|
Colorado - Mon. 08/03/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
|
|
View in Browser
|
|
|
| |
INTERIOR DEPT. RELEASES 10-YEAR PLAN FOR COLORADO RIVER
|
| |
|
|
| |
After the states of the Colorado River Compact could not reach agreement on management guidelines for the Colorado River, officials of the Dept. of Interior Friday released a 10-year plan to manage the river. The plan does not prescribe specific management rules. Instead, it sets parameters for specific operation plans that will be re-negotiated every two years and those parameters include unprecedented water supply cuts to the three lower basin states. The two-year plans determine how much water will be released from Lake Powell and Lake Mead, as well as how large water cuts will be to users downstream of those reservoirs. Since Colorado is upstream from the reservoirs, it will not be directly impacted by the reservoir release decisions included in the two-year plans. Lower Basin states could be called on to cut their use by as much as 3 million acre-feet under the two-year operating plans.
The basin as a whole used about 13.1 million acre-feet each year between 2020 and 2024, according to the Bureau of Reclamation release. The Lower Basin’s portion of that total was about 6.5 million acre-feet per year. Arizona is expected to be hit hardest by the cuts outlined in the federal environmental impact statement. The document does not outline mandatory cuts to the Upper Basin states — Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico — but does contemplate voluntary water conservation goals. Already, officials in Arizona and Nevada have said the proposed cuts are "unacceptable" and "unrealistic”, and it seems the negotiations will continue.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
NO EASING IN DROUGHT IN COLORADO: FARMERS, FISHING, EVEN UTILITIES AFFECTED
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
The U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday, July 30, showed very little change from the week before for Colorado, with still nearly half the state in extreme or exceptional drought, which are the two most severe categories used by the agency. The state is experiencing monsoons, but those provide temporary relief but have no impact on reservoirs or water storage. Farmers, faced with reduced irrigation allotments, did not plant thousands of acres across the state or plant crops requiring less water. Low levels in reservoirs have forced ‘no boating’ rules to be implemented at several reservoirs on both the East and West Slope. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also has closed boat ramps at five state parks, where waters are too low for large boats. For the first time in 40 years, the turbines of Aspen’s hydropower plant on Ruedi Reservoir will soon stop spinning because the reservoir’s levels will fall too low.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
FLOYD HILL PROJECT ON I-70 REACHES HALFWAY MARK: TARGET 2029 COMPLETION
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Colorado Dept. of Transportation crews held an unusual celebration last week by noting that the multi-year, $900 million Interstate 70 Floyd Hill Project is half done. The project is designed to realign and improve an eight-mile stretch of I-70 from Evergreen to Idaho Springs. For motorists it is a celebration as now there will no longer be regular 20-minute traffic holds. The project is on track for its scheduled 2029 completion. During the first three years, CDOT crews have had 211 controlled blasts and removed more than 765,000 tons of rock and material. CDOT says the new westbound lanes will be in their new "alignment" by the end of next year, and eastbound lanes will be finished by the end of 2028.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
LEADVILLE GETTING BACK TO ITS NORMAL SUMMER WITH BOOM DAYS COMING
|
| |
|
|
| |
Summer is the “boom” season in Leadville, as the winters are long and hard and summer brings visitors, business and the economic boom. The town’s celebration “Boom Days” is coming this weekend, Aug. 7-9. Businesses and residents are hoping for visitors to come this weekend and help restore what has been a severe slowdown due to the Willow Fire, which ignited June 28. The summer was off to a strong start before the fire hit, but there was a big downturn in July. Not a single structure was lost in the Willow Fire, not even a single picnic table at the Leadville National Fish Hatchery, where the fire came closest. The acreage of the fire has not increased since July 22, which is a promising sign.
The fire “struck at the worst possible time for our economy,” said Adam Ducharme, the tourism and economic development director for Lake County. “The impact has been huge,” Leadville Mayor Dana Greene said. “We lost the heart of July,” said Bob Mathes, owner of the Twin Lakes General Store. “July is always our biggest month.” At the Silver Dollar Saloon in Leadville, manager Joann Kleber said business was down about 48 percent compared to last July. The fire closed off huge summer draws, including the Mount Massive Wilderness Area, the Turquoise Lake Campground and portions of the Continental Divide Trail. For a complete schedule of activities for Leadville Boom Days 2026, go to leadvilleboomdays.org.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
ASHES TO ASPHALT DOCUMENTARY, CDOT’s GLENWOOD CANYON RECOVERY
|
| |
|
|
| |
It was Colorado Day, Aug. 1, 2021, that Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon was buried by a massive debris flow, which resulted from heavy rains over the fire-charred and scarred landscape in the canyon following the Grizzly Creek Fire in 2020. To commemorate the five-year anniversary of the highway closing, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation released a six-part mini-documentary series titled “From Ashes to Asphalt: The Glenwood Canyon Recovery.” The series provides a behind-the-scenes look at the resilience of Colorado’s infrastructure and the round-the-clock efforts of maintenance crews, engineers, geologists, heavy equipment operators and emergency responders.
Together, these crews worked tirelessly to battle the Grizzly Creek Fire in 2020 and establish safety protocols in 2021, ultimately restoring the interstate after it was severed by thousands of tons of rock and mud, according to CDOT. All six episodes of “From Ashes to Asphalt: The Glenwood Canyon Recovery” are available to stream on CDOT’s official YouTube channel and online at codot.gov. CDOT will also feature short-form highlights and interactive before-and-after imagery across its social media channels throughout the anniversary week.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
ASPEN AIRPORT CLOSED NEXT SUMMER, MORE TRAFFIC TO EGE, TRAFFIC STOPS ON I-70
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Aspen/Pitkin County Airport will close completely from Sunday, April 4, 2027, at 11 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 19, 2027, at 7 p.m. To accommodate travelers who normally fly out of Aspen, the Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) is going to increase from its usual six daily flights in the summer to as many as 16 daily flights. The 16 daily flights during the Aspen closure will include nine daily flights on United Airlines to Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles and seven daily flights on American Airlines to Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles. Groups in Aspen and Eagle County are also looking to ramp up ground transportation and deal with expected activity/traffic flow.
Another factor affecting the closure is that from May through October 2027, CDOT will undertake a project to complete “critical repairs” to the roadway, bridge, structural rail and tunnel between No Name and Hanging Lake. That stretch of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon will operate in a “head-to-head” traffic pattern. That means eastbound and westbound traffic will both travel on single lanes on the westbound side while crews work on the opposite side. CDOT anticipates shifting traffic on Fridays through Sundays back to one lane in each direction on their respective alignments, with no active work or traffic stops over the weekend to provide safe emergency pull-offs and reduce queueing.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
REMEMBERING THE BIG THOMPSON FLOOD 50 YEARS AGO
|
| |
|
|
| |
Communities across Larimer County held ceremonies Friday commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Big Thompson flood. The flood, which struck the night of July 31, 1976, remains the deadliest natural disaster in modern Colorado history. A storm dropped nearly a foot of rain into parts of the canyon in just a few hours, sending floodwater rushing through the narrow canyon with little warning. In roughly five hours, from 6 to 11 p.m., thunderstorms near Estes Park unleashed 12-14 inches of rain over the region, sending a torrent of water into Big Thompson Canyon. The wall of water reached 30 feet, destroying more than 400 houses and killing 144 people.
One of the reasons the Big Thompson flood was so deadly was due to the number of people in the canyon during the flood. At least 600 people lived in the canyon full time at the time of the flood. Thousands more were staying in the canyon’s campgrounds, cabins and motels to celebrate the state’s centennial. Larimer County officials estimate that between 2,500 and 3,500 people were in the canyon when the disaster struck. Compounding the problem, there was very limited and elementary forecasting available then as well as virtually no system of alerts. By the time the National Weather Service issued its first flood warning at 11 p.m., river levels had already crested.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
COLORADO HAS 3 UNIVERSITIES IN U.S. NEWS RANKING OF WORLD’S TOP 400
|
| |
|
|
| |
The University of Colorado-Boulder and Colorado State University were both ranked in the U.S. News & World Report’s ratings of the top global universities and colleges. The global rankings use different criteria than the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of universities across the U.S., putting different emphasis on factors such as international reputations and academic research performance. Here is how Colorado universities ranked relative to each other, with global rankings in parentheses:
- University of Colorado-Boulder (No. 105)
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (No. 193)
- Colorado State University (No. 347)
- University of Colorado-Denver (No. 447)
- Colorado School of Mines (No. 770)
- University of Denver (No. 1105)
- University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (No. 2019)
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
CU IN TOP 200 IN THE WORLD RANKING OF UNIVERSITIES IN MANY DISCIPLINES
|
| |
|
|
| |
The University of Colorado-Boulder was in the top 200 of the rankings from the U.S. News & World Report’s list of the top global universities and colleges in these areas of study:
- No. 4 in meteorology and atmospheric sciences
- No. 7 in geosciences
- No. 35 in space science
- No. 42 in physics
- No. 59 in environment/ecology
- No. 63 in education and educational research
- No. 69 in ecology
- No. 75 in optics
- No. 123 in energy and fuels
- No. 131 in psychiatry/psychology (tie)
- No. 132 in arts and humanities No. 133 in water resources (tie)
- No. 159 in materials science
- No. 163 in chemistry
- No. 172 in social sciences and public health (tie)
- No. 178 in condensed matter physics (tie)
- No. 189 in engineering
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
MARKET UPDATE - 07/31/2026 Close
|
| |
|
(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
|
| |
|
Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 07/30/2026)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
|
| |
|
| |
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.
|
| |
|
|
| |
| Make changes to your subscription or unsubscribe here. |
| © 2026 Alpine Bank. |
| |
|
|
