Every year I find a new reason to love summer. As a kid the reasons were obvious: No school, local pools, a free trolley that ran through my town from Memorial Day to Labor Day (and still my favorite form of public transportation ever).
As an adult, the reasons can be easy to miss — although free RTD service the past two summers rival my childhood trolley rides in their practicality. This past week I found a new reason to love the season: Root beer floats. On Wednesday I finished work with the sun still out, shut my computer, jumped on my bike and pedaled to the local ice cream shop. Can an experience be both nostalgic and happening in real time?
Wishing you a happy Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial summer kickoff. Whether you’ve got plans to travel across the state (we’ve got some trip suggestions coming up in our Sunday newsletter) or just down the block, we hope it’s enjoyable.
But before you go, the news.
Reporter
CULTURE
How to keep a corpse alive: Tips from Colorado State’s rare flower caretaker
12,000
People who came to smell Stinker, one of two corpse flowers at the Denver Botanic Gardens, on bloom day in 2015
Every day Tammy Brenner, plant growth facilities manager at Colorado State University, leaves her office, walks through the greenhouse and takes a moment to stop and smell the corpse flower. Cosmo the corpse flower came to CSU in 2016 and has been dormant until about two weeks ago, when the plant started growing 4 to 5 inches a day, indicating it’s getting ready to bloom. The team expects the full, rotting stench to start sometime over Memorial Day weekend. Olivia Prentzel has more.
FACT BRIEF
Was a 90-year-old Denver man who recently rocketed to space America’s first Black astronaut?
Ed Dwight, a Denver-based sculptor, was picked by President John F. Kennedy as the first Black astronaut candidate, but he didn’t make it into space until this past Sunday. The announcement of his 10-minute flight aboard the Blue Origin capsule, which launched from West Texas on Sunday, sparked debate: Was he the first Black astronaut or not? Justin George clears up the story.
WATER
Lawmakers aim to bolster protections for electric utilities, others in bipartisan water bill
10
Water measures passed this year by the state legislature
Last year the 17-member Colorado River Drought Task Force traveled the state and compiled 24 recommendations to protect the river and other state water interests. A bipartisan bill awaiting the governor’s signature takes up four of those recommendations. Shannon Mullane explains how Senate Bill 197 could benefit utility companies, free up funding for tribes and create more flexibility for farmers who want to loan out their water rights.
Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter
THE COLORADO REPORT
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Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team
THE OPINION PAGE
COMMUNITY
CARTOONS
Jim Morrissey has been thinking a lot about Colorado’s plans for reintroducing wolves and wolverines to the ecosystem — and wonders what predator might be next.
In “What’d I Miss?” Ossie voices his fears about advancements in AI and how they can make us doubt almost anything we see or hear.
Drew Litton observes that while Colorado’s championship contenders have gone home too early, fans might be reluctant to shift their enthusiasm to the struggling Rockies.
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
CONVERSATION
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 went back to a recent conversation with the governor, and also talked about gas prices.
🗣️ 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.
Section by David Krause | Editor
Maybe I’ll go out for strawberry shortcake next week.
— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun
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