Friday, December 31st - Message From The Owner... I would first like to sincerely thank all of you who have patronized this site and all of you who helped make this possible... We are all blessed to live in this wonderful place... I would also like to stress to all of you the importance of not drinking and driving this weekend... The impact that decision can have on your family, friends, and even your pets can be devastating... This morning a good friend told me of a girlfriend of her's being killed last night while drinking and driving... While I never knew this person, tears filled my eyes as I could deeply feel the pain of her loss... I can only imagine the heartache and pain her children and family are going through... So please, go out if you desire and celebrate this coming of the new year... Drink and be merry... But I beg of you not to get behind the wheel after drinking... The price is far too high... May God bless you all and may you have a safe and happy holiday... Darrell E. Spangler

FLASHBACK (Year in Review) Wednesday, November 8th - Northern Lights Put On Spectacular Display... Last night the "Northern Lights" put on a superb show for area residents... For several hours the sky was ablaze with a rainbow of moving color... A strong geomagnetic storm is responsible for this display and may possibly continue into tonight... As a bonus, we are currently passing through a 1000 year old stream of dust associated with comet Temple-Tuttle, the parent of the annual, "Leonid Meteor Shower"... Be sure to watch for meteors (shooting stars) tonight also... A gallery of photos from last night's display of the Aurora Borealis taken here on Storm Mountain can be found by clicking on the photo below... Photos of the event from around the world may be found at Spaceweather.com's, "Aurora Gallery"

FLASHBACK (Year in Review) Wednesday, November 3rd - Salazar Edges Out Coors For US Senate Seat... In a hard fought race for the US Senate seat being vacated by Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R), Ken Salazar (D) last night edged out Pete Coors (R) by 50% - 48%... Other Colorado winners last night include Marilyn Musgrave (R), Bob Bacon (D), Karen Wagner (D), Diana DeGette (D), Tomas Tancredo (R), Bob Beauprex (R), John Salazar (D), Joel Hefley (R), and Mark Udall (D)... The majority of votes in Colorado went to George W. Bush for President, giving Bush our State's nine electoral votes... Amendment 36, which would have split Colorado's electoral votes proportionately, failed 66% - 34%... In the race for House District 49, incumbent Kevin Lundberg (R) won over challenger Doug Frisbie (D) by a margin of 54% - 43%... Referendum 5B, which would have brought additional funding into the Loveland Rural Fire District, failed 55% - 45%...

Thursday, December 30th - "New Year's Eve" DUI Crackdown... The Colorado State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies will be kicking off their "New Years Eve" DUI crackdown on Friday, December 31st, at 6pm, and continuing through Sunday evening... Police saturation and checkpoints can be expected... The goal of the campaign is to prevent drinking related fatalities on Colorado roadways with a focus in areas with a high number of DOA accidents... Residents and visitors should refrain from drinking and driving and make arrangements prior to heading out to celebrate... The legal limit for DUI in Colorado was lowered this year to .08, with arrests also being made at the .05 level for impaired driving... If you plan on drinking this holiday weekend, plan on using taxi's, designated drivers, or getting a room for the night to avoid a very costly and embarrassing experience with the boys in blue...

FLASHBACK (Year in Review) - Saturday, September 25th - 1700 Pack Student Center To Hear Mrs. Kerry Speak... The Lory Student Center at CSU was filled Friday afternoon with 1700 people attending a rally for Presidential candidate, John Kerry... Many guests were deeply moved as Teresa Heinz Kerry shared her story of being born in South Africa and her life under it's dictatorship... Mrs. Kerry also expressed both her and her husband's strong desire for a better America, emphasizing the importance of health care, jobs, and our environment... Photos from the event can be found by clicking the picture below...

Wednesday, December 29th - County Seeks Volunteers For Open Lands Projects... Volunteers needed for Larimer County Parks and Open Lands programs and projects... You are invited to attend the next Volunteer Orientation on Saturday January 8, from 9 – 11:30 a.m. at The Bison Visitor Center at Carter Lake... We offer a variety of volunteer opportunities to anyone interested in restoration, re-vegetation, recreation or education programs... You will learn details about each of our programs and projects and get the scoop on valuable training and other benefits as well as meet other volunteers... Learn more at www.larimer.org/parks/volunteer... Call: 970-679-4553 or email Pbrennan@larimer.org to sign up...

FLASHBACK (Year in Review) Thursday, August 26th - Plague Reported In Larimer County... The Larimer County Department of Health and Environment along with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) are urging residents and visitors in Larimer County to take precautions against rodents which may be spreading plague through their fleas... The plague-causing bacteria may be present in prairie dogs, deer mice, rock and ground squirrels, wood rats, wild rabbits, chipmunks, and other rodents... “The warning is a result of confirmation Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) laboratory in Fort Collins that a 54-year-old woman from Weld County is suffering from plague. The woman was hospitalized on August 22 after becoming ill on August 18.  She is currently receiving treatment”, states Larimer County Health Director, Dr. Adrienne LeBailly, MD, “We know that plague-infected fleas are present in Larimer County.  Plague was confirmed last week in two pet cats in the county.  One cat was from the northern area of the county near Cherokee Park Rd (WCR 80) and County Road 82E.  The other cat was from the Masonville area.  In 1999, a fatal human case of plague occurred in the Red Feather Lakes area.” The full news release from the County can be found below...

Tuesday, December 28th - Elusive Planet Mercury Visible In Mornings... If you happen to be up and about at sunrise for the next few days, don't miss the opportunity to see the planet Mercury rising in the southeast sky... Because its orbit lies so close to the Sun, it is most often lost in the glare making Mercury the most difficult of the five planets visible with the unaided eye to see... For the next couple of days, Mercury can be seen rising near Venus at dawn... Mars and Jupiter are also visible in the morning with Saturn shining in the west after sunset making all five naked-eye planets currently visible in our area... A golden opportunity if you or your children received a telescope for Christmas!!!

Mercury rising, above and to the left of Venus, on Tuesday morning at dawn.

FLASHBACK (Year in Review): Monday, June 28th - West Nile Makes Appearance In County...  Larimer County Health officials confirmed that a mosquito trapped in Ft Collins last Tuesday has tested positive for the West Nile virus... The recent moisture has added to concerns as standing water in backyards provide ideal breeding spots for the West Nile carrying Culex mosquitoes... Cool weather has been helping to keep the breeding subdued, but a warm spell will certainly result in an increase in mosquito numbers... Residents are advised to remove all standing water from around their property... Gutters, buckets, dishes, and grills are a few of the places to keep dry... More information about West Nile in our area, including symptoms and prevention tips, can be found below...

Monday, December 27th - FLASHBACK (Year in Review): March 23rd, 2004 - After years of construction on dams and other areas, construction is complete and  Horsetooth Reservoir is approaching full capacity... Motorists are now treated to spectacular views as they drive around the shores... This is a very welcome sight to those who enjoy the reservoir's many recreational activities such as fishing, boating, or simply walking along the shoreline... The work and repairs were a part of the "Colorado Big Thompson Project", in cooperation with the ongoing, "Big Thompson Watershed"...

Sunday, December 26th - Comet Machholz Continues To Brighten... Comet Machholz (C2004 Q2) is continuing to brighten in our southern skies... Now easily visible in binoculars, the comet is expected to brighten daily until mid January when it should be an easy object for the naked eye... A gallery of local photos and videos of Comet Machholz may be found at: www.stormmountain.net/mrp/machholz. Tonight will also bring a "Full Moon" which will be the smallest full Moon of 2004... This is due to the Moon now being at, "Apogee", or it's farthest distance from Earth in it's lopsided orbit around our planet...

Comet Machholz on Christmas evening	Close-up view of Comet showing faint tail at 10 o'clock

FLASHBACK (Year in Review): April 2nd, 2004 - "Picnic Rock Fire" Declared State Emergency... Governor, Bill Owens, today declared the, "Picnic Rock Fire", a state emergency freeing up State funds to help fight the blaze... The fire, as of 4:00pm today, was reported to now be over 8000 acres in size and growing... Awaited moisture from a passing cold front has been slow in coming, but is still expected to arrive late tonight or tomorrow...

Smoke from the "Picnic Rock Fire",  rises behind mountains scarred in our, "Bobcat Gulch Fire"...

Saturday, December 25th - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! We here at SMN would like to wish all of you a safe and very, "Merry Christmas"... We would also like to thank you, our readers, for your patronage and your support... Without you we would not have survived and developed into the reputable source of information for our small community that we have become... A special thanks to Park School District R3, Thompson School District R2J, the City of Loveland, Tim Haag and Loveland Rural Fire Protection, and the Larimer County Administrative Offices... The information and assistance you provide is greatly appreciated...  This has been an amazing year! Watch for a different top story from 2004 each day this week starting tomorrow... In 2005 will will be expanding our information and general coverage to include Glen Haven, the Retreat and CO 43 area, the entire Big Thompson Canyon, and surrounding rural areas between Estes Park and Loveland... We are still moving towards a printed paper with the name, "Storm Mountain Eagle®" being the current contender... Any and all suggestions are welcome... 

Christmas morning sunrise over Palisade Mountain

Thursday, December 23rd - 2004 Light Up The Mountain Winner Announced... We are pleased to announce that Ron and Karen Hentges of 56 Mica Ct are the winners of the "2004 Light Up The Mountain" Christmas display contest, sponsored by Storm Mountain Net and the historic River Forks Inn Restaurant... The Hentges' wonderful display features several beautifully created scenes for both daytime and nighttime viewing... As this year's winners, Ron and Karen will receive a ,"Limited edition print of the Northern Lights over Storm Mountain", signed by the photographer, and a, "Dinner for Two Gift Certificate", compliments of the historic River Forks Inn Restaurant... Our congratulations to the Hentges for their awesome display and our thanks for sharing it with our community!!!

News posts from previous weeks are located in our "News Archive" which can be found by clicking the button below:

Storm Mountain Net