The Colorado Sun, Author at The Colorado Sun https://coloradosun.com Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. Fri, 16 Aug 2024 23:06:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/cropped-cropped-colorado_full_sun_yellow_with_background-150x150.webp The Colorado Sun, Author at The Colorado Sun https://coloradosun.com 32 32 210193391 How public libraries keep fighting https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/18/colorado-sunday-20240818/ Sun, 18 Aug 2024 12:45:00 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=399646 Colorado Sunday issue no. 149: "How public libraries keep fighting"Issue No. 149 — How libraries have transformed ☼ Try a fresh-tomato Bloody Mary ☼ Peter Heller’s new book ]]> Colorado Sunday issue no. 149: "How public libraries keep fighting"

Happy Colorado Sunday, all.

I hope your week was lovely. I can’t tell you how happy I was to be able to report measurable rainfall to the Colorado Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network three days in a row. If I didn’t have a full-time job, you can bet that the big storms delivering needed doses of cooling rain every afternoon would have sent me scrambling for a novel and a chair on the covered front porch.

There is something soothing about a break with a book. These days there are stacks of to-be-read books staring at me from most flat surfaces in my house, so I don’t have the same use for the library that I did when I was a kid. But I learned reading this week’s cover story by Kevin Simpson that if I did peek inside the branch less than a mile from home, I would find a place transformed to meet the needs of my community no matter what direction they’re coming from.

A brass book-deposit slot at the Park Hill Branch Library in Denver. (Kathryn Scott, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Seems like everyone has some vivid memory of their public library, right? For me, it’s flashbacks to grade school days when the bookmobile would visit and I’d score an armload of fresh literary adventures. Or the woody scent of the main library’s massive card catalog as I scoured the Dewey Decimal System to source a high school paper. A lot has changed since then, and a pandemic demanded a whole raft of new strategies, but libraries have always operated on the premise of welcoming all and filling public needs.

And we found that’s definitely still the case — with some interesting twists — as we checked in on this amazing institution in Colorado to see how it has evolved to meet a very challenging moment. We paid particular attention to rural libraries, whose services have expanded even into connecting patrons with health care, but also looked at overarching issues like censorship and the difficult task of patching our social safety net. And just a heads up: We’ll be talking further about libraries’ evolving role with a panel of experts next month at SunFest. Sign up and bring your library cards!

READ THIS WEEK’S COLORADO SUNDAY FEATURE

Things move quickly in Colorado and people wear many hats to get things done. Here are a few of our favorite images this week of people going places and making change happen in their communities.

Mancos Elementary School Principal Seth Levine greets students while working crossing guard duty on the first day of class Monday in Mancos. (Matthew Tangeman, Special to The Colorado Sun)
A resident of the Hearthfire neighborhood bikes past the idled oil wells Tuesday at Prospect Energy’s Fort Collins Meyer site. On Wednesday, the company lost its right to do business in Colorado and was ordered to clean up the site within 90 days. (Tri Duong, Special to The Colorado Sun)
White water rafters float the Cache la Poudre River in Poudre Canyon on Tuesday. Silt carried by heavy summer rains over burn scars to the west muddied the water as it flowed toward Fort Collins. (Tri Duong, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Rebel Marketplace founder James Grevious hands a bag of produce to one of 27 families participating in a Colorado Nutrition Incentive Program distribution Wednesday in Aurora. The bags included vegetables harvested that morning at Switch Gears Farms in Longmont. (Rebecca Slezak, Special to The Colorado Sun)
An early-morning dog walker navigates the spray of sprinklers watering lawns Friday along East 17th Avenue Parkway just after sunrise in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver. (Kathryn Scott, Special to The Colorado Sun)
A fresh-tomato Bloody Mary at Mother Muff’s bar Friday in Colorado Springs. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

Summer is not my favorite season — winter is, by a country mile, followed by the other seasons that at least have some snow and no 100-degree days.

However, as an avid gardener and a big fan of the fresh offerings at at our local farmers market, it’s easy to acknowledge how good a tender, juicy, heirloom tomato is with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and maybe a drizzle of really good olive oil, in the middle of summer. And as a distiller, I’m a big fan of tomato-driven cocktails, whether a Bloody Mary, Bloody Maria, Bloody Caesar, Red Snapper, really anything punched up by tomato and a bit of spice.

I’d heard of a freshly juiced Bloody Mary at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort near Buena Vista more than 10 years ago, when some friends were married there, but didn’t have the opportunity to try it. The concept stuck with me, though. Friends described it as a totally different cocktail experience. Years later, I stopped in and interrogated some confused employees at the hot springs. They had apparently discontinued it during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So when it returned this summer, I knew it was time to strike. Tom Warren at Mount Princeton and Susan Hirt, whose Bloody Mary at Mother Muff’s in Colorado Springs was inspired by a visit to the hot springs almost 20 years ago, were very generous in talking through their processes and ingredients, and offering tips for home mixologists. There are countless possible permutations, so don’t be afraid to experiment. If it’s fresh, delicious and refreshing, if it leavens a hot summer day and puts a smile on your face, then you’ve succeeded.

READ ON FOR TIPS, TECHNIQUES AND A BASIC FRESH TOMATO JUICE RECIPE

EXCERPT: Two men emerge from a hunting trip in the Maine wilderness to find a staggering swath of death and destruction. Bestselling author Peter Heller taps into today’s disturbing political dysfunction as these lifelong best friends, Jess and Storey, navigate their way toward an understanding of what’s happened to society. Secession?

READ THE SUNLIT EXCERPT

THE SUNLIT INTERVIEW: Heller offers a glimpse inside the writing process that has made him a bestselling author, but also into his thoughts on the divisive politics of our time and the dangers that presents. Here’s a brief segment from his Q&A, but you do not want to miss Heller’s podcast conversation with our Tracy Ross:

SunLit: How does the relationship between your characters Jess and Storey, who emerge from their trip to find a starkly divided America, fit into the broader societal and political rift?

Heller: Well, there is this sense that whatever happens in this conflict — which may or may not be rippling out into the broader nation — their friendship is solid, irrevocable. I can only hope that their bond stands for the state of our Union. That whatever the perceived betrayals or wrongs … we can get past them.

READ THE INTERVIEW WITH PETER HELLER

LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST WITH THE AUTHOR

A curated list of what you may have missed from The Colorado Sun this week.

Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was convicted on seven of 10 charges related to a 2021 breach of her county’s voting system — a case that made her a darling of election conspiracy mongers, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. (Jim Morrissey, Special to The Colorado Sun)

🌞 The big news of the week was that a Mesa County jury returned a guilty verdict on most of the charges former Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters faced. Nancy Lofholm reported from the trial and served up the jury findings with a lot of important context. Related: Can people convicted of felonies vote in Colorado? It’s complicated.

🌞 More than half of Colorado school districts now have kids in the classroom just four days a week, a move superintendents attribute to budget problems. Erica Breunlin reports there are costs to the switch that are showing up in students’ academic performance.

🌞 In political news, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the presumptive Democratic nominee for vice president, was in Denver last week and raised $3 million for his run with Vice President Kamala Harris for the White House. Our own governor called a special legislative session to hammer out a deal that, among other things, is intended to keep two tax measures off the November ballot. The state GOP sent out a transphobic email ostensibly intended to support a well-loved Republican senator in a toss-up race in southern Colorado. He was mortified by the messaging.

🌞 A lot of money has flowed toward regional trail building projects, but not so many trails have been completed. Jason Blevins uses fragments of a trail from Carbondale to Crested Butte to explain the hold up.

🌞 An oil and gas operator with about 60 wells in Larimer County lost its right to do business in Colorado and must clean up two wells and processing sites north of Fort Collins within 90 days. Mark Jaffe explains why people living near those sites are OK that the deal with state regulators let Prospect Energy duck $1.7 million in penalties.

🌞 Colorado food banks have spent just about all the $10 million in pandemic-era aid allocated for the purchase of fresh food from small farms, Parker Yamasaki reports. So what happens after the money runs out?

🌞 Colorado’s surge of new business formations dropped like a stone in the year after the state reinstated full-freight filing fees. Economists told Tamara Chuang it just signals a return to normal. Speaking of which, metro Denver’s inflation rate fell — a lot faster than the nation as a whole — to 1.9%.

🌞 Good news! All that work to save the tiny endangered boreal toad seems to be paying off in Colorado. Jennifer Brown, who went on a recovery mission with biologists in 2019, reports the high-elevation amphibians seem to be breeding — a lot — near Pitkin.

Thanks for dropping by this morning, friends. If you’ve forgotten since the last time we said it, we appreciate all you do for us, whether it is sharing links to our stories, putting in a good word about The Sun, or subscribing to this newsletter.

— Dana & the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.

]]> 399646 Gov. Polis calls special session on property taxes https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/16/the-sunriser-08162024/ Fri, 16 Aug 2024 14:52:36 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=399491 Blurred image of an empty parliamentary chamber with wooden desks and chairs arranged in rows, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and flags on the walls.Plus: Icelandic investors interested in Colorado geothermal, federal funds run low for local produce, bike frame battles and more Colorado news]]> Blurred image of an empty parliamentary chamber with wooden desks and chairs arranged in rows, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and flags on the walls.
The Sunriser logo

Yesterday I was out running and I looked a bat in the eyes. It was pretty early for a bat to be out, with the sun still very high and bright, which is partly why I was able to make eye contact so clearly. It was also just hovering, not darting around as I usually see them at dusk. Just hovering.

I’m sure the bat was just trying to score some early dinner, but its behavior jostled me. I was reminded of a daunting but hilarious article by John Jeremiah Sullivan about the impending war between humans and animals — but then my mind quickly turned to all of the social media content I’ve been getting about welcoming fall and spooky season. Most of it is facetious, playing up the two cool days we’ve had on the Front Range, men in sweaters sipping pumpkin-spiced lattes, gazing at a single, barely yellowing leaf.

I’m not ready for all that. Instead, I’ll be in Crested Butte this weekend where there are hopefully flowers and not fall leaves, dipping into creeks, clinging to every little notion of summer.

Here’s the news.

The Colorado House of Representatives convenes Jan. 10 on the first day of Colorado’s 2024 legislative session. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)

Sept. 6

Deadline for lawmakers to remove initiatives from the November ballot

Gov. Jared Polis has called lawmakers into a special legislative session to talk property taxes. Polis is hoping to pass a package of tax cuts in exchange for the removal of two consequential property tax measures from the November ballot that some lawmakers fear would decimate state and local budgets. Other groups say the fears are overblown. Brian Eason and Jesse Paul have the details.

READ MORE

The proposed site of the Mount Princeton Geothermal plant, Aug. 28, 2023, near Buena Vista. The site, with views of 14,196-foot Mount Princeton, is on state land trust land, which, when leased, helps fund things like public schools and institutions in Colorado. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

There is an untapped well of energy bubbling beneath Chaffee County, and two geothermal energy developers may have finally gotten the go-ahead funds to investigate it. The pair have been studying geothermal potential at a site just outside Buena Vista for over a decade, but it wasn’t until they linked up with the Colorado Energy Office and an Icelandic investor that the ball got rolling. Tracy Ross has more.

READ MORE

An heirloom eggplant, grown by Switch Gears Farm in Longmont, will be in the weekly produce bags as part of the Colorado Nutrition Incentive Program. Vanita Patel, co-founder of Switch Gears, gets the seeds for this particular eggplant from a Pakistani farmer in California. (Rebecca Slezak, Special to The Colorado Sun)

220

Local farms that sold food to groups with LFPA funds

A pandemic-era relief program gave Colorado food banks nearly $10 million to spend specifically on locally grown food, solving both hunger and small farm sustainability. But the last of the funds was divvied up this spring, and the state expects most of the money to be spent by the end of fall. I spoke with farmers and food banks about what comes next.

READ MORE

$25 million

Spot’s original ask to drop the matter and avoid a lawsuit

In 2008 Denver’s Gates Corp. debuted a special belt-drive system to replace the century-old chain on bikes, but needed a bike-maker with a frame to accommodate it. Family-owned Spot Brand in Golden rose to the occasion with the innovative “Drop Out” frame. Now Spot claims that Gates Corp. has been shopping around the belt-drive and frame design without any credit, or money, going to Spot. Jason Blevins has the story.

READ MORE

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

In “What’d I Miss?” Ossie wonders why “success stories” tout working for free as an almost magical formula for achieving financial success.

CARTOON

Jim Morrissey imagines the conspiracy-minded MyPillow guy doing his best to make convicted former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters comfortable.

CARTOON

Drew Litton captures the melancholy of leaving summer fun behind and getting back to the schoolhouse grind.

CARTOON

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

Each weekday The Daily Sun-Up podcast brings you a bit of Colorado history, headlines and a thoughtful conversation. We keep it tight so you can quickly listen, or stack up a few and tune in at your leisure. You can download the Sun-Up for free in your favorite podcasting app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or RSS to plug into your app. This week, the team’s topics range from Denver chefs to melting ice.

🗣️ Remember, you can ask Siri, Alexa or Google to “play the Daily Sun-Up podcast” and we’ll play right on your smart speaker. As always we appreciate your feedback and comments at podcast@coloradosun.com.

Subscribe at coloradosun.com/podcast

Have a good weekend and see you back here Monday.

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.

]]> 399491 Explaining Denver’s slowing inflation https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/15/the-sunriser-08152024/ Thu, 15 Aug 2024 14:52:20 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=399360 A grocery store employee arranges produce, including potatoes and fruits, in the organic section of a store filled with various fruits and vegetables.Plus: Prospect Energy shut down, mixed results in latest homelessness count, Denver fundraiser with Tim Walz raises millions and more Colorado news]]> A grocery store employee arranges produce, including potatoes and fruits, in the organic section of a store filled with various fruits and vegetables.
The Sunriser logo

Good morning, Colorado. Let’s update you on a couple of our upcoming events.

On Sept. 4 at 6 p.m., environmental reporter Michael Booth will speak with a panel of experts looking at Colorado’s horrendous ozone year. We’ll ask Colorado’s air pollution control director and a top regional air quality official to review the scary 2024 season and ask what might change.

RSVP for Peak Ozone, a free event you can watch live with us as we answer your questions.

RSVP for Peak Ozone

Then join us in person on Sept. 27 for our second SunFest gathering, which you’ll be learning a lot more about soon, but can go ahead and register for it here.

Learn more about SunFest 2024

Now let’s get to today’s news.

Denver-area inflation hit the sub-2% mark that the Federal Reserve was waiting for before lowering interest rates. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

In the past year, gasoline prices have dropped double digits, used car prices are down 9.7%, while housing and grocery prices have stagnated. It’s all part of data that suggests inflation is slowing, especially in Denver compared to the rest of the country, Tamara Chuang reports. Still, overall prices have increased 10% since 2021. Here’s more.

READ MORE

An unhoused person walks past his tent in an encampment along the 1300 block of Pearl Street in Denver in January 2021. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)

An annual count of Denver homelessness showed a 12% increase in the past year, though for only the second time in recent history, fewer people were living outside. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is claiming the drop in unsheltered homelessness is among the largest in the nation. Not included in the survey were the 4,300 new migrants sleeping in shelters when the count was conducted. Jennifer Brown has more details.

READ MORE

Prospect Energy — a Highlands Ranch-based oil and gas operator facing millions of dollars in fines and an abundance of complaints from homeowners and local governments — lost its right to do business in Colorado on Wednesday. Among the details of the agreement, Prospect Energy’s 59 wells will end up in an orphan well program and will eventually be plugged and abandoned by the state. Mark Jaffe has the latest.

READ MORE

Colorado State University Geosciences professor Rick Aster installs a POLENET seismic station in Antarctica. Aster and POLENET colleagues used seismic tomography to scan the Earth up to hundreds of kilometers below the Antarctic ice sheet. (Courtesy of Rick Aster, POLENET team)

A Colorado State seismologist and his team have confirmed that Antarctic melting could accelerate to a point that overflows a continental rock underlay that holds in a massive glacier, letting in seawater that will make the ice sheet melt faster than its current rate of 150 billion tons of ice per year. Sounds bad. Michael Booth explains.

READ MORE

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally Saturday in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

A view of Palisade near where the town famous for wineries and peaches meets the high desert Book Cliffs. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

Palisade Peach Days. Peaches have been closely linked with the upper Grand Valley since the late 1800s, shortly after Ute Indians were forced off the land and, according to a Daily Sentinel article from 1900, settlers “impatiently” moved in to experiment with the soil along the two major waterways —the Grand (now the Colorado) and the Gunnison rivers.

By the early 1900s, peaches were so much a part of the valley’s identity that the local sports teams took names like the Grand Junction Smudgers, a reference to the small heaters designed to keep the groves warm through spring freezes, and the Palisade Peach Pickers. One game was even famously called off because the Peach Pickers were too busy picking peaches.

Though settlers down valley originally had less luck with the fruit, they still welcomed the agricultural and demographic changes with an 1887 celebration known as Peach Day, held in Grand Junction. Peach Day grew into Peach Days, and eventually bloomed into the music-, activity- and fruit-filled Palisade Peach Festival held tomorrow and Saturday in Riverbend Park.

If you can’t make it to the Western Slope this weekend, you can find Front Range alternatives in Fort Collins and Lafayette on Saturday, and a couple of peach-themed farmers markets in Centennial and Westminster.

Various prices; Aug. 16-17; Palisade

See you back here tomorrow.

— Kevin & the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.

]]> 399360 Four-day school weeks aren’t working out like some hoped https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/14/the-sunriser-20240814/ Wed, 14 Aug 2024 15:03:20 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=399235 A crossing guard holds a stop sign, assisting children and parents across a crosswalk in front of Mancos Elementary School.Plus: Coal-loving utility goes renewable, theaters move to office spaces and more drivers are heading over U.S. 50 bridge ]]> A crossing guard holds a stop sign, assisting children and parents across a crosswalk in front of Mancos Elementary School.
The Sunriser logo

Good morning, Colorado.

Had a lovely camping trip this past weekend where my wife and I “disconnected” by walking around with a phone in the air trying to get service so we could watch the U.S. Women’s National Team win gold at the Olympics.

We successfully caught Colorado-born Mallory Swanson’s game-winning goal. It got my heart rate going — although not as dramatically as when moose joined our campsite in the middle of the night.

Needless to say, it was an exciting trip. And now, as we turn our attention to the news, we have a quick reporting ask:

Can you help us with a story? Reporter Tamara Chuang is looking to talk with people today to see if they are feeling Denver’s inflation drop. The city’s newly announced rate was 1.9%, once again less than the U.S. rate of 2.9%. Shoot her an email at tamara@coloradosun.com.

A row of backpacks lines a hallway wall Monday at Mancos Elementary School in Mancos. Students kicked off the new school year that day, diving back into four-day school weeks. Mancos School District moved to four-day weeks in 2016, largely as an incentive to draw quality teachers as it struggled to maintain competitive salaries. (Matthew Tangeman, Special to The Colorado Sun)

14%

Colorado public school students at schools with four-day weeks

School districts across Colorado have switched to a four-day school week, which has longer days to make up for the shorter week, while faced with strapped budgets and limits on educator salaries. But a recent report found that the believed benefits aren’t necessarily panning out. Erica Breunlin takes a look.

READ MORE

Tri-State Generation is using power from the Escalante solar farm built around its retired coal-fired plant near Grants, New Mexico. (Source: OrigisEnergy/Gridworks)

Tri-State Generation, a previous coal powerhouse utility that serves millions through co-ops across the region, has transformed into a renewable-energy giant covering four Western states. That’s after years of losing co-op members because of its slow pace of change. Michael Booth looks at the utility’s turnabout.

READ MORE

Melissa Leach, artistic director and owner of The Three Leaches Theatre, poses Tuesday in the former Benchmark Theatre in Lakewood. Leach prefers working in intimate theater spaces. “When you’re closer to the audience they kinda live in the work,” she said. (Rebecca Slezak, Special to The Colorado Sun)

As rents rise, there are few affordable rehearsal spaces left in Denver. And the ones that do still exist are booked out a year in advance. So two theater companies — plus a gallery — have looked to a spot that you may not normally associate with the performing arts: an office. Parker Yamasaki has more.

READ MORE

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The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins recommends:

Read what the bookstore staff had to say about each. Pick up a copy and support your local bookstores at the same time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To moose and Mallory Swanson!

— Danika & the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.

]]> 399235 Tina Peters guilty in breach of Mesa County election system https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/13/sunriser-20240813/ Tue, 13 Aug 2024 14:59:29 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=399037 a pair of women in formal clothing walking indoorsPlus: Endangered toads having tadpoles, special legislative session more likely, Colorado River negotiations ramp up and more ]]> a pair of women in formal clothing walking indoors
The Sunriser logo

Good morning, Colorado.

We’ve got a lot of news to cover this morning, so I’ll keep this intro quick. But I did want to make sure you saw a big story that broke after 5 p.m. yesterday. Reporter Nancy Lofholm was inside the packed courtroom in Grand Junction when a jury turned over their guilty verdict for Tina Peters. The conviction capped a yearslong saga that jeopardized Colorado’s voting system and marks another conviction tied to post-2020 election conspiracies.

This is just one example of the issues we at The Sun are committed to covering, no matter how long it takes to report, where it happens, or what time the news comes in. We’ve got that story and more in this morning’s Sunriser.

Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters departs the Mesa County Justice Center courtroom with her supporters Monday in Grand Junction. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

After hearing eight days of testimony, a jury deliberated for roughly four hours and found former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters guilty of seven of 10 counts related to a 2021 breach of the county’s election system. As Nancy Lofholm reports, the jury debated clashing portraits of Peters, weighing an image of a law-breaking, publicity-seeking conspiracy monger who jeopardized Colorado’s voting system against that of a public servant who was only trying to protect sensitive election information.

READ MORE

A 2005 file photo of a boreal toad at the Native Aquatic Species Restoration Facility in Alamosa. Thousands of rare boreal toads are bred each year at this hatchery for reintroduction into the wild. (Judy Walgren, Rocky Mountain News via Denver Public Library)

State wildlife biologists are calling the latest news about boreal tadpoles in a bog in the mountain above Pitkin “potentially life-changing.” Why? Because for seven years, biologists have been toting tadpoles to high-elevation ponds to try to save the boreal toad, and for the first time, the transplanted toads are making their own babies in the wild. Jennifer Brown has more.

READ MORE

Train cars are parked along the Colorado River on April 10 in Bond. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

Colorado River officials have outlined a speedy timeline to negotiate a new agreement with the federal government to track, count and store water so it can benefit the four Upper Basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Water reporter Shannon Mullane has all the details on the potential conservation credit program.

READ MORE

A boy runs across Main Street in downtown Ordway on Jan. 26, 2022. The town is the county seat of Crowley County. (Mike Sweeney, Special to The Colorado Sun)

There was a sharp decline in people filing to start a new business in Colorado during the second quarter, and some economists are attributing it to the end of a program that reduced filing fees to $1, Tamara Chuang reports. Now, filings are slowing down and getting back to the pace before the discount existed.

READ MORE

The session looms after a long list of top civic and business groups from across the political spectrum said they supported a deal to stop a pair of measures from appearing on the November ballot. Brian Eason and Jesse Paul break down how the idea of a special session came together.

READ MORE

What do you want candidates to talk about during the 2024 election as they compete for your vote? Our survey is still open. Tell us what you think!

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

Two slices of Caleb Stephens’ psychological thriller, “The Girls in the Cabin,” offer disturbing glimpses into what a widowed father hoped would be a healing camping trip for him and his two daughters — but which quickly turns into a nightmare scenario. Told from multiple points of view, Stephens’ Colorado Book Award finalist lays the groundwork for characters caught in a web of darkness.

READ AN EXCERPT

Thanks for joining us here, as always. Catch you here tomorrow.

— Olivia & the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.

]]> 399037 Why getting new trails in Colorado takes so much work https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/12/sunriser-20240812/ Mon, 12 Aug 2024 15:12:09 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=398826 Plus: The economics of dining out, Tina Peters opts not to testify, food aid at farmers markets, slowing job growth and more ]]>
The Sunriser logo

Good morning and welcome to the “thunderstorm every afternoon” stage of Colorado summer.

While these sudden bursts of precipitation and thunder are a welcome part of summer — especially when parts of the state are in a flash drought — officials are keeping an eye on all the fresh burn scars and other flood-prone areas.

But as we wait for the afternoon thunder to hit, let’s take a tour through a weekend’s worth of news, from the drama in the final act of the Tina Peters trial to a look at why getting Colorado’s major trails connected is taking so long.

Let’s lace up these boots and hit the trail already, shall we?

A view of the former coal mining village of Placita, with the upper Crystal River winding along the valley floor as seen from from Colorado 133 as it climbs up McClure Pass. (Brent Gardner-Smith, Aspen Journalism)

Eight years after then-governor John Hickenlooper announced a plan to connect 16 gaps in trails across Colorado, only one of the chosen projects is complete. And as Jason Blevins reports, the level of environmental scrutiny that went into the approval of a tiny section of one of the big 16 reflects the new normal for making recreation play nice with environmental concerns.

READ MORE, PODCAST

Tina Peters of Mesa County speaks during a Republican State Central Committee meeting March 11, 2023, in Loveland where elections for a chairman, vice chairman and secretary were conducted. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)

Facing 10 felony and misdemeanor counts, including identity theft and attempting to influence a public servant, Tina Peters dangled the possibility that she would testify in her defense. But after a judge repeatedly told her that he could not give legal advice from the bench, she declined. Nancy Lofholm reports on the final stretch of the case that could conclude today.

READ MORE

Perdita Butler, left, and Geonna King uncover a bed of vegetables at Butler’s Quarter Acre and a Mule farm in Pueblo. Butler grows organic produce and Quarter Acre and a Mule is an anchor farm for the Pueblo Farmers Market. (Mike Sweeney, Special to The Colorado Trust)

There are federal, state and local programs that incentivize buying produce from farmers markets all over Colorado. And while some are popular — like coupons that double the value of food assistance spent at farmers markets — fewer people are using them than the state hoped. Kate Ruder has more on the future of these programs from The Colorado Trust.

READ MORE

After last week’s market disruption fueled by a weak U.S. jobs report, local analysts say the response was overblown. Tamara Chuang breaks down the state of jobs in Colorado as part of this week’s “What’s Working” column.

READ MORE

A busy restaurant doesn’t mean it’s thriving, but there seems to be something particular with Denver that is discouraging the city’s top local chefs and restaurants and has them looking elsewhere. Some of Denver’s award-winning chefs get specific, sharing details with Tamara Chuang, about their love/hate relationship with being part of Colorado’s largest dining scene.

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Thanks for kicking off the week with us! See you back here tomorrow.

— Eric and the whole staff of The Sun

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]]> 398826 When busy isn’t enough https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/11/colorado-sunday-20240811/ Sun, 11 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=397998 Colorado Sunday issue no. 148: "When busy isn't enough"Issue No. 148 — The economics of eating out ☼ Grassroots music fest ☼ “The girls in the cabin”]]> Colorado Sunday issue no. 148: "When busy isn't enough"

Happy Colorado Sunday, friends.

It’s hard to believe that we’re well on our way to the end of summer. But time flies when you’re doing whatever you’re doing, fun or not.

It also hardly seems possible that more than four years have passed since I bowed to the stay-at-home orders of the pandemic and paid mighty tribute in the form of $20 bills handed through the door to brave pizza delivery kids. I happily added tips of 40% or 50% to the tab of my pick-up orders because I was grateful the bag included a mixed drink, even if it came bundled up in a styrofoam cup with a liquor “license” taped across the lid. I got so used to the self-imposed upcharges that I only barely cared when I started noticing little things like “staff benefits” charges still affixed to the ticket by the actual restaurants two years after public health restrictions were lifted.

I’m starting to feel it now. As menu prices continue to click up and restaurants and cafes in my orbit experiment with things like passing on credit card processing fees to customers and European-style service fees instead of tips, I wonder what I am paying for. I am especially aware of the little extra charges when service is a little sketchy or the food is not up to par.

In this week’s cover story, Tamara Chuang unpacks the economics of dining out, and explains how even some top Denver metro restaurateurs are struggling to keep their dining rooms and kitchens staffed and their operations profitable as the crowds come rushing back.

The Pan Fried Thumblings at Nan’s Dim Sum & Dumplings are petite pork-filled dumplings that are about half the size of an average Chinese dumpling. The bill comes with a 3% “dumpling chef appreciation fee” that the restaurant says is “100% optional.” (Tamara Chuang, The Colorado Sun)

Sometimes, you’ve got to look behind the data to figure out the reality of what’s going on. After a Denver economist told me that sales tax revenues for “food services and drinking places” rebounded surprisingly fast after the pandemic and the restaurants he frequented were busy, I began asking around.

Umm … no, Denise Mickelsen with the Colorado Restaurant Association essentially told me. “A busy restaurant isn’t always a thriving business, meaning that every single thing a restaurant operator needs to run their business right now costs more and more, and menu prices can’t rise in tandem or no one will go out to eat. That’s not a situation most restaurants can survive, which is why we continue to see closures across the state.”

I reached out to some of Denver’s top chefs and restaurateurs. I was floored by their willingness to share specific details about what it takes to operate a restaurant in 2024. Some added service charges in lieu of tips. Others took pricier items off the menu. They’ve had to adjust to the new economy. But just as consumers have dealt with higher prices and slower-growing incomes, owners, too, seem to be living paycheck to paycheck. Not broke, but not able to save or make much of a profit.

The added challenges of surviving in Denver have contributed to many calling it quits. It’s rough for everyone, but is this just a cycle? New restaurants continue to open weekly in Denver.

READ THIS WEEK’S COLORADO SUNDAY FEATURE

Many essential workers behind the scenes, from educators to the farmers, keep the world connected and functioning on a daily basis. Here are recent photos by The Sun photo team in appreciation of the less-visible workers across Colorado.

At sunrise, a harvest crew with the Tuxedo Corn Company rips ears of Olathe Sweet brand sweet corn from stalks in a field off Falcon Road southwest of Olathe on July 22. (William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Kali Nuffer brings her daughter Letty, 5, to the Hugo Public Library every week for speech therapy using a telemedicine service. Kali gets the speech video prepared while Letty plays with a favorite stuffed animal July 30 in Hugo. (Kathryn Scott, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Evansville, Wyoming, assistant fire chief Mark Cornett, strike team leader for the Bucktail fire near Nucla, communicates with other fire crews working to build a fireline Aug. 7. Bulldozers and fire crews with chainsaws are creating a buffer zone around the active fire perimeter to prevent the slow-moving fire from growing. Evansville sent a brush truck and a team of three, including Cornett, to help. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)
Beef cattle eating in special stalls at the AgNext program at Colorado State University Aug. 8 play a crucial role in research designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture. The EPA estimates that about 10% of 2021 greenhouse gas emissions came from agriculture, for which livestock was responsible for less than 4% – most of which was emitted from mouths and noses of beef cattle. (Claudia Garcia, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Denver’s soul-funk rockers Dragondeer are headlining the Aug. 23-24 Downvalley Vibes Fest in Eagle. (Handout)

In 2014, Andy Jessen hatched a plan for a grassroots music festival outside his Bonfire Brewing bar in Eagle. His Bonfire Block Party blossomed, luring national acts for a three-day festival that took over most of downtown Eagle. When Jessen died in a backcountry avalanche in 2021, other businesses stepped in to carry the Eagle Block Party into a new chapter.

While the Eagle Block Party is not happening this year, the Second Street Tavern, which took over Jessen’s sadly departed Bonfire Brewing location in Eagle, is launching a festival that returns to Jessen’s original vision.

The Down Valley Vibes Fest — Aug. 23-24 — is a return to the roots of the Bonfire Block Party, with 20 musical acts, all Colorado based, playing in downtown Eagle.

“The Block Party contributed so much to our local music community and our local economy. It was something everyone in this town looked forward to every year. It’s disappointing it’s not happening, but it’s also an opportunity to do something new and different,” said Zach Gilliam, an Eagle musician who is shepherding the new festival plan. “Block Party disappearing this year opened an opportunity to put a spotlight on Colorado musicians.”

The Down Valley Vibes Festival features funky blues explorers Dragondeer and Denver’s roots-rock Taylor Scott Band as headliners, with an eclectic mix of musicians from the Eagle River Valley and the rest of Colorado. We are stoked to hear cosmic country jammers Extra Gold, psych-rockers Sqwerv and Eagle’s own Endless Shrimp. And we are especially excited about a two-day festival pass for $60. Check it out here or at downvalleyvibes.com.

EXCERPT: Two slices of Caleb Stephens’ psychological thriller, “The Girls in the Cabin,” offer disturbing glimpses into what a widowed father hoped would be a healing camping trip for him and his two daughters — but which quickly turns into a nightmarish scenario. Told from multiple points of view, Stephens’ Colorado Book Award finalist lays the groundwork for characters caught in a web of darkness.

READ THE SUNLIT EXCERPT

THE SUNLIT INTERVIEW: After finishing a complex apocalyptic novel, Stephens wanted his next book to be more of a straightforward thriller. He explains how “The Girls in the Cabin” came to life, and how his Colorado roots influenced the writing. Here’s part of his Q&A:

SunLit: Tell us about creating this book. What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write?

Stephens: As a Colorado native who grew up in the southwestern part of the state (Cortez), I always wanted to write a book where the state not only served as the setting, but also as a character. … Settings should be immersive. And that’s what I wanted to do with this book — immerse the reader in a life-or-death struggle with a family and pose the question: How far would you go to save the ones you love?

READ THE INTERVIEW WITH CALEB STEPHENS

LISTEN TO OUR SUN-UP PODCAST WITH THE AUTHOR

A curated list of what you may have missed from The Colorado Sun this week.

The Bowling family — Lauren and Richard and their sons Braxton, in the middle, and 7-year-old twins Mack, left, and Miles —held lemonade stands to help raise money for a $1.6 million adaptive playground in Berthoud. The family participated in a groundbreaking event for the pioneering park on May 29. (KD Jones Photography, Special to The Colorado Sun)

🌞 Many Colorado cities have playgrounds that are accessible to kids with disabilities. But parents are pushing to make sure that they’re also inclusive. Dan England reports from an inclusive, accessible playground being built in Berthoud to explain the difference.

🌞 All three Front Range forest fires are considered controlled and rain has been helping to snuff the hot spots. Olivia Prentzel reports that the Quarry and Alexander Mountain fires were caused by people. And Shannon Mullane looked into what the National Weather Service is calling a “flash drought” that set up perfect conditions for the wildfires to spread far and fast.

🌞 Speaking of those fires, is all that slurry dumped to douse flames and draw lines between the fireline and houses bad for the environment? Justin George checked and yes, it is harmful to waterways.

🌞 Colorado Parks and Wildlife thought it had a deal that would see 15 wolves removed from tribal lands in Washington and transplanted west of the Continental Divide. But the Colville Confederated Tribes have put the brakes on, Tracy Ross reports, because they say Colorado has done a poor job of negotiating with the Southern Ute Tribe over the potential impacts of the reintroduction.

🌞 A coalition of mountain towns is already lining up to push the state legislature next year to make it possible for them to tax houses that are almost always vacant. Jason Blevins explains the thinking behind yet another effort to solve for a shortage of housing in the high country.

🌞 Larimer County’s mental health center is letting 75 workers go. It wasn’t the first community health center in Colorado to make deep cuts. And as Jennifer Brown reports, it probably will not be the last as hundreds of thousands of Colorado people lose their Medicaid eligibility and massive changes are made to the way behavioral health providers are paid by the program.

🌞 What was it like to work on one of the most influential and controversial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committees during the COVID-19 pandemic? Denver pediatrician Dr. Matthew Daley, who is ending his work on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, explained it all to John Ingold.

🌞 Birth rates across Colorado are down. The reasons are diverse and deeply personal. And Erica Breunlin lays out the impact already being felt by school districts trying to plan for the future.

🌞 There are two pack llamas on the lam in the San Juans near Lake City. Michael Booth has the story of how they were lost and what’s being done to find them.

Thanks for hanging out with us this weekend — we do appreciate the attention. We’ll see you back here next Colorado Sunday!

— Dana & the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.

]]> 397998 After an apocalyptic novel, Caleb Stephens sought a “straightforward” thriller https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/11/sunlit-caleb-stephens-the-girls-in-the-cabin/ Sun, 11 Aug 2024 08:10:00 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=397303 Author Caleb Stephens discovered with his thriller "The Girls in the Cabin" that creating human monsters can be even more challenging than imaginary ones.]]>

Caleb Stephens is an award-winning author writing from Denver, Colorado. His novels include “The Girls in the Cabin,” a psychological thriller, and “Feeders,” a speculative horror thriller. His dark fiction collection “If Only a Heart and Other Tales of Terror” includes the short story “The Wallpaper Man,” which was adapted to film by Falconer Film & Media in 2022. Join his mailing list and learn more at www.calebstephensauthor.com. Follow him on Instagram @calebstephensauthor.

“The Girls in the Cabin” was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in the Thriller category.

SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory. What inspired you to write it? Where did the story/theme originate?

Caleb Stephens: Great question. The book I wrote before this one, “Feeders” (also based in Colorado) centered on a speculative end-of-the-world narrative. It was horribly complex, and with “The Girls in the Cabin” I wanted to write something a little more straightforward, something that centered on familial themes and grief. 

What I landed on — a family stranded in Colorado’s remote Flat Tops wilderness who are forced to seek shelter on a remote farm during a snowstorm — became much more complicated than I intended. It turns out human monsters are even more difficult to write than the imaginary kind.  

SunLit: Place this excerpt in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole? Why did you select it?

Stephens: I think the best place to start a story is always at the beginning. The first chapter introduces the reader to Clara Carver, a troubled girl struggling to find a way to survive in horrible circumstances — someone who comes into play later in the book. 

UNDERWRITTEN BY

Each week, The Colorado Sun and Colorado Humanities & Center For The Book feature an excerpt from a Colorado book and an interview with the author. Explore the SunLit archives at coloradosun.com/sunlit.

The second chapter introduces the reader to the McKenna family (Chris, Kayla, and Emma) as they struggle to reconnect on a backpacking trip after the tragic loss of Chris’s wife and the girls’ mother to cancer. Things haven’t exactly gone to plan in this regard, and when Emma follows a rabbit into the forest, they go much worse. 

SunLit: Tell us about creating this book. What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write? And once you did begin to write, did the work take you in any unexpected directions?

Stephens: As a Colorado native who grew up in the southwestern part of the state (Cortez), I always wanted to write a book where the state not only served as the setting, but also as a character. Some of my favorite books such as “Misery” by Stephen King, and “The Fisherman” by John Langan do this so well. 

I love books where, as you read, you can feel the snow on your face, or taste the rain as it falls. Settings should be immersive. And that’s what I wanted to do with this book — immerse the reader in a life-or-death struggle with a family and pose the question: How far would you go to save the ones you love? 

As to the writing taking me in unexpected directions, the answer is yes. It always does, and sometimes it demands that you bend to its will. For this book, I wrote all of Clara’s chapters in epistolary (diary) format. In the end that format didn’t serve the overall story the way it should. So, after a few stiff drinks (and a few more months of writing) I rewrote a third of the book. It was incredibly frustrating, and absolutely the right decision. The book is better for it.

SunLit: Are there lessons you take away from each experience of writing a book? And if so, what did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?

Stephens: Absolutely. Each book is its own animal with its own unique challenges. Some of them just pour onto the page and others you have to rip out by the neck. I had to rip this one out. I wanted to give up so many times. 

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The lesson I took away from this novel was that each book will take as long as it will take. It could be a year. It could be several. And you can’t force it. You have to accept that it comes on its own terms.

SunLit: What were the biggest challenges you faced in writing this book?

Stephens: This was my first multi-point-of-view novel, and nailing every character’s particular voice was like pulling teeth. I think I went through about seven versions before I was satisfied. Another lesson I’ve learned with writing is that a book is close to done when you are so sick of it, you can’t stand to read another word. 

By the time I’d finished, I’d never been as sick of a book as this one, and for that reason, I knew I’d written something worthwhile. 

SunLit: If you could pick just one thing – a theme, lesson, emotion or realization — that readers would take from this book, what would that be? 

Stephens: I’ll start by saying that different readers take away different themes, which is part of the beauty of writing. Something you’ve created in your life serves a purpose in theirs. For me, what I hope bleeds through is that sometimes the love and connection you’re seeking in your life has been there all along. You just haven’t looked in the right place. 

SunLit: In a highly politicized atmosphere where books, and people’s access to them, has become increasingly contentious, what would you add to the conversation about books, libraries and generally the availability of literature in the public sphere?

Stephens: I think banning books is an awful thing to do. I think people should be able to choose what they want to read and where they want to read it. Books are just another form of free speech. Censoring them, to me at least, amounts to government overreach. 

As a counterpoint to this, I think that, at times, readers can also take books, and especially fiction, too seriously. It’s easy to rip apart someone else’s work, to find something within to be angry about. Sometimes, it’s best to just kick back, open a book, and enjoy the ride. No book is perfect.

SunLit: Walk us through your writing process: Where and how do you write? 

“The Girls in the Cabin”

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Where to find it:

SunLit present new excerpts from some of the best Colorado authors that not only spin engaging narratives but also illuminate who we are as a community. Read more.

Stephens: I have a family. I have a full-time job. I also have this burning desire to write. I feel like (outside of my family) it’s my purpose in life. It’s why I’m here. And to balance all of life’s demands, and write with any consistency, can be difficult, which is why I write at 5 a.m. in my home office every morning before going to work. 

I try to achieve a realistic word count (500 words a day). That kind of word count turns into a first draft in about six months. And you can realistically write a novel a year if you just stick with it, so that’s what I do. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I have an incredibly supportive wife who allows me the time and space to write. I wouldn’t be where I am without her.

SunLit: How did you find your publisher, Joffe Books?

Stephens: I’m a formerly agented writer. Without going into details, I spent around a year-and-a-half writing this book, and another year waiting as my literary agent pitched it to publishers. We had interest but never received an offer. 

After splitting ways with my agent, I submitted this book to Joffe Books on my own, and they took it! I was thrilled. Joffe is the UK’s largest independent publisher, and they’ve done an incredible job in getting my book out there. It’s sold far more copies than I ever realistically expected to sell. I’m so grateful they took a shot on me.

SunLit: Tell us about your next project.

Stephens: I’m working on my next psychological thriller, a story that centers on a pair of estranged sisters forced to confront their issues on a Caribbean cruise, chartered by a suspected cult.

Just a few more quick questions

SunLit: Do you look forward to the actual work of writing or is it a chore that you dread but must do to achieve good things?

Stephens: I love writing. Sometimes it’s hard to get going — it’s easy to get distracted with social media and marketing — but I do look forward to getting lost in the words.

SunLit: What’s the first piece of writing – at any age – that you remember being proud of?

Stephens: Probably stuff I wrote in high school, but my real first shot of pride came after writing a failed novel in my early 30s. I almost walked away, but my parents loved it and encouraged me to keep going. I know all parents love their kids’ stuff, but for me, I took pride in knowing that they truly enjoyed the book. They gave me the confidence to continue. 

SunLit: When you look back at your early professional writing, how do you feel about it? Impressed? Embarrassed? Satisfied? Wish you could have a do-over?

Stephens: I think my early writing is what it took to get to where I am now, so I wouldn’t change anything. The only exception? I would have started writing much, much sooner. 

SunLit: What three writers, from any era, can you imagine having over for a great discussion about literature and writing? And why?

Stephens: Cormac McCarthy – He’s a legend, and “The Road” is my favorite novel of all time. J.R.R. Tolkien – Because my passion for reading started with “The Hobbit.” I’d love to thank him as well as have second breakfast together.  Stephen King – He just seems like a cool guy to hang out with.

SunLit: Do you have a favorite quote about writing?

Stephens: Yes. “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain. 

My why? I’m a writer.

SunLit: What does the current collection of books on your home shelves tell visitors about you?

Stephens: There might be something wrong with this guy.

SunLit: Soundtrack or silence? What’s the audio background that helps you write?

Stephens: Silence. Or a coffee shop with white noise. 

SunLit: What event, and at what age, convinced you that you wanted to be a writer?

Stephens: I wrote a short horror story and submitted it to the Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards in 2016. It landed an honorable mention, and I thought, at that point, maybe I could actually do this.

SunLit: Greatest fear as an author?

Stephens: Not being able to write. No joke. If you aren’t careful, you can waste your days, and wasted days turn into a wasted life. I’m a firm believer we are here for a reason, but you have to want it. You have to put in the work.

SunLit: Greatest satisfaction?

Stephens: Knowing my words will be here for my kids long after I will.

]]> 397303 Election fraud conspiracies take center stage https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/09/sunriser-20240809/ Fri, 09 Aug 2024 14:58:36 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=397841 Tina Peters speaks at a podium on steps next to a large sign that reads, "Fix the STOLEN 2020 ELECTION.Plus: Accessible playgrounds that are actually fun, a premier elk hunting spot raises concerns, a new Democratic nominee and more Colorado news]]> Tina Peters speaks at a podium on steps next to a large sign that reads, "Fix the STOLEN 2020 ELECTION.
The Sunriser logo

Good morning, Sunriser readers! Last weekend I worked The Colorado Sun booth at the Crested Butte Arts Festival, and I want to thank everyone who stopped by and said hello. It was truly fun meeting you all, hearing about how you like to read The Sun, and learning what issues and interests we should keep an eye on in the Gunnison Valley.

For all you readers —in CB and elsewhere — who like to think, talk and learn about our state, we’d love to see you at SunFest this year. It’s our daylong festival of networking and panels, centered around the theme “For a Better Colorado.” Check out some of the featured speakers on the SunFest website. We’ll be talking with professional skiers, chefs, scientists and fellow journalists, along with many others.

’Til then, today’s news.

On Thursday afternoon, a narrative developed during the trial of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. Sherronna Bishop, a friend and co-conspirator of Peters, testified for the defense, plainly laying out the steps that she and Peters took in their attempted hack of Dominion Voting Systems. Nancy Lofholm has the story.

READ MORE

Lauren and Richard Bowling and their sons Braxton, in the middle, and twins Mack, left, and Miles, helped raise money for the $1.6 million adaptive playground in Berthoud with a lemonade stand. The family participated in a groundbreaking event for the pioneering park May 29. (KD Jones Photography, Special to The Colorado Sun)

$53,000

Funds raised over the past four years by the Bowling family’s annual lemonade stand

Cities and towns across Colorado have spent the better part of a decade bringing parks up to ADA standards, but ADA standards aren’t necessarily fun. As Dan England reports, just because a kid can roll up to a playground in a wheelchair, doesn’t mean they can use any of the equipment. That is slowly changing, with more parents of disabled children pushing for accessible — and exciting — parks in their areas.

READ MORE

2

Seats to spare in the House for Colorado Democrats to keep their supermajority

House District 19, which straddles Boulder and Weld counties, is one of six districts where Democrats won their seats by fewer than 1,500 votes in 2022. Thursday night, a Democratic vacancy committee selected Jillaire McMillan to replace Rep. Jennifer Parenti on the District 19 Democratic ticket. Parenti dropped her reelection bid in July, blaming personal agendas and special interests for making the job too difficult. Jesse Paul reports.

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Who knows which quarterback will be taking snaps for the Denver Broncos once the preseason musical chairs is over? But Drew Litton illustrates that there’ll be some explaining to do if it isn’t rookie Bo Nix.

CARTOON

In “What’d I Miss?” R. Alan Brooks and Cori Redford imagine a fictitious “Republican Jesus” and the miracles required to account for the actions of some followers.

CARTOON

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

Each weekday The Daily Sun-Up podcast brings you a bit of Colorado history, headlines and a thoughtful conversation. We keep it tight so you can quickly listen, or stack up a few and tune in at your leisure. You can download the Sun-Up for free in your favorite podcasting app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or RSS to plug into your app. This week, we talk about, among other things, the idea of taxing empty homes in ski towns and if funding for housing could take a hit.

🗣️ Remember, you can ask Siri, Alexa or Google to “play the Daily Sun-Up podcast” and we’ll play right on your smart speaker. As always we appreciate your feedback and comments at podcast@coloradosun.com.

Subscribe at coloradosun.com/podcast

See you around, Colorado.

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.

]]> 397841 How a “flash drought” summer helped wildfires https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/08/sunriser-20240808/ Thu, 08 Aug 2024 15:00:14 +0000 https://coloradosun.com/?p=397699 Plus: Fort Collins mental health center latest to lay off staff, Aurora Reservoir drilling plans approved, what to do this weekend and more]]>
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Good morning! Every four years, the Olympics, the general election and back-to-school prep all seem to collide in August.

And this year, thanks to the “flash drought” that dried out northern Colorado (more on that below), we’ve added fire season to the mix this time. So here’s hoping that you’re staying safe, cool and sane as we hit the home stretch of summer — and if you need a little inspiration on what to do, check out our “What’s Happening” section at the end of the newsletter.

Now let’s dive into the news, shall we?

Drought conditions in northern Colorado worsened between April 30 and July 30. (U.S. Drought Monitor, Contributed)

January through April was a good time for water in Colorado, with a typical snow year followed by a favorable bump in precipitation in May. So how did the state dry out fast enough to fuel a series of wildfires? Shannon Mullane digs into the “flash drought” that left parts of northern Colorado experiencing their driest summers since the 1890s.

READ MORE

A ribbon of two-lane road winds through the prairie in Larimer County. (Ed Kosmicki, Special to The Colorado Sun)

The largest community mental health center in Larimer County abruptly announced layoffs last week, requiring counselors to turn over phones and laptops on the spot, denying them a chance to say goodbye to patients. Jennifer Brown reports on how a number of factors — from a massive change in how clinics are reimbursed to hundreds of thousands of Coloradans being kicked off Medicaid — led to a financial crisis.

READ MORE

This photo of Aurora Reservoir was taken from an elevation of about 7,500 feet in 2005, as the Beacon Point neighborhood was just beginning to take shape. (denver_flyer, Creative Commons license)

Crestone Resources received approval to drill up to 166 oil and gas wells yesterday with one caveat — electrify the drilling equipment. Mark Jaffe has more, including the reactions from neighbors opposed to the plan and what steps remain before drilling can commence.

READ MORE

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The main stage at the Planet Bluegrass festival grounds in Lyons in 2021. The grounds weren’t affected by the recent Stone Canyon fire, which torched more than 1,500 nearby acres on the ridge above. (Molly McCormick, Provided by Planet Bluegrass)

Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. The ‘S’ at the end of “Folks” is deliberate. Craig Ferguson, a Denver lawyer who took over the wildly popular but financially troubled Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 1988, came up with the idea for Folks in a Chicago hotel room in 1990. He was coming off one of the biggest crowds to attend Telluride Bluegrass to this day, and wondered if he couldn’t put together something more like a singer-songwriter summit, a festival that focused on the community of musicians, something that stood apart from other folk festivals of the time.

The first Folks Festival was held in August 1991 in Estes Park, and moved down to the banks of North St. Vrain Creek in Lyons a few years later, where it has lived ever since. If you’ve seen us write about Lyons lately, it’s because of the 1,557-acre Stone Canyon fire, which started just north of the town and burned for five days, destroying five structures.

The festival grounds were spared, and the Folks Festival, scheduled for Aug. 9-11, is slated to go on. That close call isn’t lost on Planet Bluegrass, the production company that runs the Folks Festival, so they are offering free admission to emergency responders and firefighters, along with their families, who have worked on Colorado’s wildfires this season. If that’s you, just stop by the special will-call line at the box office with your credentials to get set up.

“In the meantime, our path forward remains clear,” the company wrote in an email Wednesday. “More musical and community experiences on Planet Bluegrass.”

Free-$205; Aug. 9-11; 500 W. Main St., Lyons

Thanks for spending your morning with us, and enjoy that cool front! See you back here tomorrow.

— Eric & the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.

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