A decade of dust in western Colorado

---

Good morning and Happy Juneteenth, Colorado!

Whether you’re easing into another workday or just waking up and pouring your first cup of coffee ahead of a day off with family and friends, we’re glad you’re folding us into your morning.

I’ll be diving back into full reporting mode today after spending yesterday with a dozen students from across Colorado who came to our newsroom to learn more about the breadth of skills journalists need to cover their communities. We pulled off our fifth annual Rise & Shine Journalism Workshop, giving students a full day of lessons taught by Colorado’s sharpest reporters and editors.

We listened to Kyle Clark from 9News talk about how he focuses on reporting stories that otherwise wouldn’t get told rather than jumping on every story chased by other news outlets. We followed freelance photojournalist Alyte Katilius down to McGregor Square to practice taking photos using the techniques that make her own photos come alive. We tuned into radio interviews conducted by Ryan Warner of Colorado Public Radio, who coached students on how to press sources for information or slow them down in the midst of recounting a particularly compelling story. We designed newsy social media posts under the expertise of The Colorado Sun’s own Danika Worthington. And we staged a mock news conference for our students featuring a lineup of other talented Sun journalists (who gave Oscar-worthy performances while acting as public officials responding to a rockslide on I-70).

This workshop heartens me every year and reminds me how lucky I am to be part of both The Colorado Sun and Colorado’s news corps. We have journalists here who truly care about both keeping their communities informed and finding ways to make sure local news is sustainable for decades to come — including by shaping the next generation of journalists through programs like Rise & Shine. And we’re able to keep running this free workshop for students each year because of the generous support of readers like you.

On that note, let’s get to what you came here for in the first place — today’s roundup of headlines.

P.S. — Happy Juneteenth! There are events happening all over the Denver metro area to celebrate the newest federal holiday today.

THE NEWS

WATER

Spring runoff in one western Colorado valley is worse this decade than the Dust Bowl era

The Gunnison River Basin’s spring runoff seemed OK this year. But as Shannon Mullane reports, zoom further out and it’s the latest in a streak of low years that, collectively, are worse than the nation’s “drought of record.”

READ MORE

• Ted Cooke tapped to run Bureau of Reclamation amid pivotal Colorado River talks. Hiring the Central Arizona Project boss is “interesting” when Colorado River negotiations are fraught, one Upper Basin expert says..

---

ENVIRONMENT

When will Colorado’s new battery collection and recovery system start? Here’s a primer.

Dead batteries in need of disposal have always been one of the most confounding leftovers in recycling culture. But by October 2028, there will be at least one drop-off site for small batteries within 15 miles of 95% of Colorado residents. And that’s just the start. Michael Booth breaks down the rollout for Colorado’s Battery Stewardship Act.

READ MORE

---

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Colorado just faced a tough budget year. It’s forecast to get much worse.

In the best-case scenario, the legislature is projected to face a $700 million hole next year if it wants to maintain its current spending plans. But that’s assuming there is no recession and that the current version of the Republican federal spending plan doesn’t pass. Jesse Paul has more on the state’s quarterly economic and tax revenue forecasts released Wednesday.

READ MORE

• Jared Polis pardons Coloradans convicted of psychedelics possession. With Colorado’s vote to legalize psilocybin and psilocin, the move mirrors the governor’s pardons of those convicted of possessing cannabis before legalization.

---

MORE NEWS

• Federal judge says hate crime prosecution in Boulder firebombing attack can proceed. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, appeared in federal court in Denver for a preliminary hearing following the June 1 attack in Boulder that injured at least eight people.

---

COLORADO REPORT

• Classical bass legend Charlie Burrell dies at 104. The “Jackie Robinson of classical music” joined the Denver Symphony Orchestra as a bassist in 1949 and was the last surviving musician to play Denver’s Rossonian Hotel in Five Points, the center of what was called the “Harlem of the West.”
  — Colorado Public Radio
• The Denver airport will open a drop-in child care center in 2026. DIA will open a small on-site children care center — with room for just 20 children compared to the airport’s 40,000 employees — to help parents participating in programs at the airport’s training center.
  — Chalkbeat Colorado
• Facts about the million-dollar theft of Switch 2 consoles in Colorado. Denverite dug into the details of the literal ton of game consoles stolen from a truck headed to Texas while it was in Colorado and learned a few things, including where the truck was headed and why the actual value of the theft was reported lower than the retail price.
  — Denverite
• Pitkin County provides over $132,000 in property tax relief, data shows. Pitkin County’s 27% increase in property taxes since 2022 — part of the overall 70% jump in property values in that span —
  pushed the county to provide average rebates of $1,180 to more than 100 residents who applied for tax relief.
  — The Aspen Times
• Renderings of Leonardo da Vinci Museum give first look at future Pueblo museum. We’re finally getting a look at the museum The Sun reported on back in March, and I’ll admit it’s a little strange looking at renderings — clearly made with the help of AI — representing the machines the museum says were built with authenticity in mind.
  — The Pueblo Chieftain 🔑

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• As Colorado braces for cuts, Congress must remember Medicaid is an economic engine, not a burden. As senators debate the bill that moved out of the U.S. House, Colorado must defend Medicaid and the good it does for our health and communities.
  — Dr. Stephanie Gold, Dr. Kyle Leggott, Dr. Lauren S. Hughes, Dr. Apoorva Ram, Farley Health Policy Center

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.

What’s Happening

June 19-25

Solstice Festival at the Tank. The northwestern corner of Colorado is known for its night skies — Dinosaur National Monument received its International Dark Sky designation in 2019 — but it’s the long days that folks out in Rangely will be celebrating this weekend.

The 10th annual Solstice Festival, which takes place June 20-22 at the Tank Center for Sonic Arts, features a slate of free events, including a sound bath, a sunrise ceremony, and a group chorus inside the namesake steel water tank. The organization also posted the promise of swims in the reservoir and time at the nearby petroglyphs to its Instagram account.

Headlining the festival this year is a special ticketed performance by Raven Chacon and the Death Convention Singers. Chacon is a Diné composer, musician and artist, whose concert in a Milwaukee cathedral won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2022.

The Tank itself has a well-earned reputation for bringing the most interesting sonic acts to the secluded town of Rangely, from avant-garde artists to classically trained acapella groups, to perform in its strange sonic environment.

Free-$12; June 20-22; The TANK, 233 Colorado Road 46, Rangely

• Juneteenth Roundup. While Denver already took to the streets for Juneteenth on June 14, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate today and through the weekend, in Breckenridge, Durango, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs. Free; June 19-22; Various locations
• Sunspoke. The first in a series of gatherings at the Cookie Factory, a new contemporary art space in Denver — what they’re calling a “solar circuit” of yoga, tea ceremonies and breathwork, taking place in the exhibition space. $20; 4-7 p.m., June 21; Cookie Factory, 425 W. Fourth Ave., Denver
• Mancos Burro Fest. The name kind of says it all, but if you need a nudge to head out to Mancos, there will also be food trucks, kids’ activities, live music and an aerial troupe from the San Juan circus. And a whole bunch of burros. Free; June 21; Boyle Park, 150 Grand Ave., Mancos

---

Thanks for sprinting through another full morning of news with us! We’ll see you back here tomorrow.

— Erica & 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.