The Canadian wolves are here

Good morning and hello from another bone-chilling Tuesday morning.

While it is quite cute to see my lanky schnauzer in his cold-weather sweater (obligatory video proof), I do miss taking morning walks where I could feel my face afterward.

While you have fearsome canines and winter weather on your mind, today’s newsletter has updates on wolves and water, plus a whole lot more.

So let’s bundle up — don’t forget the scarf — and head out on this frozen tundra together, shall we?

Eric Lubbers

CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

P.S. — Want to see Gov. Jared Polis and statehouse leaders from both parties lay out their vision for this year’s legislative session? The Colorado Sun’s annual 2025 Legislative Session Preview is happening at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16 — and it’s free, live and streaming! Click here to RSVP so you don’t miss out!

THE NEWS

OUTDOORS

Wolves from British Columbia have arrived in Colorado. A Facebook group tried breaking the news.

Wildlife officials aren’t saying exactly when and where the fresh batch of wolves from Canada were released, citing worries about employee safety and the complexity of the operation. But a Facebook group of ranchers tried to track the release themselves, including staking out airports and providing live updates on CPW vehicle movement. Tracy Ross looks at the renewed tension between transparency and safety on the Western Slope.

READ MORE

EDUCATION

Colorado schools with declining enrollment brace for “gut punch” as governor’s budget proposes funding cuts

As the state’s budget begins to take shape, administrators of schools that have seen enrollment dips are watching Gov. Jared Polis’ calls to change the way students are counted — which could lead to sharper, faster drops in funding for struggling schools. Erica Breunlin has more.

READ MORE

WATER

Colorado’s snowpack is average for January despite near-record warm conditions

To know what the water supplies will be like for seven states and Mexico this year, water managers are looking at snow. And what they’re seeing is close to normal, even after the fourth-warmest year on record for the state, Shannon Mullane reports.

READ MORE

MORE NEWS

• Police arrest man accused of randomly stabbing four people in downtown Denver, killing two. Officers chased Elijah Caudill, 24, after spotting him running near the 16th Street Mall on Sunday night with a large knife in his hand.

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Many states have resisted nuclear waste storage plans. Northwest Colorado is quietly opening the door. Even as previous plans have fallen apart in other states, the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado, a small economic development group, is using federal money to take the temperature of local officials to see if they’re open to a storage facility in the area. “It’s not bubbling green fluid like ‘The Simpsons,’” program director Matt Solomon told county commissioners in Rio Blanco County at a public meeting in Rangely in September.
  — KUNC
• Aurora details plans to shut down Edge apartments, forcing dozens of immigrants out of the embattled complex . “This place is not going to get any better. This place is basically a cancer to the community,” Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said.
  — Sentinel Colorado
• City of Arvada reaches $2 million settlement with family of pregnant woman killed by Arvada police. Three-and-a-half years after a group of Arvada police officers mistook Destinee Derara-Thompson for the suspect in a nearby robbery and shot at her eight times, the city of Arvada and the Thompson family have settled a civil lawsuit that will see Arvada pay the Thompsons $2 million. The district attorney had previously cleared one of the officers of legal wrongdoing in 2022.
  — Arvada Press
• Johnson’s Corner restaurant, famous for its cinnamon rolls, has closed. After 88 years, travelers on Interstate 25 through Johnstown will no longer be able to get my favorite combo, a huge, sticky cinnamon roll and a cup of red bean chili. Can the new diner taking its place live up to the legend?
  
  — Westword

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• Immigration attorneys in Colorado are overwhelmed trying to support terrified immigrants, and we need help. As millions fear mass deportations by the new administration, Coloradans can get involved and make a meaningful impact.
  — Laura Lunn, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network

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

“Esperanza’s Way” opens with backstories of three healing women

In her previous book “Finding the Way,” Cindy Burkart Maynard reached back into 13th-century Spain to explore the life of Amika, who became a healer through knowledge passed down from a “wise woman” in her Basque homeland. In “Esperanza’s Way,” Amika has taken a young girl named Esperanza under her wing.This novel was a finalist for the Colorado Authors League award for Historical Fiction.

READ AN EXCERPT

• Interview with the author. Maynard, who has competed in triathlons and long-distance walking, leaned into that experience for inspiration to research a time and place that eventually became the setting for her writing.
• Listen to a podcast with Cindy Burkart Maynard.

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

Stay warm, avoid those tricky icy spots by walking like a penguin (I promise, you’d rather look like a flightless bird than deal with a hip or wrist injury) and we’ll see you back here in the morning!

— Eric & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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