All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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The accolades just keep coming for Bootstrap Brewing Company. At last month’s Great American Beer Fest in Denver, its 1956 Golden Ale was awarded a silver medal in the Golden or Blonde Ale category, beating out 125 other entries for the prize. With a “crisp, dry” taste, the Golden is the Niwot brewery’s lightest and most drinkable beer, and serves as the base for it popular pineapple-infused Chillax. When Bootstrap co-owner and chief brewer Steven Kaczeus created the brewery’s signature...
For the much of the past two decades, students in Finland have been ranked at or near the top of an international study that compares the academic achievement of 15-year olds in reading, math and scientific literacy in 73 countries worldwide. So when Niwot High principal Eric Rauschkolb was offered the chance to travel to Helsinki over the summer for an in-depth review of the Scandinavian country’s educational system, he jumped at the chance. “The educational company Education First, they off...
Niwot’s rejiggered infield wasn’t perfect in the 6-4 extra-inning win over Ft. Lupton on Sept. 29, but “some big, giant plays” on defense not only saved the game for the Cougars, but also gave the team some momentum heading into the crucial last week of the season. “Everybody, defensively, was locked in,” Head Coach Bobby Matthews said. “We had a few mistakes here and there, but at the beginning of the year, we said ‘minimize the damage,’ and that’s what we did today…. I think this game goes...
The Niwot boys tennis team is headed back to the Class 4A state championships, after another dominating performance in the Region 5 tournament on Oct. 4. Niwot players took first in all seven championship matches, and advance to next week’s state tournament in Pueblo as number one seeds from the region. The Cougars closed out the regular season with a 10-1 overall record, with their only loss coming on Sept. 25 at the hands of Colorado Academy, one of the top programs in the state and a p...
Boulder County Land Use Director Dale Case knew he was walking into a hornet’s nest when he met with eight Niwot developers on Oct. 1. In the ten days since the county enacted a six-month moratorium on new development in the Niwot Rural Community District (NRCD), concerned local business and property owners have politely and not so politely let their displeasure about the halt be known. “This moratorium, out of the blue, with no prior warning, is totally outside the spirit of cooperation tha...
When Trevor Smith took up rock climbing in 2016, he hardly dreamed he’d be on his sport’s biggest stage just two years later. But that’s just where the Niwot junior found himself on Sept. 14 when he took second place at the 2018 IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. “It was otherworldly to me,” Smith said of winning the silver medal at the international event. “I’d been training for seven months at that point, and all of the work leading up to that moment all paid off....
Niwot head golf coach Ed Weaver wouldn’t say he was disappointed in his team’s performance at the Class 4A Region 3 tournament on Sept. 19, but it wasn’t the outcome he expected either. Bedeviled by unpredictable greens and a treacherous back nine at Loveland’s Olde Course, the Cougars finished in fourth place overall, and missed qualifying as a team for the Class 4A championship tournament for the first time since 2015. “The reality is, as a player, unless you’re trying to win the tournament,...
The annual Fall Crawl fundraiser hasn’t been a Sunset Middle School tradition for very long, but it has quickly become a favorite among parents and students alike. Last year’s event raised nearly $20,000 and helped the school purchase a new scoreboard, a sound system for the choir, and a 3-D printer. Now in its third year, the 2018 Fall Crawl is coming up on Friday, Oct. 5, and the Sunset Parents Advisory Council is inviting past and future students to come out and lend their support. “All of ou...
In an unannounced move at their Sept. 20 business meeting, the Boulder County Commissioners imposed a six-month moratorium on new development applications in the Niwot Rural Community District (NRCD), the three-block span of Second Avenue that comprises the downtown commercial zone. Citing concerns from community members about the pace and scope of new building in the district, commissioners Elise Jones and Cindy Domenico agreed to the temporary halt in order to give county planning staff time...
The football team managers may be highly visible during games as they sprint to and from the sideline with water, but the majority of their work is invisible to most fans. Uniforms, gear and game balls don’t just load themselves onto the bus, after all. For Niwot senior Hailie Johnson, however, being a team manager isn’t just about logistics. It’s about focusing on the details, so the players and coaches can focus on football. “A lot of people think that we just get water for the guys, but there...
High spirits and friendly crowds marked Niwot’s inaugural Homecoming Carnival, held in the concourse outside Everly-Montgomery Field immediately prior to the Cougars football game on Sept. 14. During halftime, the 2018 Homecoming courts were announced. This year, each teacher nominated up to ten students for the court, and that list was then narrowed down to 10-12 candidates per grade. Voting then went to the student body, and the top-three vote getters in each class were selected as H...
Even though it took a few turns of the crank to get the defense started, the Niwot volleyball team easily dispatched Silver Creek 25-22, 25-13, 25-17, in an early season rivalry match on Sept. 11. Seniors Emma Falk and Zoe Gonzales combined for 14 kills and 13 digs in the 2018 home opener, which started rather inauspiciously for the Cougars. “They were pretty hyped for the game, and I think the anxiety of their first home match and who we were playing got to them for the first 10 points or s...
Battling unseasonable heat and a very hilly course, the Niwot boys and girls cross country teams both took first place at the RE-1J District cross country meet at Sunset golf course on Sept. 12. Four of the Niwot girls (Samrawit Dishon, Maggie Smith, Taylor James, and Joelle McDonald), finished among the top five, holding hands as they crossed the finish line. The boys top finishers were Caleb Bishop (3rd), Luke Robinson (5th), and Jack Kenkel (6th). Cougar freshman Zane Bergen was also among...
Senior Savannah Rafkin has been through her share of highs and lows with the Niwot softball program, and, this year, she is trying to use that experience to her team’s advantage. “I’ve tried to be a role model and more of a positive voice on the field,” the veteran outfielder said. “I’m the only player left on Niwot softball who knows what it’s like to be competitive and go to regionals, so I’m hoping to show the younger girls.” For Rafkin, that has meant more emphasis on camaraderie and f...
Niwot picked up their first Homecoming win in more than a decade, thanks to a dramatic last-second fumble recovery in the end zone by junior linebacker Julian Molina....
A downtown Niwot parade was not the only tradition that Niwot High did away with for Homecoming 2018. Thanks to a Julian Molina fumble recovery in the end zone with just seconds to go, the Cougars clinched their first homecoming victory in more than a decade. “Eric [Ruiz] blew through and hit the quarterback, and as soon as he hit the quarterback, the ball came out, and I just jumped on it,” the junior linebacker said after the Cougars’ comeback win in front of a rambunctious crowd at Everl...
At their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 4, members of the Niwot LID advisory committee considered just a single funding request, but members had plenty of new business on their minds, including funding alternatives for future capital projects and upcoming development projects in Old Town. Boulder County liaison Mark Ruzzin presented the monthly financials to lead off the meeting. As of Aug. 31, the LID has approved $155,105 in disbursements, about $22,000 over the budget, which is...
In an effort include a broader cross-section of the community, Niwot High will be hosting a carnival at Everly-Montgomery Field ahead of this year’s football game, instead of the traditional Homecoming parade through Old Town Niwot. “It’s going to give all of our feeder schools a chance to participate and get excited about becoming Niwot Cougars,” Principal Eric Rauschkolb said of the upcoming event, which is being modeled after similar events at other district schools. Niwot’s official...
Niwot’s short-handed back line surrendered just one goal to Air Academy’s attack on Sept. 8, but sometimes it takes more than a strong defense to keep the ball out of the back of the net. A pair of miscues in their own penalty box doomed the Cougars in an otherwise impressive performance against the defending Class 4A state champions, proving that even minor mistakes against top programs can be costly, according to head coach Stephen Dimit. “We had a couple of unfortunate misplays of the ball,...
The Niwot softball team’s recent five-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt against Mountain View on Sept. 6, but the team didn’t let the 20-2 blowout loss to the defending Class 4A champs slow them down for long. The Cougars were back to their winning ways the very next day at the Berthoud Spartan Invitational, a two-day tournament featuring more than 20 teams from around the state, including local rivals Longmont and Skyline. Now the Cougars are working on a new winning streak, but head c...
On Sept. 8, the machine-like Niwot boys tennis team dispatched Dawson School in short order, winning all seven matches. The top two singles players, sophomore Neil Wilcox and senior Riley Black, extended their unbeaten streak to seven games each, while senior Riley Mulshine picked up his another win at No. 3 singles. The Cougars are now winners of seven in a row, and are heading into the second half of their schedule. Up next for the Cougars are a pair of Northern League matches against...
When Niwot head football coach Jeremy Lanter came to him last month looking for a strong leg to shore up the Cougar special teams, head soccer coach Stephen Dimit didn’t have to think very hard about who to recommend. “I immediately thought of Josh,” he said, referring to defender Josh Palomares, a first-year varsity player for the Cougar soccer team. “He can just blast the soccer ball, and I thought, well a football is just shaped a little differently, so let’s see what happens.” Dimit’s int...
Niwot Head Coach Jeremy Lanter didn’t necessarily like the numbers he saw on the scoreboard after his team’s home opener against Greeley Central on Aug. 30, but he did like the numbers he saw on the field during the game. Despite a two-touchdown loss, the Cougars improved in virtually every offensive and defensive category between weeks one and two, a trend the coach expects to continue. “They’re working so hard on every aspect of the game,” Lanter said after the Cougars’ 20-6 loss to the Wild...
Fresh off their head-turning performances at the season-opening Vista Nation 2-Mile on Aug. 24, Niwot’s top distance runners stepped aside for their underclass teammates at the Centaurus Warriors Invite on Sept. 1. For Cougars head coach Kelly Christensen, it was an exciting glimpse into the future of his program, as well as a way to solidify his 2018 varsity lineup. “They’re all ready, physically,” he said of the runners still competing for the remaining spots on the varsity roster. “It’s t...
Led by junior running back Liam Flanagan, the Niwot Cougars beat Fort Lupton 26-13 on Friday night for their first win in nearly two years. “I’m just really happy for our kids,” Lanter said after his first career victory as a head coach. “We made mistakes, and they overcame adversity, which is what they do best. They’re such good kids, and I’m really happy that they got to experience this. They’ve been working for it very hard.” Flanagan rushed for three touchdowns against the Bluedevils, the mo...
During this first two seasons with the Niwot golf team, Sam Hoover was content to let his older brother Jack absorb the spotlight. In 2018, however, the younger Hoover is emerging from that shadow little by little. Not only is he playing the best golf of his career, he has also cultivated a rival he doesn’t share a last name with. As Niwot’s number three golfer, Sam has scored among the top-five in three of six events this season, including a fourth-place finish at the third annual Resurrection...
The Niwot boys soccer team rang in the 2018 season with a rousing home win over Brighton on Aug. 21. Led by senior Jonathan Jimenez-Flores’ first career hat trick, the Cougars scored six goals against the Bulldogs, a performance the forward hoped would set a tone for the year to come. “It was a really good start to the season,” Jimenez-Flores said. “We lost a lot of seniors from last year, and it’s a really young back line, so we did pretty good for the first game.” Jimenez-Flores ended the game...
Each year around this time, about half of Jerry and Marsha Slepicka’s eclectic antique tractor collection gets dusted off and transported two by two from their place in Niwot to the Yesteryear Farm Show at the Dougherty Museum in Longmont. This year’s exhibit featured 12 of their carefully refurbished vintage farm vehicles, including a 1927 Fordson that originally came from Marsha’s family farm in the midwest. According to Jerry, it’s the oldest gasoline powered tractor at the annual show, t...
If the Niwot football season opener didn’t quite go the way he had hoped, offensive coordinator Stan Matsunaka was unruffled after the 36-0 loss to George Washington on Friday night at All-City Stadium. Though the youthful team struggled to execute on both sides of the ball during the contest, it is evident that the Niwot football program made significant strides during the offseason. “I think the whole atmosphere this year is a lot different,” Matsunaka said. He served as head coach for the g...
For the first time in four years, there won’t be a number seven in the Niwot varsity volleyball lineup, but second-year head coach Daisha Agho said that the 2017 Class 4A Player of the Year will be with the Cougars in spirit on their quest for the 2018 postseason. “Of course Mac [Mackenzie Fidelak] is missed,” Agho wrote in an email about last year’s captain. Fidelak led the team to the Class 4A state semifinals for the first time in 20 years. “But she has left our players with the gift of h...
Members of the Niwot High baseball team, under the supervision of local contractors and other volunteers, helped erect framing inside one of a pair of shipping containers bound for Uganda as part of the Mwebaza Foundation’s Cougars Creating Classrooms project. While in Colorado, the containers will be transformed by Niwot students and other volunteers into a functional classroom, then shipped and reassembled in Uganda at the Mwebaza school....
World-renowned distance runner Melody Fairchild is bringing her vaunted Boulder Mountain Warriors school-age running club to Longmont. Launching in September, the 13-week Fall Cross Country program is open to students ages seven to 14 who have a passion for running and want to develop their skills both on and off the course. “We want students to leave with a solid knowledge-base about how to be a healthy balanced runner,” Fairchild said of her six-year old program. “I want them to have the n...
The Niwot cross-country teams found their way back into the Class 4A top-10 in 2017, and now they’re ready to take it a step further. “Their goals are a state title and to go to Nike Nationals as a team,” third-year head coach Kelly Christensen.said. “Those are the goals they set, and that’s the work we did in preparation for that.” Both teams started charting their course to the Class 4A championship immediately after last year’s state meet. Since then, they’ve endured weeks of grueling indoor...
Niwot head boys tennis coach Miikka Keronen’s state-title-or-bust expectations for his team are nothing new, but this year they’re carrying a little more freight. Stinging after last year’s fourth-place finish at the championship tournament in Pueblo—their worst since 2008—the Cougars buckled down during the off-season and are heading into 2018 looking for redemption. “We don’t like to make excuses, we make adjustments,” Keronen said of his team’s renewed intensity. “We decided to get ever...
There haven’t been a lot of successes for the Niwot football program over the past decade, but second-year head coach Jeremy Lanter thinks that may finally be changing. Thanks to a renewed emphasis on character and team chemistry, Lanter said his players have made adjustments on and off the field that will turn their hard work into Friday night wins. “They want what hasn’t been done here in 12 years,” he said. “They want to accomplish something for themselves. I think that’s part of the reason...
Local families have known for some time that the Niwot Children’s Park is an exceptional place, but now there is hardware to prove it. In a small ceremony held in storybook corner on Aug. 9, representatives from the Colorado Lottery and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) formally presented the park’s 2018 Starburst Award, which recognizes “excellence in the use of Lottery funds for community and conservation projects.” In her opening remarks, Colorado Lottery Communications Manager Jennifer Churchi...
The agenda may have been light, but the concerns were weighty at the Aug. 7 meeting of the Niwot LID Advisory Board. Facing a supplement budget allocation in order to continue funding activities for the remainder of the year, the board discussed its finances and, more broadly, setting priorities for upcoming expenditures. Board members also considered a funding proposal from the Niwot Business Association (NBA), and heard about some upcoming transportation projects slated for the area. Boulder...
There may not be a lot of familiar faces when the 2018 Niwot boys soccer team takes the field for the first time on Aug. 21, but that doesn’t have Head Coach Stephen Dimit too concerned. Though he lost half of his 2017 varsity roster to graduation, the third-year head coach replenished his stock from a “super-motivated” pool of underclassmen and seems ready to take the Cougars on another deep run in the Class 4A state tournament. “We have a collection of young players, and we’re going to start...
The Niwot boys golf team captured two first place titles in the first two tournaments of the 2018 season, but head coach Ed Weaver doesn’t want anyone getting too comfortable. “I expected them to be very competitive early,” he said following the Cougars’ six-stroke win at the Spartan Invitational in Greeley on Aug. 13. “But I also know it’s a long season, and we still have to play consistently.” That said, it’s hard not to get excited about the team’s performance in the early going, even if th...
The 2017 Niwot softball season was memorable, but not for the any of the right reasons. With barely enough players to field a complete varsity lineup and just one experienced pitcher, last year’s youthful squad struggled against the powerhouse programs in the Northern League, and their dearth of veteran talent was painfully obvious at times. The Cougars finished the season with an unimpressive 6-13 record and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. Heading into 2018, head coach Bobby M...
Niwot-based performer Nalani may be spending a lot of time with her music pals in Nashville these days, but she will always have a soft spot for her hometown concert series. “I was practically raised at Rock & Rails,” the bassist and vocalist said. “That environment is where I learned to love music.” Nalani returns with her bass to Rock & Rails on Aug. 16 as the opening act for the vocal band Face, another local act garnering nationwide following. Nalani’s mother is Satir Demarco, a longtime...
Joey Dapolito started volunteering at the Rock & Rails summer concert series four years ago for a very simple reason. “I like helping out my community,” the 10th grader said. “It’s important to keep these parks clean.” But, like many of his longtime gargoyle cohorts, it’s the music that brings him back year after year. His favorite show so far this year has been The Long Run, even though the large crowd the band attracted added both to his workload and stress level. “The hardest part is tryin...
On July 27-28, students from Niwot High kicked off the fabrication phase of ‘Cougars Creating Classrooms,’ a building project spearheaded by the Mwebaza Foundation to transform used shipping containers into instructional space for the Mwebaza Infant Primary School in Kyengera, Uganda. Over the two days, representatives from the football, girls tennis, golf, cross country, and track teams, as well as the IB program, Robotics Club, and Boy Scout Troop 161, unpacked materials for the project and...
The Niwot Touchdown club welcomed former University of Colorado head football coach Gary Barnett to its fifth annual Cougar Classic golf tournament, held Aug. 3 at Twin Peaks Golf Course in Longmont. More than 75 players turned out for this year’s 18-hole scramble, making it the Club’s largest event in its five-year history. “We had a lot of support from a lot of different places and a lot of different people,” Niwot head football coach Jeremy Lanter said. “It was incredible to see that many...
Fourth-year cheerleader Kaitlin Knowlden has been through her share of ups and downs with the Niwot Cheer team, but one memory that stands out is the last year’s Class 4A state competition. “We hit our routine extremely clean,” the senior co-captain said. The Cougars finished 13th out of 31 teams, a remarkable accomplishment after nearly disbanding early in the school year. “We made everything look good and we were all really spirited. It was a really good performance and we were all really...
Head coach Ed Weaver has high expectations for the 2018 Niwot boys golf team, and he makes a convincing case for them. On paper, his projected varsity squad is almost an embarrassment of riches. He is returning all three state qualifiers from last season, and expects to pick up a talented incoming freshman. Add in a handful of rapidly improving juniors and sophomores behind them, and Weaver anticipates having enough depth to vie not just for event titles, but eventually the conference and...
Thanks to his regular gig as a Rock & Rails gargoyle, Griffin Harris was able to check two major items off his summer to-do list: earn 10 community service hours, and have some fun. “I’m trying to get a rank, so I started doing this to get Boy Scout hours,” Harris said. He is hoping to earn his first and second-class ranks in Niwot Troop 161. “But, I’ve already surpassed 10 hours, so I’m just doing it because I love volunteering here. It’s so fun.” Harris especially enjoys hearing from ap...
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is once again teaming up with the Niwot Community Association (NCA) for National Night Out, an annual countrywide celebration that brings police and first responders into local neighborhoods for an evening of camaraderie and fun. “It’s a way to get the community, especially kids, more comfortable with first responders,” NCA President David Limbach said. “We want to build that trust.” This year’s free event is slated for Tuesday, Aug. 7 from 6-9 p.m. in Old T...
Below is a list of facilities in Boulder Country providing classes in CPR, first aid and emergency cardiovascular care (ECC) to healthcare professionals, first responders, employees or the general public. There are also on-line courses available through the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Red Cross. Note that not all courses award completion or certification cards. Mountain View Fire Rescue 9119 E County Line Rd., Longmont http://www.mvfpd.org/general/webform/cpr-first-aid-classes...
