Roadside tire chain sellers, installers could be coming to I-70

Good morning! Cheers to those who have the day off in honor of George Washington and the rest of the presidents.

In this state, Presidents Day is pretty synonymous with ski weekend, and with snow dumping in the mountains for three days straight, everything feels just as it should be. I hope you enjoyed some snow over the weekend or the way the frost sparkled on the trees this morning.

We’ve got some snow-related news to share, including where to rent cute slopeside tiny homes and how to get more chains on truck tires.

Jennifer Brown

Reporter

THE NEWS

TRANSPORTATION

Colorado is mapping plan to let vendors sell and install tire chains on trucks, cars along mountain roadways

Colorado could soon allow private companies to station crews at designated areas along Interstate 70 and other mountain highways to sell, install and remove tire chains on trucks and cars alike — for a fee. Jesse Paul has more on Senate Bill 69 — and how a similar program in Washington has been in place for nearly 20 years.

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HOUSING

Annual Colorado homeless count expected to show more people in shelters than usual because it was so cold

We won’t have the results for months, but the administrators of the annual point in time survey conducted in late January are saying they expect the deep freeze to spike the number of people counted in shelters. Jennifer Brown breaks down last year’s survey numbers and what to expect this year.

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NEWS

Powderhorn sells to Utah ski area operator as Colorado owners plan unique slopeside tiny homes

The Gart family (of departed Gart Sports fame) and resort veteran Andy Daly sold the majority stake in the Powderhorn ski area to the Utah company that has been operating the resort for them since 2018. But as Jason Blevins reports, the Garts and Daly are now focusing on the development of 800 acres at the base of the ski area.

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• In a pricey landscape, Gunnison’s Cranor Hill hangs on as a cheap, charming place to ski. Meanwhile, Gunnison has kept the 305-vertical-foot Cranor Hill as a place for locals to hit the slopes as part of Colorado’s tradition of city-owned hills. Check out this great little visit from photographer Dean Krakel and Jason Blevins.
• PODCAST: Colorado ski season is in full stride. The high country finally got a big round of snow, and for today’s Daily Sun-Up podcast, Jason Blevins talks with team editor David Krause about news from around the Colorado ski scene.

ECONOMY

Higher egg, gas prices raise Denver inflation in January but rate still lower than the U.S.

Eggs are ridiculous and gas is getting a little more expensive every week. But average rents are down and, as Tamara Chuang explores in this week’s “What’s Working” column, all the usual markers of inflation are showing that Denver isn’t seeing the same pain as other metro areas. Click through for much more about the Colorado economy.

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• Can suspending a cage-free egg law solve the soaring price problem? Nevada takes a crack at it. It is not clear dropping cage-free laws will have a significant effect on egg prices, since the bird flu outbreak is hitting suppliers at all levels.

MORE NEWS

• Dozens of couples get hitched at snowy Colorado ski resort on Valentine’s Day. Loveland ski area lived up to its name once again on Valentine’s Day as it hosted its 34th annual Mountaintop Matrimony and sent a record 130 couples down the slopes in happily wedded bliss.
• Colorado students may be required to take a financial literacy course to graduate high school. Right now, most Colorado students go out into the world with no knowledge about taxes, savings, loans or investments, but with bipartisan support for House Bill 1192, the state could become the 27th to make such lessons a requirement.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Would all guns with detachable magazines be banned in Colorado under Senate Bill 3? No. Colorado Senate Bill 3 would ban sales of a broad swath — but not all — guns that use detachable magazines.

COLORADO SUNDAY

Shave, haircut, second chance: How a Denver barbershop is opening doors for people leaving prison

For people leaving the prison system, simply being on the other side of incarceration is not a guarantee that you can reintegrate into society. Kevin Simpson brings us the story of Denver’s R&R Head Labs, where the former president of Floyd’s Barbershop has started a shop that gives formerly incarcerated people a stable place to develop a trade — and creates opportunities for neighbors to meet (and learn from) the employees.

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Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

• Bus rapid transit boosted business for some cities; others lost beloved local shops. What will happen on Colfax? As the pain for businesses along Colfax reaches its peak, The Denver Post looked to Seattle — where the new program has just finished — and Cleveland — where it is seen as a transformative success — to see what the future could hold for Denver.
  — The Denver Post 🔑
• Teachers lose cost-of-living pay dispute battle with Denver Public Schools. An arbiter sided with DPS administrators and said teachers were not entitled to the 5.2% cost-of-living raise that the teachers’ union said is part of the contract signed in April 2024.
  — Colorado Public Radio
• Dillon purchases town core property for workforce housing and office space. The town plans to put offices on the first floor of the buildings and convert the space above into three workforce housing units — and they already have interest from at least one town employee.
  — Summit Daily
• Bill defining nuclear energy as “clean” clears first vote at Colorado Capitol. Proponents of the bill have pitched it as the first step to open the state up for new nuclear development, which has been dormant since the first and only nuclear plant in the state ceased operations in 1989.
  — Post-Independent

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Colorado is the perfect place for bargain-conscious Danes looking to buy a state. Colorado could become New Denmark, with the rule of law and all the pastries we can eat. It’s a bargain compared with California.
  — Diane Carman
  
• How blue states could work around Trump’s federal government. Aided by Elon Musk, President Trump has begun gutting the federal government, leaving a massive hole that only states may be able to fill.
  — Mario Nicolais
  

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.

Presidents Day is also synonymous with I-70 jams and Summit County restaurants out of food by Monday, but I wish you none of that.

— Jennifer and the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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