Sen. Bennet on the Dolores River question

Good morning, Colorado.

Eid Mubarak to all who celebrate on today’s Eid al-Adha, and a happy Juneteenth in advance of Wednesday’s national holiday. If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Juneteenth this year, Parker Yamasaki gave us a roundup of several events going on around the state in Thursday’s Sunriser.

As for today’s Sunriser, it’s a typically full one for a Monday, so let’s get to it.

Kevin Jeffers

Product Team

THE NEWS

OUTDOORS

A federal “land grab” or conservation? Sen. Michael Bennet visits Dolores River to weigh in on national monument idea.

The call for a national monument designation around the Dolores River has inflamed passions in southwestern Colorado, Jason Blevins writes. Opponents fear a national monument along the Dolores River would curtail access and draw crowds. Supporters say increased protection would help manage impacts to remote canyons. U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet spent several days in the area last week, culminating in a 500-person meeting in the new K-12 school in Nucla to discuss the issue.

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• Visits to Colorado ski areas reached 14 million in 2023-24, slightly down from prior year’s record. But overall traffic to the six-state Rocky Mountain Region slips for the first time since 2019, Jason Blevins reports.

BUSINESS

What’s Working: How a Denver company is fighting the problem of underemployment

Students from first-generation families often lack access to networks to help get that first job, Tamara Chuang writes. GlobalMindED — founded a decade ago in Denver by Carol Carter — is working on that. That story and more in this week’s What’s Working.

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• Facing power plant and coal mine closures, Moffat County wants $118 million in help from the company that owns them. Shutting down Craig Station and Trapper and Colowyo mines will slash as much as 43% of the county’s property tax revenue and 437 jobs, Mark Jaffe writes.
• Governor, lawmakers are already planning big revisions to Colorado’s first-in-the nation artificial intelligence law. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser and a top Democratic lawmaker agree that Senate Bill 205 needs “additional clarity” and “improvements.” The proclamation follows a letter signed by 200 prominent technology executives and venture capitalists. Tamara Chuang has more.

FACT BRIEF

Did Chipotle direct its workers to serve smaller portions?

Justin George answers whether the Colorado-founded Chipotle has made any changes to its portion sizes in response to the rumors going viral online.

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MORE NEWS

• Interlaken fire burning more than 700 acres near Leadville is 86% contained. Hundreds of firefighters and a prescribed burn from 2018 are helping crews get the upper hand on the fire southwest of Leadville, David Krause reports.
• Lauren Boebert’s big fundraising advantage over her Republican primary opponents is another sign of her dominance. Boebert raised and spent more between April 1 and June 5 than all five of her GOP primary opponents combined, Sandra Fish reports.
• Report finds Colorado was built on $1.7 trillion of land expropriated from tribal nations. Among other suggestions, the report by a Native American-led nonprofit recommends levying a 0.1% fee on real estate deals in Colorado to “mitigate the lasting effects of forced displacement, genocide, and other historical injustices.”
• Woman holding large knife at downtown Denver intersection is fatally shot by police. Officers used a Taser on the woman twice but she began advancing toward them as they tried to back away from her, Denver police Chief Ron Thomas said.
• 2 seriously injured after small plane crashes near interstate south of Castle Rock. The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the crash of the twin-engine Tecnam P2006T along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

COLORADO SUNDAY

Resurrecting “Dumra”: Tibet, a CU professor and a forgotten part of Camp Hale’s freedom-fighting history

The site where the CIA once helped train Tibetan soldiers to fight communist China was virtually erased in the 1970s. Some slick sleuthing sparked a commemoration. Here’s this week’s Colorado Sunday feature by Tracy Ross.

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Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Denver artist joins national initiative making Juneteenth murals around the U.S. You can find Aurora-based artist Detour’s 12-foot-tall mural in RiNo on the back of Noble Riot Wine Bar.
  — Colorado Public Radio
• Colorado researchers find link between moms’ experience of racism and kids’ aging. Scientists aren’t sure if their findings will translate into future health problems for kids.
  — The Denver Post 🔑
• Hot, dry & windy across southern Colorado, with red flag warnings on Monday. Temperatures in the 90s and 100s, along with gusty winds, will create high fire danger today.
  — KOAA

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Olivia Prentzel | Reporter

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Colorado’s crazy 4th Congressional District politics are about to get real. And real ugly.  The 4th Congressional District is a vivid example of extreme polarization in the U.S. and the outcome is far less predictable than it seemed a few months ago.
  — Diane Carman
• Spend some time in a courtroom without Trump, and it just might restore your faith in truth and justice.  But then spend a day watching the latest Supreme Court rulings roll in, and you see just how hard it is to put all the cynicism aside.
  — Mike Littwin  
• Republicans keep coming to their senses too late.  The move to oust Dave Williams comes too late to affect the primary election and demonstrates a pattern of Republican leadership failing to act early enough to make a difference.
  — Mario Nicolais
• 6 reasons why campfires should be banned year-round in Colorado.  From devastating wildfires to smoke pollution and more, it’s time for Coloradans to ditch the campfire ring.
  ​​— Trish Zornio

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.

Have a festive week.

— Kevin and the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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