Work on half-built Gross Dam halted

Good morning, Sunriser readers! It’s been, as they say, one of those weeks. The sentiment culminated last night, sitting in the vet’s office around 10 p.m. because the dog ate something he shouldn’t have (he is fine), while digitally thumbing through reports of all the programs funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities that just had grants canceled — effective immediately. Woof.

There have been some bright spots, though, including an all-staff meeting yesterday where I got to hang out with all my fave colleagues here at The Sun and plan a bunch of interesting projects and cool events for you all. We’ve got a great lineup this spring and summer, starting with an education funding panel led by reporter Erica Breunlin on April 29. Find out more here.

Let’s tread lightly and get through this Friday, folks.

Parker Yamasaki

Reporter

THE NEWS

WATER

Federal judge orders Denver Water to stop Gross Dam construction

Late yesterday, senior U.S. District Court Judge Christine Arguello put a halt to construction on the massive, half-finished expansion of the Gross Reservoir dam until three key environmental permits are rewritten. Michael Booth has more.

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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Crested Butte’s 4,000 residents could lose their post office amid federal government upheaval

After laboring for three years to find a new spot for its overwhelmed post office, Crested Butte is stuck. With less than a year left on the lease for the current building, it’s too late to build a new one and have it ready in time, which could leave 4,000 residents driving 30 miles to the already busy Gunnison post office for mail, Jason Blevins reports.

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ENERGY

Trump planning to use NREL land in Boulder for private AI data center, power plant

Federal land owned by an agency researching renewable energy and climate change could end up housing a power-hungry private sector AI data center, Mark Jaffe reports.

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COLORADANS

Colorado doesn’t know how much water it has. This CU scientist is boating to find out.

If you need to warm up your speaking voice, just repeat Toby Minear’s job title a few times (fluvial geomorphologist, fluvial geomorphologist, fluvial geomo …). Tracy Ross explains what that title means and talks to him about why he confirms his research by hopping in a boat and taking his own measurements.

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WATER

Tiny zebra mussels forced Colorado to completely drain a lake. Now, it’s time to refill it.

Highline Lake was the very first body of water in Colorado classified as infested with the pesky little mollusk. Now months after it was drained completely, the lake is slowly getting its water back. But as Shannon Mullane reports, the battle is far from over.

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MORE NEWS

• Colorado law meant to restore trust in funeral homes blocked public access to inspection reports. In the wake of several high profile scandals in funeral homes around Colorado, lawmakers passed a bill to tighten regulations on the industry — while in the same act removing the public’s access to the inspection reports.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Was Colorado one of the fastest-growing economies in the U.S. in 2024? No. After a period of solid growth, Colorado’s economy slowed in 2024, ranking 39th among states for overall growth in gross domestic product.

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Aurora asylum seeker from Venezuela faces 20th birthday in El Salvador prison. “A 19-year-old babysitter with no criminal record in any country was now jailed in a cage, in a country where he has no standing, with no access to communicate with the outside world or his legal team,” a spokesperson for the Housekeys Action Network Denver said.
  — Sentinel Colorado
• VF Corp. among 3 hardest-hit companies in U.S. tariff stock plunge. With $1.5 billion of market value evaporated during Thursday’s tariff market drop, the Denver-based apparel giant’s reliance on overseas manufacturing led to one of the biggest drops in the country.
  — Denver Business Journal 🔑
• Denver license plate cameras led to nearly 300 arrests. The city’s ready to spend more. Denver police want to spend another $666,000 on services from the private company Flock, which uses solar-powered cameras around the city to scan license plates on local roads — a dragnet that the ACLU has described as “Orwellian.”
  — Denverite
• Making a connection: microtransit service to launch in Highlands Ranch. Via, which has been providing similar quick trips in Lone Tree, will receive $2.9 million to set up a fleet of 15 vehicles that can be booked by Highlands Ranch residents for short trips.
  — Highlands Ranch Herald
• Colorado man charged with pointing laser at California sheriff helicopter. Martin Joesph Avila, 66, of Longmont was arrested and charged with pointing a laser at a sheriff’s helicopter operating in Fresno County last May.
  — GV Wire
• State of Colorado looks to recapture $828,000 in grant money given to Opus Creative Industries. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment says the nonprofit that ran Opus Creative Industries before it abruptly closed last week spent roughly half of a $1.7 million workforce innovation grant on costs that state officials “disallowed” due to alleged lack of proper documentation.
  — Colorado Springs Independent

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” Myra isn’t inclined to let people like Elon Musk off the hook for what sure looked like a Nazi salute — or for problems with his Cybertrucks.

CARTOON

Drew Litton reimagines the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic as a Sisyphean figure single handedly carrying the team toward the playoffs.

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 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 from The Sun team:

• Sundance shift explained. Organizers are pulling up stakes and moving the big top to Colorado. Sun arts and culture reporter Parker Yamasaki breaks down the famed festival’s move to Boulder — why it happened and what we can expect starting in 2027.
  LISTEN
• HOA issues trickle down to condo closings. Some condo and townhome buyers are running into problems with HOA insurance coverage affecting their potential loan. Sun business reporter Tamara Chuang breaks down how they can be addressed.
  LISTEN
• Inside the United Bank Massacre. Inspired by the word “heist,” a North Carolina attorney stumbled upon the story behind the deadly Father’s Day Bank Massacre in 1991 in Denver. He talks with SunLit editor Kevin Simpson about how it became his fourth book.
  LISTEN
• Colorado photographer takes road less traveled. Don Emmert spent decades documenting major events around the world. But after he retired to Crested Butte, an encounter on a high country dirt road with a man fighting Parkinson’s led him down a new path.
  LISTEN
• How to cut $1.2B from a budget. The Joint Budget Committee finished drafting the state budget for the next fiscal year. Sun political reporters Brian Eason and Jesse Paul talk about what’s in the budget — and why this may just be the start of the conversation.
  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

Thanks for spending time with us this week! Before you head off to whatever your weekend plans are, make sure to nominate your favorite local businesses for Colorado’s Best 2025, The Sun’s reader’s choice poll! Click here to give your local haunts the love they deserve.

Have a great weekend and we’ll see you back here Monday!

— 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.