All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
Sorted by date Results 151 - 200 of 208
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...
BASEBALL David Bote, son of former NHS Baseball Coach Bob Bote, earned his third promotion to the Chicago Cubs’ major league squad June 26 when Kris Bryant went on the disabled list. Bote has been back and forth between Iowa (AAA) and the Cubs this season after making his major league debut with the Cubs during an April trip to Colorado. At Iowa, Bote was hitting .268 with 12 homers and 38 RBI, both high marks on the team. He has played second base, third base, shortstop and outfield in the m...
The Colorado Lottery and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) will present the Starburst Award to Boulder County and the Niwot Cultural Arts Association on Thursday, Aug. 9 at 4 p.m. at the Niwot Children’s Park, 101 1st Avenue in Niwot. The award was presented to 11 outstanding parks projects funded by Lottery proceeds. Niwot Children’s Park received a grant of $170,000 from GOCO for the purchase of the property, with development costs of over $580,000 donated by tne Niwot community. The park opened October 2, 2016, and continues to be a pop...
At its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 5, the Niwot LID Advisory Committee considered funding requests for the eighth annual Jazz on 2nd Avenue festival, as well for mowing of the future parking lot west of Old Town. Before hearing the evening’s applications, members reviewed Treasurer Harris Faberman’s report through the end of May. So far, the LID has committed to $109,314 in expenses in 2018, leaving $23,686 from the budget to spend for the remainder of the year. However, the report...
Last week the Colorado Lottery announced winners of the 2018 Starburst Awards, which recognize public projects that use lottery funds, and the Niwot Children’s Park was one of 11 winners chosen statewide. The lottery funds — in the amount of $140,000 — came out to be about 70 percent of the purchase price of the property the park sits on at 101 First Avenue in Niwot, with Jeff and Cynthia Lambert and funds from the Niwot community providing the balance. Another $20,700 of services were donat...
The 13th-annual Rock & Rails summer concert series kicks off on June 7 and organizers are gearing up for another great summer of live music and family fun on Thursday nights at Whistlestop Park. Opening acts take the stage at 5 p.m., for an hour, followed by a headliner, with music resuming around 6:30. There is no charge for admission, and seating is “bring-your-own” on a first-come, first-serve basis. Leading things off this season is longtime local guitarist Dean Himes in the early show, foll...
There’s a debate to be had about whether Niwot senior Mya Ostrom is a more dedicated student or a more dedicated golfer, but one thing there’s no argument about is her composure during a stress-filled round at the Class 4A Regional 4 tournament at Highland Hills GC on May 7. “That is the most pressure that I've seen in a girls tournament and she showed great poise,” Head Coach Ed Weaver said after Ostrom’s unconventional round. Thanks to a special arrangement between Weaver, the Colorado...
At the regular monthly meeting on May 1, the Niwot LID Advisory Committee got a sneak peek at the Niwot Business Association’s new branding campaign, and heard about some important changes in store for this year’s Rock & Rails Summer concert series. Boulder County liaison Mark Ruzzin kicked off the meeting with a brief discussion about officer elections, a subject curiously left out of the Committee’s bylaws. Leadership of the nine-member Committee consists of a Chair, who conducts the meeti...
TRACK & FIELD Valarie Allman (Silver Creek) is back for her senior year at Stanford after redshirting last season. Allman was far from idle, earning a silver medal at the World University Games in Taiwan, and setting the 12th-best discus mark in U.S. history. She opened the 2018 Track & Field season with a discus throw of 199.0 feet at the Stanford Invitational March 31, easily outdistancing the competition. In fact, all three of Allman’s throws would have won the meet, topping 184’5” each...
Maybe it’s the splendor of the glorious view of the mountains. It could be the peacefulness and beauty of the rural setting. Whatever the case, the vibe in Niwot inspires many artists. The seventh annual Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show will be tapping into that creativeness by offering a showcase for pieces featuring Niwot. Sponsored by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA) and hosted by businesses throughout town, 30 artists will display their entries beginning Friday, April 6, in conjuncti...
BASEBALL David Bote, son of former Niwot High Baseball Coach Bob Bote, is in his first major league spring training camp with the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, AZ. Bote, playing second base, opened the exhibition season in the starting lineup and collected a single in his first plate appearance. He followed with another base hit in the second game of the spring, coming in as a replacement for Javier Baez. Bote, the Cubs’ 15th-ranked prospect, is featured on a video on the Cubs’ website, talking about working with Hall-of-Famer Alan Trammell last fal...
This month’s progress issue features several area groups, clubs and organizations that are all about volunteerism. Though they may range in variety — such as the Niwot Historical Society, the Niwot Community Association or the Longmont Foundation — they have one common goal, and that is to make the community a better place to live, work and play. The next six pages of this issue feature several of the organizations, what they’re about and ways to get involved. We hope you enjoy learning about the many groups that make this community tick. N...
Current officers of the Niwot Business Association were re-elected at the February 13 NBA meeting, hosted by the Niwot Inn and Treppeda’s Italian Restaurant. In the only contested rate, incumbent vice-president Deborah Fowler was re-elected as vice-president over Jim Ditzel. Tony Santelli will continue as president, Linda Klueber will return as secretary, and Dayna Roane was re-elected as treasurer. The NBA officers also serve as the board of directors. Santelli thanked Ditzel for his interest in serving the NBA and welcomed his continued i...
On Feb. 6, the Niwot LID Advisory Committee considered five funding requests, got a sneak preview of the NBA’s 2018 budget and heard after-action reports for two popular events from last year. They also said goodbye to AC members Tony Santelli and Howard Treppeda, who will be stepping down at the end of the month when their latest five-year terms expire. Treasurer Harris Faberman led off with an update on the District’s 2017 finances. The LID collected $13,253.70 in sales tax revenue for Nov...
Preparations for the fourth annual Let’s Wine About Winter event are underway. During this sometimes chilly, but warm-hearted social event, more than 28 businesses throughout Niwot will be serving up a little something from 1-5 pm, Saturday, Feb. 24 as patrons wander the town and enjoy public outdoor art, art galleries and culinary delights. Ducking in and out of businesses, sipping on wines, brews and other beverages, snacking on cheeses, nuts and chocolates, and meeting old and new friends are among the objectives for the afternoon, along w...
After a short thank you by Chuck Klueber, Niwot Business Association Streetscapes Coordinator, a few key people grabbed shovels on this brisk day, and moved some dirt for an official groundbreaking to start the Connectivity Project, which covers about 5000 square feet at the corner of Niwot Road and 79th Street. Aiming for an end of March completion of the dirt moving, rock placement, and infrastructure, Outdoor Craftsmen owner Scott Deemer said his workers were ready to start work as soon as...
There aren’t many students who would opt to spend a precious Saturday formally arguing about charged political topics or reciting long poems from memory, but then again, there aren’t many students like the polymaths of Niwot’s Forensics team. Led by co-captains Aileen Ma and Stephanie Reitzig, the team is off to a blistering start this year, with medal-winning performances from both their seasoned veterans as well as some high-spirited newcomers. Such was the case last Saturday at the annua...
Niwot has the good fortune of being Alyson Bell’s family. And, as it is with the best of kin, Bell’s positive impacts are deep and immeasurable. “I like to keep a full plate and keep it rolling” Bell said. And that truly is the Alyson Bell effect. Her personal touch on Niwot’s signature events such as Let’s Wine about Winter, Rock & Rails, and The Great Pumpkin Party, through her organizing and hands-on effort and by ensuring that graphics, printed materials and online presences are emblematic,...
Plans for a public parking lot west of Old Town Niwot moved forward last week after Boulder County officials cleared some administrative hurdles. At a public hearing held on Nov. 15, the Boulder County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of amendments to the Boulder County Land Use Code that will allow for “offsite parking in areas where onsite parking is constrained and where the allowance of offsite parking facilities would help maintain the character and function of the a...
Plans for a public parking lot west of Old Town Niwot moved forward last week after Boulder County officials cleared some administrative hurdles. At a public hearing held on Nov. 15, the Boulder County Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of amendments to the Boulder County Land Use Code that will allow for “offsite parking in areas where onsite parking is constrained and where the allowance of offsite parking facilities would help maintain the character and function of the a...
Mackenzie Fidelak - Stanford For as long as she can remember, Niwot volleyball standout Mackenzie Fidelak has had Stanford University at the top of her college wish list, but not necessarily for obvious reasons. To be sure, Stanford is home to one of the most successful collegiate volleyball programs in the country. Winners of seven NCAA national championship matches —and runners-up in another eight—the Cardinal are a perennial top-ten team that has never finished a season with a losing record....
It’s hard to describe the past decade of Niwot football without using the word tumultuous. After two classification changes, three head coaching changes, and an abysmal win-loss record, the program’s successes have been few and far between. Last spring, longtime Berthoud defensive coordinator Jeremy Lanter was tasked with rehabilitating the Niwot program, a challenge the first year head coach has taken to heart. As the 2017 season looms, Lanter has a roster full of exciting young players and...
Several years ago the Niwot Local Improvement District had a transportation and connectivity study done through Boulder County that identified a need for a dedicated parking lot in or near the business district downtown. Bruce Warren, who participated in the study, said that when parking usage downtown exceeds 74 percent of the available spaces open to the public, it’s time to explore options for a parking facility, and when it reaches 85%, it’s time to act. Anyone who frequents downtown Niwot can attest that often times it is hard to find par...
On Monday, Aug. 7, the Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) Advisory Committee held its annual joint meeting with the Boulder County Commissioners to provide them with a first-hand account of the state of affairs in Niwot. Commissioners Cindy Domenico and Deb Garder (Elise Jones was out of town) along with County staff Peter Salas, Michelle Krezek and Mark Ruzzin were joined by LID Co-Chairs Laura Skaggs, and Carrie Wise, Vice-Chair Jim Eastman, Treasurer Harris Faberman, and members Tony Sant...
Vandals have once again damaged the Niwot Children’s Park, and the Niwot Cultural Arts Association is taking steps to curb the destruction. Two neighbors have reported late-night activity at the park recently, and Building Committee member Riki Frea noticed that someone had carved into one of the posts at the pergola, and that more of the concrete critters adorning some of the play structures had been damaged. Damage to the critters was noticed last fall, and Frea and representatives of L...
The Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 11, with several large expenditures on the agenda. Before hearing funding requests, members reviewed the July budget reports prepared by county liaison Pete Salas and LID treasurer Harris Faberman. According to their figures, the LID has disbursed just over $25,500 so far this year and has committed to spend another $39,806, not counting the pending applications, leaving just under $68,000 in the...
SOFTBALL Nicki Blue (Niwot) finished her season with a 10-12 win-loss mark for South Carolina, which ended the season with a 34-25 record. Blue was the losing pitcher in a 9-0 loss to fourth-ranked Arizona, allowing six runs in 5.2 innings, as Arizona scored four times in the sixth inning when the South Carolina leftfielder lost a ball in the sun for a run-scoring double. South Carolina was ranked number 24 at the time and lost in the Regional final. Blue tied for fifth all-time in South...
This year’s Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show as part of the First Friday Art Walk in Niwot produced more winners than ever before as the event continues to grow. Michelle Henzel, an organizer for the show and a member of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association board of directors, said there were a total of 21 entries scattered throughout local businesses. The only requirement for the artwork was to feature Niwot in some fashion. Pieces were displayed at local merchants, including ShopGirl, Pebble A...
Jenna McCaffrey When Niwot senior distance runner Jenna McCaffrey started weighing her post-high school options last year, Arizona was the furthest place from her mind. “I was never really looking into going to school in Arizona, because it’s so hot there,” she said. Instead, the four-year member of both the cross country and track teams at Niwot looked into options closer to home, including Colorado School of Mines and CSU. Then a former running coach suggested she take a look at North...
Rock & Rails will kick off its 12th summer concert series on June 1 with Mojomama w/ Bass Legends as the headliner at Whistle Stop Park in Niwot. Nick G and Nalani will open the event with music starting at 5 p.m. The headliner usually begins around 6:30 p.m. The weekly event is sponsored by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association in conjunction with the Niwot Business Association, and is free to the public each Thursday from June 1 to August 31. One of the three event managers, Vicki Maurer, said...
At its May 2 meeting the Niwot LID Advisory Committee heard a preview at what’s shaping up to be another busy summer around town. Before considering the four funding requests on the agenda, the Co-chair Laura Skaggs reviewed the February 2017 revenue report. According to figures from Boulder County, LID sales tax collections for that month were $15,898, which is nearly 40 percent higher than the same period last year ($11,390). Members were surprised and pleased by the sharp increase, but m...
This month’s First Friday Art Walk kicked off a juried art show spread throughout various businesses. Michelle Henzel, with Osmosis and other Niwot Cultural Arts Association board members, launched the Why Not Niwot Juried Art Show in eight different businesses for the May art walk. There are a total of 22 pieces — all have to feature Niwot in some way — displayed in eight different businesses around town. Those businesses are ShopGirl, Pebble Art Jewelry, Painted Primrose, Niwot Inn, Niwot Jewe...
The clean-up day for the Niwot Children’s Park planned for April 29 was a casualty of the late-April snowstorm. Jason Thomas was the only one to brave the snow and cold to walk the park with Niwot Cultural Arts Association staff, picking up two pieces of trash. Longtime park supporter Stacey Secatch came by the park earlier in the week and removed dog waste which had been left behind. The NCAA will try again for Saturday, May 6 at 9 a.m. Free donuts will be provided. Volunteers are asked to b...
This year’s PAC-12 men’s golf conference championship was held at Boulder Country Club over the weekend. Rain and then about four inches of snow held up Saturday’s rounds, and leftover snow on Sunday morning made for even more delays. But the golfers were able to play 54 holes, meeting the criteria of 36 for an NCAA-sanctioned event. Bob Webster — who belongs to the club and serves on the board of directors, along with acting as governor of the Colorado Golf Association — said that hosting t...
When we first started the Courier I had the distinct impression that we were like one of those 1940s Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney movies, where the kids put on a show in a barn and then decide to take it to Broadway. We were seven people with diverse backgrounds – a lawyer, an architect, a paralegal, a photographer, a teacher, a banker and a FDA investigator. Not quite the butcher, baker and candlestick maker, but close. Our main goal was to highlight the academic and athletic accomplishments of area students that the two local dailies t...
BASEBALL Pate Katechis (Niwot) is second on the team in homeruns with three for Kearney-Nebraska. Katechis, who plays leftfield, is hitting .228 on the season, with 15 RBI. He had two doubles, scoring a run and driving in two runs, in an 11-2 win over Washburn March 31. Greg Reynolds (Silver Creek) is hitting .342 for Colorado Mesa this season. Reynolds, who started at shortstop and moved to third base, had two hits including a double, scoring a run in an 11-10 win over New Mexico Highlands April 1. Ford Ladd (Niwot) is hitting .500 for New Yor...
A cross-disciplinary research effort by a number of professors at the University of Colorado-Boulder and Colorado State University has uncovered a surprising mistake in the translation of the Arapaho language. The Arapaho word “niwot” or “nowoo3” in the Hinono’ei language, which has long been thought to mean “left-hand,” turns out to instead be correctly translated as “right-hand.” A similar (but never corrected) error occurred in the middle ages when priests were told to be “celibate” when l...
The Niwot LID Advisory Committee held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 7, and once again, sales tax drove the discussion. Through two months of 2017, the LID has committed to $19,687 in expenses, including half of the Economic Development Director’s salary ($11,250), according to Treasurer Harris Faberman. His report also included an estimate of the LID’s current capital purchases reserve balance ($265,945), based on his calculation of net revenues over the past nine years. The com...
Madison Barkow Niwot three-sport star Maddie Barkow knew she wanted to play soccer to the University of Northern Colorado since her sophomore year of high school. On Feb. 1, she made it official, signing a national letter of intent with UNC. “The coach wanted me early on,” Barkow said in explaining her choice. “He believed in me after I tore my ACL during my sophomore year.” Barkow gave veteran UNC coach Tim Barrera her verbal commitment while recovering from the injury two years ago, and nev...
The Niwot Children’s Park has apparently been vandalized, according to a posting from Jan. 24 on the Niwot Children’s Park Facebook page. One of the park’s most notable and unique features are the small, custom-crafted, painted stone creatures—such as bats, insects, frogs, and lizards that inhabit the area—in various locations on the play structures and other elements throughout the park. Several of these stone animals have been severely damaged or destroyed, some appearing to have been chis...
The Niwot wrestling team witnessed history at the Frederick Warrior Invite on Jan. 14, and not just because of Tommy Stager. Last weekend’s meet featured seven girls-only brackets, making it the first girls-specific high school wrestling event in the state of Colorado. More than 80 female wrestlers from 42 different Colorado schools (and one in Nebraska) competed on Saturday, and tournament organizers hope it helps the growing sport’s visibility. Currently, the Colorado High School Act...
HOCKEY One of the country’s top collegiate hockey players, Andrew Sturtz of Penn State, is the nephew of Niwot residents Brad and Jane Langdon. Sturtz is from Buffalo, NY, and is currently a sophomore forward for the Nittany Lions. As a freshman, he led the team in goals with 18, which was the fifth-most in the country by a freshman. The performance earned him the freshman of the year award. His first goal for Penn State was named the NCAA’s No. 1 Play of the Week on Oct. 23, 2015, coming agains...
Tommy Stager Niwot wrestler Tommy Stager will take his considerable talents on the mat to the Air Force Academy next year. Stager, a senior, signed a national letter of intent Nov. 10 to wrestle at the Academy next year after considering offers from Princeton, the University of Chicago, Washington & Lee and Colorado School of Mines. Stager earned a bronze medal last summer at the AAU tournament, narrowly missing All-American status. Stager’s overall record for the 2015-2016 campaign was 1...
BASEBALL Sean Ratliff (Niwot) began his professional coaching career as hitting coach for the Kingsport Mets in 2015. In 2016 Ratliff moved up to the Brooklyn Cyclones, the short-season Class A affiliate of the Mets. And this fall he coached in the Instructional League, where his prize pupil, Tim Tebow, homered on the first pitch he saw. Ratliff was drafted by the Mets out of Stanford University, where he starred in the College World Series. He worked his way up to Class AA in the Mets organization, and appeared in several spring training...
The Niwot Children's Park has had many eyes on it, especially those of little children, for a number of months as they've awaited the opening of the park for play. Their anticipation was finally alleviated when the park finally opened on a sunny afternoon on Sunday, Oct. 2. It was not only eagerly awaited by children though. The many adults who have been working on this project to bring it to fruition were excited that the park is finally open. Fundraising Coordinator Riki Frea had a hard time f...
The construction fencing was replaced with a new wooden fence, and those that have helped push the cause couldn’t be happier. Biff Warren, president of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association and one of the organizers for the new park, said that the project has really taken a village to complete. “We need to thank and recognize literally hundreds of people who have donated to the park in some fashion,” Warren said. “There were kids who sold lemonade and donated proceeds, businesses that hosted...
TRACK Elise Cranny (Niwot), a junior at Stanford University, ran in the 1500 Meters at the 2016 Olympic Track and Field Team Trials, in Eugene, OR, July 7-8. The top three runners in each event qualified for the Team USA for the Rio Olympics. Cranny made the semi-finals, but fell short of making the finals of the event. She was back in Colorado after finishing second in the 1500 Meters at the NCAA finals, missing first place by .004 seconds with a time of 4:09.54. It was the closest finish in th...
A community thrives when its members are involved, passionate, ambitious and always looking to the future. In these respects, Riki Frea excels. Frea, a Niwot resident, mother and unwavering volunteer, is recognized with the Courier’s Lefthand Laurel for her commitment to the Niwot community and its youth. Despite juggling the busy schedule that comes along with being a mother of three, Frea still manages to donate much of her time to the community. She serves as an integral member of the Niwot Children’s Park building committee and vol...
On June’s first Friday of the month, Osmosis Gallery and the Niwot Cultural Arts Association hosted the winners of this year’s art show. Emceed by Biff Warren of NCAA, and Anne Postle and Michelle Henzel, also of NCAA and Osmosis Gallery, announced the winners of this fifth season. Twenty entries in all were submitted, with the only requirement being it needed to represent Niwot in some way. According to Osmosis Gallery owner Anne Postle, by the time Friday’s winner was revealed, 6 of the 20 ent...
