All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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The Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting staff is proposing text amendments to the Boulder County Land Use Code related to composting incidental to farming found in the Composting Facility use section 4-506.A. The proposed text amendments are intended to better facilitate composting in a manner that is supportive of regenerative agricultural practices and allows farmers to retail the finished product. The goals of this project include reducing local barriers to composting as an imple...
The name is still the same. Many of the favorite menu items are still there. The vibrant colors of the décor still welcome customers. But behind the office doors of Raza Fresa Mexican Kitchen, big changes are occurring. On April 1, 2023, Rosalio Ibarra and partner Yovanny Quintana purchased the popular Niwot restaurant from the original owner, Steve Garcia, who opened the restaurant under his family’s franchise name “Ajuua!” in the early 2000s, and changed the name to Raza Fresa in April of 2018...
This week, CW & Twenty Hands High are returning to the Rock & Rails stage for their second year, bringing their country, Southern rock, outlaw, red dirt sound with them. Local musician Taylor Shae will open for them. I talked to the band's founder and frontman, CW Wooten, just after the band finished a performance at Beasts and Brews, a taphouse and butcher shop in Colorado Springs. Our conversation started not by talking about music or his latest show, but about the food that was there. Wooten...
This past weekend, the Slepicka Tractor Show was held just off 79th Street in Niwot near the Monarch Road intersection. Attendees enjoyed beautiful weather for the show, as they browsed among decades' worth of restored tractors, engines and other farm equipment displayed on the front of the farm of long time Niwotonians, Jerry and Marsha Slepicka, who have owned the property since 1994. Co-sponsored by the Niwot Community Association, the show gave a peek into a past way of life in the area with...
Three classmates who attended the Niwot School, which included grades 1-8, located where the Diagonal Highway now runs, met at the Left Hand Grange No.9 in Niwot on May 31. The gathering was coordinated by the Niwot Historical Society with photos and images collected to be added to the Niwot historical records. John Montoya, who lives in Wheat Ridge, planned a stop in Niwot during a road trip to visit the Niwot Cemetery and the area where he grew up, and was excited to arrange a visit with two...
Do you know of a local event, interesting story or local person the Courier might be interested in covering? Do you have comments about what you have read in the Courier or suggestions to make? We would like to hear from you at editorial@lhvc.com....
When Lafayette, Colo., nurse Kara Plese traveled to St. Lucia for vacation in April, she assumed she'd come back with a few souvenirs. But she certainly never expected the one she actually brought home. On a walk near the resort where she was staying, Plese and her friends came across a small dog who looked scared and emaciated. "He was so skinny," she said. "He ran past us and almost got hit by a car. He was so mangy – I felt really bad for him." Plese wasn't sure she would see the dog again b...
Open Studios, a non-profit artist's organization based in Boulder, has returned to Niwot after a successful run last holiday season when the organization put on a display of art by local artists which was for sale during the month of December. Since then, property owner John Fischer has refurbished the interior and exterior of the property. The Niwot Cultural Arts Association worked with Fischer to make the former Niwot Rental & Feed property available to artists, and Open Studios is the first...
Dark skies and the threat of rain didn't deter a large crowd from enjoying the second Rock & Rails concert of the season on Thursday, June 8. The music kicked off at 5:00 p.m. with Dean Himes, a local country artist. Himes wowed the crowd with a combination of his original songs and well-loved covers. Himes is no stranger to Niwot having played at the Niwot Tavern, First Friday Art Walks and Rock & Rails in the past. Himes was inducted into the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022. Headli...
The requests for funding presented to the Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee June 6 included old and new events –- a new event designed to capitalize on the Bike MS: Colorado event coming through Niwot on Saturday, June 24, a FlowerFest event scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 5, music for First Friday Art Walks, a resurrection of Oktoberfest on Sept. 30, and a Where’s Waldo Local scavenger hunt throughout the month of July. Bike MS: Colorado Bike MS: Colorado is a bicycle ride, as opposed to a race, with a route from Fort Collins to...
Members of the Niwot Community Connection gathered June 11 to weed and mulch the Niwot Gateway sign on Highway 119. "Josh Morin provided mulch and had We Love Trees employees mulch around the perimeter of the sign," said Tim Wise, who organized the event. "Alvaro Madrigal at Western Cut provided mulch that was placed among the catmint on the sign berm by volunteers." The Niwot Community Connection is an organization that helps Niwotians 50 and over connect with each other, and perform community...
Although it has required some long hours, Niwot High alums Ryan Gonzales and Tyson Christensen are enjoying every minute of the Denver Nuggets' first NBA Finals trip in franchise history. No, neither Gonzales nor Christensen is suiting up for head coach Michael Malone, but both have been instrumental to the Nuggets' home-court success this postseason. Gonzales, a 2002 Niwot grad, works for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Nuggets, as a Senior Director and Producer of Broadcast...
The May 31 issue of the Left Hand Valley Courier included a photo of Gustave Kuhlman in the Senior Class Parade. The event was organized by the Niwot High School Boosters, rather than the Niwot Community Association....
Thursday's Rock & Rails headliner is familiar to many attendees, with proven performers who can get the audience up off of their lawn chairs, abandon their picnic baskets and onto the dance floor. It will be the popular Chris Daniels and the Kings, the beloved Colorado Music Hall of Fame inducted band, which has played its rock and blues-based music in venues throughout the world. They will be preceded by the opening act, Gunbarrel acoustic guitarist Dean Himes, a 2022 Colorado Country Music...
Niwot Market's own Bert Steele has been hosting a local car show since 2020 that helped keep restaurants alive during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the restaurants near the Niwot Market struggled to stay in business during the height of the coronavirus, Steele felt there had to be something that someone could do to bring attention to Niwot's businesses and bring people together. Steele worked with multiple other business owners and prominent community members to brainstorm ideas on how to...
Despite the threat of rain and the allure of the Denver Nuggets playoff game, Rock & Rails kicked off its summer 2023 season last Thursday, drawing an impressive and enthusiastic crowd. With looming dark clouds above, the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band provided the opening set. The headliner, Girls on Top!, followed with two sets of high-octane party music, bringing the dance floor to capacity. As usual, the team of volunteer greeters, beverage servers, and student "gargoyles"...
The Boulder City Council meeting on June 1 was the last stop for the consideration of allowing e-bikes on Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) trails, a process that took 18 months. Boulder City Council members present were Matt Benjamin, Mayor Aaron Brockett, Lauren Folkerts, Rachel Friend, Junie Joseph, Nicole Speer, Tara Winer and Bob Yates. Mayor Pro Tem Mark Wallach was not present. At the beginning of the hearing regarding e-bikes council member Rachel Friend recused herself with...
More art is coming to Niwot as summer begins. Open Studios, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting artists and enhancing and enriching the visual arts in Boulder County, in cooperation with the Niwot Cultural Arts Association, is bringing its annual members' show to the former feed store on 2nd Avenue. The exhibit features work from the more than 205 member artists who participate in the organization. It includes work in a variety of mediums, ranging from watercolor, paint on acrylic, mixed-m...
Sierra Melton, a native of Gunbarrel, has recently won the $20,000 P.E.O. Scholar Award presented by the P.E.O. Sisterhood. The P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) Sisterhood is a U.S.-based international women's organization of about 230,000 members, with a primary focus on providing educational opportunities for female students worldwide. Melton was nominated by the P.E.O. chapter in Boulder. According to the P.E.O. International website, "The P.E.O. Scholar Awards are one-time,...
Sandwiched between Thursday's first Rock & Rails concert of the season and Saturday's much-anticipated Niwot Lobsterfest, Niwot's First Friday Art Walk had fewer visitors than anticipated. But those who did make it out were treated to an evening of great music, inspiring art, light refreshments and fine dining. On Friday, June 2, a core group of Niwot business owners hosted four artists, including Penny Peterson at Slifer Smith and Frampton; abstract expressionist painter Blaise Simonelli,...
It was a fun-filled "Saturday in the Park" on June 3 as the Niwot Business Association held its Third Annual Lobsterfest at Whistle Stop Park in Niwot. The rainy skies cleared for this sunny charity event filled with over 150 friends, neighbors and family members which Deborah Fowler, an event organizer said raised over $3,000 to benefit the Niwot Sculpture Park, which is restoring the tree carvings created by Eddie Running Wolf. In addition to Fowler, the event was organized by Linda Klueber...
The first band to play Niwot's summer concert series 18 years ago returns to open the 2023 Rock & Rails summer concert series Thursday, June 1. Girls On Top!, a seven-member band featuring vocalists Dawn Beck, Kristin Henry and Michele Steele in three-part harmony, performs R&B, rock, soul and funk from the 1970s and 1980s, with a stage presence that has made them a favorite along the Front Range. "We're 24 years in," said Henry, who doubles as the band's manager. "We're interactive, we're part...
Gene Hayworth and Keith Waters are awarded the Left Hand Valley Courier's Left Hand Laurel for bringing the Niwot Jazz Festival back to life and for putting in the time and energy to organize Niwot's Oktoberfest. "We're really lucky to have the support of the Local Improvement District (LID) and the Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA)," Waters said regarding Oktoberfest. The event will be held this year on Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Cottonwood Square. "There will be beer and food...
Often on a clear, crisp morning when the weather is fine and the wind is calm, Niwot residents who are lucky enough to be out early may get a view of a slow moving, brightly colored train of balloons flying low on the horizon. While a few of them are navigated by private pilots, many of the balloons in the sky just east of town belong to commercial companies. According to RefUSA, there are 21 commercial hot air balloon sightseeing companies in Colorado, and the majority of balloons that travel...
Womens' Investment Group Tuesday, June 13, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Several motivated women in the real estate industry - lenders, real estate agents, and investors - are offering the opportunity to help others learn how to make money through real estate investments. The meeting is free of charge. To RSVP and learn more, write to Liana.Pomeroy@ccm.com. To learn more about the Left Hand Grange No. 9 and to rent the venue, visit www.lefthandgrange.org....
The Boulder City Council will take up the issue of allowing e-bikes on city open space trails, including several trails in and around Niwot and Gunbarrel, at its meeting on June 1 at 6 p.m. in the council chambers. On February 8 the Boulder Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT) rejected the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) staff recommendation for the adoption of regulations to allow e-bikes on trails that are in the plains (east of Broadway and US 36). This is known as Alternative B...
In 1987, Jerry and Marsha Slepicka bought a lot and, as per county regulation, had to keep it mowed. So they bought a tractor, and that original 1946 John Deere B turned into a somewhat unexpected hobby (collecting tractors) and a tradition: an annual tractor collection show. This year, the show will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 10, at the Slepickas' property, 6675 N. 79th Street in Niwot. Visitors will have the opportunity to walk around, check out the vintage farm...
Acclaimed author Ted Conover appeared at Inkberry Books in Niwot on May 24 to read from his new book, "Cheap Land Colorado: Off-Gridders at America's Edge," to an overflow crowd. Conover's earlier book, "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing," won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is a professor at New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, and has written for the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper's, and...
Niwot Clean-Up Day saw favorable weather Saturday, May 20, and a large amount of household waste recycled or sent to the landfill. "Another year and another successful NCA Clean-Up Day event," said event manager, John Barto. "I think everything went very well, and it was great to have such amazing volunteers. We couldn't do it without the help of our NCA members, the [drumline], and the scouts." There were approximately thirty volunteers helping this event operate smoothly. Barto mentioned that...
Saturday May 20 was a busy day in Niwot starting with the Niwot Community Association's annual Clean-Up Day, followed by the Niwot Business Association's Around the World Day, and concluding with an open house at the Left Hand Grange and a street concert by the House Blend Band on 2nd Avenue. Around the World Day, which began during the pandemic as the brainchild of NBA vice-president Deb Fowler as a way to bring shoppers to Niwot, provided the community with a reason to enjoy the spring...
In the 1950's, the area we now know as Gunbarrel Estates looked much like it did the century before. You'd see tractors instead of horse-drawn plows, of course, but the land was farmland, known locally as Carton Estate. The nearest neighbors were deer, prairie dogs and burrowing owls-all of which must have felt a world away from the growing city of Boulder. Around this time, an Illinois native and builder named Bob Bowron was settling his family in Boulder. The Bowrons might have stayed in...
After 35 years as an award-winning Boulder-based architect, Bob West retired in 2015, and bought a Wyoming ranch to raise Scottish Highland cattle. His memoir, "Twenty Miles of Fence: Blueprint of a Cowboy," co-written with Janet Fogg, describes the-at times-bumpy transition to life as a rancher along the North Laramie River. Accompanied by his family and trading what he called the "yuppie haven" of Boulder for the Devil's Washtub Ranch, West learned, sometimes the hard way, the joys and...
A crew of volunteers spent the morning of May 13 getting Whistle Stop Park ready for the Rock & Rails summer concert season. Several volunteers cleaned the Depot Building and the Caboose, while others hung banners at the front gate and on the Caboose. Barrels and table tops were moved out of the Depot and lights were reinstalled in preparation for the first concert on June 1. Offseason work included installing additional fencing at the southwest corner of the park, and new signage. Crew...
On Thursday, May 18, Governor Jared Polis signed climate legislation into law at Jack's Solar Garden near Niwot. Jack's Solar Garden, located on 95th Street between Niwot and Longmont, serves as a national model for governments, solar developers, and farmers for how to produce renewable energy while continuing agricultural production via agrivoltaics. In fact, it is the largest commercially active research site for agrivoltaics in the USA. Agrivoltaics is the co-location of agriculture and...
The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) held an in-person town hall on May 18 at the La Vita Bella restaurant on Main Street in Longmont. All three commissioners, Claire Levy, Marta Loachamin and Ashley Stolzmann, attended along with Boulder County Assessor Cynthia Braddock. The primary focus of the event were questions and answers about the assessor's property valuations. Other county issues raised by members of the public included rural subdivision paving policy. After introductory comments...
The City of Boulder continues the process of evaluating allowing e-bikes on city open space trails. On February 8 the Boulder Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT) rejected the city staff recommendation to allow e-bikes on trails that are in the plains (east of Broadway and US 36). The staff recommendation would have been consistent with Boulder County’s regulations permitting Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes on county open space trails. The OSBT sent their recommendation to the Boulder City Council for a final decision. The Boulder City Council w...
David Joseph Waters, age 40, was sentenced to 16 years in the Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to charges of attempted second-degree murder and possession of explosives or incendiary parts resulting from a road rage incident in Heatherwood on November 24, 2021. Waters was sentenced as part of a plea bargain with the stipulation that he would receive a sentence of between 10 and 30 years in prison. On May 12, Boulder County District Judge Robert Gunning sentenced Waters to 12 years on the attempted murder charge and four years on...
Members of the Left Hand Grange, Inc., board of directors and Niwot Business Association (NBA) President Eric Bergeson were present for a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house on Saturday, May 20, to mark the official unveiling of the new Grange flooring. Jim Dorvee, President of Left Hand Grange, Inc., and Left Hand Grange No. 9, spoke to a gathered crowd about Left Hand Grange No. 9 in Niwot being the oldest active state-chartered grange organization in Colorado and explained that the buildin...
At a recent Boulder County Planning Commission meeting, Prairie Orchard LLC faced stiff opposition from area residents for their planned reception hall and vacation rental at 5114 Niwot Road. At the April 19 meeting, staff planner Pete L'Orange presented the staff report which included traffic studies and recommendations from other Boulder County agencies. L'Orange said that 115 letters in opposition to the project and four letters in support had been received, in addition to a petition against...
Niwot Business Association President Eric Bergeson introduced Angela Hudgins as the new Niwot Administrative Coordinator at the May 9 NBA meeting. "Angela is an architect, and has a lot of experience in marketing, and has her own business," Bergeson said. Hudgins, who lives on Oxford Road east of 95th Street, has many ties to the Niwot community, with three children in the Niwot High School feeder system. She formed her own business, Boulder Mama, a craft, clothing and "sweet treats" business...
Ribbon Cutting for the Grange's new flooring Saturday, May 20, 5:45 p.m. - 8 p.m. With great pride and excitement, the Left Hand Grange No. 9 will celebrate its new main level flooring with a community ribbon-cutting ceremony. Join in the fun and be treated to complimentary food and wine. The celebration will continue throughout the evening with the first edition of the 2nd Avenue Concert Series featuring the House Blend Band. The Grange venue is rented by the community for meetings, dance...
On Jan. 17, BMO Financial Group, and its subsidiaries, BMO Financial Corp. and BMO Harris Bank N.A., were given approval to complete the acquisition of Bank of the West from its parent bank, BNP Paribas. The Bank of Montreal is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. BMO Harris Bank, N.A., doing business as BMO, is the U.S. subsidiary of Bank of Montreal. Bank of Montreal is one of the eighth largest banks, by assets, in North America, with total assets of C$1.14 trillion as of October 31, 2022. "We are excited...
On May 1, the Niwot Design Review Committee held a virtual meeting to discuss the proposed new sign to be placed in front of the former Bank of the West at 97 2nd Avenue in Niwot. BMO, a subsidiary of Bank of Montreal, recently completed the acquisition of Bank of the West, and proposed new BMO signage. Andrea Vaughn, the staff liaison from Boulder County for the committee, opened the hearing and Denise Grimm of Boulder County Long Range Planning also attended. The proposed colors for a sign...
Pat Murphy and the crew at Niwot Real Estate - Compass hosted the May meeting of the Niwot Business Association May 9. NBA president Eric Bergeson introduced Angela Hudgins, who has been contracted to serve as the new Administrative Coordinator for the NBA and other non-profit organizations. He also discussed the recent transition of the www.niwot.com website to a new format. Bergeson noted that an NBA focus group has been formed to look at the website, headed by NBA vice-president Deb Fowler. N...
Over the next few months, the former feed store on 2nd Avenue will continue its reimagined purpose as a home for art and culture in Niwot. "At this time, the climate isn't good to start building any kind of development for that lot, so we decided to do a minimal fix up and get the Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA) involved and create something that would encourage people to come downtown," said John Fischer, who co-owns the building with his wife Xan. "Until the climate for redevelopment...
● In coordination with NBA event champions and other Niwot organizations, develop and maintain the master calendar for Niwot events, meetings and activities. ● With guidance from the NBA treasurer, maintain NBA related financial records and assist in developing annual budgets. ● Conduct bookkeeping operations for the NBA and coordinate with CPA to ensure accurate and up to date financial records ● Coordinate communication between NBA board and members at large ● Assist all NBA subcommittees as necessary including the NBA Executive Committee...
Niwot's Local Improvement District Advisory Committee (LID) approved funding requests for six events in Niwot from May to September, including several beloved Niwot events as well as a new music event. The May 2 meeting included annual requests from the Niwot Business Association (NBA), Niwot Community Association (NCA) and Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA), and a request from a local restaurant. Cottonwood Concert Among the funding requests approved was a new event, a Cottonwood Concert,...
The Niwot Business Association is bringing back Around the World Day on Saturday, May 20, starting at 10 a.m. and lasting throughout the day until 4 p.m. The event was brought to life during the pandemic as a way to get people out and about in Niwot late in May when temperatures warm up. The popularity of the event with businesses and shoppers alike led to it becoming a much-anticipated annual event. This year will be the third annual Around the World Day, where local businesses throughout...
Last Saturday, May 6, friends and colleagues of Ann Whitehill gathered to honor her with the dedication of a beautiful bench on the patio outside of Niwot Jewelry & Gifts and next to Osmosis Art and Architecture. Approximately 35 people attended to share stories and reminisce, including Whitehill's sister Alice, and her brother David. The bench dedication had been planned for some time by Jan Kahl of Niwot Jewelry & Gifts, who had employed Whitehill. Kahl helped with a location for the bench,...
