Author: Savannah Eller
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What does Colorado’s first statewide wildfire building code mean for homeowners?
Starting this year, Colorado is the first Western state after California with a statewide, mandatory building code for structures in the wildland-urban interface, where communities encroach on wilderness with wildfire potential. The deadline to adopt the code was April 1. In some jurisdictions, it was a formality cleared with a short discussion and vote. The…
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While growth slows statewide, small-town populations in Colorado boom
A proposed housing project could more than double the population of Calhan, a town of just 760 on the Eastern Plains outside Colorado Springs. For some small towns on the Front Range, it’s a familiar situation. Colorado’s overall population growth was just 0.4% last year. At a time when net migration has stagnated statewide, several…
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Documents shed light on potential Buc-ee’s water access plans
Where will the water come from? Since there is no one source and many are finite, it’s a question that undergirds almost every building project that goes to El Paso County for approval. With the purchase by Buc-ee’s affiliates of a parcel on Monument Hill long slated for a travel center location this month, it…
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Buc-ee’s affiliates buy land in El Paso County
A recent land transfer is sending signals that Buc-ee’s may be committed to building its second Colorado location at a controversial site near Monument Hill. The property on I-25 at the northern border of unincorporated El Paso County has long been eyed for the Texas chain of travel centers known for clean bathrooms and brand…
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Costilla County residents air grievances after ‘unprecedented’ crackdown on sheriff’s office
ALAMOSA – Terri Erskine has visited Costilla County often over the past 19 years. She doesn’t come to take in the stark, stunning views of the San Luis Valley or the rich cultural history of a community older than the state. “Every time the name Costilla comes up, I just cringe,” she said. The last…
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AI data center plans baffle small southern Colorado town
In the nondescript business parks of the Front Range’s largest metros, data centers are cropping up. According to the industry catalog Data Center Map, there are currently 46 planned or built in the Denver area, while Colorado Springs has the second most at six. The map has one outlier, however, deep in the heart of…
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Historic Colorado town faces spiraling water, administration crises
AGUILAR – “Not a lot happens in Aguilar to crowd out old memories,” Larry Batson observed in a 1984 profile of the town for the Star Tribune in Minnesota. Decades later, Aguilar’s old memories still have plenty of room to roam. Boarded-up facades that wouldn’t be out of place in an old Western movie recall…
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Front Range Passenger Rail pitches to Colorado Springs ahead of possible ballot measure
If all goes to plan, a measure for a sales tax to fund passenger rail service could be coming to Front Range ballots in 2026. “We have a plan that we think is viable, and we’ll actually be able to get things started,” said John Putnam, chair of the Front Range Passenger Rail District Board.…
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Supermarket chain H Mart hopes to revive mineral water bottling in Manitou Springs
A major U.S. grocer has acquired the vestiges of a historic industry in Manitou Springs with the hope of bringing it back to life. H Mart, an Asian supermarket chain based in New Jersey with nearly a hundred locations across the U.S., bought the Ute Chief Mineral Water Company building on the west end of…
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Buc-ee’s withdraws Palmer Lake application
DECK: Spokesman says company still wants to build a travel center in region The long battle in Palmer Lake over supersized travel center Buc-ee’s may be over. The town confirmed Wednesday that the contentious annexation application by Buc-ee’s developers has been withdrawn. Mark Waller, a consultant with the company, said that there “really wasn’t much…