Denver's Pride parade and festival — one of the country’s largest free Pride events — a pivotal fundraiser that supports the center’s year-round services available for free for the LGBTQ community. (Photo provided by The Center on Colfax)
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Happy Friday, Sunriser readers!

You’ve heard a lot from us recently about a consequential June day seven years ago: the day The Sun started. I don’t know where I was that day, but I wasn’t here in Colorado reading news about the news — not yet.

I’d arrive later that summer, in August 2018, my third state and seventh move in four years. I’d basically become a pro at starting from scratch, and one of the first things I’d do back then, even before I landed in a new spot, was google “[name of place]” and “news,” then sift through the top five or six entries, searching for my new go-to site.

Luckily for me The Sun was big “Colorado news” that summer, and I immediately latched on, attracted to the way they showed a deep understanding of the state, while still creating an approachable read for a newbie like me.

Seven years later and I’m still learning about this state on the daily, thankful to now do it alongside many of the reporters who introduced me to this state.

If you’ve been with us from the start, thank you! And if you’re new here, welcome. We are an independent nonprofit that relies on our readers for support. Sign up for a membership today and help us stick around for the next seven years, and seven after that.

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Denver’s Pride parade and festival — one of the country’s largest free Pride events — a pivotal fundraiser that supports the center’s year-round services available for free for the LGBTQ community. (Photo provided by The Center on Colfax)

This weekend’s Denver Pride festival is expected to draw over half a million people. Some call the parade an act of resistance during an uptick in hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people and a slash in sponsorships from companies fearing consequences from the Trump administration. Olivia Prentzel has more.

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Markers on the side of Glen Canyon Dam near the Utah-Arizona border show the water level of Lake Powell, which sat at about 3,570 feet on Dec. 18, 2023. That elevation could fall as low as 3,525 feet within the next two years. (Shannon Mullane, The Colorado Sun)

Colorado River Basin states, including Colorado, shed light on a potential compromise in high-stakes, deadlocked negotiations over the river’s future management. Colorado water users are rolling with it — so far, Shannon Mullane reports.

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The exterior of the University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, photographed on Oct. 18, 2019. The hospital is the flagship of the UCHealth system. (John Ingold, The Colorado Sun)

UCHealth has won, for now, in a complicated fight with the state Medicaid agency over hospital provider fee money. As John Ingold reports, the dispute could shift as much as $50 million a year away from public hospitals and to private hospitals.

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Cosslett No. 1, a few hundred feet east of the Legacy Park neighborhood in Dacono, has been idle long enough that pigeons and starlings are nesting in the equipment. It is one of 42 wells Dacono and its neighbor to the north, Frederick, asked the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission to require the well’s operator K.P. Kauffman to plug because they are a threat to public safety. (Dana Coffield, The Colorado Sun)

Two Weld County communities wanted the state’s oil and gas regulators to shut down 42 wells operated by K.P. Kauffman. The regulators called the operator’s behavior “disreputable” but balked at issuing a broad order for all the wells. Mark Jaffe has more.

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Bishop Well spraying in the air. Photo taken from southwest of the pad, near Galeton. (Environmental Protection Agency photo)

For five days in April, an oil and gas well unleashed a soaring geyser composed of 25,000 barrels of produced water, oil, sand, salts and fluids in rural Weld County. As Mark Jaffe reports, state oil and gas regulators have started an enforcement action against the well operator, Chevron Corp., and its subsidiary, Noble Energy.

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🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

In “What’d I Miss?” Ossie laments the deportation of legal residents, and the bizarre case of a man framed for threatening the president.

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Drew Litton wonders, as the Colorado Rockies suffer through their worst stretch of baseball ever, if promoting the owner’s son is the answer.

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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.

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I stuck around long enough to develop some favorite spots. Right now voting is open to select the winners of Colorado’s Best 2025. Let us know where else to go!

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

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Type of Story: News

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

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