Tax revenue from sports betting has never been higher

Happy Friday, Sunriser readers!

I’m writing to you from the lobby of a hostel in Silverthorne, a few feet away from a $27 bed I scored after booking it up to Breckenridge last night. The Breckenridge International Festival of Arts officially opens tonight, and at the last second I decided to preview “Spark,” a (very) temporary installation by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde who shipped about a quarter-million dollars worth of high-lumen lights and what are essentially very fancy bubble machines to Breck from Rotterdam for the glimmering display.

“Spark” is billed as biodegradable fireworks, a quiet, environmentally friendly celebration that skirts what Roosegaarde considers the worst parts of our standard exploding displays: “The dogs go completely crazy, and it’s very polluting,” he said. Not to mention, with this display there’s no fire hazard.

The installation takes a moment to settle into. The “sparks” emerge quietly as a color-changing display that goes dark every couple of minutes. “It’s breathing,” Roosegaarde explained, before the display quietly lights back up as flittering yellows, blues and oil-slick rainbows. Instead of the jolting crack of fireworks, you hear the passing wind and the nearby creek.

The lights in the surrounding park have been shut off — “it’s incredibly hard to turn off a street light,” Roosegaarde said — and the space beneath the display is a patch of grass where Roosegaarde said he wants people to come over the next couple days and spread picnic blankets. “I expect a lot of dogs,” he added.

Before you turn your gaze skyward, let’s set our sights on today’s news.

Parker Yamasaki

Reporter

THE NEWS

WATER

Colorado sports betting tax revenue sets new record, surging money for water projects

Cash from sports betting hit a new high this year, creating more funding for water projects around the state, Jerd Smith reports. But some water-related dollars could still be at risk as the legislature gears up to close a new $1 billion gap in Colorado’s budget.

READ MORE

OUTDOORS

Colorado 14er traffic took a breather in 2024. Here’s why that’s a good thing.

In the summer of 2020, the pandemic drove record numbers of people outdoors. That was a big year for 14ers. In 2024, the number of days hikers spent scaling Colorado’s tallest peaks was about the same as it was a decade ago. When too much love can lead to ruin, maybe a slowdown is a good thing, Jason Blevins reports.

READ MORE

WILDLIFE

Colorado’s top wildlife official opens up about wolves, conservation and why elks need pollinators

Jeff Davis was barely eight months into his work as director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife when the wolf releases began, unleashing a socioeconomic cyclone over half the state. Davis, the man at the helm of voter-directed reintroduction, has been mostly mum when it comes to the media. Now, he’s finally opening up. Tracy Ross has the story.

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ENVIRONMENT

Colorado moving ahead with fast EV chargers despite pause in federal funding

Colorado is putting $5 million into building new EV fast-charging plazas, adding chargers around the state from Montrose to Limon and in between. It’s a move to expand the state’s charging network despite headwinds and a pause in federal funding. Michael Booth has the details.

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MORE NEWS

• As Lee fire continues southward, crews are fighting and residents are praying Colorado 13 holds as a fire line. The fire in northwestern Colorado has burned at least 127,000 acres, and firefighters have built layers of contingencies behind the current fire lines to stall the fast-moving flames.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Are dogs allowed in Whole Foods stores in Colorado? Except for service animals, dogs and other live animals are prohibited at retail food establishments in Colorado, including grocery stores.

Section by Shannon Mullane | Water Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

• In lost Rockies season, one Colorado diehard won big by catching Shohei Ohtani’s 300th home run ball. Shohei Ohtani’s swing gave a diehard Rockies fan a life-changing payday. 🔑
  — The Denver Post
• Eagle River Fund to match donations for upcoming Edwards tire removal project. The newly formed Eagle River Fund is matching donations to the Edwards Tire Removal Project in a push to support a decades-in-the-making effort to remove tires from the Eagle River.
  — Vail Daily
• “Good bugs doing great work”: Palisade Insectary celebrates 80 years of biocontrol work. For eight decades, the Palisade Insectary has been working to control pests and weeds in Colorado with wasps, beetles, weevils and other biocontrols.
  — The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
• Residents frustrated as Colorado city suffers frequent power outages. Since mid-June, residents in the Columbine Hills area of Littleton have experienced six outages, two of which lasted more than four hours. Many say they’ve received little explanation as to why.
  — CBS4
• The Salvation Army won’t run Denver’s hotel shelters anymore. Here’s why. New management will take over the city’s three hotel shelters after The Salvation Army said they were stepping away because of costs, though city officials said they had already decided to bring in new operators before the announcement.
  — Denverite

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by David Krause | Editor

THE OPINION PAGE

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” as Ossie struggles to deal with the crush of troubling world events, his mother points him toward a source of mental health help.

CARTOON

With schools back in session, Jim Morrissey sees a new twist on “stranger danger” that could become part of the curriculum.

CARTOON

Drew Litton imagines a courtroom scene from the lawsuit filed by the Denver Nuggets mascot, Rocky, after he was replaced following hip-replacement surgery.

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:

• Getting to the Heart of the matter. Special treat this week as Nancy Wilson of the band Heart joins Colorado Music Experience director G. Brown for an extended conversation about the band’s Colorado gigs and lots more ahead of a couple of shows here next week.
  LISTEN
• Talkin’ Sun business. As part of a major grant last year, we have a new chief operations officer. Our new boss, Lamont Browne, talks about how he got from Philly to Denver, the pin he missed when he bowled a 299 and what’s in store at The Sun.
  LISTEN
• Broadband, internet experts descend on Denver. The BEAD program to get stable internet to everyone is being slowed by the Trump administration. Sun business reporter Tamara Chuang shares her insight from the annual Mountain Connection conference.
  LISTEN
• Public lands preservation is having a moment. We’ve perhaps taken them for granted for decades, but public lands are under assault. Outdoors reporter Jason Blevins talks about the momentum building behind the Keep Parks Public campaign.
  LISTEN
• Dialing up the Temp team. Environment reporter Michael Booth talks about a troubled dam project in northern Colorado, and health reporter John Ingold details the dangers to kids who have easy access to loaded guns, at home and away.
  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

Thanks for joining us this week, see you back here Monday.

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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