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Durango - Tue. 05/20/25 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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TODAY
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- CreativiTEA, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Sunnyside Library, Durango, swlplibrarydistrict.org, 970-375-3816
- Mental Health Awareness Walk, 4 p.m., Memorial Park, East Third Avenue and East 29th Street, Durango, tinyurl.com/mr47a2ky, 970-828-8808
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THREE COLORADO CITIES LAND ON LIST OF 100 BEST PLACES TO LIVE IN THE U.S.
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A new study names Loveland, Aurora and Colorado Springs to a list of the 100 best places to live in the U.S. The report from Livability, a website that highlights small-to-mid-sized cities, does not provide an outright ranking of the cities. It scores the communities in eight categories and then lets users create customized rankings by weighting the data based on what is important to them. The communities did have the best overall scores across the unweighted categories that included areas such as safety, affordability and amenities.
- Loveland’s public art programs, schools and hospitals were all highlighted by Livability. The city gets its highest marks for its education, economy and transportation.
- Aurora was lauded for its diversity, which the site says, “carries through to its exceptional food scene.” It scored high for the economy, health and amenities in the city.
- As the home of the Air Force Academy, multiple military installations and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, Colorado Springs gets high marks for transportation, housing and cost of living and education.
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30-PLUS BUILDINGS DESTROYED OR DAMAGED IN COLORADO BY MULTIPLE TORNADOES
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Heavy storms blew through parts of Colorado's Eastern Plains on Sunday, with tornadoes damaging multiple homes. The worst of the storms blew through the area between 1 and 2 p.m., with tornado damage reported in Adams, Arapahoe and Elbert counties. A 6 p.m. update from the Adams County Sheriff's Office indicated that 17 houses and other structures were lost or damaged during the storm in their area. Elizabeth Fire Rescue, which services parts of Elbert County, reported that 19 homes sustained minor to severe damage during the storm. At last report, a total of 36 homes or other structures in Colorado were impacted. No injuries were reported. Colorado gets about 53 tornadoes each year, and while most regions around the state are susceptible to this weather risk, 95 percent of these tornadoes tend to take place east of I-25.
- Those who encounter a tornado in Colorado while driving should attempt to drive away from the storm's path at a right angle opposed to attempting to outrun it.
- If driving away from the storm isn't an option, pulling the vehicle into a ditch is the recommended course of action, remaining buckled and hunkering down to be below the window.
- If protection inside of a vehicle in a low-lying ditch isn't an option, lying down in a low area while protecting the head is a last resort.
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SOME METRO HOMEBUYERS ARE TRADING A LONGER COMMUTE FOR AFFORDABILITY
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Last year, the average age of a first-time homebuyer in the U.S. was 38, compared to 35 in 2023, and 29 in 1981. First-time homebuyers last year represented a historic low of 24 percent or just under a quarter of the market, versus 44 percent in 1981. Last year, it was $1,300 a month cheaper to rent a home or apartment in metro Denver than it was to purchase a starter home.
Offering more compact homes with smaller floor plans on land that is further out are two ways to bring the purchase price of a new home below $400,000. Now, building components or entire floors of homes in factories and shipping them out to the construction site saves on costs and provides for better quality control. Builders also have an advantage in that they can more easily provide a buy-down or subsidy on the purchase mortgage rate, making monthly payments more manageable, which is especially important for first-time buyers. That has led to a surge in construction eastward on I-70, northeast on I-76 and northward on I-25.
Homes purchased last year in the U.S. last year averaged 36 years old, compared to an average age of 27 years old in 2012. In metro Denver, the average age of a home purchased last year was 32 years, and more than half of the homes purchased were over 30 years or older. Only 9 percent of current U.S. homes were built in the 2010s, which is the lowest share of any decade going back to the 1940s. The growing age gap is especially noticeable when it comes to condos. In 2012, the average age of a condo purchased in the U.S. was 26 years old, putting it in 1986 vintage. In 2024, the average age was 38 years old, still in the 1986 vintage.
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UNITED ADDS NEW CANADIAN ROUTE FROM DENVER AIRPORT
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United Airlines launched its new nonstop service between Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and Denver International Airport (DIA) last Thursday. Daily flights will use a 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ-200) and are scheduled to operate year-round. DIA now offers nonstop service to seven destinations across six provinces in Canada. In total, DIA's international network encompasses 35 nonstop destinations across 19 countries. The flight is one of several new Denver flights from United this summer, including nonstop service to Buffalo, Pensacola, Peoria, North Bend, Rome, and Farmington. United also said it is launching the first Denver nonstop service to Redding, California, and Wilmington, North Carolina. United Airlines said it will operate flights to 22 international destinations from Denver this summer, more than any airline in DIA history.
New United Airlines service to Denver:
- Rome, Italy (FCO) 787-9, 1x Daily, seasonal, May 1 to Sept. 24
- Buffalo, N.Y. (BUF) 737-800, 1x Daily, year-round beginning May 22
- Pensacola, Fla. (PNS) 737-800, 1x Daily, May 22 to August 18
- North Bend, Ore. (OTH) E175, 1x Daily, May 22 to October 25
- Peoria, Ill. (PIA) E17, 1x Daily, year-round beginning March 30
- Redding, Calif. (RDD) E175, 1x Daily, year-round beginning May 22
- Regina, SK (YQR) CRJ-200, 1x Daily, year-round beginning May 15
- Farmington, N.M. (FMN) CRJ-20, 1x Daily, year-round beginning May 8
- Wilmington, N.C. (ILM) E175, 1x Saturdays, May 24 to Aug. 16
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CDOT BRINGS IN EXTRA CREWS TO EXPEDITE INDEPENDENCE PASS OPENING
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Independence Pass, the stretch of Colorado Hwy. 82 crossing the 12,095-foot Continental Divide, usually opens for Memorial Day weekend, but the Colorado Dept. of Transportation will not confirm an official date until maintenance crews complete their final work. “The biggest driving factor to determine the opening day is when our maintenance teams have completed the necessary safety improvements and repairs on the roadways,” CDOT Northwest Communications Manager Chuck Marsh said. Extra crews are being brought in to help expedite the process. Projects to finish include repairing or replacing a significant amount of guardrail in strategic locations, fixing potholes, ensuring the integrity of the road shoulder, clearing out ditches and culverts of debris to enable proper water drainage, replacing any damaged signs and “paint striping.”
However, any opening dates CDOT provides are completely weather conditional. The snowpack on the Pass was significantly lower this year, with snow depth plummeting from 60 inches on March 19 to zero inches this past Thursday. That’s the earliest the site recorded zero inches of snow since 2018.
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MARCH RETAIL IN ASPEN DECLINES 5% COMPARED WITH 2024
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Sales in the historically busy month of March for Aspen lodges, retailers and restaurants slipped 5 percent from the same month in 2024. The city of Aspen’s Finance Department’s monthly tax report, issued Thursday, shows March alone produced $159.8 million in taxable sales in Aspen, down from $168.8 million in March 2024. The following data shows how Aspen’s business sectors that pay city sales taxes performed in March.
- Accommodations: $50.7 million down 4 percent from March 2024
- Automobile: $726,942, down 74 percent
- Construction: $13.3 million, up 72 percent from March 2025
- Fashion clothing: $20.7 million, up 15 percent
- Food and drug: $8 million, up 15 percent
- Jewelry/gallery: $5.8 million, down 73 percent
- Liquor/marijuana: $1.9 million, down 6 percent
- Miscellaneous: $11.2 million, down 4 percent
- Restaurants/bars: $32.5 million, up 15 percent
- Sports equipment/clothing: $10.4 million, down 13 percent
- Utilities: $4.6 million, down 12 percent
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OUTDOOR YOUTH FEST IN MONTROSE IS SATURDAY
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Bring on the Summer Outdoor Fest, a day of outdoor games, art and music, will take place on Saturday, May 24, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at River Bottom Park in Montrose. This free festival offers kids and families a preview of the sports, camps, and activities available throughout the summer. Featured events include a skateboard competition, cornhole tournament, and Gellyball. Kids will enjoy a variety of activities like a bubble station, dinosaur fossil dig, wild bird games, art projects, nature activities, disc golf and more. Joshua Bishop of La Familia Music Group will be the DJ and Angel D (El Maza) will MC, while local food vendors serve up delicious treats. For those 21 and older, a beer garden will be available. Any funds raised beyond event costs will support FOYAN’s mission of getting more kids outside to boost mental health, resilience and outdoor education. Alpine Bank is a proud supporter of this event. To learn more, visit friendsofyouthandnature.org.
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FIRE DESTROYS HOUSE SOUTH OF DURANGO
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Fire destroyed a home south of Durango on Sunday, displacing a La Plata County family and closing U.S. Hwy. 550 for more than five hours. The fire was reported about 12:20 p.m. in the 6000 block of Hwy. 550, about 1½ miles south of Sunnyside Elementary School. A volunteer who lives in the area was first on scene, but by the time he arrived, the house was already fully engulfed in flames. The home was described as a two-story, stick-built structure dating back to the 1800s that had been expanded multiple times. The family returned from church services to find smoke inside the home. Firefighters were able to prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings and trees. The house is considered a total loss. No family members or firefighters were injured. Assisting agencies included Upper Pine River Fire Protection District, Los Pinos Fire Protection District, La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Dept. of Transportation.
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BINDU BEATS & BREWS HONORS LATE TEACHER'S LEGACY IN MINTURN ON MEMORIAL DAY
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The first Bindu Beats and Brews celebratory event will gather community members for a day of physical and mental wellness. The event is set for Memorial Day on Monday, May 26, in Minturn’s Maloit Park. Bindu Beats and Brews raises funds for the Bindu Sky Memorial Fund, which preserves and honors the legacy of Bindu Pomeroy. Pomeroy, a Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy teacher, died in a snowboarding accident in East Vail in November 2018. The memorial fund supports local student athletes pursuing their passion and brings community members together over events like the film night and spirit awards and the Bindu and Friends Rail Jam. The yearly spring celebratory event for Bindu began as the Bindu 5K run, started by a Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy student in 2019. This will be the sixth year that students, staff, alumni, community members and friends and family of Bindu gather in Maloit Park to connect over a run. This year’s event builds on and expands that legacy. Profits will go to the Bindu Sky Memorial Fund.
- What: Bindu Beats and Brews, a celebratory community fundraiser including the annual Bindu 5K run, The Runaway Grooms in concert, yoga, cold plunge and sauna
- When: Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Where: Minturn’s Maloit Park
- Tickets: $20-100 at BSPMemorial.com
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ROUTT COUNTY WILDFIRE MITIGATION COUNCIL OFFERS RESOURCES FOR RESIDENTS AHEAD OF FIRE SEASON
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The Routt County Wildfire Mitigation Council is offering homeowners incentives and resources to identify property vulnerabilities ahead of wildfire season to prevent disasters. Through rebates, one-on-one inspections and other programs, the Routt County Mitigation Council is working to make the entire county more wildfire resilient by encouraging homeowners to take action. With drought conditions worsening and a lack of moisture in vegetation, the wildfire mitigation council is sending experts to inspect homes and give actionable advice to address fire risks. Once the inspection takes place, a full report will be given to the homeowner or renter through a wildfire mitigation app specific to Routt County. The new program is open to residents for sign-up, but property inspections won’t begin until mid-June.
After identifying a property’s vulnerabilities, homeowners and renters can apply for the wildfire mitigation council’s rebate program, which offers a financial incentive for completing tasks that improve fire resiliency. The rebate program focuses on three main projects that have “high impact." These projects include replacing combustible fences, replacing vents and removing combustible vegetation from the home ignition zone. For wildfire mitigation resources, visit RouttWildfire.org.
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VOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COLORADO’S CAIRN PROGRAM ACCEPTING MENTOR APPLICATIONS
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Are you passionate about the outdoors and looking for a meaningful way to give back? Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado is seeking adult mentors for its Cairn Program—a year-long leadership and outdoor education experience for high school students (ages 14–18) along the Front Range. As a mentor, you'll guide a small group of students through monthly outdoor adventures, help foster their leadership skills and play a key role in shaping the next generation of environmental stewards. It's also a great opportunity to grow your own leadership experience in a collaborative, impact-driven setting. Applications are due July 31, 2025. Apply now at voc.org/cairn-applications-mentors.
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LURING SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL TO BOULDER: $71 MILLION IN INCENTIVES
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The state of Colorado wasn't alone in proposing an attractive financial package to get the Sundance Film Festival to move to Boulder beginning in 2027. The city of Boulder, Visit Boulder, the Boulder Chamber and the University of Colorado Boulder are among a coalition of local organizations that submitted their own incentive proposal in a bid to host the independent film festival as it mulled a move from its longstanding home in Park City, Utah. The proposal includes cash and in-kind donations for Sundance valued at $34 million over the festival's 10-year contract. The package includes $21 million from the city of Boulder over 10 years for performance-based incentives and in-kind donations that could include rebates and permitting reimbursements, as well as direct services such as assistance with traffic planning, parking coordination and public safety.
Visit Boulder will contribute $4 million in cash donations and $2.5 million worth of in-kind donations such as destination services and marketing support over the same time period. Other partners’ in-kind commitments make up $3 million in the package, leaving private donations accounting for the remaining $3.5 million. The local incentives package is in addition to an initial $1.5 million brought forth by a similar group or organizations when Boulder first announced its bid last summer. Colorado's Economic Development Commission at the time pledged another $1.5 million, creating a $3 million package that sought to compete with Utah's budget for the festival that year. It stood at about $1.3 million.
- Still, Colorado's combined state and local proposals of $71 million would not have outbid a similar coalition of organizations in Utah. Utah's state and local organizations proposed that they more than double their current incentive package, boosting cash contributions to $54 million and in-kind contributions to $66 million over 10 years.
- Over a decade, the event is expected to net Colorado $2 billion worth of hotel stays and peripheral spending in the state, officials said when Boulder was announced as the next host.
- Last year, the festival generated $132 million for Utah’s economy with over 1,700 jobs and $13.8 million in state and local tax revenue.
- More than 72,000 people attended the festival over its 10 days in 2024, one-third of whom weren’t Park City-area residents. That translates into several thousand nights of hotel stays and other temporary accommodations that will head to Boulder starting in 2027.
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TOP 15 BEST PLACES TO LIVE IN THE U.S. IN 2025 - SOUTHWEST REGION
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Livability commissions data on thousands of U.S. cities. And then sorts through that data so you don’t have to. Livability partners with Applied Geographic Solutions to curate the Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S. based on nearly 100 data points and an algorithm that takes into account measures of a city’s economy, housing and cost of living, amenities, transportation, environment, safety, education and health. Here are the top 15 cities in the Southwest Region:
- Flower Mound, Texas: Population, 77,122; Med. Home Value, $476,609
- Sugar Land, Texas: 118,143; $402,094
- Round Rock, Texas: 128,111; $463,739
- Gilbert, Arizona: 272,479; $496,010
- Edmond, Oklahoma: 96,125; $317,536
- New Braunfels, Texas: 101,954; $329,097
- Loveland, Colorado: 76,771; $479,719
- Clovis, California: 124,894; $448,689
- Rio Rancho, New Mexico: 107,705; $297,034
- Midland, Texas: 138,366; $291,451
- College Station, Texas: 124,530; $292,882
- Norman, Oklahoma: 132,045; $248,548
- Aurora, Colorado: 392,955; $493,736
- Colorado Springs, Colorado: 486,839; $467,431
- Tempe, Arizona: 184,176; $456,398
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MARKET UPDATE - 05/19/2025 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 05/15/2025)
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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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