Estes Valley Voice Podcast

Tincture of time and funding are needed to repair a fragile ecosystem Story by Hank Lacey On the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park lies the Kawuneeche Valley, nestled between the Never Summer mountains and the Front Range. Formed by the Colorado River Glacier and historically a home for a diverse spectacle of life, the basin was once a vibrant, wetland-rich ecosystem. Today, the Kawunee...

Take the Estes Valley Voice Favorite Snowman Survey and win Pixel, our favorite snowman tucked inside a magical snow globe Estes Park will celebrate the joy of snow this weekend with a family-friendly Snowman Festival that will kick off at noon Saturday in Bond Park. The event, coordinated by Visit Este Park, includes a snowman scavenger hunt with more than 50 ceramic snowmen — hidden in plain sig...

By Gary Hall Let’s talk the future. But not 2025. How about 2125? We do have to deal with the short-term problems and solve them, but I want to try to see what Estes Park will look like 20, 50, 100 years. We’ve been here for 150 years or so and we’ve made it look like what it is. Can we keep the beauty while tending to our population and workers and wildlife for another 100 years and beyond? It’s...

Story by Suzy Blackhurst New anti-bullying policy and response protocols have reduced incidences by 15% in one year; emphasis on attendance has improved attendance rate Estes Park Schools face challenges of declining enrollment which impacts the school's budget in addition to social and cultural changes in the post-COVID learning environment. Credit: Patti Brown / Estes Valley Voice Continual...

Story by Patti Brown Two Estes Park realtors, Nicole White and Peggy Lynch, were recently recognized for their professional work and community service. Nicole White honored by the Colorado Association of Realtors with 2024 Diversity and Inclusion Individual Award White, a realtor with the Inspired Living Group brokered by eXp Realty, LLC ,  grew up on Long Island in Freeport, NY, a community White...

The Estes Edit by Patti Brown I am thankful for so many things, but I want to reflect on several things about life in Estes Park. It is said that a picture is worth 1,000 words and Dick Mulhern’s cartoon today captures a sentiment that so many of us who call the Estes Valley home can relate to. We are blessed to live in a gorgeous, picture-postcard mountain town that millions of people want to tra...

More than 6 inches of snow fell overnight in Estes; residents are asked to be mindful to not park on streets and property owners need to clear their sidewalks within 24 hours Estes Park received more than 6 inches of snow overnight and the town’s snowplows are at the ready to plow the town’s 225 residential streets which include 59 miles of streets, 12.5 miles of sidewalks, 12 miles of trails, and...

Story by Patti Brown Lights, cameras, action — some new holiday magic happened in Bond Park Saturday night Hundreds of people gathered in Bond Park Saturday night for the lighting of the holiday tree — a spectacular 36-foot-tall digital tree that displays a computerized light show synchronized to holiday music. Anticipation built as the crowd shouted out the count down a few minutes after 5:30 p.m...

Story by Barb Boyer Buck and Patti Brown UPDATED 6 p.m . Radio communications among Larimer County rescue agencies indicated a Civil Air Patrol plane crashed near the top of Palisade Mountain east of Estes Park, killing two and injuring one late this morning. According to a message posted by Gov. Jerod Polis just after 5 p.m. on X the names of the deceased are Susan Wolber, a Civil Air Patrol pilo...

Story by Barb Boyer Buck Seven Ukrainian refugees are now without transportation since Iryna Irkliienko‘s 2003 Cadillac Escalade was stolen from the parking lot at the Park Ridge Apartments in the early morning of November 17.   An Estes Park Police Department press release issued today reported this incident was part of a bigger spree: 10 separate vehicles that were unlocked were unlawfully enter...

How businesses, nonprofits and volunteers connect to benefit Estes Park youth Story by Dawn Wilson Over the years, some locals referred to Estes Park as Estes Village. In the early days of the town’s history, the village would refer to the town center, a few blocks of stores and services that would support the regional residents making a living as guides, ranchers and proprietors of shops and lodg...

Story by Patti Brown About 20 Stanley Circle neighbors met Thursday evening with representatives from the Estes Park Housing Authority and the Town of Estes Park for a presentation and discussion about plans to develop a parcel of land at 179 Stanley Circle Dr. for workforce housing for employees of the Town. The .76-acre triangle shaped lot, which has been owned by the Town since 1999, could be d...

Story by Patti Brown In May, the show America’s Best Restaurants came to Estes Park to film a segment on the beloved 50s diner. Host Luis Rivera watched the chef, Ivan Rodriguez, who is also the restaurant’s general manager, prepare a classic Reuben–the most ordered sandwich at the shop–and then he bit in to savor the hot-off-the-grill corned beef and cheesy masterpiece. Owner Val Thompson then sa...

Limited impact on Estes Valley water security predicted Story by Hank Lacey The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed last week the State Engineer’s authority to impose strict volumetric limits on non-tributary groundwater withdrawals, a decision that could reshape water management practices in Douglas County, across the Front Range, and in upstream mountain communities like Estes Park. The case highlig...

Story by Barb Boyer Buck “I do think we should have a policy on annexation, just for consistency and predictability for the residents, for landowners, and for the county,” said Town of Estes Park Trustee Frank Lancaster during last night’s two-hour study session that preceded the Town Board meeting. The Town’s community development director Steve Careccia explained the ragged boundary of the Town...

By Gary Hall I was in the Havasupai Canyon during election day, our last backpack of the year. It was peaceful and beautiful, and the ten-mile hike out on a pristine desert day was calming and inspiring. It gave me a chance to reflect on the turbulence in our American political landscape, but to also reaffirm some of my core beliefs about the good ol’ USA and what we each locally can do to overcom...

Book Review by Elisabeth Sherwin It is a little hard to describe what Amy Kolen does with her book, “Inside Voices,” because she tries to make sense of two very different worlds: one a prison, one a hospital. But she does it. Kolen was an “outside singer” at Oakdale Prison, near Iowa City, in the prison choir; and she brought music to her mother’s room in an Iowa City health center when her mother...

By Suzy Blackhurst “Hey Suz. Where did we get this?” my husband asked as he held out a rather wicked looking tarnished brass knife-like thing we have used as a letter opener in a pinch. I did not really know; it might have been something from my mother’s family. Hubby left my office and I thought maybe I’d find a clue in one of the “family history” files I keep meaning to clean out. Finding the ph...

Story by Patti Brown The Christian Church of Estes Park will mark its 30th anniversary Sunday with a worship service at 10 a.m. that will include a video retrospective. Aaron Dorman, lead pastor of the congregation, said the 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning services will be combined Sunday morning so the entire congregation—some 200 people—can gather together for the celebration. According to...

Story by Hank Lacey “Sunshine Laws are safeguards that the public’s businesses must be conducted openly and not in secret. Elected officials have to guard against secrecy.” The Estes Valley Voice has sued the Estes Valley Fire Protection District Board of Directors , alleging that the board breached Colorado’s Sunshine Laws by selecting a new fire chief in a private meeting. At the heart of the la...

Access to the corridor will be disrupted as major street work progresses over the next several months Story by Patti Brown A neighborhood meeting was called Friday morning at the Lumpy Ridge Publick House to provide area stakeholders with information about the Cleave Street Improvements Project. Work on the street improvement project was put on hold in May to accommodate the summer guest season an...

Story by Hank Lacey The property will likely be redeveloped for mixed-use, high density workforce housing The Estes Valley is likely to soon have another affordable or workforce housing option in the community. Governing directors of the Estes Park Housing Authority approved last week a contract to purchase the property at 381 S. St. Vrain Ave., a site now occupied by a car wash facility, convenie...

Story by Patti Brown Ed’s Cantina and Grill and Bird and Jim’s both experience brief closures by Larimer County Health and Environment inspectors In the wake of a recent outbreak of E. coli infections connected to many McDonald’s restaurants in the region, news surfaced that two popular Estes Park eateries were temporarily shut down in the past month by the Larimer County Department of Health and...

Story by Patti Brown Melissa Westover is passionate about the work of the Estes Valley Restorative Justice Partnership, a local program that blends restorative justice services and proactive and responsive programs for youth and adults aimed at bringing the community together to resolve issues and build solutions. Originally designed to help the police and courts deal with juvenile crime, the prog...

Story by Dawn Wilson Screening coming to the Historic Park Theatre Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 National Geographic, along with Plimsoll Productions, has once again produced an adventure documentary that creates a narrative that is inspiring and harrowing all at the same time. On Thursday, Oct. 17, “The Devil’s Climb” premiered on National Geographic and started streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the next day. Th...