Meat processor gets in the housing game

Good morning, Colorado.

We’re officially in backyard cookout season. Look, I won’t lie, I was feeling pretty cocky last week having started backyard grilling this year with a whole branzino stuffed with herbs and lemon over charcoal. That was, until I visited my friend who roasted lamb over an open fire in his backyard.

Now the competition is on for the most elaborate backyard cook. I may be the only one aware of said competition, but I have to take any competitive advantage I can get.

Anyhoo, enough talk about food. Let’s get on to today’s news.

Danika Worthington

Presentation Editor

THE NEWS

HOUSING

Meat processor Cargill builds workforce housing in Fort Morgan in 10 months

Fort Morgan has been dealing with a housing crisis fueled by high demand and low housing stock for years. And as Tracy Ross reports, with more than half of their workforce commuting from more than an hour’s drive away, the meat processing giant Cargill’s plan to build townhouses and apartments is moving fast.

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WATER

Colorado governor signs law to rein in tap fees in hopes of lowering housing costs

House Bill 1211 is officially law, lowering the fees that water utilities charge when connecting a new home or commercial building to an existing water system. Shannon Mullane reports on why opponents of the laws — including the water utilities — say it won’t have the desired effect.

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• New law allows Colorado State Land Board to consider recreation, conservation on state lands in mandate. A working group will craft recommendations so the Land Board can balance more diverse values with its mandate to generate funds for schools.

WATER

Manitou Springs declares water emergency: Here’s why residents are being told to stop all nonessential use

Heavy, wet storms are usually cause for celebration in Colorado’s semi-arid environment, but the recent downpours around Manitou Springs led to a “high turbidity” water emergency after sediment and microorganisms were kicked up in the town’s water supply. Olivia Prentzel has more.

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OUTDOORS

Winter X Games will return to Aspen in January 2026 for its 25th year before new format rolls out

X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom is “hyped” to keep the decades-long connection between Aspen and the games going, Jason Blevins reports, even as he pushes the competition into a new era based on teams and leagues.

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MORE NEWS

• Rideshare driver charged in alleged sexual assault of Colorado state lawmaker. Mukhammadali Mukadyrov is accused of unlawful sexual contact against state Rep. Jenny Willford, who was the prime sponsor of the rideshare safety bill currently awaiting Gov. Polis’ signature.
• National Trust for Local News sheds Colorado papers, will continue to operate printing press. The National Trust will transfer ownership of 21 local publications concentrated in metro Denver to Times Media Group, a community news publisher based in Tempe, Arizona.

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Gov. Hobbs says Arizona will defend its Colorado River water, wants other states to accept cuts. Arizona’s governor rejected claims that Upper Basin states — including Colorado — were doing their part in talks over water use, claiming that the cohort of states were only conserving “water on paper.”
  — azcentral.com
• Illicit $8B crypto market Xinbi incorporated in Colorado. The crypto market, incorporated in Colorado as an “investment and capital guarantee group company,” is suspected of being involved in money laundering and fraud schemes in Southeast Asia, including the so-called “pig butchering” scams that start as bizarrely simple text messages from strangers.
  — CoinTelegraph
• DaVita accused of market collusion in class-action lawsuit filed by food workers union. UFCW 1776 filed a class-action complaint on Friday in U.S. District Court in Denver that claims Denver-based DaVita and Germany’s Fresenius Medical Care — who combined control more than 90% of the U.S. dialysis market — have been engaging in anticompetitive activities.
  — Denver Business Journal 🔑
• Proposed McClure Pass communications tower would close up “biggest coverage gap in Colorado,” official says. A proposal to build a 195-foot communications tower at McClure Pass to replace the existing 70-foot tower would close up the “biggest coverage gap in Colorado” that affects emergency services as well as commercial phone service.
  — Aspen Times

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• It’s my fifth anniversary at The Sun, a news site where you can still practice actual journalism. It has been a bumpy ride since my column and I arrived in Colorado last century. But we’re still making good trouble at The Colorado Sun.
  — Mike Littwin
  

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

Poor Richard’s Books suggests three dark (in different ways) titles

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Poor Richard’s Books in Colorado Springs recommends:

• “The Grey Wolf” by Louise Penny, an Armand Gamache murder mystery
• “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Steven Graham Jones, an unforgettable revenge story
• “The Wild Dark” by Craig Childs, a trek from Vegas lights to the awesome night sky

Read what the bookstore staff had to say about each. Pick up a copy and support your local bookstores at the same time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

That’s all, folks.

Now, say, do you happen to have good backyard cookout recipes? I’m in a one-man grilling competition and my competitor is pretty lousy. Any recipe at this point will help me outdo her.

— Danika & 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.