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Another day, another opening of a gas station/convenience store by a company with a well-known brand and loyal following that is intent on making inroads into Colorado. QuikTrip Corp., based in Tulsa, Okla., officially marked the opening of its second Denver store Wednesday by inviting community members and nonprofits the company works with to a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The store at 6477 E. Evans Ave. is the 11th QuikTrip built in Colorado since 2022. The celebration of the store’s opening came two days after Texas-based…

Xcel Energy-Colorado expects its rates to stay relatively flat in the second quarter of 2024, with a slight rise in electric rates and a small drop in natural gas bills. The utility said in a statement that based on natural gas costs, the typical residential customer could see a 4.17% decline, or $1.73, in the monthly bill. Rates for small commercial customers are expected to drop 4.82%, or $9.19, a month. Xcel said residential electric bills will likely increase on average 1.67%, or $1.49, a month and bills for small…

Buc-ee’s has made it to Colorado. A red-capped beaver, the mascot of the super-sized, Texas-based travel centers, was front and center on outdoor signs and throughout the 74,000-square-foot store that officially opened at 6 a.m. Monday in Johnstown. The store is the first Buc-ee’s in Colorado and the company’s farthest west. The grand opening was expected to draw the uninitiated, curious about the excitement over the cornucopia of food and merchandise, as well as devotees of what has been a popular franchise located…

A bill that would provide state tax rebates to draw data centers to Colorado has run into opposition from critics who warn of the facilities’ large demands for energy and water and potentially higher costs for other electric customers. The legislation would offer state sales and use tax rebates for construction materials and equipment starting in 2026. Senate Bill 24-085 declares that investing in projects such as data centers “is crucial for the economy of the future” and Colorado, considered a growing high-tech hub, is…

The National Association of Realtors announced Friday that it had reached a legal settlement that upends the traditional model of sellers paying for the buyer’s agent in a home purchase. The agreement has the potential to save home sellers billions of dollars every year, but could also complicate purchases for buyers. The NAR, the largest trade group representing residential real estate agents, agreed to pay $418 million over four years to settle claims that the group and its members engaged in uncompetitive practices…

Editor’s note: The second column in this two-part series will run next month on April 21. Every three years, the Federal Reserve publishes a report about the finances of U.S. families. Based on data and interviews, the triennial “Survey of Consumer Finances,” “…collects information about family income, net worth, balance sheet components, credit use, and other financial outcomes.” In short, it reports how Americans are faring financially. But their recent report was a little different. Published in November 2023, it…

Colorado’s economy did much better than first estimated when it came to adding jobs last year and hiring is off to a strong start in 2024, according to an update Monday from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics initially reported Colorado employers adding 24,100 nonfarm jobs between December 2022 and December 2023, with the private sector adding only 1,100 jobs and the public sector adding 23,000. That worked out to a 0.8% growth rate, which lagged behind the U.S. rate of…

Kyle Shirley put off a marketing plan for his roofing company after insurance premiums for his work trucks shot up 55%. Becky Brinkerhoff’s insurance bill has doubled and she is checking with other companies for a better deal. Stephanie Rankin will likely reduce the coverage on one of her vehicles to help cover the 44% increase in her insurance rates. The three Denver-area residents are among Coloradans reeling from rising auto insurance costs on top of higher grocery bills and other expenses. The insurance rates are…

Colorado’s Front Range faces a risk of hail damage unlike any other area in the country, and it also happens to bewhere homeowners have installed solar panels on their roofs at some of the highest rates, according to a study from Roof Gnome, a platform that connects consumers with roofing and solar installation contractors. The combination can be a costly one when storms do hit and a contributor to rising home insurance premiums in the region. “Hail accumulation is an uncommon phenomenon but is most prevalent along the…

As another season of tubing down Clear Creek in Golden beckons, the city is considering a novel approach to controlling the crowds that descend on the popular waterway: a reservation system. The discussions are still in the early stages and the system, if it moves forward, wouldn’t be implemented until 2025. But the mere idea of requiring people to sign up for a float down Clear Creek is a testament to the increasing number of people Golden has had to manage on the water in recent years, especially in the wake of a…