Another released wolf dies, this time in Rocky Mountain National Park

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Good morning, Sunriser readers!

My email inbox is full of story ideas — PR pitches, studies, reports, announcements, news aggregators, other publications’ morning newsletters. While I do try to keep a tidy inbox (it could use a serious spring cleaning right now), the best ideas always come from talking to people in real life. I don’t know which law of nature mandates this, but it’s unequivocally true.

We’ve got a packed month full of in-person events coming up, where you’ll have a chance to tap us on the shoulder and ask your burning questions, or run a story by us, or just say hi.

On May 15 our politics team is leading a legislative recap at the University of Denver, and on May 21 reporter Olivia Prentzel will talk to outdoors experts about summiting 14ers at the Mountain Chalet in Colorado Springs.

There’s also SunFest coming up May 16, a full day of panels, keynotes, possibly a game show and plenty of opportunities to mingle with the Sun staff.

And next Tuesday education reporter Erica Breunlin is hosting a virtual panel with lawmakers and local school officials to help us understand what’s going on with school funding in this state, and why it matters.

While we’re talking events, today’s Sun-Up podcast features a chat with the Sun’s marketing and events specialist, Kristina Pritchett. More info can be found here.

And if you see me there, please introduce yourself! I’d love to hear what you have to say.

On to the news.

THE NEWS

ENVIRONMENT

Gray wolf released in Colorado earlier this year dies in Rocky Mountain National Park

One of the gray wolves from British Columbia released earlier this year was reported dead April 20, according to state wildlife officials. Michael Booth reports on why some natural deaths are expected — and just how far some of the other recently released wolves have traveled since January.

READ MORE

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AGRICULTURE

Colorado farmers just lost their most important mental health lifeline

The AgWell program has been helping farmers and ranchers across three states find and access mental health care since 2018, when Dan Waldvogle learned that four ranchers living near him in southern Colorado died by suicide within a matter of months. But as Tracy Ross reports, the Trump administration’s wide cuts have wiped out the program’s funding, just as tariffs, trade wars and natural disasters are putting more pressure on the agricultural community.

READ MORE

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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Jared Polis vetoes bill regulating social media sites operating in Colorado; lawmakers signal override fight is coming

Senate Bill 86 would require large social media companies used by people in Colorado to take down flagged accounts if they’re determined to be selling guns or drugs, or if the accounts are engaged in the sex trafficking or sexual exploitation of minors.

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• Colorado Senate again rejects effort to ask voters to let victims of past child sex abuse sue their abusers. Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 needed a supermajority of support to advance, but failed by a vote of 23-12. Every Republican in the Senate voted against the measure while every Democrat voted in favor of it.
• Colorado lawmakers move to ban sexually exploitative images, video created with artificial intelligence. Senate Bill 288 would expand Colorado’s existing laws around posting intimate images to include material created by AI.
• Jared Polis’ plan to accelerate Colorado’s clean energy transition won’t reach the legislature this year. If enacted, the plan would have required Colorado’s investor-owned utilities — Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy — to eliminate climate-warming emissions associated with electricity production by 2040, a decade sooner than currently required under state law.

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WILDFIRE

Colorado is forecast to have an average wildfire year, but officials warn “we can’t … let our guard down”

“Average” can mean a lot of things, and when it’s being used to describe Colorado’s wildfire outlook for the next year, that leaves a lot of room for risk and destruction. Olivia Prentzel breaks down the forecast, including why southeastern Colorado is at a higher risk than the rest of the state.

READ MORE

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MORE NEWS

• Colorado’s Medicaid program now covers doula services. Most insurers do not cover doulas as a standard benefit. But in July, Colorado’s Medicaid program added doulas as a covered benefit.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Is it anyone’s job to clean up trash along Colorado highways? Yes. While the public is urged to do their part, the Colorado Department of Transportation is mainly responsible for highway litter removal.

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Lauren Boebert wants DOGE to kill passenger rail funding. Jeff Hurd is with her “100%.” Two of Colorado’s U.S. Representatives are pushing to kill funding for a passenger rail line that would run 24-hour daily service between Pueblo and Fort Collins and instead spend money on highways.
  — The Pueblo Chieftain
• Dust is speeding up snowmelt in the Colorado River, University of Utah study finds. Previous studies have recorded the impact dust has on snowmelt, but University of Utah researchers say they are the first to study an area as large as the Colorado River headwaters, which spans multiple states, including Colorado.
  — Utah News Dispatch
• Class action lawsuit claims Summit County sanitation district has overcharged short-term renters by “millions” of dollars. A homeowner filed a class action suit, claiming the sanitation district has been charging “excessive and arbitrary fees” since a 2019 decision to calculate wastewater fees for short-term rentals based on the maximum occupancy of the home, instead of the lower estimate for occupied homes.
  — Summit Daily
• Colorado chicken colossus opened wallet for Trump inauguration, topping all other donors. Poultry pillar Pilgrim’s Pride — majority-owned by the Brazilian meat processing giant JBS —
  was among several high-profile Colorado business donors to the administration’s January celebration, federal records show.
  — Denver Business Journal 🔑
• Denver apartment vacancy hits 15-year high — and rents are dropping. With vacancy rates up to 7% and more rentable units on the way, landlords are offering more amenities and lower fees while renters are gaining leverage to negotiate rates.
  — Denverite

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• Legislators have chance to help Colorado’s small businesses save thousands by reducing credit card “swipe fees” House Bill 1282 would keep credit card giants from enacting their fees on taxes, tips. On the federal level, Credit Card Competition Act would go a step further.
  — Chris Strowmatt, general manager of Blue Bonnet Restaurant

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” the cartoonists explore the effect of excising selected portions of history — even among alien life forms.

CARTOON

Jim Morrissey illustrates rideshare company Uber’s objections to proposed new Colorado safety regulations — with a one-star review.

CARTOON

Drew Litton gives the Denver Broncos’ surprising first-round draft selection of a cornerback a grade of D — for dumbfounding.

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:

• Colorado outdoor industry navigating global tariffs. Tariffs enacted by President Trump are disrupting the global markets. Outdoors reporter Jason Blevins has updates on how Colorado outdoor companies are trying to find their way in the changing tides.
  LISTEN
• Colorado farmers plowing ahead amid federal changes. Rural reporter Tracy Ross talks about federal funding cuts to Colorado projects focused on fighting climate change and how tariffs are affecting farmers and ranchers across the state.
  LISTEN
• Talkin’ turkey, er … elk. Dave Gottenborg and his wife, Jeannie, recently made history by allowing elk to migrate through their Park County ranch in exchange for lease assistance. Dave joins Tracy to talk about ranching, conservation and Aldo Leopold.
  LISTEN
• Get out your calendar. One of our missions is to engage meaningful conversations, and our events specialist, Kristina Pritchett, has the latest on some of our upcoming events: from Colorado SunFest 2025 to “Safely Summitting 14ers” and plenty more.
  LISTEN
• Tapping Team Temp. Sun reporters John Ingold and Michael Booth break down potential billion-dollar cuts to Colorado’s Medicaid program, and an update on pine beetle and other infestations that have left their mark on mountain counties.
  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.

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See you back here next week!

— Parker & 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.

Type of Story: News

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.