Election fraud conspiracies take center stage

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.

Parker Yamasaki

Reporter

THE NEWS

CRIME AND COURTS

Election fraud conspiracies take center stage as friend of Tina Peters testifies at her trial

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

OUTDOORS

Parents have been pushing for better playgrounds for kids with disabilities. Now even small towns are getting in on it.

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

• Colorado’s new wildlife area is a premier hunting spot. A rancher who knows elk has concerns. A newly designated state wildlife area is raising questions about hunting practices on public lands, including whether it makes sense to concentrate hunters in designated areas, rather than letting them fan out across public and private properties. Tracy Ross has more. 
• The Outsider ☀️ Slow and arduous trail approvals reveal growing scrutiny of recreational impacts in Colorado. The 2.3 million-acre White River National Forest is one of Colorado’s most visited, and one of the country’s most economically vibrant, national forests. But all that activity comes at a cost. Jason Blevins reports.
• Fact Brief ☀️Is slurry used by Colorado firefighters harmful to the environment? The pink and red fire retardant dumped on wildfires contains 85% water, 10% fertilizers and 5% thickeners, stabilizers and other compounds. Justin George looks into its effects on the environment once the fire is out.

ELECTION 2024

Democratic vacancy committee picks nominee for key state House race that may shape Colorado legislature

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.

READ MORE

Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Thousands of tarantulas to emerge in 3 states for mating season. If you’re in the southeastern part of the state, welcome to tarantula season, where thousands of male spiders chase pheromones across Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. Experts say your best bet on encountering one in the wild is to just leave them alone and “let them go find a girlfriend.”
  — USA Today
• Elway’s Cherry Creek closing after two decades. Even as the original location of the former QB’s steakhouse closes, don’t worry about Johnny boy’s financial well-being too much — a third outpost recently opened at DIA, while the second location downtown at the Ritz Carlton just got a big renovation.
  — The Denver Post
• Strip club company RCI sues Central City over permit denial. After a monthslong debate over opening the first strip club in town, RCI — which owns clubs in Denver and around the country — is suing the city, claiming that city officials promised to allow the company to operate a steakhouse and cabaret in a three-story building on Main Street.
  — BusinessDen 🔑
• Breaking is about to make its Olympic debut. This CU instructor is watching with pride. Rennie Harris is the co-director of Hip-hop Studies at CU — and has some tips about what to watch for as B-boys and B-Girls compete for gold.
  — KUNC

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• Calling the General Assembly into a special session on Colorado property taxes would be a mistake. State lawmakers need to let the voters decide the ballot measures and not hurt schools and other public services on their own.
  — Matt Gray, former Democratic state representative from Broomfield

CARTOONS

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.

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 talk about, among other things, the idea of taxing empty homes in ski towns and if funding for housing could take a hit.

• Should homes that sit empty in ski towns be taxed? A coalition of ski town leaders plans to ask the state legislature for help in opening avenues for possible new tax and fee streams. Outdoors reporter Jason Blevins talks about their focus on empty homes.
  LISTEN
• New battery bank helps support renewable goals. Environment reporter Michael Booth breaks down how the eight substations will store excess power from solar farms and other United Power transmission sources, then disperse the stored energy at peak times.
  LISTEN
• Colorado farmers focus on business sustainability. As food insecurity funds end, reporter Parker Yamasaki checked in with local farmers who have a system to get local food to lower-income Coloradans with limited fresh food options.
  LISTEN
• Investors fear a Colorado property tax could hurt housing development. Municipal bond investors are threatening to leave Colorado if voters approve a proposed cap on property tax growth. Political reporters Jesse Paul and Brian Eason discuss why.
  LISTEN
• Checking in with Colorado’s literary scene. SunLit editor Kevin Simpson chats with author Caleb Stephens, whose psychological thriller “The Girls in the Cabin” was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award.
  LISTEN

🗣️ 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

See you around, Colorado.

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

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

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.