Tariffs giving secondhand outdoor gear a boost 

Good morning, Colorado.

I took a drive to Cañon City over the weekend to join a group of former Peace Corps volunteers for a hike that had impressive views of the Royal Gorge and Sangre de Cristo mountains in the distance. Conversation tends to flow easily at these types of meetups, not because we know each other well, but because we all decided to do something that most Americans would likely never consider: dedicating two-plus years of our lives making almost no money in a foreign country as a Peace Corps volunteer. (Mystery illnesses, uncomfortably-packed bus rides, daily marriage proposals and flying cockroaches are included, free of charge.) Though we volunteered thousands of miles apart — in Moldova, Zambia, Micronesia, Ghana and Madagascar — across several decades, there was a certain familiarity from our shared commitment to service.

My time teaching in a rural village in southern Madagascar was transformative and helped expand my perspective of the world, while instilling true grit. And for that reason, my heart ached when I read Tracy Ross’ Colorado Sun story about a $400 million cut to grant funding for the AmeriCorps service program, impacting volunteers who help provide critical services to communities in all of Colorado’s 64 counties. Tracy got it exactly right when she said the positive impacts of these types of service programs are reciprocal — what they don’t make in physical dollars, they make in career development, real-world experience and a sense of purpose.

Anyway, I hope you get a chance to read it, if you haven’t already, because the investments these volunteers pour into Colorado’s communities are worth recognizing.

We’ve got some fresh stories for you to read today, too. Let’s get to it.

Olivia Prentzel

Reporter

P.S. — If you’ve been watching the legislative session all year, you’re going to want to join us in Denver on Thursday night for our live, in-person recap, featuring Gov. Jared Polis and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle being interviewed by The Colorado Sun politics team. Admission is free for anyone attending in-person or watching our livestream. Click here to RSVP!

THE NEWS

OUTDOORS

Tariff turmoil may fuel outdoor retail industry’s efforts to elevate secondhand gear

Colorado’s $28 billion outdoor retail industry is clouded in uncertainty with the constant see-saw of the Trump administration’s tariffs. It’s not all bad news, Jason Blevins reports. Heftier price tags for new skis and jackets could spark an interest in secondhand equipment — getting closer to the “circular economy” that some outdoor retailers have wanted for years.

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• US ski resorts report 61.5 million visits in 2024-25, second-highest showing on record. The six-state Rocky Mountain Region’s 26.4 million visits mark a decline from the previous two seasons, but still ranks as the third busiest ever, according to early numbers from the National Ski Areas Association.

EDUCATION

Thousands of vulnerable Colorado families can’t access child care after federal rule changes

Bracing for the soaring costs associated with rule changes made during the Biden administration to improve child care for families and providers, 23 counties have frozen enrollment or started waitlists for a program that subsidizes care for low-income families. Erica Breunlin reports on fears of closure among child care centers and what it could mean for families whose welfare depends on access to care.

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HEALTH

Seeking spending cuts, GOP lawmakers target a tax hospitals love to pay

Hospital systems like Lincoln Health, serving a remote population along the Eastern Plains, pay provider fees into a system that gives them back millions of dollars that help cushion their bottom line by funding Medicaid coverage. Federal lawmakers critical of the provider taxes are now considering axing them — threatening health care access for Medicaid users and the ability of hospitals like Lincoln Health to keep operating, Phil Galewitz of Kaiser Health News reports.

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• Late abortions are rare. Here’s why a Boulder clinic that offered the procedure for over 50 years just closed. The 87-year-old clinic founder, Dr. Warren Hern, says he is deeply upset: “It became impossible to continue, but closing is one of the most painful decisions of my life.”

MORE NEWS

• Denver Broncos heading back to London for a regular season game against N.Y. Jets. The October game marks the third time in London for the Broncos, and first since 2022, in a season where the NFL will host seven overseas kickoffs.

Section by Erica Breunlin | Education Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Thornton cleans up sewage overflow from Woodland Hills manufactured home community. 40 gallons of sewage escaped the storm system from the manufactured home community on Sunday, some of which reached Niver Creek but was mitigated quickly by the city.
  — Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel
• Park Hill Golf Course land swap is approved, paving the way for a major new Denver park. Even as the long saga to determine the fate of the Park Hill Golf Course is nearly complete, it will be months before the city’s vision of a major new park will be realized. The city hopes to open the park this summer for limited public use.
  — Denverite
• Colorado Republicans defend federal bill being called a “sellout” of US public lands to fund “billionaire tax cut.” House Republicans are forging ahead with an effort to open up public lands to more development and extraction as part of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that Democrats and advocates are calling the most environmentally destructive bill in U.S. history.
  — Summit Daily
• Despite tariff pause, this Colorado bike company has hit the end of the trail. “We’ve got a really good group … But I can’t keep paying them. There’s just no way to do that,” said Steve Kaczmarek, the founder of Borealis Fat Bikes in Colorado Springs.
  — KRCC
• Retired movie-star gator Morris passes away on Colorado farm. The animal star of many films — including playing a pivotal role in Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore” — had been living at the Colorado Gators and Reptile Park in Mosca for the last 20 years after retiring from the movies. Jay Young, the owner of the park, said Morris could have been 100 years old because he was nearly full size in 1975.
  — FOX21 News Colorado

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• Colorado needs a committed all-of-the-above approach to energy. The pieces are in place to be a model nationally. With smart policies, Colorado will continue to be an example for smart, reliable American energy production.
  — Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton, Hunter Rivera, chairman of the Weld County Republican Party

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

“The Future Lies”: In dystopian times, the Network does the thinking

Author John Be Lane set his sci-fi novel “The Future Lies” in Denver, so it would be grounded in reality. From there, he extrapolated on today’s nascent artificial intelligence technology — and keep in mind he formulated his story before the emergence of tech like ChatGPT — and imagined a future in which AI, called the Network in his narrative, calls all the shots for humanity. The result was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award in sci-fi/fantasy.

READ AN EXCERPT

• Interview with the author. Lane explains how a thought experiment in which he projected what current realities might look like by the end of the century left him thinking that “things aren’t looking good for the home team.” Those ruminations led to inspiration.
• Listen to a podcast with John Be Lane.

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

P.S. — Colorado SunFest is only a few days away! Will we see you there?

— Olivia & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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