Fewer people are dying in Colorado waterways

Good morning and happy Friday!

It’s been a long week — but what week isn’t these days — and we’re so close to a sunny, nearly ideal summer weekend.

I won’t try to make your weekend plans for you, but if you’re near Colorado Springs on Tuesday, July 15, our own Jesse Paul will be part of a panel called “The Free Press Under Fire: Navigating a World of Disinformation” at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (tickets and more information here).

Now before we can actually get to that promised weekend, we do need to get through the day, so let’s kick it off with some good news about water safety and the rest of our river of news.

Eric Lubbers

CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE NEWS

OUTDOORS

Colorado water deaths have plummeted this year. Here’s how park rangers are making a difference.

At least 15 people have died in Colorado’s reservoirs and rivers so far this year — down from 32 people at this point last year. Colorado Parks and Wildlife is working to keep those numbers small by emphasizing Colorado laws that require personal floatation devices, writing tickets and loaning out life jackets. Olivia Prentzel has more.

READ MORE

WILDFIRE

Wildfires burning on both rims of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park; 2 houses lost in wildfire near Buena Vista

Wildfires ignited in Colorado this week as the Western Slope faces extremely high fire danger. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park was evacuated. In Chaffee County, two houses burned and about 50 homes were evacuated in the Mountain View Estates subdivision near Buena Vista, Olivia Prentzel reports.

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• Day 2 update: South Rim fire burning in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park grows to 1,640 acres. Olivia Prentzel has the latest on the fires, which grew overnight even as firefighters worked to create a line and aircraft dropped slurry through the night.

COLORADANS

How a Boulder open-water swimmer is finding his mojo on Colorado’s rivers

Stroke by stroke, Boulder resident Matt Moseley swam his way down the Colorado River in June, starting in Moab and continuing for 17 miles. It wasn’t even his longest swim. As Tracy Ross reports, Moseley tries to use his round-the-world swimming to help people have a stronger connection to water.

READ MORE

WATER

A rapidly draining reservoir in Montezuma County prompts a public fish-for-all

Water was quickly escaping Summit Reservoir in Montezuma County on Thursday, likely because of an outlet valve that wouldn’t close. The leak prompted Colorado Parks and Wildlife to issue an emergency call for anglers to help remove fish from the shrinking reservoir. Shannon Mullane has more.

READ MORE

• $4 million in federal funds released for Upper Colorado River Basin watershed restoration. The Trump administration froze $4 million in February without explanation, as Jerd Smith reports. Two months later, the funds were released, allowing officials to move forward with critical restoration projects for the fire-scarred landscape and local economies.

MORE NEWS

• Denver Museum of Nature and Science finds a dinosaur fossil under its own parking lot. In the process of drilling a hole to see if the museum could utilize geothermal heating, the staff discovered a vertebra of a smallish, plant-eating dinosaur. “Finding a dinosaur bone in a core is like hitting a hole in one from the moon. It’s like winning the Willy Wonka factory. It’s incredible, it’s super rare,” said James Hagadorn, the museum’s curator of geology.
• Insurers fight laws in states like Colorado restricting surprise ambulance bills. In Colorado, a measure aimed at expanding protections from surprise ambulance bills got a unanimous thumbs-up in both legislative chambers. It was then vetoed by the governor.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Does Colorado law bar police from encrypting communications? No. Despite recent efforts by lawmakers to limit the use of encrypted communications by police, Colorado has not banned the practice.

Section by Shannon Mullane | Water Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

• 5,000 Colorado Medicaid patients who used Planned Parenthood must find new doctors. H.R. 1 prohibits Medicaid payments for one year to nonprofit organizations that provide abortions and also received at least $800,000 in federal funding in 2023.
  — The Denver Post
• How a luggage manufacturer in Colorado has survived Trump’s trade war. So far. “All this scenario planning is like a hidden tax on business,” said Travis Campbell, owner and chief executive of Eagle Creek, which is based in Steamboat Springs.
  — The New York Times
• 400 immigrants sheltering at the Western Motor Inn didn’t cause $2.3 million in damages, judge rules. The owner of the motel, who had agreed to sell to Sage Investments for $6 million, allowed immigrants with nowhere to go to stay on the property for four months. Sage sued the owner, claiming millions in damages, but a district court judge ruled that the sale must proceed at full price.
  — Denverite
• The secret group chats where the rich score seats on private jets. “They’ll go in a chat and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to Aspen on August 1. Who wants to split a plane with me?’” said Peter Minikes, who runs private-jet charter company Priority One Jets. “I do understand that sometimes you don’t want to spend $25,000 to $30,000 going up to New York, but you’re OK spending three or four [thousand],” one investor who uses the chats said.
  — The Wall Street Journal 🔑
• Photos: Mighty Argo Cable Car gondola towers installed above Idaho Springs. The $7 million Mighty Argo Cable Car gondola in Idaho Springs (read more about it from Jason Blevins ) took a big step forward as the 10 massive support towers for the car were installed via a Blackhawk helicopter on Thursday.
  — The Denver Post 🔑

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” Myra’s trans friend Geena explains why she wonders about some anti-trans politicians who claim to look out for kids’ best interests.

CARTOON

Drew Litton notes that if only they could hit, field or pitch, the Colorado Rockies might be enjoying something better than an epically bad year.

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 typically 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:

• Pitkin County ranchers trying to adapt to wolves. A new group of Colorado ranchers is looking for ways to coexist with their latest neighbors. Rural reporter Tracy Ross has been following the reintroduction for years and gives updates out of the Roaring Fork Valley.
  LISTEN
• Health care impacts on two big topics. Our Temperature team — John Ingold and Michael Booth — chat about Medicaid in the recently signed spending bill out of D.C. and an upcoming story on the health concerns around Rocky Flats.
  LISTEN
• Current events playing out. Tim Weed’s new novel “The Afterlife Project” is a dark adventure story set in the future but deals with issues of the modern day. He talks with SunLit editor Kevin Simpson about his “speculative literary novel.”
  LISTEN
• The Sun is developing its business chops. Last fall we were awarded an awesome grant from the American Journalism Project to build our business team. Alyssa Pinkerton, our new director of development, lays out her plans as we expand our reach across Colorado.
  LISTEN
• Come on, let’s get happy. During Colorado SunFest, we sat down with Dr. June Gruber, a clinical psychologist and full Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado, where she directs the Positive Emotion and Psychopathology Laboratory. She knows a thing or two about happiness.
  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.

Section by David Krause | Editor

Stay dry, stay cool and have a fantastic weekend. See y’all next week!

— Eric & 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.