Your Xcel bill is going to drop

Good morning, Colorado.

I went over to a friend’s house this past weekend and she had already decorated for Halloween. Is it that time already?

Before I get lost in the cobwebs, let’s get to today’s news.

Danika Worthington

Presentation Editor

THE NEWS

ENERGY

Xcel gas bills to drop almost 12% for rest of 2024 as wholesale gas prices remain low

Xcel Energy residential and small commercial customers may see their bills drop by as much as 12% for the last quarter of 2024 thanks to growing natural gas production and mild weather that’s helped the utility build up its reserves. Mark Jaffe has more.

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CULTURE

Only one Colorado town over 7,000 doesn’t have a swimming pool. Will asking voters a fifth time work?

Two years ago, Cañon City shut down its pool after 56 summers. No swim lessons. No swim club. No cooling off as days neared 100 degrees. The district went to voters four times, starting in 1989, to get money for repairs or replacements and were soundly defeated. They’re once again turning to voters — but will voters take the plunge? Sue McMillin looks into it.

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FAMILIES

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott funds 7 grants for Colorado infants, toddlers with $2.5M gift

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, gave a $2.5 million gift that is being turned into seven grants focused on prenatal and birth-to-3 issues in Colorado. Chalkbeat Colorado has more.

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MORE NEWS

• The Unaffiliated ☀️Colorado’s plans for statewide jail standards hit a money snag. Plus: PERA contributions are still lower than other pension plans. Millions more pours into campaigns for statewide ballot measures.

Section by Danika Worthington | Presentation Editor

THE COLORADO REPORT

• The U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot closes after more than 80 years. The facility was originally built during World War II to store and handle supplies including mustard agent for chemical warfare, but spent the last decades of its operation destroying and decontaminating its stock of chemical weapons.
  — KRCC
• Longtime Denver news anchor, investigative reporter Ward Lucas dies at 75. One of Denver TV’s most beloved journalists, Ward covered the DB Cooper hijacking and the Ted Bundy murders before his long stint as an investigative reporter, helping establish the 9News “I-Team.”
  — The Denver Post
• Mesa County courthouse had bats in its belfry. Gideon Bullock, the county’s facilities department director, told commissioners that they discovered “a decent size bat colony” that had entered the building through a one-inch gap. The gap has since been covered with a one-way “bat door” that allowed the bats out to feed at night, but not back in. 
  — The Daily Sentinel 🔑
• First snow dusting arrives in Durango thanks to Tropical Storm Illeana. The tropical storm-related rainstorm dropped 1.3 inches on Durango and left just a little dusting of snow on the San Juans.
  — The Durango Herald
• Yes, a 32-year-old plays for CSU’s football team. Jordan Noyes, a father of three from England, is kicking for Colorado State — and he’s not even the oldest football player in the NCAA.
  — K99

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Littwin: Only Trump could blame violent rhetoric for assassination attempts while spewing … violent rhetoric.  Meanwhile, the role of assault-style weapons in the attempts on the former president’s life hardly gets a mention.
  — Mike Littwin 

COMMUNITY

• Draft of Forest Service’s policy is a good step, but it must go further to protect Colorado’s old-growth forests.  USFS needs a better nationwide strategy on what qualifies as old growth and more collaboration that includes Native American tribes
  — Dr. Peter M. Brown 

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.

SunLit

BOOKS

Park Hill Community Bookstore offers titles on wordsmithing, horror of war

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Park Hill Community Bookstore in Denver recommends:

• “Alpha Maniacs,” by Paul Fleischman, amazing tales about the power of words
• “At Night All Blood Is Black,” by David Diop, the story of a soldier’s descent into madness
• “Beirut Hellfire Society,” by Rawi Hage, a tragicomic meditation on living through war

Read what the bookstore staff had to say about each. Pick up a copy and support your local bookstores at the same time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

To bring out the fall Target birds or not to bring out, that is the question …

— Danika & the whole staff of The Sun

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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.