The Sunriser | A murky future for the Colorado River

---

Good morning! Sunday is the final day of our membership drive, which means this is the last time you’ll see our temperature graphic and get to click this cool button in our Sunriser intro:

It also means we have until Sunday to find 34 more members willing to support our journalism, and help us reach our goal of 200 new subscribers. Are you one of them?

A huge thank you to all of our members, and everyone who has joined or upgraded their membership over the past couple of weeks! Members power The Colorado Sun, including this newsletter. Now, on to the news.

THE NEWS

WATER

Expect a messy compromise on the future of the Colorado River, negotiators say in Las Vegas

What happens when seven of the nation’s top water negotiators meet up in Las Vegas? A panel discussion. This week, water reporter Shannon Mullane attended the Colorado River Water Users Association conference in Vegas and watched officials grapple with their individual state challenges while maintaining that a compromise — even a messy one — is better than the alternatives.

READ MORE

---

OUTDOORS

National Forest Service takes control of a new Colorado 14er

---

Funds for the top of Mount Democrat, the Mosquito Range 14er along the popular Decalibron loop, came through this month, allowing the U.S. Forest Service to buy the mountaintop and absorb it into Pike National Forest. John Reiber, the mountain’s previous owner, had closed the mountain to hikers twice over the past two years for fear of a liability lawsuit. Jason Blevins has more.

READ MORE

---

MORE NEWS

• Wolves could be reintroduced to Colorado as early as Monday, wildlife officials say in federal court. The wolf countdown continues as Colorado Parks and Wildlife considers various factors that will affect the release, including weather, transportation and pending litigation.
• We know there’s a lack of trust in news. So we did something about it. The Sun worked with The Trust Project over the past six months to shore up our editorial training and transparency. Learn more about the initiative here.

---

THE COLORADO REPORT

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

• Colorado’s respiratory virus season is most normal since pandemic started — for now. As of mid-December, flu and RSV are causing relatively normal levels of illnesses and hospitalizations, though both viruses are continuing to spread. And COVID-19 seems to have plateaued.
  — The Denver Post
• Starbucks closed Colorado Springs store to stop union push, federal agency says. The country’s top labor regulator has asked Starbucks to reopen 23 stores, including one in Colorado Springs that closed last year as part of an alleged anti-union campaign.
  — CPR News
• $233M Colorado Convention Center expansion open for business. The expansion is part of the convention center’s roof and includes an 80,000-square-foot “Bluebird Ballroom” with 19 configurations, a 35,000-square-foot wrap-around concourse space and a 20,000-square-foot rooftop terrace.
  — KDVR
• Denver elephant is going to be a first-time father but he’s never met the mother. Thanks to artificial insemination, Denver Zoo’s Jake is an expectant father to a calf all the way in St. Louis.
  — 9News

THE OPINION PAGE

CARTOONS

In the latest from Drew Litton, Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokić has gotten pretty shabby treatment by officials, so he’s pleading his case to Santa.

CARTOON

In “What’d I Miss?” Myra tells Ossie about the Texas abortion case in which the state denied a woman access to the procedure despite her doctor’s advice.

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.

Podcast Playlist

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. Listeners 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 chatted about topics ranging from voters’ concerns to Santa’s helpers:

• The Colorado woman behind thousands of visits with Santa. The go-to helper of Santa’s helpers has built a North Pole empire in Colorado over the past 40 years.
  LISTEN
• What’s top of mind for Colorado voters heading into the election year? Our politics team hears the political buzz daily, but now we hear from the voters.
  LISTEN
• RTD to make fares cheaper. That’s not a misprint. The largest public transportation system in Colorado is lowering its rates. How’s that gonna work?
  LISTEN
• A closer look at the 2024 economic forecast for Colorado. We break down the annual report and why the lead author is more pessimistic than a year ago.
  LISTEN
• Colorado Land Trust may turn over thousands of acres. There are about 8,800 acres owned by the trust locked inside state parks. What if they gave them to the state?
  LISTEN

🗣️ And, remember to ask your favorite smart device to “play the Daily Sun-Up podcast” and we’ll be on the speaker. As always we appreciate your feedback and comments at podcast@coloradosun.com.

---

Have a good weekend, everybody.

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

---

Corrections & Clarifications

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