Helicopter wild horse roundup set to start over Polis objections

Happy birthday to The Colorado Sun! Today marks six years since a mighty team of journalists — my colleagues — launched this news publication with a commitment to serve readers like you with quality, impactful journalism to make our state a better place. A lot about The Sun has changed since then … we’re now a team of more than two dozen, we officially became a nonprofit and we even have a free app!

But our commitment to our readers, six years later, remains the same. And we’re sure we couldn’t have made it this far without you all.

To celebrate this morning, we’ve got another strong lineup of stories for you to read — let’s get this party started.

Olivia Prentzel

Reporter

P.S. If you’re not yet a member, will you consider joining today to help us continue providing independent, nonpartisan news for Colorado? Members power The Sun! Plus, membership has its benefits.

THE NEWS

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Colorado’s fifth wild horse helicopter roundup in three years set to begin Wednesday, against the governor’s wishes

Federal land managers are expected to start their fifth roundup of wild horses in three years as part of their effort to remove tens of thousands of mustangs across the West. The latest roundup at Little Book Cliffs near Palisade comes despite a request by the governor and state lawmakers to delay the roundup and use fertility control instead, Jennifer Brown reports.

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ENVIRONMENT

EPA lets Colorado off the hook again in air pollution open records, environmentalists say

Colorado air pollution officials are off the hook when it comes to making records available to members of the public who might want to help police corporations breaking the law. It’s a win for the state, which sued the EPA to stop the demands for expanded public records, but environmental groups say Coloradans who want to check on the actual air pollution emissions from oil and gas sites will only get “the tip of the iceberg.” Michael Booth has more.

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EQUITY

Coloradans miss out on millions in unclaimed tax benefits each year. A new law aims to change that.

Coloradans lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed federal tax benefits meant to help families make ends meet. Now, a new state law aims to help thousands of Colorado households receive funds they’re owed, but don’t know that they are eligible for. Tatiana Flowers has the details.

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MORE NEWS

• Captured wolf dies, pack relocated after feeding on livestock in northern Colorado. The male adult wolf died four days after he was captured, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said the wolf had “deep puncture wounds” on its hind leg.
• Police arrest man accused of speeding on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, injuring 3. Wayde Thyfault, 23, allegedly hit a car as he barreled past Beaver Meadows Visitor Center Sunday afternoon, the national park said.

Section by Olivia Prentzel | Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Denver waterway improvements on one gulch could mean taking dozens of homes — but plans are still in flux. A project backed with federal money calls for 70 homes along Weir Gulch to be acquired because of flood risk, but the plans are more than five years old and it’s unclear how the city will proceed in a housing market where residents “don’t know where they would even go.”
  — The Denver Post 🔑
• Suspect in Scotty McCreery Colorado concert assault charged with assaulting parole officer. The man who is accused of assaulting a woman during a Colorado State Fair performance — and getting called out from the stage by singer Scotty McCreery — has also been charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer during his arrest.
  — The Pueblo Chieftain
• Denver catalytic converter thefts down 95% so far this year: DPD data. There have been 105 reported thefts in 2024, down from 2021-23, when there were an average of 2,712 thefts by this point in the year.
  — Fox31
• Two George Floyd protesters partially blinded by “less lethal” projectiles just got $465,000 from the city. Denver police shot Nicholas Orlin with a “less lethal” — often rubber, plastic or a bean bag — round that shattered his orbital bone and cost him 20% of his eyesight. The payout is added to millions paid out by the city involving police injuring protesters.
  — Denverite
• Vinyl Me, Please says execs used codename, NDAs to keep RiNo plant “top secret”. The vinyl curation and subscription company is suing former executives for spending $235,000 of VMP money on a vinyl pressing plant — which is not owned by the company. Emails uncovered by the prosecution showed the executives went to great lengths to keep the project secret from all but one member of the company’s board of directors, who warned them the plant would likely fail.
  — BusinessDen 🔑

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• Colorado PUC is failing to correct an egregious abuse of Xcel’s ratepayers — and the planet.  Commissioners need to undo the wrong committed by their predecessors and correct the abuses of Xcel’s coal-fired power plant near Pueblo
  — Leslie Glustrom 

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.

SunLit

REVIEW

“Without Exception” explores facets of a rapidly shifting abortion landscape

Perhaps Pam Houston’s most famous book is the short story collection “Cowboys Are My Weakness.” But this time, over the course of 60 “mini-chapters” — one for each year of her life at the time — Houston reflects on her personal history as well as a variety of topics, rich with metaphor, related to the abortion issue.

READ AN EXCERPT

• Interview with the author. The backstory to Houston’s book is fascinating —a brief encounter with an editor that almost instantly solidified into a book proposal. 
• Podcast. Sun writer Tracy Ross discusses the book with Houston at length.

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

Thanks for celebrating our birthday with us today! If you’re in the mood to send a gift, we accept tax-deductible donations to our nonprofit organization that get put directly to use bringing you more high-quality journalism.

Have a great day and we’ll see you tomorrow!

— Olivia & 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.