Good morning, Colorado. Fresh off a lively discussion earlier this week stemming from our High Cost of Colorado series — which mostly focused on housing, a growing eviction crisis, a need for rent control and more — we have another free, virtual event lined up for next week.
Join us Wednesday evening for The New Car Culture: How will the revolution in electric vehicles and transportation design change Colorado?
The Sun’s Michael Booth will bring together a panel of car and transportation policy experts to discuss and debate EV mandates and subsidies, the death of big highway building and a push for free transit.
Let’s turn to today’s news from The Sun.
Product Team
THE NEWS
WATER
Colorado pledges to play nice as Nebraska plows ahead on $628M canal at the state line
Our northeastern neighbors are moving quickly to build a major canal that will take water from the drought-strapped South Platte River on the Colorado plains, and deliver it to new storage reservoirs in western Nebraska. Both states have, for now, quieted disagreements that arose when the project was announced last year, even as questions of dwindling supply from the South Platte remain. Jerd Smith of Fresh Water News has the details.
HOUSING
Colorado mountain town real estate settles from pandemic frenzy with a big drop in deals, but prices remain record high
While the volume of home sales in Colorado mountain towns tapered off in 2023 after record highs the prior two years, two metrics have yet to budge from the pre-pandemic boom: Prices are still at record highs and the number of homes for sale remains at historic lows. Jason Blevins breaks down the state of real estate in the high country.
EDUCATION
Colorado school enrollment this year is at its lowest level in a decade. What does that mean for K-12 education?
1,800
How many fewer students Colorado tallied last fall compared with the 2022 school year
Colorado’s student count is at its lowest point in a decade, according to new data from the state education department, with 113 of the state’s 178 school districts reporting fewer students this year. Declining birth rates and an increasing number of students taking home-school or online courses are factors. While officials tell The Sun’s Erica Breunlin this will likely continue to be a trend, declining enrollment could have big consequences for school funding and staffing.
MORE NEWS
Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team
THE COLORADO REPORT
🔑 = source has article meter or paywall
Section by Danika Worthington | Presentation Editor
What’s Happening
Finding Their Way: A Migrant Fundraising Series.
Every Tuesday in January, on the second floor of Stanley Marketplace, a group of Venezuelan migrants sets up shop to sell an array of goods and services: arepas, cupcakes, dog leashes, manicures, boxing lessons. The pop-up, called Finding Their Way, is a temporary space for recent migrants to market their skills while they navigate housing and apply for federal work permits.
It started on a Facebook group. Locals in the Central Park and Park Hill neighborhoods in Denver reached out to Stanley Marketplace to host a pop-up event in one of its vacant vendor spaces. “We immediately said yes,” said Ally Fredeen, general manager of Stanley Marketplace. The first event was in December, and was so successful that they decided to continue hosting it throughout January.
Vendors vary week-to-week because of their quickly changing housing and job statuses, Fredeen said. Some find permanent housing that’s too far from Stanley, others have developed client bases through the pop-up that keep them busy all weekend. But there are always new migrants to take their place — this week there was a new cupcake vendor and a clown making balloon animals.
“I think a lot of us watch the news and just don’t know how we can help on an individual basis because it is a complex issue,” Fredeen said of the influx of migrants over the past year. “This is a way where people can feel like maybe they did something — by showing up. Even if they don’t buy something, just come say hola, and welcome, and we’re glad you’re here. We’re just encouraging, you know, interaction.”
Donation-based; 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Jan. 23 and 30; Stanley Marketplace, 2nd Floor, 2501 N. Dallas St., Aurora
Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter
Have a good Thursday! And catch us back here tomorrow.
— Kevin & 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.
