The life and times leading up to Dostal Alley
By Don Ireland
Phil and Ruth Schmalz took a risk in 1958 when they opened a rock shop along Main Street in Central City. At the time, Central City – once a booming gold mining town a century earlier – was mostly a summer tourist attraction and nothing much (more…)
County Health still requires masks to be worn indoors and outdoors regardless of vaccination
By Randy Beaudette
Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners faced a long agenda for the Regular Meeting on May 18, 2021. A sample of those action items include a Volunteers of America (VOA) contract renewal for senior meals on wheels and Transportation Program, a County land sale auction contract, and a request for proposals for the Community Center grant funded building improvements. Gilpin County Board of Health revised two Public Health Orders to align with the State Mask Orders. (more…)
Three year $13.75 million Gregory Street Project nearing completion
By Randy Beaudette
The Black Hawk City Council held their first in person meeting in over a year on May 12, 2021 to discuss officially adopting the State’s 2020 Model Traffic Code, to consider a motion for cost sharing of the Miner’s Mesa sewer line, and to finalize a contract for the Green Lake intake project. (more…)
Council approves Opera’s Yellow Rose Ball, and Madam Lou Bunch Day events
By David Josselyn
Regular Council Meeting – Mayor Fey convened the regular meeting at 7:07 pm on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, in City Hall Council Chambers. Council members Jeff Aiken, Jackie Johnson, Judy Laratta, Kara Tinucci, and Mayor Jeremy Fey were present. (more…)
Adding new upgrades while keeping traditions intact
By Don Ireland
After a frantic week of changes and remodeling, Central City’s Dostal Alley is open again for business. The regular patrons of the casino, brewpub and restaurant were literally knocking at the doors, asking how soon they could get in. When the doors opened again for business last week after being closed for nearly a week, the customers were smiling. (more…)
School Board Meeting May 4th
By Curt Halsted
Teacher Appreciation Week
The week of May 3rd was teacher appreciation week. At the Gilpin County School Board Meeting on May 4th, Superintendent Dr. David MacKenzie (Dr. Dave) shared that the teachers were provided individual packaged Bundt cakes, along with cupcakes made by local baker and school staff alum Ardetta Robinson. Teachers were also given gift buckets. (more…)
Starting May 9th through October
By David Josselyn
A new, misspelled open-air market has come to Central City – the Levit Street Market; organized by business partners Jeremy Fey and Jack van Son and backed by the Bates-Hunter Gold Mine. Jeremy Fey originally brought the idea to City Council as Mayor in a Work Session, but at the time, the (more…)
Cast is working hard to bring musical to life
By David Josselyn
Amid the COVID restrictions, the Belvidere Players, under the direction of Patrice LeBlanc and Ed Schoenradt of L&M Productions, are carefully rehearsing their lines and songs to bring the musical ‘Prohibition’ to performance ready standards. ‘Prohibition,’ written and directed by Patrice and Ed, is a story about a small local town struggling with the seemingly (more…)
Health Insurance and Identity Theft Insurance Upgrades for City Staff
By Randy Beaudette
The Lake Gulch Road improvement and maintenance IGA, a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Grant agreement, a street renaming Resolution, and several Resolutions concerning various (more…)
Commissioners deal with sport shooting, mental health, and gaming impact prioritization
By Randy Beaudette
Speeding traffic on Highway 119, a Mental Health Proclamation for the month of May, and a discussion concerning dispersed shooting within the County were just examples of the many agenda items that the Gilpin (more…)
Council approves paint cost-sharing program for historic residences
By David Josselyn
Work Session
Council and Staff met with the Business Improvement District for a work session prior to the regular meeting on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. (more…)
Age of Drones
By Don Ireland
Without the proverbial crystal ball, no one can predict what kind of summer wildfire season lies ahead for Colorado. Factors, including ongoing drought and below- (more…)
One of the best times to enjoy the outdoors in Gilpin
By Esmee Halsted
It’s the time of the year where the snow melts and combines with the warm earth, in order to create the mud and puddles we all love! Mud season is a tourist free, (more…)
Gilpin County School Board April 20th Meeting
By Curt Halsted
Praise Shared for Meet and Confer Process
At the April 20th meeting of the Gilpin County School Board, board members honored Board Secretary, Joni Schmidt. Among other things, Joni takes the board minutes and updates the policies that can be found on the school website. Many staff (more…)
Gilpin Historical Society
by David Forsyth, PhD
For many years, Colorado’s license plates bore the slogan “Colorful Colorado” in reference to the state’s natural beauty. But, just as colorful is the history of the license plates themselves. Colorado first required owners to register their vehicles with county clerks in 1910, but provided no specifics for (more…)
Water and you: Final of a five-part series
By Don Ireland
“If your water system fails, life in paradise is over.” – Gilpin County Guide (2016)
At face value, water and gambling might not appear to have much in common – except in Colorado, where there is a growing connection between the two. (more…)