Author: Savannah Mehrtens

Gov. Jared Polis, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock and more than 20 Colorado leaders traveled to Japan this week to explore opportunities and tout Colorado’s business acumen in the aerospace, renewable energy, innovation and research sectors. This mission, held from Sunday to Friday, aims to promote foreign direct investment into Colorado. Polis, officials within the…

Denver’s e-bike rebate program opened again Tuesday with city officials warning potential applicants that all vouchers would be claimed within 10 minutes.  It took five. The program closed after accepting 870 applications, according to Chelsea Warren from the City and County of Denver.  The rebate program has helped residents put more than 5,000 e-bikes on…

Recent data shows the local business community continues to be pessimistic, with business confidence down for three consecutive quarters – the third longest period in 20 years. The Leeds Business Confidence Index found that only one of the six components that go into determining confidence was positive. That area – industry sales – saw the largest…

Colorado’s unemployment rate is on a streak, staying below 3% for 10 consecutive months. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose by one-tenth of a percentage point, reaching 2.9%, in February, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The number of unemployed individuals increased by 2,200 during the same time, reaching 92,700. January’s…

Colorado business leaders and partners want to raise the state’s profile as a regional technology and innovation hub by earning an official federal government designation of a tech hub. The U.S. Economic Development Administration will launch a competitive process to make 20 federally-designated “Tech Hubs” across the country. The designation could be worth millions in…

A proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger, first announced in October last year, is raising worries about a lack of competition in Colorado, among other issues. Kroger, which operates King Soopers in Colorado, said that its proposed merger with Albertsons, which operates Safeway, will lead to lower prices, no layoffs for frontline workers and $1 billion to keep…

Five companies could potentially bring nearly 1,300 new jobs across Colorado with economic development incentives to entice them. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s Economic Development Commission Thursday approved just over $14 million in economic incentives for five companies identified only by project names to keep the company’s names secret during negotiations. …

For small business owners in the cannabis industry, it can often be difficult to find traditional funding sources due to the nature of the marijuana industry and its illegal federal status.  The Cannabis Business Office, within the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, announced Thursday 27 businesses were selected to receive $750,00 in…