Left Hand Valley Courier - All Local, All The Time

The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop, primarily a children's bookstore, will be closing its doors on Dec. 9, two-and-a-half years after it opened in the former "Niwot Tribune" building on Second Avenue...

Niwot High School student Rae Sweeney has been an outstanding leader of the Niwot High School Color Guard for the last two seasons. The Color Guard performs with the marching band at football...

Niwot High School's art show, hosted by the NHS Booster Music Performance and Art under the umbrella of the parent-run Niwot High School Boosters, Inc., is returning for its sophomore year Dec. 4-6 fr...

Snow came early on Saturday, Oct. 28, but it did not deter the hundreds of costumed children (and adults) who gathered in Niwot for the annual Great Pumpkin Party. Pat Murphy, who has been the...

For the first time since 2018, the "Pride of Niwot" Cougar Marching Band attended the Greeley Invitational Marching Festival on Saturday Oct. 21. High schools from Greeley, Loveland, Longmont, and...

When Allison Gundmundson was in elementary school, she learned that Candlelight Dinner Playhouse hosted acting classes that included children. Whenever she could find the time, Gundmundson would join...

The Great Pumpkin Party is one of Niwot's most beloved traditions, with costumed children of all ages, often accompanied by pets dressed up as well, going trick-or-treating at Niwot businesses in Old...

Brian Dietzen, a 1996 Niwot High School graduate, has gone on to a Hollywood acting career, where he is known mainly for his recurring role in the popular drama “NCIS.” Born in Illinois, he moved...

The 2023 Niwot Trot 5K, which began and ended at Whistle Stop Park Oct. 1, brought a record number of participants, some running, some walking, and some with strollers. Aimee Morin, one of the main...

The Niwot Trot returned to the streets of Niwot Oct. 1 with a 5K course winding through residential areas and looping back to the starting line, and finishing line, at Whistle Stop Park. Hundreds of...

“Music,” Abby White says, “is important to so many aspects of life. It uses so many different parts of your brain in different ways than you would get from academics. And that has really helped...

Michael Tomich and Patty Machen have owned The Old Oak Coffeehouse since 2017. In 2019, they also formed The House Blend Band. The original three-piece band started small, performing inside the...

Fall came to Niwot a day early on Friday, Sept. 22, with Niwot's annual homecoming parade. The parade followed the usual route, winding past Niwot Elementary School, where students greeted the...

The Niwot Elementary Parent Teacher Advisory Council (PTAC) is hosting the annual Niwot Trot for the 15th year to raise money for Niwot Elementary School. The Trot will start on Oct. 1 at 9 a.m. in...

This year, Niwot Elementary School has hired six new teachers due primarily to the recent retirements of previous teachers, all of whom worked at the elementary school for at least well over a decade....

Niwot High School's annual homecoming festivities are a joy to both witness, and be a part of. This year's theme is "A Night in New Orleans," more commonly known as Mardi Gras. Niwot's student...

There are six new teachers and a new family liaison starting at Niwot High School this year, teaching a wide variety of different studies. According to Principal Eric Rauschkolb, these hirings are...

Niwot Elementary School has hired a significant number of new teachers this fall due to retirements and student enrollment. In the past year, several teachers retired at Niwot Elementary School,...

Dressed in white suits, with finely choreographed dance moves, the musicians of One on One made the music come alive at Rock & Rails Aug. 10. Although the early afternoon began with a light...

Beautiful blue skies and high temperatures brought out a huge crowd to the July 13 edition of Rock & Rails. And the bands didn't disappoint. Award-winning songwriter Tim Ostdiek got the evening...

Niwot is no stranger to wildlife occasionally roaming into this neck of the woods every now and then. There have been recent sightings of lynx, bobcats, foxes, deer, raccoons, snakes, prairie dogs, an...

Niwot High School's band program is full of dedicated musicians, and that includes the drumline. The marching band as a whole is under the instruction of Wade Hendricks, and the drumline is being...

"You know you did something right when your kids throw you a retirement party and all you have to do is show up," said Julie Breyer, recently retired Niwot Elementary School third grade teacher. On...

Niwot High School's graduation ceremony last Saturday was equal parts bright and sentimental. The football field was awash with rows of white chairs and green capped and gowned members of the class...

Each year the St. Vrain Valley School District requests submissions from families for their annual Teacher of the Year award. Together with each school's input from their respective administrations,...

Three beloved teachers are retiring from Niwot Elementary School this year - Julie Nelson-Breyer, Lori Charbonnaeu, and Jessica Easley. Breyer has taught for twenty-five years and Charbonneau for...

When spotlights illuminate a theater set on opening night, the audience is usually unaware of the work that has gone into making sure that the world they see on stage provides a safe environment for...

Did you know that Niwot had a live nude dancing venue in the 1980s? The Ace of Hearts was located at 112 2nd Avenue, now occupied by Little Bird. The show was apparently short-lived. Kathy Koehler...

Was your house at one time in the middle of a cornfield? Some of Niwot's most interesting history happened as recently as the 1980's and 90's when the downtown streets were just dirt. Shopping meant y...

He may not have finished high school in Niwot, but that doesn't stop Zeb Baker from considering himself a Cougar. While enrolled at Niwot High School from his freshman through junior year in the early...

Growing up in Niwot together, Lena Heilmann and her late sister Danielle developed a close relationship from a young age that held strong into their early adult years. The two spent their childhood...

Niwot Elementary School was honored April 1 when the school was chosen among dozens of applicants to pilot a new program for fifth graders. The program will combine elements of geography, physics,...

Some of my friends have called me a "keeper of stories," and as much as I take pride in that title, I don't feel as though I've lived enough to be a keeper of my own stories yet. Instead, I collect...

On Saturday, Feb. 25, The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop in downtown Niwot held its first Drag Queen Storytime, with Miss Shirley reading to children who had signed up in advance to attend. The event...

On Feb. 21, Niwot Youth Sports basketball welcomed special guest Frank Ryder to practice at Flagstaff Academy. Ryder, a Boulder native and former Colorado Buffaloes center, stopped by NYS Coach Jason...

Books provide the reader with an incredible number of benefits, including a sense of connectedness with community and an escape from a potentially difficult everyday life. However, not everyone has...

Every year at Niwot High School, members of all parts of the school come together to create a musical. This year, the show is Beauty and the Beast. It was especially designed to be aimed towards kids...

The pandemic inspired many people to pick up new hobbies, and it inspired others to further develop their passions into something greater. For Niwot senior Dakota Allison and junior Jasper Allison,...

Since 2008, the Mwebaza Foundation has been building collaborative partnerships between schools in Uganda and Colorado. As an educational organization, the foundation works with students to inspire...

"Ever since I was in elementary school," Najla Onofre Valles admits, "I've been wanting to use a guitar and learn how to play it. I just thought it would be something really fun to do." Valles, who...

A third generation Coloradoan, I was born in Longmont and grew up in Southmoor Park where my parents (Courier carriers Otto and Arlene Ahlgrim) reside today. Graduating from Niwot High School in the...

In 1956, Robert Hersh lost his two front teeth just before Christmastime. Now, 66 years later, his granddaughter Ella is missing those same teeth. Hersh made his local paper in Westchester, New York,...

Niwot Elementary School third-grader Oskar Leopold and his brother, kindergartener Teddy Leopold, won first prize in the Water Education Colorado's "Water '22 Student Showcase" competition awarded...

The Christmas shopping season is in full swing so what better way to shop than with food and beverages? On Thursday, Dec. 15, The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop (TWJ) hosted "Goodies for Grownups" at...

During the first week of December, the Niwot High School Jazz Band played in an unusual venue. Instead of performing in the school auditorium, where such performances have been held in the past, the...

Monte Comer was a kid with a lot of friends. He was a fixture on his baseball team in the Gunbarrel Lefthand Valley Recreation Association, or GLVRA as it was known (now Niwot Youth Sports). He had...