Colorado’s first Buc-ee’s is nothing short of a phenomenon. On March 18, the Texas-born travel center opened one of its largest locations in the nation in Johnstown with a 74,000-square-foot convenience store, 116 gas pumps, and enough beaver nuggets to feed the entire Rocky Mountain region. Hundreds of fans attended its grand opening, some coming from other states just to bask in the red and yellow “aura,” as one fan put it, of mascot Buc-ee beaver. Even in the weeks after, cars full of visitors backed up from the gas station to the highway exit ramp, which sits in a mostly rural section of C ..read more

UPDATED April 9 at 11:33 a.m. to include interviews with the brewery owners.  Since 2011, Telluride Brewing Co. has made beer exclusively at its production facility in its namesake mountain town. But that will soon change. According to a recent announcement, the brewery plans to relocate 83% of its production to Ska Brewing Co. in Durango, citing rising operational costs including expenses associated with wastewater management. Through the partnership, the brewery’s owners hope to save money and bolster revenue without having to increase beer prices. Ska will begin brewing Telluride beers ..read more

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems). The first time I ever used trekking poles, they felt cumbersome, clunky and, at times, downright annoying. It was February 2017 and my then-boyfriend (now husband) had convinced me to trade a day riding on the slopes in Telluride for a snowshoeing adventure. I had never snowshoed before and recall feeling like a newborn deer, shakily trying to ..read more

For the first time in more than 40 years, a congressional district in Colorado is without a voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1983, a seat sat vacant because Jack Swigert, a former astronaut on the Apollo 13 who was elected the previous November, died of cancer one week before taking office. This time around, it’s because Republican Ken Buck stepped down from Congress late last month — more than nine months before the end of his fifth term representing the 4th Congressional District. Congressional candidate Jack Swigert casts his vote on Nov. 2, 1982. He won the election but died ..read more

Doing good for families, the arts, the outdoors and public health is also good for Colorado’s bottom line, according to a new report that says nonprofits contributed $62 billion to the state’s annual economy and supported 262,000 jobs. The total economic impact is up significantly from the $40 billion detailed in the last report on Colorado nonprofits, released in 2019. Jobs directly and indirectly tied to nonprofit organizations employ more people than the agriculture, mining, and information industries combined, according to the analysis released Thursday by the Colorado Nonprofit Associatio ..read more

Business confidence in Colorado is surging and has turned positive for the first time in two years as concerns over inflation and recession ease, according to the Leeds Business Confidence Index from the University of Colorado Boulder. Looking ahead to the second and third quarters, the 178 panelists surveyed reported a positive outlook for the national economy, state economy, industry sales, profits, hiring plans, and capital expenditure. That hasn’t happened since mid-2022, when high inflation came to dominate the headlines. “A year ago when we were talking about this report it was pretty ne ..read more

When Lucy Nichols lived in Arvada in the 1970s, she chose Beauty Inc. as the place to get her hair done — first in Denver, then in Wheat Ridge after the business moved. She continued going to the family-run hair salon even when she lived in Watkins, nearly 30 miles away. Same story after Nichols, 71, moved to Westminster and then to Longmont, where she lives today. “This was always my go-to,” she said while sitting for a last hair appointment this week at the venerable beauty shop on West 44th Avenue, half a century after her first cut. “It’s like family here.” But the matriarch of the family ..read more

As ski passes for the 2024-25 season go on sale this month, one small Colorado resort has decided it will not open for at least the next year. Hesperus Ski Area near Durango said it “will not operate for the 2024/2025 season. … Both downhill and uphill skiing as well as winter tubing will not be available.” That means Hesperus will be closed for two consecutive seasons after a mechanical failure with its sole chairlift prevented the ski area from opening this winter. While Hesperus’ Bighorn Lift is still in disrepair, general manager Dave Rathbun attributed the closure to an even more basic es ..read more

NEW YORK — The average Wall Street bonus fell slightly last year to $176,500 as the industry added employees and took a “more cautious approach” to compensation, New York state’s comptroller reported Tuesday. The average bonus for employees in New York City’s securities industry was down 2% from $180,000 in 2022. The slight dip came even as Wall Street profits were up 1.8% last year, according to the annual estimate from Thomas DiNapoli, the state’s comptroller. DiNapoli’s office said the slight decline could be attributed to the compensation approach as more employees joined the securities in ..read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer) WASHINGTON — Consumer prices in the United States picked up last month, a sign that inflation remains a persistent challenge for the Federal Reserve and for President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, both of which are counting on a steady easing of price pressures this year. Prices rose 0.4% from January to February, higher than the previous month’s figure of 0.3%, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Compared with a year earlier, consumer prices rose 3.2% last month, faster than January’s 3.1% annual pace. Excluding volatile food and energy prices ..read more