All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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I always love partnering with Inkberry Books in Niwot, because they always hook me up with the coolest books! This week, I took a look at Mohamed Asem's Stranger in the Pen, and I thoroughly enjoyed it This is a nonfiction memoir of Asem, mostly focusing on his experience of being detained at Gatwick Airport in the UK. However, this storyline is intertwined with other anecdotes of his life: including failed attempts at love, tensions and reflections about family, and his international...
Because of Covid-19, I laugh more easily, more loudly and longer than ever before. Because of Covid-19, I weep more easily, more often and longer than ever before. I seclude myself and hunger for companionship. I miss my son, my daughter-in-law, and my precious grandchildren profoundly. From visiting them six times a year, I have seen them once since last Christmas, and we could not hug when we saw each other. I have missed, for the first time in their lives, being with both of my grandchildren...
A virtual town hall was held in late July regarding a concept proposal for a 268-unit development on Gunbarrel land currently zoned as light industrial. The 9.8-acre parcel in question is located just to the west of Spine Road and east of Celestial Seasonings - the owner of the property - and south of Sleepytime Road, up to the current single-family housing development there. Gunbarrel residents recognize this area as open space that the tea company designated as a prairie dog preserve in 1999,...
Editor's Note: Covid-19 has made an impact on almost everyone in the Left Hand Valley, with the announcement of a new online learning schedule at Niwot High School. Students at Niwot are scheduled to complete all of their schoolwork online. This remote learning schedule will tentatively begin on August 18th and last until the end of September. While many are unsure of what the rest of the school year is going to look like, various students are not only worried about the quality of their...
The littlest children in the Left Hand Valley will get to have a relatively normal school experience this fall. Childcare was deemed as an essential service in March and some preschool facilities, especially those providing care to children of essential workers, never closed in the coronavirus pandemic. Others have started reopening under smaller classroom restrictions during the "safer-at-home" period. For schools that provide both K-12 education and also preschool, it has taken some time to...
In last week's edition of the Left Hand Valley Courier, we covered the story behind Niwot's Ritz Field, named after Colorado Rockies pitcher Kevin Ritz. We now turn our attention towards its neighbor, Hagen Field, named after the late Greg Hagen. Hagen was a parent volunteer for Niwot Youth Sports. When NYS lost the use of borrowed fields in Niwot at 83rd and Neva Road, Hagen helped erect the backstops at three new fields on Left Hand Water District property off Nimbus Road. When Hagen died...
Niwot Youth Sports baseball was thriving in the 1990s and was in desperate need of additional fields for its over 500 ballplayers. NYS was limited to local school fields and borrowed land for much of its then 20-year history. The situation was not ideal for a growing program. Former NYS Softball director Jim Martinsen reached out to the Left hand Water District in hopes of securing land for future ballfields and his wish was granted. NYS quickly constructed three makeshift fields adjacent to...
The local food scene in the Left Hand Valley is normally thriving in the summer. Things are more complicated this year. In the past, farmers could depend on connecting directly with their customers face-to-face at Boulder County farmers markets, in addition to their own community supported agriculture (CSA) programs. Kids in the 4-H program would spend months or even years raising livestock that they knew they would sell at the Boulder County Fair in early August. Other local food producers...
The Niwot United Methodist Church welcomed a new pastor earlier this month in Rev. Emily Kintzel, a Colorado native and experienced clergy member. She replaces Rev. Walter "Skip" Strickland, who came out of retirement to serve as interim pastor for the last year. Prior to coming to Niwot, Kintzel was the pastor at the Lyons Community Church for several years. She has also served as a pastor in Evans, Colo., and spent 11 years as a youth director in Longmont before taking the position at NUMC....
Kate Missett is the Left Hand Valley Courier's newest staffer. Missett, who moved to Niwot in April after nearly 60 years in Wyoming, has remarked that while some people were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, she was born with printer's ink in her veins. She was two when she first started a newspaper press. Missett comes from a newspaper family. Her father, William J. Missett, was publisher of the Casper, Wyoming Star-Tribune, and that is where she began learning the trade. Her four...
From its shady locale in Cottonwood Square, the Niwot Tavern has been a popular local gathering spot for more than a decade-and-a-half, so when the 2020 coronavirus pandemic threw the lives of local residents into chaos, co-owners and longtime bartenders Tara Kpogoh-Narh and Stacy Szydlek quickly shifted their mission from helping local residents unwind to helping them get through a global health emergency. "It was the kids, when the schools shut down," Kpogoh-Narh said, explaining why she and...
There are, according to CoStar (a primary information exchange of commercial real estate data in our market) approximately 12,644,300 square feet of total commercial real estate (office, industrial warehouse, and retail) in the Niwot, SW Longmont, and Gunbarrel markets. Broken down by category, the square footages look like this: *Office 2,900,000 sf *Industrial 5,484,000 sf *Retail 4,260,300 sf Of these square footages, current vacancy rates average 12 percent for office space and approximately...
We at the Left Hand Valley Courier would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Boulder County Commissioners for the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Fund Grant we received last month. In April, the spread of the pandemic and subsequent "stay in place" regulations led us to the difficult decision to stop printing our weekly newspaper and move to an online only subscription model. This prevented the news from getting to many elderly and low-income readers who may not use a computer or mobile device or may not have reliable access to the...
Q: Please tell our readers a bit about yourself. A. I am a 34-year resident of Boulder, with 33 of those years spent in House District 10. I worked as a software engineer here for more than thirty years, serving in roles as varied as individual contributor, senior director and program manager. While at Xilinx Inc., where I spent my last 20 years before eventually retiring, I was co-author on two patents. My wife Jane and I were drawn to Colorado for its outdoor beauty, spending our free time cyc...
As part of the Facebook Grant supporting local journalism, the Left Hand Valley Courier has received funds to subsidize subscriptions to the Courier based on financial need. Additional funds have been dedicated to assisting subscribers with technical issues related to online access. If you or someone you know needs financial or technical assistance for an online subscription to the Courier, please call Ann Whitehill at 303-652-0282 or send an email to advertising@lhvc.com....
Live theater arts in the Left Hand Valley were effectively shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic in March, along with most everything else we gather together to do. While restaurants and shops are starting to reopen under new guidelines, community arts organizations are only just beginning to understand the gravity of the challenges they are facing. On June 11, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts announced it was cancelling or postponing the entire 20/21 season through June, 2021. Local th...
Valerie Cannistraro doesn't consider herself an activist, but in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of the Minneapolis police, the Brigadoon Glen resident felt compelled to speak out. On June 5, she and about 20 of her like-minded neighbors gathered at the northwest corner of 63rd Street and Niwot Road for a peaceful demonstration against police violence and racism. "I think making a stand for what you believe in is always important," Cannistraro said, waving her sign at passing...
The swings at Lefthand Valley Grange Park in Niwot remain still except for the occasional gust of wind. Yellow caution tape prevents little feet from reaching to the sky, a stark reminder of the concerns still present during the coronavirus pandemic. Technically, playgrounds are now allowed to open, according to state of Colorado guidelines. But the reality of following the recommendations and keeping everyone safe is daunting. They include sanitizing the equipment as often as feasible, limiting...
Last week, the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners announced that it has awarded funding to 11 businesses in Niwot through the Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Program, a $200,000 fund that launched in May to provide "immediate financial support" to those businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic in unincorporated parts of the county. In all, the county awarded grants totaling $192,500 to 34 businesses. "We were interested in really supporting small businesses...
When longtime Gunbarrel resident Lori Highfill left Colorado on Saturday, March 14, for a week's vacation in her home state of New Jersey, she never thought that it would turn into a two-month ancient Greek, Homer-esque odyssey. But instead of finding danger with the one-eyed Cyclops giant, she found her trip imperiled by the microscopic Coronavirus. The original plan was to be gone for a week, returning to Colorado on March 23. The first sign that things might not go as planned was that...
We moved to Niwot in February 2018 and have been so grateful for the community here, especially during this time of isolation and uncertainty. Our neighbors and the Niwot Market have been lifelines over the last 9 weeks, and when our dog got sick 3 weeks into the stay at home order, we called Left Hand Animal Hospital so we could stay close to home. Let me preface this by saying the our dog Cooper had been seen by veterinarians in New York, Rhode Island, Crested Butte, Gunnison, two in Boulder,...
Though difficult to comprehend in our current environment, the events of COVID-19 mark an unprecedented moment in our shared human history. Focusing on local historic impacts, the Niwot Historical Society has put out a call for pandemic-related information in an effort to, as its mission states, "preserve, collect, and protect the history of Niwot." The historical society is asking volunteers from the community to help document this moment and the impacts of COVID-19 in Niwot's history. The...
The fields south of Twin Lakes Open Space are quietly doing their thing; growing green grass, hosting nests for meadowlarks, supporting voles and mice and the things that eat them, such as raptors and foxes. Kids are racing over mounds and dips at the mini BMX track, people are walking their dogs and admiring the view of the Flatirons. Nothing has changed on the surface, but the long-term fate of the fields is still unsettled and the fight over the status of the land is bubbling back to life. Th...
Each spring, the Niwot High School Education Foundation awards the Pursuit for Education scholarship to honor "motivated students who recognize the power and impact of post-secondary education," and it's hard to imagine a senior who fits that description better than 2020 recipient Daniel Torres. "I look forward to being the first one in my family to go to college," he wrote in an email interview about the scholarship and his future plans. "No one in my family has reached this point, and I'm...
The limited printed edition of the May 20, 2020 issue of the Left Hand Valley Courier is brought to you by our faithful advertisers and a grant which supports local journalism. A limited number of print copies are available from our advertisers, in Courier boxes and at the Niwot Market. We are grateful to our advertisers and those who have subscribed online-they make it possible for the Courier to bring you local news and important information during the COVID19 pandemic. The more subscribers...
She howls, sews masks, plots to honor grads, helps kids learn, gets them moving, organizes the occasional birthday car-parade, and that's just some of the stuff Diane Zimmermann does during a pandemic. Supporting others is a way of life for the Niwot resident. "Anywhere there is room for helping out. I'm always up for that," Zimmermann said. Some of her volunteering is organized, such as her work for the Niwot Community Association and the Niwot Historical Society, and some she does on her own....
When COVID-19 cancelled the 100-mile run she had been training for, Kalyca Zarich decided to plan her own run, and benefit health care workers at the same time. Zarich, a furloughed manager and fitness coach at Orange Theory Fitness, and her boyfriend and one-man support crew, Logan Craven, live in south Longmont and often run and bike the trails in and around Niwot. Zarich set out to run 100 miles in one day. She started her run at Niwot High School at 8 a.m. on May 8, setting out on the Niwot...
The pandemic has been especially hard on local business, and the "Left Hand Valley Courier" wants to help. Starting next week, the "Courier" will feature the Best of Niwot and Gunbarrel businesses. But rather than turn it into a popularity contest, the feature will highlight what customers or clients say is "best" about the business. We will start with some of our advertisers. Feel free to chime in with your comments at editorial@lhvc.com. Tell us what you like Best about Wya...
The Left Hand Valley Courier has been selected to receive the Facebook Journalism Project COVID-19 US Local News Relief Grant. For more information about the grant and how Facebook is helping newsrooms across the county, visit https://www.facebook.com/journalismproject/programs/grants/coronavirus-local-news-relief-fund-recipients. And stayed tuned for details on how this grant will help the LHVC continue to bring high-quality news related to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our local...
Niwot Market has long been a staple of the Niwot community. But in recent weeks, with grocery stores and grocery store employees deemed essential during the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, the market has perhaps played an even more critical role in the community's new normal. At its heart, Niwot Market is a family affair. And this can be seen in the way the Steele family has stepped up to protect their employees and support their community in recent weeks-from implementing curbside pickup to install...
Timing and relationships have been key to the success of several local small businesses that received loans in the first round of funding from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The $350 billion fund dried up within days, leaving some businesses empty handed and hoping to get a piece of the $310 billion second round of funding that is funneled through lending institutions. "It's been a chaotic process for everyone," said Kate Head of Pebble Jewelry. She got on the phone with her...
Inkberry Books has partnered with the Left Hand Valley Courier again to bring you a riveting historical fiction account of familial history that deals with ghosts, dreams, and even politics across the centuries. We all carry generations of knowledge and experience within us. We carry our ancestors' hopes, dreams, loves, and fears within our very being. Sometimes they manifest in obvious ways, like when you're told that you seem just like Aunt or Uncle so-and-so. But other times, the past is...
Here is a ray of sunshine in these dark times; a ray of sunshine, shining on a solar panel, producing energy locally in Longmont for residents of the Left Hand Valley. Jack's Solar Garden, the community solar project created by Byron Kominek on his farm in south Longmont, is on track to be built, connected, and producing power by fall. In early April, Kominek signed a contract with Namasté Solar to build the panels. Namasté is a local solar developer, and as Kominek pointed out, also a c...
Last week's surprise winter storm might have seemed out of place in April, but as a recently donated artifact to the Niwot Historical Society (NHS) attests, spring blizzards are nothing new in the area. According to the April 6, 1957 edition of the Niwot Tribune (1921-1958), the area was "buried" under 18 inches of snow, which disrupted local phone service for four days. The Tribune clipping was one of several items donated to the NHS in March by longtime member Judy Gould Dayhoff, who has been...
It has been a source of immense frustration to me for many years that I can't be a hunter-gatherer. And it all began with a degree in cultural anthropology. Wading back through the annals of our agrarian past, and studying the marginal hunter-gatherer groups that existed into the 1900s, I had a glimpse of the life humankind evolved to live. Did you know that most hunter-gatherers lived to about 70 years of age, ate approximately 2000 calories of nutrient dense food a day, avoided infectious...
Lori and Russ Lindemann moved to the Gunbarrel Estates neighborhood in 1994 with their two children and niece in tow. For the past two and a half decades, they have called Boulder County home and have done a huge part in making it a terrific place to live for its variety of residents. The Lindemanns are no strangers to hard work and have spent much of their free time volunteering throughout the community. Lori has volunteered with the St. Vrain Valley School District, the VA in Denver, the DA's...
Head toward the mountains on Niwot Road and you'll run into a big zig north at 45th before you zag back west. It seems like the same road, but it's not. You're now on Neva Road. It makes sense that the two roads are connected and that one isn't as well traveled. Neva was the brother of legendary Chief Niwot, the Arapaho chief also known as Left Hand. "He [Neva] maybe hasn't gotten as much publicity as he deserves," according to Margaret Coel, author of the acclaimed book 'Chief Left Hand.' "He...
Pat Murphy of Niwot Realty didn't get a chance to hand out candy and prizes at Niwot's annual Easter egg hunt this year, but that didn't stop the canceled event's founder from bringing smiles to more than a few faces-at an appropriate social distance, of course. Goodies once destined for the baskets and bellies of Niwot's would-be egg hunters instead went to military personnel overseas and those on the front lines a little closer to home. "This is more relaxing, but I've got a house full of...
The stay-at-home order for Colorado due to the coronavirus has put the Niwot Community Association’s plans on hold. The group met April 1 by teleconference to discuss what should be done about the April annual meeting, the May Clean Up Day and the July 4 parade. The April annual meeting is cancelled. NCA members had proposed holding a live-streamed meeting, but the group decided that it was impractical. “The limitations of an online meeting would make it really difficult for many members to participate,” said NCA President David Limbach. “The...
Dear Readers, In an effort to survive in the current COVID-19 economy, the Left Hand Valley Courier will change to an on-line only format as of the April 15 issue. We have brought local news to your doorstep for 23 years, but times have changed, and after April 8, the Courier will arrive ONLY on your computer, ipad, or cell phone. And, for the first time, we are asking readers to pay for the content in the Courier by subscribing. For 23 years, our advertisers have been our sole source of income, enabling us to pay for printing and delivery...
An emergency coronavirus response measure that Colorado Governor Jared Polis rolled out this week has an unexpected loophole, and local businesses are rushing to be the first to corner a new market. The initial "stay at home" order by Denver's mayor Michael Hancock, which went into effect on March 24, at 5 p.m., caused a panic and rush to liquor and pot stores, which were initially set to be closed under the order. Governor Polis extended the order to the entire state on Thursday, March 26, at...
Niwot businesses are staying nimble as each day brings new developments in the fight against the coronavirus. A new page on the business community's website, Niwot.com/COVID-19, has the latest information on when shops and restaurants are open and what services they are providing. The idea is to support the local economy by keeping potential customers in the loop, according to the town's economic development director, Catherine McHale. "I think we all have to get a little bit clever about how...
The COVID-19 coronavirus has prompted Mountain View Fire Rescue district to close all its stations to members of the public until further notice to protect firefighters and first responders. In light of MVFR’s decision, the Niwot Community Association board is expecting to videoconference its April 1 meeting, which is normally held in the fire station’s community room. Community members will not be able to attend the meeting, but NCA board members are asking that any comments or questions from the community be sent by email to the board at info...
Left Hand Water Effective March 16, 2020, the Left Hand Water District has closed its administrative office building to the public through March 29. The District will continue to provide services to customers, with staff rotating work schedules or working remotely or in the field. Payments can be made over the phone or online through Xpress Bill Pay; customers are strongly encouraged to make payments via these methods. The District's water remains safe to drink; as all drinking water...
The Left Hand Valley Courier and Inkberry Books are partnering for another book review. I love being part of this partnership because the folks at Inkberry suggest stories I never would have picked out for myself. This week, I read Jim Ringel's "49 Buddhas" and while I did enjoy it overall, I have to say, I'm a little undecided on where I stand with it. Let me start off by saying that I really don't know a lot about Buddhism, so I loved that the beginning of each chapter started with a...
In an era of instantaneous digital communication and screens everywhere, the art of traditional storytelling is still alive and thriving in the Left Hand Valley. In March, eight new volunteers will join the Longmont chapter of Spellbinder Storytellers to bring this art to local children. Spellbinders was founded in Denver in the late 1980s by Germaine Dietsch and is now a thriving nonprofit, connecting elders directly with children through storytelling. "Children need older adults in their...
This past Wednesday, Niwot Elementary School hosted its 12th annual Children's Book and Art Sale to benefit The Mwebaza Foundation, a local non-profit started in 2008 by the school's first-grade teacher, Dale Peterson. Each year, this fundraiser garners donations from parents, students, and visitors from used children's book sale purchases. What set this year apart was the inclusion of children's art, made and donated by students from all grade levels at Niwot Elementary. The Niwot Elementary...
Arlene "Tiny" Ahlgrim (née Obrecht) can recall with perfect clarity the day in the late 1950s when the dashing 18-year old Otto Ahlgrim showed up at her family's north Longmont farm to ask her out to the movies. She was helping her father tend to the cows, and, dressed in overalls and boots, definitely not in a state to go out on the town. But Ahlgrim was, and his stylish outfit struck an incongruous note in the Obrecht's muddy barn. "He had on a white shirt, white pants, and white shoes,"...
Vicki Maurer's approach to life and volunteering is probably best put in her own words: "We do what we have to do and get it done." Maurer has been involved with many community organizations over the years, from Niwot Youth Sports to the Left Hand Valley Courier to the Niwot Cultural Arts Association. Appreciation for her efforts is widespread. "She's really easy to work with, enthusiastic about the town...and fantastic at what she does," said Michelle Henzel, treasurer of the NCAA. "Vicki is...
When a Channel 7 News crew showed up on Second Avenue on Saturday, January 28th, Kathy Koehler was ready to give them a tour of the Fire House Museum and an overview of Niwot's history. Little did she know they weren't there for the town--they were there for her. "I've volunteered with Kathy on the board of the Niwot Historical Society and Niwot Community Association," said Leonard Sitongia. "I think she volunteers with just about every organization in Niwot. Her volunteering is on a heroic...
