All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
Sorted by date Results 1101 - 1150 of 2325
If you're raising some young baseball players, or just have a love of the game, you probably know Canar Field at the Niwot Youth Sports complex known as Hangge Fields at Monarch Park. It's the largest of the six fields, often used for "senior" players between 13 and 15 years old. Jason Canar of Longmont remembers when Canar Field was christened back in 1986, and the field still holds great meaning for him. "I'm incredibly proud, just to have it have that name," he said. Canar Field wasn't named...
The Niwot Cougars came up big this weekend in a historic game, winning their homecoming game and the first ever-home game in the school's 50-year history. Niwot alumni from as far back as 1972 showed up to the game, still repping their school spirit almost 50 years after they graduated. While the community banded together, the Cougars put on a show that didn't disappoint. Niwot started with the ball against Skyview High School in Thornton (2-1 , and almost put a scoring drive together, but it...
Multi-talented is perhaps the best way to describe Gabe Martinez. In addition to becoming an Eagle Scout in February, the Longmont Christian School senior has taken on both baseball and tennis during his prep career. Because LCS doesn't support a boys tennis team, Martinez joined the Niwot High program during his freshman year. Cougar head coach Aimee Hites has utilized Martinez, a doubles player, in a swing role this season, which has him practicing with varsity but playing most of his matches...
In about one month's time, the Niwot boys tennis team will be squaring off against Colorado's top talent in the state championships. Head coach Aimee Hites' Cougars got a taste of that level of play on Sept. 8 when defending Class 4A co-champions Cheyenne Mountain visited campus. Disappointment soon arose, though, as Niwot, which placed third in state last year, mustered little success in a 5-2 loss to the Red-Tailed Hawks. Senior Luke Weber won the No. 1 singles match (6-1, 6-2) and junior LiCh...
A cheer tunnel of young Niwot Youth Sports athletes assembled on the new Niwot High School football field last Friday to welcome their favorite NHS football players onto the field for the first time ever. Many stayed on a soggy and cold night to watch Niwot High's football team win their first homecoming game played at the school. Two days later, on a bright and sunny morning, it was their turn to play. The Niwot Youth Sports flag football athletes made their debut at home at Niwot High School...
It was a successful Homecoming week for Niwot High School. Football won on its home turf, volleyball swept Silver Creek, boys tennis went 1-1, softball got a win and for cross country, both the girls and boys teams cruised to first place in the RE-1J District Meet. The cross country boys were led by four seniors who finished from third place to sixth in the order of Jeremy Gillett, Frederick Ambrose, Stefan Haug and Carlos Kipkorir. And even though the first and second place individual finishers...
Gearing up for this week's Niwot High School 50 year celebration, we present a FLASHBACK from 1972: • Kids in Niwot were playing the first video game, PONG and hacky sack. • The cost of goods was low but there was a recession on the horizon. If you were shopping in July 1972, you probably would have been pleased with prices overall. A 5-pound cantaloupe cost the inflation-adjusted equivalent of $3.86. A rib-eye steak was $2.49 a pound, the equivalent of $17.50 a pound today. • Peter Max sneak...
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...
The St. Vrain for the Brain 5K, scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Niwot High School track, is an annual fundraising event in which all of the profits benefit the National Brain Tumor Society. This nonprofit organization helps to fund brain cancer research, thereby supporting the development of treatments and the search for a cure. The event is organized by Niwot High School graduate MacKenzie Demmel, whose aunt, Meg Boyer, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018. "And during...
Niwot High School senior Jessi Lehman clearly remembers her experience as a trumpet player in middle school. "There were definitely a lot more boys in the trumpet section," Lehman said, "Pesky middle school boys. And being one of only two girls, I always had a feeling they didn't really think I should be there." But the stereotypical attitude regarding musical instruments and gender that once dominated the music scene did not have a negative effect on the senior's desire to pursue her interests....
Although Niwot High School's softball team has been off to a strong start and is showing a strong sense of teamwork, this week saw the girls continue to experience both the highs and the lows of growth together. Tuesday's game saw the girls winning handily over their opponents, the Mountain View Lions. They played well together as a team in the field, and showed up at the plate, with a collective batting average of .310. Second baseman Zoe Chociej continued her strong performance, going 3 for 3...
Freshmen and sophomores led the Niwot Cougars to the first victory of the girls gymnastics season last week. Coach Marisa Purcell said the meet was a "great start" for her young team that beat a smaller, injury-depleted Ft. Morgan team 170.95 to 104.45. Sophomore Maeve Flentie won all-around with a score of 35.00, sophomore Claire Vardas was second at 34.00 and freshman Kylee Schlepp finished third with 32.90 in the Class 4A meet against Ft. Morgan. Another freshman, Lilly O'Neill, took top hono...
After starting off the football season with a win against Greeley Central, the Niwot Cougars followed their week 1 win with a week 2 loss to the Thornton Trojans, 32-27. Niwot's first drive consisted of run after run, including a 16-yard run by sophomore Hayden Shaw. Late in the drive, Niwot quarterback Chad Volf threw a bubble screen to junior wide receiver Mats Lehan who went 16 yards for an opening drive touchdown, starting the game with a 7 to 0 lead. The Trojans got the ball but couldn't...
Coming off a third-place finish in the Boulder High Panther Invitational on Aug. 26, the Niwot boys tennis team returned to Class 4A Region 5 play on Aug. 30 at Mountain View. The Cougars arrived in Loveland with a perfect 4-0 league record and it was preserved upon leaving as all seven matches ended in a sweep. Senior Luke Weber didn’t lose a point in his No. 1 singles match and in the four doubles matches, only one total point went in favor of Mountain View. Senior Ryan Gray and junior Kyle Davidson led the No. 1 doubles, sophomore Rex W...
Niwot was buzzing with energy on Saturday, August 27th. Tents featuring mead tastings, kettlecorn, honey, hives, artwork, confections, live music and a costume contest lined Second Avenue. The Annual Honey Bee Harvest Festival drew crowds of all ages who swarmed the scheduled activities and displays. Many emerged from visiting Colorado Landmark Realtors in the true honey bee spirit, sporting bee antennas and yellow rubber bracelets. "Most of the kids came in groups", said Aubrie Cook, honey bee...
If you drive along Niwot Road, you have surely passed at least one of two small purple signs. Both say "Adopt-a-Road;" one is near the intersection of Longview Drive and the other is just east of the Diagonal Highway intersection. They are both worth taking notice of, because they commemorate the life of a very special boy. Joey Reuter lived in Peppertree Estates in the mid-1990's. The location near downtown was fortunate for Joey, because he spent much of his after-school life in the heart of N...
The first Thursday night after Rock & Rails will feature a "bonus" concert, sponsored by the JARED Foundation. Anyone looking for one last night of the summer concert season will have a chance to support a local Niwot charity and enjoy live music and refreshments on Thursday, Sept. 1, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Whistle Stop Park. The Jared Foundation, founded by Surinder and Renee Dahiya in memory of their son, Jared Lizakowski, provides music lessons and scholarships for children who are unable to...
The last concert of the Rock & Rails 2022 season opened with the amazing blues sound of Nalani playing the upright bass. Her throaty vocals, accompanied by her bass, made folks want to get up and dance. Nalani's giant smile and big voice kept the crowd's enthusiastic attention as rain threatened to dampen the event. Nalani, also known as Nalani DeMarco Clisset, grew up on Third Avenue in Niwot, and is a graduate of Niwot High School. Her mother, Satir DeMarco, books all of the music for Rock &...
Last Saturday's Niwot High School girl's softball double-header was something of a "wildcat" contest as the Cougars battled the Lyons Lions and the Peak to Peak Pumas. Junior Jenna Hobson and Maddie Stimack shared pitching duties both days with Hobson starting and Stimack coming on in relief. Scoring began early in the first game, with shortstop Autumn Rutherford singling to reach base before she was brought home with the first run. After catching up at the bottom of the first inning, the Lions...
The past, future and present are all looking pretty good right now for the Niwot cross country program. One year after the girls' squad won state and the boys finished runner-up, the Cougars' juggernaut remains dangerous. On the boys' side, coming so close to winning Class 4A last season has Niwot motivated to finish the job in 2022. "I know the boys were pretty disappointed being runner-up and not doing as well as a team as they wanted to," said head coach Kelly Christensen. "They're on a reall...
Niwot High School girls volleyball has a new coach with old expectations for another strong run at the Class 4A state title. The Cougars made it to the semi-finals last season before bowing out. "I'd love to repeat the success we had last year and continue what the program has started in Niwot the last five or six years." first-year head coach Tony Engel said. "People expect us to be at State and I want that to continue," Engel was an assistant coach at Niwot before winning the top job after...
The Niwot High School Cougars opened their football season under the Friday night lights at Everly-Montgomery Field in Longmont in a back-and-forth game against the Greeley Central Wildcats, coming away with a 22-16 win in a hard-fought contest. The Cougars took the opening kickoff and brought it back to their 20-yard line. The Niwot offense produced a solid drive up to the Wildcat 20-yard line, with a combination of dives into the line and screen passes. But the drive would be cut short in the...
This week's Student Athlete of the Week is Niwot Senior Softball player Zoie Chociej, who was named Max Prep's first national softball player of the week for the 2022-2023 season. According to the organization's announcement, the Niwot senior was chosen based on her accomplishment of going 10-for-10 at the plate, including two home runs during the week of August 15-21. "It felt amazing," she said. "It makes me feel good about all the hard work I put in after years of coaches not believing in...
There was plenty of sunshine and throngs of bold colored, crisp NFL flag jerseys running around the outfields of the Biff Warren Baseball Complex on Sunday, Aug. 28, for opening weekend of the fall 2022 Niwot Youth Sports Flag Football season. Two outfields at the complex are transformed each Sunday into regulation size NFL flag fields for the 13 teams competing this fall. Each team chooses an NFL team to represent, complete with reversible jerseys in team colors and with team logos. Back to run...
Mary Beth Almquist was secretary-treasurer of Niwot High's very first graduating class. Almquist was also the first person to graduate from Niwot High School in 1974. Almquist's memories of graduation day 48 years ago remain sharp. "Graduation was held inside the school in the gymnasium because the outside grounds weren't finished," Almquist said. "There were open fields behind the school and we had a huge parking lot but that was about it." 'Almquist had the distinction of being first to...
The Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band opened Rock & Rails Thursday night, Aug. 18, at the Whistle Stop Park with a set list ranging from “Stairway to Heaven” to “In Heaven There Is No Beer.” The band, under the direction of Debbie Benson, featured 24 of the approximately 30 local musicians who perform with the band. The band was formed on July 4, 2005, to perform at the dedication of the Whistle Stop Park bandstand, and returned to its roots to open for Quemando at Rock & Rails. The band performs at local events, with approxi...
The Niwot Community Association (NCA) and Niwot Business Association (NBA) have launched the fourth annual Veterans Day Banners Project to honor veterans with Niwot connections. Participants purchase a durable banner honoring an active duty member or veteran of the United States Armed Forces. Banners feature a picture of the honoree, the branch of service, rank and years of service. The banners are hung from poles on 2nd Avenue and in Cottonwood Square during the weeks before and after Veterans...
After a challenging first away game at Frederick High School, Niwot varsity softball went on to a pair of victories and an overall winning record for the opening week of the season. "I feel pretty good about week one," said Head Coach Bobby Matthews. "We were able to put a bad loss behind us on Tuesday and build off a good win on Thursday. It all came together on Saturday for the second win of the week." Scores for the week tell the fuller story. After Tuesday's 20-3 loss to Frederick High...
The lengthy bus drive south to Pueblo West High School on Aug. 18 was well worth it for the Niwot boys soccer team after senior goalkeeper Matt Hansen pulled off a miraculous 50-yard game-winning goal on a penalty kick. That's right, the goalkeeper. With just seconds left and the score tied 2-2, Cougar head coach Stephen Dimit called upon Hansen to take the penalty kick. Dimit's decision took into account that Hansen doubles as Niwot football's placekicker, making him no stranger to long distanc...
Residents who've been fine-tuning their Latin ballroom dance moves in Cottonwood Square will have their chance to shine when Quemando takes the stage at this week's Rock & Rails. The band is well known in the area, having performed at the Niwot Jazz Festival in June. The band has also opened for acts like Sheryl Crow at Jazz Aspen Snowmass, and Oscar De Leon. We talked to Quemando's founder, Eric Schneider, to get a preview of this week's high-energy show. Q: Thanks for talking to me today. Can...
Niwot Boys Tennis Coach Aimee Hites returns with high expectations for her youthful but experienced squad. "Our goal is to win state," Hites said. "We're super young, and super talented." The Cougars started off with a 7-0 win over Frederick High School Aug. 11, and have already seemingly picked up a second victory by forfeit as Skyline High's team reported only three players out for tennis for this week's match. Things will get tougher with Alexander Dawson School on Aug. 18, followed by Class...
In what could have been considered a transitional season following the graduation of eight seniors, the Niwot boys soccer team continued its winning ways last fall and reached the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs. Last season was fun, said seventh-year head coach Stephen Dimit, but the Cougars are now setting the bar a little higher. "This is a hungry year," Dimit said. "They had a lot of fun last year, but I think they also really want to build on what they started. That's a great...
Downtown Niwot's National Night Out event on Aug. 2 was a huge success, with many community members enjoying hamburgers, hotdogs and drinks, courtesy of the Boulder County Sheriff's office. The annual community-driven campaign promotes first responders and community partnerships to foster neighborhood camaraderie and, ultimately, make our communities better places to live. Several community honors were awarded at the annual event. The Niwot Group at Compass real estate agency awarded their...
As we approach NHS's 50-year anniversary celebration on Sept. 9, we take a look back at the Cougar mascot and its history. The first graduating class of 1974 selected the mascot. Sources say that it was nicknamed 'Carrie the Cougar.' While the "Carrie" moniker has been dropped, cougar pride remains fierce. A May 25-26, 1974, Longmont Times-Call newspaper clipping shows a picture of the unveiling event when a stuffed cougar was presented to the school. Marybeth Almquist Williams remembers the...
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...
As the song says, "You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table, there'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done." For 2003 Niwot High School graduate and current professional poker player Adam DeMersseman, the dealing at this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is done. The count? A cool $262,300 in prize money and bragging rights as one of the top tournament players in the world. DeMersseman survived a grueling 7 days at the Main Event this July, taking...
Anne Booth and Autumn Rutherford were both major producers in nearly every facet of the game last year for Niwot High School softball. Now entering their junior seasons, expectations have only risen as the Cougars begin their quest for a second consecutive playoff appearance. Niwot's pair of junior stars combined for 13 home runs last season and were the only Cougars to hit over .500, plus Rutherford led the team in stolen bases and Booth won 12 games in the circle. CeCe Smith, Zoe Cameron,...
Business is anything but "as usual" in Niwot's business district. A nationwide worker shortage has left businesses everywhere struggling to maintain their typical working hours and functionalities, and many of the staple establishments in downtown Niwot have been affected by the shortage as well. At 1914 House, the worker shortage has affected all levels of employment, but the restaurant has been very fortunate to have had enough staff on hand thus far. Head Chef Justin Hirshfield shared his ins...
Gleaming brass and purple T-shirts dazzled baseball fans as the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band played the national anthem at Coors Field Friday, July 29. "It was really exciting," saxophonist Brenda Luksch said after the performance in left field. "I thought we did a good job." Luksch fills in as director from time to time, but was in the saxophone section for this performance as regular conductor Debbie Benson directed the band. Luksch isn't the only versatile member of the band...
Revenues of the Niwot Local Improvement District keep climbing, with the latest report showing $24,878.21 collected in May from the LID’s 1% sales tax, which was more than 25% higher than May 2021 collections. Overall, the year-to-date collections are up by 18.29% over the same period a year ago. Treasurer Bruce Rabeler reported that the LID’s reserve fund at the end of 2021 was estimated to be $307,356. By previous resolution, the LID has a policy of keeping a reserve amount of at least $60,000 to guard against a downturn in the economy. The f...
Reaching the 4A state championships for the first time since 2017 wasn't a fluke for last year's Niwot boys golf team - it was simply a product of a consistently competitive program. The Cougars brought one golfer from each grade level to the state tournament and finished seventh in class 4A. Although they'll now be without 2022 graduate Christopher Gunlikson, who placed sixth individually at state, the foundation remains sturdy for a successful fall season. "We've got a pretty good program," sa...
Although she's just entering her junior year, Julia Rudolph has been a valuable leader for Niwot High School track and field. Rudolph was named a team captain last season and then helped the Cougars win the 4x400-meter relay state title, as well as the state Class 4A team championship. Rudolph continued to beat the competition in early June at the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Competing for Niwot track head coach Maurice Henriques' REAL Training, she ran a...
Just as NFL rookies start reporting to training camp in mid-July all across the country, the young athletes of Niwot Youth Sports were recently treated to an opportunity to start prepping for the upcoming flag football season. While it doesn't seem like football weather, anyone who has played football growing up knows that the summer months are where workouts and practices increase in intensity. It's where the work is done and champions are created. So how do you start building champion...
It's a busy time for alumni behind the planning of the Niwot High School 50-Year anniversary celebration. While still in the planning stages, there is a tentative schedule of events (posted below). A group of alumni created a page on Facebook dedicated to planning events leading up to the Sept. 9 celebration. The Facebook group is keeping the history alive, posting newspaper clippings and articles from the first years of the school. People commenting are making connections after many years and t...
It was the early 2000s and six men thought of forming a band. That day, Last Men On Earth (LMOE) was born–even though it was one coin flip away from being called "Kamel Toe." One of those men was Michael Holubec. A born and raised Niwotian, he's stuck around the area and performs with LMOE as often as possible. "We were all a little older, we all had kids, we wanted to do [professional music] on our terms," said Holubec. "It's cool to do something in your spare time with your friends." As a y...
