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An act of destruction turned into an outpouring of community support after a business in Niwot was vandalized earlier this month.

Thanks to a GoFundMe campaign, Inkberry Books will be able to replace its damaged window without requiring co-owner Gene Hayworth to empty his pockets. The bookstore in Cottonwood Square has been a feature of the town since it was opened in 2018 by Hayworth and his partner, Keith Waters.

“Many of the customers consider it a community hub,” Hayworth said. “We have author readings, we feature a new artist in the bookstore every month, and we have music sometimes outside the store.”

The morning of Dec. 3, Hayworth received an email from a fellow business owner alerting him that a rock had been thrown through the storefront window. He said he was heartbroken when he arrived and found broken glass strewn underneath a gaping hole.

“Honestly, at first I thought it was a joke,” he said, recalling his initial reaction to the news. “It just didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would happen here.”

The hole was covered first with plastic, then with plywood, and finally with plexiglass. The store stayed open the whole time, but Hayworth said the plywood — which was up for a week — was a big deterrent for customers.

“Everyone thought we were closed, so we didn’t really do any business at all,” he said.

Hayworth launched the GoFundMe campaign on Dec. 8 after learning that, since he doesn’t own the building, his insurance wouldn’t cover the window’s replacement. In its first day alone, the fundraiser brought in over $500. As of Thursday, there have been 25 donations totaling $1,725 – surpassing the campaign’s $1,500 goal.

“I wasn’t really expecting this to be successful, so when it started growing so quickly, it amazed me,” Hayworth said. “It showed me how much the community really values our being here.”

One contributor who donated $200 left a comment on the campaign site saying she looks forward to Inkberry Books’ next window display. Another comment read, “I love books and (the) owner of this particular book store!”

“(The support) reinforced the fact that this was just some random act of vandalism,” Hayworth said. “You always think when something like this happens that it’s pointed directly at you, but the care and kindness that people have shown us really convinced me that was not the case.”

Jim Mitchell, who helps run the store on Wednesdays during the busy holiday season, said he was astounded and disappointed to hear about the vandalization but happy to see the fundraiser’s success.

“It shows the Niwot community bands together when someone suffers some kind of loss,” he said.

Hayworth said the extra money will help offset his purchase of the plexiglass and the increased cost of heating the store this month. The new window is expected to arrive Jan. 19.

In September 2021, longtime culinary professionals Lisa and Patrick Balcom opened Farow, a hyperlocal-focused, farm-to-table restaurant in Niwot. The duo sources 90 percent of the restaurant’s ingredients from within 10 miles, creating a delicious rotating menu that showcases Boulder County’s fresh produce, locally raised meats and freshly milled flour.

Farow’s new winter menu includes dishes like rutabaga cacio e pepe with black truffles; grilled bass with grapefruit, chimichurri and hominy; and handmade ricotta ravioli with fennel and tarragon beurre blanc. Farow also recently launched a new concept called Pie Dog, which serves up scrumptious handcrafted pizzas that are available only for pick-up or delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats. And, starting in May, the restaurant will begin hosting farm dinners at Boulder County farms.

We caught up with co-owner Lisa Balcom—who is responsible for Farow’s delectable rotating focaccia bread and desserts—to learn more about everything that’s happening at the restaurant. Here’s what she had to say.

Patrick and I have been in the food service industry for over 20 years. We have a deep passion for delicious, well-prepared food from great ingredients in addition to amazing wines and creative cocktails. We spent so much of our lives doing this and love it so much. Combined, we have a really unique skill set that rounds out both sides of the restaurant. Patrick has a savory fine-dining culinary background, and I have a pastry background in addition to a fine-dining serving and bartending background with sommelier training. After living in Boulder County for a couple of years, we saw an opportunity in the area to combine our unique skill sets and bring something new to the table. When we found ourselves with shorter and matching schedules during the pandemic, we took the time to put together a business plan and organize what we really wanted to do. We’d hit a point in our careers where working for someone else had become more of a lateral move than an advancement. We felt it was time to take the next step and do our own thing.

Our goal with opening Farow was to support our local farming community on a larger scale. Farming has such a huge impact on the environment and, oftentimes, the people doing the most important work in that industry are not being compensated appropriately for what they do. We pay whatever they ask for their organic veggies and pasture-raised meats and then charge appropriately at the restaurant. If they’re sitting on a lot of a certain cut of meat or a certain vegetable, we will buy it up and find a way to create a dish around it. In addition to supporting our local farmers, we wanted to create a place where we could put out delicious food and drinks made from the cleanest and freshest ingredients for our guests. Our wine list is biodynamic and organic and our cocktails stay seasonal, all our juices are fresh-pressed and syrups are made in-house.

Niwot actually wasn’t on our radar initially. We live in Longmont and have been wanting to see downtown Longmont transform into the cool place we know it can be. At the time we were looking, there were no spaces available for us that were a good fit. We knew we definitely didn’t want to deal with the cost of Boulder rent and we happened upon a previous restaurant space in Niwot and fell in love with it immediately. The huge patio is shaded by giant cottonwood trees with garden beds all around the building. There is also a parking lot and a fully built-out kitchen. It just made sense for this concept. Then we got introduced to the actual community of Niwot, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an actively connected community as Niwot. They host so many wonderful events and make every holiday such a special celebration. Everyone knows each other. It’s like a tiny Hallmark town. The magic is very palpable. Beyond the space and the community, we have almost every farm we work with just across the Diagonal Highway or within a 10-mile radius of the restaurant. We’ve built so many amazing relationships with our local farmers and ranchers. If we ever need something last minute, we can easily pop by or they will bring it to us.

While opening a restaurant during the pandemic, then rolling into a recession, has definitely had its challenges, I can’t think of a more appropriate time when supporting local has really played in our favor. With all of the supply chain price hikes and shortages, we’ve been more insulated from a lot of it because we work with only local farms. We still have access to eggs, and our grass-fed meats are around the same price or cheaper now than a lot of commercially raised meat. In addition to skirting the commercial supply chain, we work with farmers who are using regenerative practices and are enriching the soil of the lands they work on. In the case of our ranchers, they treat their animals with respect and allow them to live on their natural diets in wide open spaces, which makes the animals healthier and happier and makes their meat more flavorful and nutritious.

Additionally, food that is consumed right after being freshly harvested retains more of the nutrients, flavor and vibrancy. Our vegetables are harvested across the highway and driven, in most cases, just a couple miles to our restaurant, then put on your plate. If you’ve ever eaten a fresh tomato off the vine and compared it to the ones flown in from Mexico and California in the grocery store, you understand exactly what I mean. Fresh food, grown in its proper season, consumed just after it’s done ripening on the vine, is miles above what you get when we take the shortcuts we do in order to have produce year-round in our stores. From a culinary perspective, using the best ingredients creates the best-tasting food. You can’t make great food from crappy ingredients. We’re very passionate about having and showcasing these gorgeous ingredients that we take a lot of time and energy to source.

There was a period of time when all of the pizza shops in Niwot were closed for various reasons. Our building used to be a pizza shop, and we have a brick oven from Italy already. We also make all of our delicious focaccia dough in-house. After learning more about ghost kitchens and how they operate, we realized we could easily do without a lot of extra labor, start-up costs or energy, so we decided to start testing pizza in the kitchen. The results were incredible and after testing it on our team a few times for family meal, everyone agreed we should definitely go for it!

It has been a really great stream of revenue to help us get through the slower months so far, and it really seems to be taking off! Pie Dog has been really well received by our community as we’re servicing a need here that wasn’t being filled. Just like with Farow, we use nothing but the best ingredients. Our dough is made from fresh-milled flour, followed by a three-day fermentation time, so it really gives the dough a chance to develop great flavor and makes it more digestible. Then, we top it with a super simple tomato sauce — just really good tomatoes and salt. Our cheese and pepperoni are imported from Italy and we slice/shred all of it fresh in-house. Our sausage comes from Buckner Ranch. In my opinion, they have some of the best sausages I’ve eaten and their meats are always flavorful and top-notch. We’re not doing anything crazy, we’re just using really great ingredients and treating them with care. They really shine when left to their own devices.

I would love to introduce our farmers to the rest of the community and help support their businesses with visibility to their CSAs or at the farmers markets stands. They’re doing truly some of the most important and undervalued work in this world. They, like everyone else, deserve to make a living wage and be supported in their efforts to better our soil, our health and, ultimately, our planet. I hope that we can inspire people to eat more veggies at home, try things they would never find in the store, make more frequent trips to our farmers markets and sign up for CSAs. There’s something special about having a close relationship with the people who grow the food you eat. It connects you more deeply to the process, where it all comes from and all the work that someone goes through for you to enjoy what’s on your plate and to have foods that nourish and sustain you. As a whole, humans have really lost connection with that process and the joy that comes along with it. It’s something I hope everyone can experience again.

I’m hopeful Farow is a place where people come to not only be fed and nourished but where they can also be inspired by the ingredients we use to bring them home and use them at home. I know a lot of people who have started shopping with Buckner Ranch because of having their meats in our restaurant or who have gone into Moxie asking for those wheat berries or flours they’d eaten in the restaurant. I also hope it’s a place where we can keep sharing our knowledge of food, wine and spirits with the community and our team so people can further learn the pleasures of really great food and drink.

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Niwot is no stranger to wildlife occasionally roaming into this neck of the woods every now and then. There have been recent sightings of lynx, bobcats, foxes, deer, raccoons, snakes, prairie dogs, and even bears.

While this is not the first instance of a bear making its way into Niwot, it surely is the furthest east that we know of. There have been several bear sightings in the Lake Valley area, closer to the foothills. And there was a bear on the railroad tracks across from IBM during daylight hours several years ago.

And in 2013, a bear caused Niwot High School and Niwot Elementary School to go into lockdown briefly while officials from the Colorado Division of Wildlife monitored his whereabouts near the intersection of Niwot Road and Franklin Street.

On July 8, a local trail-walker witnessed a black bear on the path behind Niwot High School. "I'd better stop," said Bob Breyer of Morton Heights as he saw the bear come out of the bushes. "It wasn't a huge bear, and fortunately I saw it before he saw me," Breyer said. "Once he did see me he ran the other way into the ditch."

Before that, reports were coming in that the bear was seen roaming around in backyards in the Overbrook neighborhood near Niwot High School. "The bear walked across the path behind our house, came over the bridge, and strolled across the other side of our fence," said Dave Limbach, a resident of the Overbrook neighborhood. He spotted the bear later in the evening before it disappeared into the open space near the creek.

At about this time last year, residents of the same neighborhood had a similar experience with a black bear that was rummaging through trash cans. It isn't known if that was the same bear. Similar sightings have occurred in Lake Valley Estates, including a bear, several bobcats, foxes and even a badger.

With increased land development, animals are becoming less fearful of people and reclaiming their land as they look for new places to live. There are certain sanctions in place to prevent further deforestation and to maintain some wildlife habitats, but people should be aware of these potential interactions.

David Limbach

Other reports have claimed that there is an increase in prairie dogs appearing in residential areas significantly away from the preservation area near the Monarch Trailhead of the Niwot Loop Trail. Prairie dogs have been known to carry fleas that carry the plague.

With these increased sightings, the Colorado Division of Wildlife asks residents to be mindful of your pets, children, and yourselves when walking around nature. If you do see wildlife, do not engage with or startle the animal. Do your best to give it space and back away. Keep yourself, loved ones, and the wildlife safe. Please be sure to keep your trash cans locked as well.

Contact the Colorado Division of Wildlife at (303) 291-7227 or the Lakewood Animal Control Center at (303) 987-7173 if you do encounter these animals in your residential area.

For more information on Colorado wildlife, visit the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website at https://cpw.state.co.us/.

Can you actually see the backs of turtles in the dry, rolling hills of Boulder County? Yes — if you accept the unusual sandstone geologic formations called “turtlebacks” instead of aquatic creatures. The sand was deposited some 67 millions year ago when an inland sea and sandy beaches covered our region.

As the sea receded, the sand was buried and lithified into sandstone. Cracks (joints) formed in the Fox Hills Sandstone, and polygonal-jointed sandstone outcrops arose. One of the few places to see these turtlebacks in Boulder County is along the Somerset section of the Niwot Trail Loop.

Starting at the Niwot (named for the famed Arapaho Chief) Loop Trailhead, cross two bridges over irrigation ditches and go to an intersection with the Hidden Star Trail. Turn right and walk south up a gentle incline. Yipping prairie dogs in a large town on your right attract red-tailed hawks and other raptors. On your left are the Somerset subdivision mansions. Magnificent views of snow-capped peaks stretching all the way from the Mummy Range to James Peak dominate the western skyline, but are best enjoyed on your return trip.

As the trail rises, you’ll notice several cattail marshes where red-winged blackbirds sing. Then, the land changes. Yucca plants appear. Grassland is replaced by strangely jointed swellings — the turtlebacks. To protect these fragile formations, they are fenced off from the trail, but if you take along a scope, you might be able to pick out trace fossils, such as the tracks and tunnels of burrowing sea creatures. Unusual plant communities flourish in the turtlebacks, and rare lichens have been discovered in similar formations at the White Rocks Nature Preserve a few miles to the east.

As you approach Somerset Drive, look to the left for two ponds where great blue herons may stalk small fish or a muskrat may swim by. For a 2.2-mile out-and-back hike, you can turn around at this point. Or, you can cross Somerset Drive and do an additional 1.5-mile loop on Legend Ridge before returning.

There are many choices and connections from the Niwot Trail, though some involve using sidewalks. From Legend Ridge you can continue on Niwot Hills Trail, then connect to Cougar Trail. From the intersection near the trailhead you can hike the Hidden Star Trail that follows Boulder and Left Hand Ditch. You can park at Monarch Park Trailhead and catch the LoBo Regional Trail connecting Longmont and Boulder. Check online maps for details and more options.

Large cottonwoods near the trailhead provide the only shade, and the sunny trail can get very hot. So we advise going on a cool, cloudy day or early in the morning.

Directions: From Boulder take SR 119 (the Diagonal Highway) to the SR 52 (Mineral Road) exit and turn east. Turn north at North 79th Street, and in a short distance turn right into the trailhead parking area.

Ruth Carol and Glenn Cushman are the authors of Boulder Hiking Trails, available on Amazon.

The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved the Colorado Highway 119 Safety and Mobility Improvements Project and Bikeway Project at a "1041" review in a hearing on April 20.

The "1041" designation is shorthand for an "Areas and Activities of State Interest" law which outlines how the county must manage projects that involve State of Colorado lands.

The BOCC hearing was the final step and highest level of government review in the county.

A significant outcome from this hearing was that the commissioners expressed support for an underpass under the railroad and the northbound lane of Colorado Highway 119 (the "Diagonal") so that people can safely walk or bike between Niwot and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station that will be built at the location of the RTD Niwot Park-n-Ride that presently sits between the two traffic directions of the Diagonal just north of Niwot Road, as well as access the new bikeway.

The county staff recommendation stated that this underpass idea is currently not "within the scope" of the Highway 119 project.

The principal parties provided their presentations with few changes from previous proceedings. Notable changes related to the greater visibility of the work that the Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) has done toward a possible Niwot underpass. The LID, members of other community organizations and Niwot residents have voiced the need for greater safety at the intersection of Niwot Road and the Diagonal and the need for an underpass. It was clear that the principals have listened.

The lead county planner for the 1041 process, Pete L'Orange, gave the county staff presentation and mentioned the requested underpass three times.

After L'Orange's presentation, Commissioner Stolzmann asked, "Would the scope be able to be changed without re-reviewing this 1041 process for that underpass?" L'Orange answered, "[The underpass could] be included in, say, the 90% plans that are reviewed without having to come back for a full 1041 review."

Commissioner Loachamin focused on the Niwot underpass request and also asked for consideration of an underpass at the Colorado Highway 52 (Mineral Road) intersection with the Diagonal. Loachamin specifically referenced conversations at the annual LID/BOCC meeting that took place in Niwot on April 27. Loachamin sought more information from the principals about why these underpasses are not already in the plan.

She said, "My concern is hearing from residents who are asking for accessibility to a significant infrastructure opportunity... What I'm hearing is we're going to see if it's feasible but somehow I would believe that that happened at the beginning. Was it really just about funding or was there decision making?"

Commissioner Levy addressed the bus queue jump lanes, which allow BRT buses to get ahead of backed up car traffic. Levy pointed out that queue jump lanes must be long enough for buses to enter the lane before encountering the backed up traffic. She also noted that although Boulder County was one of the applicants, the commissioners were acting in their review capacity at the hearing, and not in their capacity as applicants.

The applicants (Boulder County, CDOT and RTD) gave their presentations next. CDOT mentioned the Niwot underpass and repeated the idea that the project management contractor will have flexibility within financial constraints. Federal grant requests are being submitted for more money but the intent is to address integrating the project into Hover Street in Longmont, which is unfunded at this time.

CDOT reported that they intend for the contractor to break ground in the spring of 2024, with completion in 30 months.

Public testimony was taken during the hearing. Biff Warren, president of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association, said, "You've gotten a letter from us, basically all the organizations in Niwot, about the lack of an underpass to Niwot from the bikeway. I think that the underpass and the safety issues touch on many aspects of the [Boulder County] Comprehensive Plan."

"When I look at the [county] staff recommendation the thing that stands out to me,... the response is that [the underpass] is not within the scope of the project." Warren said that access to the bikeway from Niwot was within the scope of the project, but that the project as designed calls for that access to be at grade level across the Longmont-bound lanes of the Diagonal.

Warren acknowledged that the cost of an underpass was not part of the $160M budget. "Six million dollars is the estimate and we think that's a bit high," he said, but noted that it was only 3.7% of the budget. He concluded, "We would urge you to include [the underpass]."

Eric Bergeson, president of the Niwot Business Association, expressed appreciation for the meetings that the applicants, county staff and the county commissioners have had with people in Niwot and how Niwot is being listened to.

Bergeson focused on all the safety issues at the Diagonal/Niwot Road intersection. "What I see in the new design... I think we're missing the mark on making improvements there," Bergeson said. He noted that the project studies have concluded that cross-traffic will be waiting at signals longer, which might cause some people to cross when they shouldn't, which would increase accident rates. "We really really think that an underpass should be in the scope of this project," Bergeson said.

Niwot resident Elaine Erb, Sustainable Transportation Planner for Boulder Transportation Connections, talked about how stressful it is to walk across Highway 119 from Niwot to get to the southbound bus stop on the far side when she travels from Niwot to Boulder on the bus.

Another Niwot resident, Mike Grothus said, "A number of years ago the county made some changes to that [Highway 119 /Niwot Road] intersection. They took away things like the buttons that you used to be able to push on a bicycle to cross 119." Grothus encouraged the designers to take everything into consideration.

During another question and answer period county staff reported on an on-site visit to the Highway 119/Niwot Road intersection with CDOT and other principals. They reported on changes that will be made with flashing beacons to warn of signal timing, moving signals to make them more visible and aspects of the current configuration that contribute to driver confusion about when to proceed through the intersection. They also discussed a Niwot underpass while on site.

After over three hours, the commissioners quickly came to a decision. Commissioner Stolzmann made the motion, saying, "I move to approve ... with the additional two conditions added, the first being making meaningful effort to fund and build a grade-separated solution to connect the Park-n-Ride at Niwot with Niwot...." The motion was approved unanimously.