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All Local, All The Time
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Lately, wildfires burning in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California, have made it nearly impossible to see the Rocky Mountains from the Niwot-Gunbarrel area, and the air quality is noticeably hazy. Luckily, there are some ways in which you can improve the air quality in your home: • The most obvious solution is to decorate your rooms with houseplants. NASA has revealed that houseplants can remove up to 87% of air toxins within 24 hours. Other research has shown that indoor plants improve concentration and productivity, reduce stress...
On Aug. 21, Gunbarrel resident Dean Himes was inducted into the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at Dougie G's Lounge (VFW Post 7945) in Thornton, Colorado. The Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame was founded in 1998 and recognizes musical accomplishments of Colorado country musicians. Himes was one of seven inductees honored for his significant contribution to the country and western music scene. Himes has been on the local country music scene since 1981. His signature...
When the 2022-2023 school year kicked off at Niwot High School this year, the faculty, staff and students offered a warm welcome to a new registrar, a new counselor, and eleven new teachers. The faculty have accepted positions in math, social studies, French, drama, and science. Four of the new recruits took time away from their busy fall schedules to talk about their experience and their first impressions of the school. Erin Smith, an instructor in math, was born and raised in Louisville, Color...
In July 2021, the Boulder City Council greenlighted the development of a 9.8-acre parcel of land near Celestial Seasonings in Gunbarrel, a long-time home to a large prairie dog colony. Over a year later, the first stage of the project is underway. The controversial development project, which will add 230 apartments, a cafe, library, art space, community areas, mobility hub, and green space to the land along Spine Road, has been a source of tension between Gunbarrel residents and the City of...
The University of Colorado’s 17th class to be inducted into the CU Athletic Hall of Fame was announced in June and it features former Gunbarrel resident Dick Tharp, who was the school’s athletic director from 1996-2004. Interestingly, Tharp and his staff created the Athletic Hall of Fame early in his tenure as AD. Among his many accomplishments at CU, he hired former head football coach Gary Barnett in 1996, oversaw a $42.6 million expansion to Folsom Field and developed a long-term plan for the athletic department. “I'm honored by it, humbl...
The opener at Rock & Rails Thursday night Aug. 4 was the band "Good Music Medicine," featuring Niwot resident Joe Pacheco, and Thomas Dow. The duo played a great mix of folk and blues music. Pacheco, who plays with a number of bands in the area, plays amazing bass while mixing in the vocals, with Dow playing the guitar and singing. Other members of the Boulder-based band include Scott Wright on percussion and vocals, and Kit Sawyer on guitar and vocals, but Pacheco and Dow were the only ones...
Rock & Rails last Thursday evening opened with the great guitars and harmonies of Dean Himes and Mark Kaczorowski. The musicians, who often perform together, sang classics from the Allman Brothers, Loggins & Messina, Don Henley and many others. But their best effort was a song written by Himes titled "Seashell Memories." The duo sang and played country and country-rock style music under threatening skies and cooler temperatures, but the rain never came. Himes grew up in Pennsylvania, beginning...
City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) is considering and evaluating the use of e-bikes on some city open space trails. This proposal would allow class-1 and class-2 e-bikes on the Boulder Canyon Trail, the trails that exist on the plains, the trails east of Broadway Avenue in Boulder, east of the North Foothills U.S. 36 corridor to the north of Boulder, and Colo. 93 to the south of city limits (which equates to 34 miles of open space trails). A Class 1 e-bike is a low-speed pedal-assisted electric bicycle equipped with a motor...
The Colorado legislature recently passed legislation to curb the powers of homeowners’ associations, and Governor Jared Polis signed the law June 3, 2022, to take effect August 10, 2022. The law grew out of abuses by HOA’s concerning fines, foreclosures, notice and collection activities. Among other things, the new law prohibits an HOA from seeking foreclosure based solely on fines assessed for violation of community rules. It also limits the total fines for a violation to $500, and prohibits assessment of daily fines for a violation. Additiona...
Niwot Youth Sports (NYS) is hosting a series of events to raise money for the Monarch Improvement Project. NYS, which was originally formed in 1972 as Gunbarrel Lefthand Valley Boys Baseball, Inc, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing exceptional recreational and competitive sports experiences for kids ages 4 to 18 in the Niwot-Gunbarrel area. These programs, which include baseball, softball, basketball, flag football & soccer, provide children with the opportunity to participate i...
On Wednesday, July 7, Boulder County Commissioners Claire Levy, Matt Jones and Marta Loachamin conditionally approved the proposed modifications to Hillside School in Gunbarrel, subject to additional conditions drafted during the hearing. The original Special Review and Site Specific Development Plan (SU-03-09), submitted in March 2022, proposed modifications to the school, located at 7415 Lookout Road, to include a new 10,500-square-foot school building with 12 new classrooms for up to 68...
Last week we wrote about Niwot native Royce Johnson and how in 1974 he made land available to the Gunbarrel Lefthand Valley Boys Baseball, Inc., a non-profit organization now known as Niwot Youth Sports, as a site for "temporary" ballfields. The "temporary" Johnson Fields were used continuously for over 20 years until homes were built on Christopher Court in the Johnson Valley Subdivision in 1994. Ultimately, land that Johnson had donated to Boulder County for a park known as Left Hand Valley...
A stretch of the LoBo Trail in Niwot is once again level and springy beneath feet and tires after Boulder County resurfaced the well-used path. Newly laid crusher fines gravel was added to the section of trail just north of Centrebridge Drive between 79th Street and the Niwot Road underpass. "I think it's good. It's soft, it's cushy, it's nice," runner Collette Wilfong said. "I've always really liked this trail, the mix of dogs, people, bikes. I'm glad it's getting taken care of." The trail has...
By the middle of the 19th century, Sweden was in the throes of a national population crisis-the small country's population had doubled from 1750 to 1850, and was still growing. Tillable land became more scarce, and famine swept the nation. Emigration regulations were eased, and the 1860s saw a massive movement of Swedes fleeing their homeland; between 1861 and 1881, 150,000 traveled to the United States. The majority of these immigrants quickly made their way to the new states and territories...
Life is like running. Every step counts. For Ian and Gabi Anderson, a couple living in Gunbarrel, running the mile—about 1,500 steps—at the second annual Downhill Mile race on the Fourth of July was a celebration of life, being in the moment, and showing their tremendous gratitude. “We loved it!” said Ian, who along with his wife lost their Louisville home Dec. 30 in the Marshall Fire in Boulder County. “I placed 12th, and Gabi placed 49th. It was really fun. The pancake breakfast afterward...
Karen Quinn is kind. She is also modest, so she probably will not like being described in this way. A passionate gardener, talented photographer and deeply spiritual long-time resident of Niwot, Quinn also, by giving of herself and her talents, recently raised $1,600 for Ukrainians. We are sitting outside on a recent warm and sunny day on her patio, overlooking colorful gardens, alive with lupines and peonies and iris. Quinn is sharing her story over cups of tea and tasty homemade pumpkin...
Kristin Henry is a character. She's enthusiastic and excited to talk about everything from music to musicals, to her new favorite movie (Everything Everywhere All At Once). She sat down at a table for two in the Old Oak Coffeehouse, mug in hand and a smile on her face. Right away, she began talking about Boulder County and how excited she was to talk about music. Originally from Philadelphia, Henry was a classically trained singer who then moved to Colorado to attend graduate school at the...
Years worth of hard work on and off the golf course paid off for local amateur golfer Kelsey Webster at the Colorado Women's Open at the beginning of June. Webster's history with the game of golf has had its fair share of ups and downs over that same time period, but her perseverance and positive attitude led her to a new victory recently. Webster, a Gunbarrel resident, grew up playing golf around the Boulder Country Club and attended Fairview High School where she played on the girl's golf...
Rock & Rails is a well-loved, much-attended community event in Niwot's very own Whistle Stop Park. As the recipient of the 2006 Governor's Award for Downtown Excellence for Best Promotional Event, Rock & Rails benefits many who volunteer to make all the magic happen. The free summer concert series takes the stage at Niwot's Whistle Stop Park at 1st Avenue and Murray Street in historic downtown Niwot, Colorado, and is produced by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association in conjunction with the Niwot...
Rock & Rails, Niwot's signature summer concert series, kicks off the 2022 season on June 2 with popular local guitarist Kevin Dooley opening for Funkiphino at Whistle Stop Park, located at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Murray Street. Satir DeMarco, who has booked the bands for Niwot's summer concert series since its start in 2006, announced the lineup. Funkiphino is a 13-member band, based out of Longmont, which performed in Washington, D.C. for the 55th Presidential Inaugural Ball in...
Canon Montgomery, an eighth-grade student at Boulder Country Day School in Gunbarrel, was recognized by the SIFMA Foundation as the Fall 2021 State Champion for Colorado in the InvestWrite competition. InvestWrite is the culminating activity of The Stock Market Game™, an online game in which students invest and manage a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds and cash. For the Fall 2021 competition, students researched and determined an investment portfolio based on a p...
The Niwot Community Association’s (NCA) monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 4, covered a multitude of timely issues and events ranging from the latest on the Boulder Library District to the organization’s array of upcoming events. Boulder Library District update The NCA has been keeping close tabs on the possibility that a Boulder Public Library District could potentially include Niwot in its scope. In late April, the Boulder City Council declared it saw “no path forward to reconcile with the Boulder County Commissioners on a library resol...
Born in the Bronx and having traveled the world, Kathy Trauner, now a long-time Colorado resident, turned a great idea into reality last year for Niwot residents feeling trapped by Covid. The owner of Fly Away Home gift and art shop in Cottonwood Square, Trauner inaugurated "Around the World Day," a creative event which will return here May 14. Inspired by the wish to bring international experiences to Niwot residents when travel was restricted, the event invites all businesses on 2nd Avenue...
Tennis Taylor Thulson (Niwot 2018) helped Carleton College to a return trip the NCAA Championships in women's tennis. Carleton College, located in Northfield, Minn., a Div. I program, qualified for the NCAA tournament for the eighth time, and the first time since 2019. Carleton (15-1) entered the MIAC Playoffs seeded No. 2, but defeated the top seeded and 37th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College 5-1 in the conference finals. Carleton's only loss this season had come against Gustavus. Thulson, a...
Southwest Acupuncture College in Gunbarrel is closing operations permanently. "After 41 years of providing excellence in education in the field of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, Southwest Acupuncture College will be ending our programs and closing on August 31, of 2023. We will not be accepting any additional students and will hold no further interviews, tours, or open house events," their website reads. Academic Dean Nate Mohler and Administrative Director Heather Lang talked about...
It is with great sadness that we report that Courier Advertising Director Ann Whitehill passed away suddenly on April 10, 2022. Ann resided in the Niwot-Gunbarrel area for many years and worked for the Courier for over three years, helping the Courier and its advertisers navigate through the pandemic. Selene Luna, who worked closely with Ann on the Courier, expressed our thoughts well: "I will truly miss that special lady. We had some challenging times at the paper, but we worked through them...
On April 19, the Northrop Grumman Corporation received the U.S. Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific award to design a Relay Ground Station - Asia (RGS-A) in Guam. The award will provide a $99.6 million contract to design and develop missile-launch and missile-warning detection satellites in their Gunbarrel facility. The satellites and antennas will be constructed and deployed to Guam, to be remotely monitored and operated by the United States. “The award will bring about 24 new jobs to this facility as part of its plan to hire 1...
Plans for the Boulder County Library District have taken a new direction, and the proposed district boundaries no longer include Niwot. Though the Boulder City Council passed a resolution to move ahead with the plan to create an independent library district, the resolution was also contingent on sign off from the Boulder County Commissioners. After listening to more than four hours of public comment on April 7, the Board of County Commissioners tabled a vote on the resolution. Commissioners cite...
Although Colorado’s wildfire season typically spans May through September, extremely dry conditions paired with above average temperatures and high winds are changing the seasonal nature of fires. In the past month, there have been five fires in Boulder County which have prompted evacuation orders. As previously reported in the April 20th edition of the Left Hand Valley Courier, two fires, the Tally Ho fire and the Table Mountain fire, both in the Gunbarrel/Niwot area, occurred within a day of each other. The first fire on April 19, 2022, w...
On April 23, the Boulder City Council and the Boulder County Commissioners could not reach a consensus on finalizing the Boulder Library District proposal. The fate of the proposed district now likely depends on residents living in Boulder and some parts of Boulder county, during the November election. Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett and County Commissioner Claire Levy met to discuss a possible path forward after both governing bodies conducted a joint hearing earlier this month. According to Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, he and Levy had a good...
More than 60 people joined the County Commissioner’s virtual meeting on April 14 regarding a proposed makeover of Highway 119, commonly known as the Diagonal Highway. After introductions, the Planning Unit of Community Planning and Permitting started their presentation about the project. First, Planning and Permitting showed a video that gave statistics–it’s the second-most traveled highway in Boulder County, with almost 40,000 daily vehicles, and it’s the most dangerous, having more crashes than highways such as U.S. Highway 287 or even U....
The Boulder County Communications Center received a call regarding a grass fire near Tally Ho Trail at 1:12 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19. This is south of the Twin Lakes neighborhood in Gunbarrel. According to a press release, the grass fire grew to be just under 10 acres in size. Multiple homes in the surrounding area, including Carter Trail, were evacuated during door-to-door evacuations. Firefighters were able to quickly gain control of the fire, and fortunately, there was no structure loss and...
Longtime Niwot resident Stewart E. Poet died ThurApril 7, 2022, at age 90. A celebration of Stewart’s life will be held at Poet Farm later in the summer. Memorial gifts may be sent to Huddy’s Buddies fundraiser for CMV awareness through the National CMV Foundation. https://www.givesignup.org/hudson-wiorek. Longtime Niwot and Gunbarrel resident Ann Whitehill died suddenly April 10, 2022, at her home in Niwot. Ann was the Advertising Director for the Left Hand Valley Courier at the time of her death. She began her career with the Courier in 201...
On April 5, in a joint session, the Boulder City Council and the Boulder of County Commissioners (BOCC) held a public hearing on whether to create a library district which would include all city of Boulder residents as well as residents of unincorporated Gunbarrel and Niwot, and extend as far west as Jamestown. After more than seven hours of an online hearing in which speakers were limited to two minutes, the city council approved the plan by a vote of 6-3. The plan would include Gunbarrel and...
It is with great sadness that we report that Courier Advertising Director Ann Whitehill passed away suddenly last weekend. Ann resided in the Niwot-Gunbarrel area for many years and worked for the Courier for over three years, helping the Courier and its advertisers navigate through the pandemic. Selene Luna, who worked closely with Ann on the Courier, expressed our thoughts well: “I will truly miss that special lady. We had some challenging times at the paper, but we worked through them together. When we met a special challenge with success w...
Residents of Niwot and Gunbarrel, long overlooked by the powers that be in Longmont and Boulder, have begun to do something about it. The LOBO Trail, which reputedly runs from Longmont to Boulder and back, and seemingly uphill both ways, was named for LOngmont and BOulder. But you can't actually get all the way to Boulder from Longmont on a trail, as sections are incomplete as the "trail" makes its way through south Gunbarrel. You can get from Longmont all the way to Niwot, and from Niwot to...
"Late November back in '96...' (to paraphrase an old Four Seasons song - December, 1963), seven of us got together to talk about creating a newspaper in the Niwot-Gunbarrel area. In alphabetical order - Karen Copperberg, Ron Goodman, Selene {Luna) Hall, Lori Lindemann, Mary Wolbach Lopert, Vicki Maurer and Bruce (Biff) Warren. None of us had any real newspaper experience beyond our high school years. We reached out to several people to see if they were interested in joining us, but in the end,...
On March 24, Northrop Grumman Corporation opened its newest facility in the Longbow Office Park in Gunbarrel with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The facility includes a radio frequency research lab, which will launch more career opportunities in the enterprise. The expansion includes 23,680 square feet of space in the Longbow II building, bringing the total to 82,815 square feet in three buildings on the Boulder campus, housing more than 400 employees. "This is the opening of our third building...
BASEBALL David Bote, son of longtime Niwot High baseball coach Bob Bote, was placed on the 60-day injured list by the Chicago Cubs on March 19 as he continues to recover from off-season shoulder surgery. Bote, an infielder, dislocated his left shoulder while reaching back to touch second base after a slide sent him past the base on May 30, 2021. He missed almost two months of the season, but returned on July 25, only to go back on the injured list with a sprained ankle August 28. He is expected...
The pandemic has been a devastating time within our personal lives and within our local and national governmental operations. Now that life is returning to "normal," the Boulder Library Champions, a grassroots group of local volunteers, are interested in making some changes to the way the Boulder public library operates. They're also in need of book donations, in case you're interested in contributing to the group. On March 8, the Boulder Library Champions held a community meeting at the Left...
The Dodd Water Treatment Plant of the Left Hand Water District and Dodd Reservoir are named in honor of the Dodd family, which has contributed much to the history and development of the Niwot area. Alva M. Dodd came to the Niwot area in the 1860s, and married Della Gould, a member of the pioneering Gould family. They had 10 children, nine of whom remained in the area after they became adults. One son, Hugh Dodd, lived in the small house on the northwest corner of the intersection of Niwot Road...
Many have seen the boldly printed signs alerting Gunbarrel/Niwot residents about a lost dog named Cinder. The dog escaped his newly minted owners on the same day he was adopted from Longmont Humane Society on Jan. 16. He was most recently seen just off of Oxford Road near an open field on Feb. 24. He's also been seen near 95th Street and Niwot Road. At this point, his adopters have moved on from looking for Cinder and one has even left the area. Experienced canine search and rescuer Wess Staats...
This is not an April Fool's "announcement.".... The Left Hand Valley Courier will mark 25 years of serving the Niwot-Gunbarrel community on Friday, April 1, with an Open House from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the courtyard outside the offices of Warren, Carlson & Moore, LLP, Attorneys located in Cottonwood Square. The community is invited to join the founders and current staff of the newspaper for a celebration outside the law office, where the staff meets once a week to plan each edition of the weekly newspaper. The Courier is the only independently...
A public meeting to discuss an issue that could be on the November 2022 ballot is coming to the Left Hand Grange (195 2nd Ave.) next month. On March 8, representatives from the Boulder Public Library will lead a town hall on a pending proposal to create a new library district in the county, and what it might mean for Niwot. "Because Niwot is currently included in the Boulder Library District proposal, I wanted to make sure that people in town have a chance to ask questions and express their...
Wildlife photographer extraordinaire Bill Ringer captured this bobcat on the hunt in the Gunbarrel area. There's wildlife all around us if you take the time to stop, look and listen....
The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) recently announced that active construction of the Cottontail Trail north of Lookout Road and east of the Gunbarrel Estates would resume on Monday, Jan. 24. This section of the Cottontail Trail will be closed for the duration of the construction and is expected to re-open sometime in mid-April, weather permitting, pending the completion of the trail. The ongoing realignment and resurfacing project is part of a larger improvement effort...
Gunbarrel Estates residents received notice from Boulder County Community Planning & Permitting Department (formerly Land Use) that the Hillside Learning Center is requesting modification to an existing special review and site specific development plan for a new school building and the modification of the existing structure. HIllside, located at 7415 Lookout Rd. in Gunbarrel, has been in this location since 2017. The school provides half-day, small classes and individualized instruction for...
Though many didn't realize it at the time, last June there was a change to one of Niwot's longest-standing businesses. It's Only Natural Gifts, located next to Niwot Real Estate at the intersection of Niwot Road and 2nd Avenue, was sold. Karen Edwards began the business with Niwot resident Vicky Dorvee in 2008 and, in the years since, it has focused on presenting healthy and unique gift giving choices, and has grown dramatically. Diane Strong bought Dorvee's interest in 2017, but this year,...
At 5 a.m. on Jan. 12, meat and deli workers at the Gunbarrel King Soopers store (6550 Lookout Rd) walked off the job to begin a strike that could last up to three weeks. The strike was called by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 after negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement with parent company Kroger, Inc., stalled earlier this month. Stores are remaining open, though some locations have reduced hours and services. Roughly 8,000 workers at King Soopers stores are on...
When the Marshall Fire devastated the communities of Louisville and Superior, Niwot community members were eager to help. In the immediate days after the tragedy, many went above and beyond. For others still wanting to do something positive, there are ongoing opportunities to make a difference. Below is an overview of what's been done already and what opportunities to help are still available. Local businesses offered housing and food Shelter was one of the most immediate needs for residents in...
