar, which allegedly dates back to the 1870s and was transported to Summit County by train, along with century-old oak floors, a row of barstools and a long mahogany counter worn smooth with use. Yes, there is also a bullet hole above the bar of unknown origin but the source of many stories. As owner de la Torre welcomes patrons, “Are you ready to step back in time?”
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TOPS THE LIST FOR PAMPERING PETS
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Pets in Colorado are the most pampered in the country, according to a new study by TrustedHousesitters, based on factors such as the amount of money pet owners spent taking care of/treating their animals, access to pet services, online searches for luxury pet experiences and, yes, even whether they give pets regal-sounding names. Colorado pet owners spend $1,556 annually per household on their pets.
All of the top five states pampering their pets the most are in the West:
- Colorado
- Montana
- Oregon
- Washington
- Arizona
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COLORADO RANKS HIGHLY IN MORE OF USATODAY’S 10BEST
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USA Today released many of its “10Best” rankings for 2026 in March.
Among those were the Best Dude Ranch (2026):
- Alisal Ranch, Solvang, California
- White Stallion Ranch, Tucson, Arizona
- Vista Verde Ranch, Clark, Colorado
- Mayan Dude Ranch, Bandera, Texas
- Nine Quarter Circle Ranch, Gallatin Gateway, Montana
- Rancho de Los Caballeros, Wickenburg, Arizona
- C Lazy U Ranch, Granby, Colorado
- Flathead Lake Lodge, Bigfork, Montana
- Brush Creek Ranch, Saratoga, Wyoming
- Creek Lodge & Guest Ranch, Cody, Wyoming
Best Zoo (2026):
- Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, Nebraska
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Jacksonville, Florida
- Brevard Zoo, Melbourne, Florida
- Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis, Missouri
- San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas
- North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, North Carolina
- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Palm Desert, California
- Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, Kansas
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MARKET UPDATE - 03/27/2026 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 03/26/2026)
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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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