Allie Jennerjahn joined the Denver7 news team in March 2024 as a morning reporter. She was born and raised in Hartford City, Indiana.
Business owners in downtown Idaho Springs say construction along Interstate 70 and a warm winter have hurt tourism numbers, but a new attraction aims to bring visitors back to the area.The Mighty Argo Cable Car is set to open to the public at the end of this month. The gondola offers a 10-minute ride to the top, where visitors will find a place to eat, drink, watch live music, and access some of the city’s best biking and hiking trails. The ride is free to residents of Idaho Springs .
'My neighbor and I were sitting drinking wine one night, looking at the Mighty Argo, realizing that the city owned 500 acres of public lands up here, and they were talking about building trails. So I immediately go, 'Oh, I wonder if we could build a gondola up there,'' Mary Jane Loevlie said.
Loevlie is the founder of the Mighty Argo Cable Car project.
'Another big, important part about this is the city of Idaho Springs is our full on partner,' Loevlie said.
The project is designed, in part, to revitalize the local economy, which has struggled with a lack of visitors, according to some local business owners.
For Idaho Springs native Sadie Schultz, the new cable car brings hope after a difficult season. Schultz has owned the Spice and Tea Exchange on Miner Street for 10 years. She said business took a big hit over the last several months.
'It really has seen a significant reduction of traffic on I-70. Then you compound that with lack of snow, and so we're not seeing a lot of that weekend ski traffic coming down the mountain,' Sadie Schultz said.
Schultz said the local community has been a vital support system.
'I think the best part about Idaho Springs is the interconnectedness of this community. All the business owners here and the residents, we all know each other. We're a family,' Schultz said.
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