Vail Resorts eyes new ski areas

Good morning, Colorado.

My wife and I checked out the small Denver tasting room for Paonia-based Aquila Cellars’ winery last night. (Our members who get the Colorado Sunday newsletter may remember them for when I recommended their bottle “Vernal.”) Simple review: 10/10. If you see a bottle at your local liquor store and like funky wines, I recommend giving it a shot.

All right, time to turn to the news. We have one more work day to power through before we can kick up our feet for the weekend — and perhaps enjoy a glass of wine — so let’s get to it.

Danika Worthington

Presentation Editor

THE NEWS

OUTDOORS

Vail Resorts watching for new ski areas to buy, sold 2.3M passes and tickets heading into season

Vail Resorts, the largest operator in North America with more than $1 billion in cash available for acquisitions, is watching for resorts in Europe, Asia and “specific areas in North America.” And with a decent early-season snow fueling a final surge in Epic Pass sales, the resort operator looks ready for a Wall Street rebound, Jason Blevins reports.

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• The Outsider ☀️Georgetown’s grubstaking grocery poised for change after 141 years​​. Change coming to one of Colorado’s oldest businesses.

ENVIRONMENT

Rule requiring new buildings in Colorado to treat groundwater discharge could be stripped

State officials say it costs too much for new construction to monitor and treat groundwater as the state pushes for more affordable housing projects and other developments. But environmentalists say allowing more contaminants to seep into groundwater, and eventually streams, is too dangerous, Jerd Smith reports.

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• Fact Brief ☀️Did Gov. Polis blame Colorado ranchers for high wolf-restoration costs? Yes. “We probably could have done it for a quarter of the cost,” the governor said at a Colorado Counties Inc. meeting.

ARTS

How do you launch a career as a young artist? Paid programs in Colorado want to help.

Museums and arts organizations are trying to diversify the industry from the ground up by exposing would-be artists to leaders and funders while they’re still young. As in still teenagers young. Parker Yamasaki has more.

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Section by Danika Worthington | Presentation Editor

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Travis Hunter first to win both Bednarik, Biletnikoff awards. The Buffs’ two-way star was also named Walter Camp national player of the year during the ESPN College Football Awards show. Next up: the Heisman.
  — CBS Sports
• New owners thought they were saving the Mercury Cafe. Now a labor fight is tearing it apart. In October, the Mercury Cafe Union called for a boycott of the Denver establishment, alleging that its new owners have refused to negotiate and have illegally fired staff. But not all staff feel a connection to the union.
  — Denverite
• Proposed bill could give these Colorado areas a new ZIP code. A bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert would require the postal service to give unique ZIP codes to several small Colorado towns and cities, along with other areas across the country.
  — Fox 31
• Tats in a flash: On Friday the 13th, Coloradans permanently mark an underground holiday. On the emerging tradition among tattoo enthusiasts: snap decisions with a lasting impact.
  — CPR News

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team

THE OPINION PAGE

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” Myra goes Old Testament — literally — in analyzing some people’s desire to be led by a man who answers to no one.

CARTOON

Drew Litton imagines that the excitement over Heisman Trophy hopeful Travis Hunter has spread to where the buffalo actually roam.

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 thoughtful conversation, a bit of Colorado history and headlines of the day. We keep it tight so you can listen on the go, or stack up a few and tune in at your leisure. Download the Sun-Up for free on your favorite podcasting app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or RSS to plug into your app. Check out this week’s lineup:

• Hop on board the BRT movement. Drivers and businesses on some of the Denver area’s biggest corridors are going to have some disruptions in the next few years thanks to bus rapid transit projects. What is BRT, you ask? Reporter Michael Booth has answers.
  LISTEN
• What’s next for the beetle-kill burning plant? Amid massive debt and a shift toward cleaner energy, the biomass plant in Eagle County shut down and filed for bankruptcy. Outdoors reporter Jason Blevins discusses the demise and Forest Service concerns.
  LISTEN
• Colorado River takes center stage in Vegas. The annual conference in Las Vegas is a mix of top water officials from the seven states that share the river. As Sun water reporter Shannon Mullane points out, it wasn’t a happy “family” reunion.
  LISTEN
• Here’s a mix: fish and fluoride. Reporters John Ingold and Michael Booth — masters of The Temperature newsletter — mix it up with talk about saving a rare Colorado fish and the history of Colorado Springs and the fluoride debate.
  LISTEN
• A mystery trilogy on illegal adoption and human trafficking. Author Daniel Ginsberg chats about his mystery thriller “Mamie’s Well” with SunLit editor Kevin Simpson .
  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 back here next week.

— Danika & 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.