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Colorado - Wed. 06/24/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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RANKS OF THE ULTRAWEALTHY JUMPED IN 2025
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The ranks of the ultrawealthy hit a high in 2025 as the AI trade lifted global markets, according to a new report by wealth-intelligence firm Altrata. The number of ultrawealthy individuals, those having a net worth of more than $30 million, jumped by 14.4 percent last year to 556,850 people worldwide by the end of 2025. That’s the fastest pace of growth since 2017. Lower inflation, resilient corporate earnings and enthusiasm for AI investment also bolstered the number of ultrawealthy individuals and the value of their holdings in 2025. One of the fastest-growing subgroups of the ultrawealthy in recent years has been centi-millionaires, or those worth more than $100 million, mainly from founding or investing in rapidly growing technology companies. That echoes findings from other research showing that the world is getting wealthier, but with riches disproportionately accruing to the wealthiest.
One such study, the World Inequality Report 2026, found that the wealth of the richest billionaires from 1995 to 2025 had grown at about 8.5 percent a year compared with about 3.4 percent a year for the bottom half of the global population. The researchers said that by their count, around 60,000 people, the top 0.001 percent wealthiest in the world, each worth at least $254 million. The U.S. remained home to more of the ultrawealthy than the rest of the top 10 countries combined, with 37 percent of the population. China and Germany came in second and third, respectively, with about 10 percent and 5 percent. The New York metropolitan area continued to have the largest number of ultrawealthy residents, followed by the metropolitan areas of Hong Kong, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
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PIONEERING COLORADO BREWPUB CLOSES AFTER 35 YEARS
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One of Denver’s first microbreweries, and the namesake behind what became a multi-state chain of well-recognized brewpubs, has closed after 35 years on the Sixteenth Street mall. Located on the first floor of what was once the Prudential financial services building, Rock Bottom was founded in 1991 by Boulder restaurateur Frank Day, who had opened the Walnut Brewery in his hometown a few years earlier. He named it Rock Bottom as a cheeky reference to Prudential’s famous tagline, “Get a piece of the rock.” On Monday, a sign on the door read: “Unfortunately, we have permanently closed. Thank you for allowing us to serve the Downtown Denver community.” Rock Bottom grew to become a formidable institution in itself, catering to office workers and nighttime crowds who could watch their beers being made while they dined – a novel concept at the time, when only a few other breweries dotted Denver.
Over the years, Day, who died last year at the age of 93, expanded, opening Rock Bottom locations throughout Colorado and the rest of the country. In 2010, he sold the company alongside the equally famous Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom chain (which he’d also founded), as well as other restaurants, to a Tennessee private equity firm called Centerbridge Capital Partners. The company was sold two more times over the next dozen years and is now owned by another private equity group called Kelly Operations. Rock Bottom closed its Colorado Springs location in April, and now has just five locations, according to its website, three in Colorado, one in Illinois, and one in Boston.
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PITKIN COUNTY TO ENTER STAGE 2 FIRE RESTRICTIONS ON FRIDAY
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Pitkin County will enter Stage 2 Fire Restrictions at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, June 26. This follows Pitkin County’s move into Stage 1 on June 10. According to Pitkin County Emergency Manager Chris Breitbach, “the eight to 14 day outlook looks … not real promising.” The process of implementing Stage 2 requires at least three of the following elements to be present: an Energy Release Component (or ERC, meaning the nationally recognized index to predict how dry vegetation is) of 97 percent or higher forecasted for the next five to seven days; a high, human-caused risk that is experienced or anticipated; live fuel moistures anticipated to exceed thresholds for ignitions with high resistance to control; and no significant relief in fire weather forecast over the next seven days.
At lower elevations, fire danger ratings are forecasting ERCs in an excess of 90 percent for the next seven days. At middle and high elevations, “the ERCS are at 100 percent almost every day for the next seven days,” he said. Pitkin County remains in exceptional (D4) drought, with five fires started within the region in the last seven days, four of which have been determined to be human-caused. Stage 2 adds restrictions that prohibit fires, fireworks, smoking, off-road driving (meaning leaving a road to drive through dry grass), spark-producing devices and welding and torch use. Using gas fireplaces is still allowed. Additional information and details of stage restrictions can be found through pitkinemergency.com.
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SNOWMASS RENDEZVOUS TO CELEBRATE 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
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The 10th annual Snowmass Rendezvous, an event featuring a variety of craft adult beverages and other activities, takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, at Snowmass Base Village. The event, which is open to the public, will host 20 beverage vendors spanning beer, cocktails, wine and more. There will also be an array of vendors featuring snacks and games. This year’s new vendors include Strange Craft Beer, Casa Lotos, Prost Brewing, Aspen Soap Company and Après Cookies. There will also be live music.
“Snowmass Rendezvous is perfect for families and those who may be sober-curious because while you need a wristband to taste, the event is still open to the public,” said Snowmass Tourism Public Relations Manager Sara Stookey Sanchez. “Anyone can come and listen to the DJ, shop, sit under the shade and hang out.” She added, “This is a great event for families because it means that while mom and dad can imbibe, kids can still run around and have a good time, all while feeling part of the event.” Tickets for beverage tastings are $49. To purchase tickets, visit snowmassrendezvous.com.
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DRY CREEK FIRE GROWS TO 288 ACRES SOUTH OF RIFLE
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As of 5:15 p.m. on June 23, the Dry Creek Fire south of Rifle on Gage Road was estimated at 288 acres. Evacuations were in progress for Gage Road and part of the Grass Mesa area. No structures had been destroyed. Responding agencies include Colorado River Fire Rescue, Grand Valley Fire Protection District, Glenwood Springs Fire Dept., the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. Two airplanes, two helicopters and an air attack aircraft are supporting crews. Additional aircraft and ground resources, including large air tankers, single-engine air tankers and hand crews have been requested.
The fire has jumped County Road 319, according to a Watch Duty update. A pre-evacuation notice has been issued for Grass Mesa south of Rodeo Drive and Coyote Trail. Evacuated residents can go to the Garfield County Fairgrounds, 1001 Railroad Ave. in Rifle. The fire was initially reported as a structure fire and wildfire near Gage Road. There is a home in the area, but it is not immediately clear whether the fire started in the structure or in nearby brush. Emergency officials are asking people to avoid the area and give responders room to work. Drivers traveling nearby should use caution and watch for emergency vehicles.
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EMERSON SKATE PARK PROJECT RECOGNIZED WITH STATEWIDE AWARD FROM COLORADO LOTTERY
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The City of Grand Junction received statewide recognition on Sunday from the Colorado Lottery for its work in revitalizing Emerson Park with a new skate park that opened in late 2024. The Colorado Lottery presented the city with its Starburst Award, which selects community projects that use lottery funding for recognition. The award is chosen based on several criteria, including creativity and innovation in addressing local challenges, collaboration and community support, and measurable social, environmental, and economic benefits to the community and the state. The city used $371,000 in funding from the state lottery on the nearly $3 million project. The Colorado Lottery selected Emerson Park for the award based on a number of factors, including improving a park close to the downtown core, as well as utilizing its existing tree canopy. The renovation included the construction of a large new skate park - the first skate park built in the city in more than 20 years.
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FEEL LIKE FROLICKING? TRY THE CRESTED BUTTE WILDFLOWER FESTIVAL
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Crested Butte comes alive with color each summer, as wildflowers of all kinds bloom throughout the town and surrounding landscape. It’s the self-proclaimed (but hardly disputed) “Wildflower Capital” of the state, and the flora is a sight to behold that even the best photos may not do justice. The annual Crested Butte Wildflower Festival gives guests an opportunity to truly experience the scenery, with immersive events that cater to the senses. From guided hikes to medicinal lessons and creative classes, there are dozens to choose from. This year’s festival runs from July 10-19, and some tours are already full or running out of space. Guests sign up for each event individually and can quickly figure out what’s open through the “Events with Space” portal under the festival’s “Program Guide” page. There are still unique wildflower adventures to be had. For more information, visit online at crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.org.
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TALL TIMBER PROPERTY IN SAN JUAN NATIONAL FOREST LISTED FOR $25 MILLION
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Tall Timber, an eclectic compound nestled in the San Juan National Forest that acts as the site for Soaring Tree Top Adventures, is up for sale after generations of ownership by the Beggrow family. The compound, which has no public road access and is accessible only via helicopter or private rail car, features 39 bedrooms, 40 bathrooms, 13 half-baths, a pool and hot tub, an old-timey soda and ice cream shop, a vintage-style barber’s shop, and one of the longest zipline courses in the country. The lucky new owner will also be given use of a nearby 10,000 square foot private hangar with an attached one-bedroom, 2½-bathroom apartment.
The 12,000 square foot, $25 million property, located at 475 milepost on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge line, south of Purgatory Resort, got its start as a five-star luxury vacation spot. The concept was dreamed up by Denny Beggrow, who purchased land in the area in 1969 at only 19 years old. He opened the Tall Timber Resort in 1972, which operated for about 40 years as a posh destination experience for travelers. The zipline course was added in 2004 under the leadership of Denny’s son, Johnroy, and resort operations were phased out by 2008. The course has operated commercially from mid-May to mid-October through Soaring Treetop Adventures since the summer of 2004, making Soaring the first zipline course in the U.S. Zipliners access the property by way of the D&SNG train.
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VAIL MOUNTAIN SCHOOL NAMED '2025 VOLUNTEER GROUP OF THE YEAR'
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Eagle Valley Community Foundation, an Eagle County nonprofit, recognized Vail Mountain School as its 2025 Volunteer Group of the Year. The award recognized the school’s outstanding commitment to service, experiential learning and the meaningful connections it built across the community. Vail Mountain School, an independent K-12 school in Eagle County, was formally recognized for this accolade on May 14 at the school’s town hall. The school’s Spanish program, led by educator Angela Alonso, was highlighted for its work to provide students the ability to apply their language skills in real-world settings — volunteering to support food access with The Community Market and assisting Spanish-speaking community members at MIRA Health Fairs with registration, directions and access to critical health services.
The school’s work providing for its Eagle County community also goes beyond the classroom. Vail Mountain School has an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service where students, faculty and families come together to provide support to The Community Market and other local initiatives. The school also regularly donates excess meals to the market in an effort to provide meals to local families in need and in an effort to reduce food waste, partnering with the Eagle Valley Community Foundation’s REcover Program. Parents of the young students have also played a role in community efforts with their own parent group.
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ROUTT COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY TO HOST KITTEN ADOPTION ON SATURDAY
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The Routt County Humane Society is hosting a Kitten Adoption Event & Shower this Saturday, June 27 from noon to 2 p.m. at Faherty (902 Lincoln Ave.) in Steamboat Springs. Meet kittens available for adoption, learn about fostering and enjoy refreshments, free face painting and kitten ears for all ages. Guests who make a purchase at the shower will also be entered to win a Doug Good feather Adirondack blanket. Those planning to adopt are asked to bring a secure cat carrier. The event supports three goals: finding homes for adoptable kittens; gathering supplies needed by the nonprofit during kitten season; and recruiting neonatal foster volunteers. Attendees are encouraged to bring an item from the humane society’s Amazon wish list at tinyurl.com/45yj5svb to support pregnant cats, nursing moms and newborn kittens. Ten percent of all Faherty sales at the event will benefit the humane society, and the event is free and open to the public.
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'SURVIVING & THRIVING AT ALTITUDE' - SUMMIT DOC PUBLISHES BOOK ON HIGH ELEVATION HEALTH
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Physician Christine Ebert-Santos, whose family-practice clinic sits over 9,000 feet above sea level, is no stranger to treating patients reacting poorly to elevation. She says her patients aren’t all visitors from sea level or the front range experiencing high elevation for the first time. In her practice, Ebert-Santos treats numerous Summit County natives and longtime residents experiencing an illness called high altitude pulmonary edema. “Everyone thinks, ‘Oh, I live at altitude, I’m not at risk for altitude illness, I’m adjusted or acclimatized.’ That’s what healthcare providers think too, but that is not true,” she said. “People who live at altitude are susceptible to certain effects of altitude, and they do get these diseases like high altitude pulmonary edema.”
The potentially fatal sickness occurs when fluid collects in a person’s lungs, causing symptoms like a worsening cough, fatigue or difficulty breathing. This happens in high elevation places like Summit County because it is a hypoxic environment, or an environment with a low supply of oxygen. This time of year, as high elevation dwellers make summer travel plans, Ebert-Santos says that people traveling to lower destinations should be aware of the health risks caused by coming home, especially if they are exposed to viruses. Earlier this year, she published “Surviving and Thriving at Altitude” — a book compiling her years of personal experience with the phenomenon and her research about the effects of altitude on a patient’s health. “Surviving and Thriving at Altitude” can be found on sale at Amazon and at Next Page Books & Nosh in Frisco, along with other retailers.
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WHAT'S THE STATUS OF MASSIVE DATA CENTERS IN COLORADO?
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Amid the exponential growth of AI demand, data center buildouts in the West are like a balloon: Try to hold it back in one place, and it just bulges out in another. Local governments in Colorado are moving quickly to slap moratoriums on new data center development in reaction to a public backlash against rising electricity prices, heavy pollution and lucrative tax breaks. Denver, Jefferson County and Longmont have all moved in recent weeks to limit data centers, which house servers for mass computation that demand enormous amounts of electricity and cooling water.
Are any data centers being built or proposed to start in Colorado?
- CoreSite is building a three-phase data center in the Globeville-Elyria-Swansea neighborhood of north Denver, opposition to which helped prompt the city’s moratorium on approving new centers. When fully built, the center would draw 65 to 75 megawatts of electricity, which is the primary way communities are measuring the impact of new centers. Unlike some of the hyperscale centers planning their own power sources, CoreSite would be drawing from the Xcel grid. CoreSite has said the first phase completed this month will use about 18 MW of power.
- Colorado Springs appears ready to allow a California real estate company to create a new data center near Garden of the Gods, called Project Taurus.
- Colorado currently has about 60 small- to medium data centers, most of them built on speculation by developers who then lease the server time to various companies, said Howard Geller, founder of the nonprofit Southwest Energy Efficiency Project and an analyst and negotiator on proposed data center legislation. More than 30 other states offer tax breaks and other incentives that Colorado currently lacks, Geller said, and developers of the largest centers tend to go where the subsidies are.
What are local governments doing in Colorado?
- The Denver City Council in May voted for a one-year moratorium on new data center approvals.
- Jefferson County’s commissioners also voted in May to stop any new zoning or development approvals for data centers not already underway.
- Earlier in June, Longmont capped any new data center proposals at 100 MW of power use, to ward off potential development of the “hyperscale” projects launched in other states.
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COLORADO BETTING: SPORT BY SPORT
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What sport does Colorado bet on the most? Pro basketball takes in the biggest haul of sports betting money. The Denver Post offers an interactive dashboard to explore the data, at the link below.
Sport-by-Sport Ledger, ranked by total wagers in selected period:
- Basketball, $7.28 billion
- Parlays/Combinations: $6.55 billion
- Football: $4.51 billion
- Baseball: $3.06 billion
- Tennis: $1.57 billion
- NCAA Basketball: $1.49 billion
- Other: $1.33 billion
- Soccer: $1.26 billion
- NCAA Football: $1.03 billion
- Table Tennis: $989.2 million
- Hockey: $958.8 million
- Golf: $323.0 million
- MMA: $236.1 million
- Boxing: $23.9 million
- Motorsports: $14.1 million
- Summer Athletics: $13.2 million
- eSports: $9.5 million
- Cricket: $3.0 million
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MARKET UPDATE - 06/23/2026 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 06/18/2026)
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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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