Colorado’s mountain-town airports are busier than ever despite airlines limping through a pilot shortage and slashing service to smaller communities. The number of passengers flying in and out of Aspen, Durango, Eagle County, Gunnison, Hayden and Montrose in 2022 is on a record-setting pace, marking a rural airport strength that does not reflect national trends. […]
Montrose
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Republican state Sen. Don Coram will run to unseat Lauren Boebert
State Sen. Don Coram, a Republican from Montrose, says he will launch a primary bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert this year. Coram told a group of constituents in Montrose on Wednesday morning “the papers have been filed” for his congressional bid. He said he plans to formally announce his campaign on Friday. The […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outsider
A 120-year-old water tunnel beneath the mountains is the Uncompahgre Valley’s lifeline. We went inside.
MONTROSE — After more than a half-hour splashing through the dank dark of one of the world’s longest irrigation tunnels, Dennis Veo grins in the sunshine showering the cliffs of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. “The guys who did this were dang sharp,” says Veo, the operations manager of the Uncompahgre Valley Water […]
Posted inNews
Desperate for teachers and staff, some rural Colorado schools are offering their workers child care
KREMMLING — Becca Pearson thought it would be impossible to find child care for her 1-year-old daughter in her rural community of 2,000. Instead, the speech pathologist found a provider that fits with her work schedule — where she gets a discount and could breastfeed her daughter during the day. She’s among a handful of […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News
Supply chain problems — from salsa to sheet metal — are hampering Colorado businesses’ coronavirus recovery
Salsa -maker Amy Lasley used to throw away the disposable gloves she wears during food preparation. But as the price of nitrile gloves skyrocketed in recent months, she’s started to disinfect them with bleach and reuse them for cleaning outside the kitchen. Other items are more expensive, too: The glass jars she packs her salsa […]
Posted inBusiness, Housing, News, Newsletters, Outsider
Storage units becoming as hard to get as affordable housing as wealthy remote workers take over the high country
Chase Beck has fielded dozens of calls like this in the past few months. “They say ‘I just had the floor taken out from under me. I’ve been living here for years. I need to move out in 30 days and I’ve got nowhere to go. Can you help?’” Beck says. The waiting list at […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News, Newsletters, Outsider
The slow fade of Colorado’s mountain pine beetle is triggering a massive shift in the timber industry
Colorado’s forests have been waging a losing battle against tree-killing beetles for more than 15 years. Now, after marching across the state and killing millions of acres of pine forest, the burrowing, fungus-spreading mountain pine beetles are slowly losing steam. While other beetles have thrived in Colorado’s drought-ravaged mountains, the mountain pine beetles have reigned […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News, Newsletters, Outsider
Two Western Slope startups sell to public companies, signaling investor interest in rural entrepreneurs
Two Western Slope startups sold to industry heavyweights this month, reflecting a win for rural entrepreneurs who have been championing Colorado’s nascent rural startup ecosystem beyond Denver and Boulder. This week, Eagle e-bike pioneer QuietKat sold to outdoor conglomerate Vista Outdoor Inc., which owns brands like CamelBak, Bell, Giro and Camp Chef. Vista Outdoor […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: A startup investor on how the Rocky Mountain West’s small towns are well equipped to embrace the future of Main Street
Walking down Main Street of any small town in the Rocky Mountain West, you’ll find the quaint storefronts, cafés and watering holes you expect. Uber and Lyft are hard to come by. DoorDash is foreign. Nothing “disrupts” small-town life, besides a snowstorm. Our Main Street businesses and their staff members are still the soul of […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, Health, News
Too many empty beds at Colorado nursing homes leave the industry in financial distress
State health officials are worried about the future of a handful of Colorado nursing homes with “severe financial concerns” after a bruising pandemic year that resulted in too many empty beds. Two major nursing home operators, meanwhile, are making plans to back out of Colorado or at least decrease operations after occupancy has been reduced […]