Dwindling perks for octogenarian skiers

Good morning, Colorado.

We’re now just a day away from SunFest 2024. If you haven’t already booked your ticket online, no worries! You can still join us at the door tomorrow at the University of Denver Josef Korbel School of International Studies. We hope to see you there for a great day of conversations about a better Colorado.

Learn more here.

Let’s get to today’s news.

Kevin Jeffers

Product Team

THE NEWS

OUTDOORS

Telluride ends discounted and free skiing for seniors, joining a long trend of reducing perks for skiers over 80

Telluride Ski & Golf earlier this month nixed its discounted season pass for seniors and its free season pass for skiers 80 and older, leaving only Purgatory and Sunlight as the last two ski areas in Colorado that offer free season passes to octogenarians, Jason Blevins writes.

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ELECTION 2024

Democrats are attacking Gabe Evans on abortion and same-sex marriage. Here’s what he says about those topics.

With a flood of spending and TV ads surrounding the race in Colorado’s highly competitive 8th Congressional District, where Republican Gabe Evans looks to unseat U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, Jesse Paul looks at Evans’ record on issues he is being attacked for, including abortion and same-sex marriage.

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ENVIRONMENT

Commerce City sustainability manager and supporters say she was fired for calling out Suncor

Rosemarie Russo says she was fired from her job as Commerce City’s sustainability manager after forwarding community protest notes to the Suncor refinery’s Canadian headquarters, angering oil company executives. Michael Booth explains.

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• Colorado had a shockingly normal year of precipitation — but drought is creeping back on the Front Range. As the official water year draws to a close Monday, precipitation registers at 102% of average. Jerd Smith has more.

MORE NEWS

• Colorado had the second highest number of job quitters in July. That’s according to the July Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tamara Chuang has more.
• Colorado Springs man sentenced to 7 months in prison for Jan. 6 riot. In a video posted online, Tyler Ethridge was heard saying, “We stormed the Capitol. This is amazing. I hope this doesn’t get me thrown in jail,” investigators said. Olivia Prentzel has more.

Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team

COLORADO REPORT

• Orange Vader wants to conquer the Broncos super-fandom. Sometimes you accidentally bring your Darth Vader costume with you to the football game. And on those occasions, you have to make do.
  — Denverite
• Surprise medical bill? Half of Coloradans aren’t confident they could fix one, survey finds. A similar share is uncertain they can figure out what they’ll owe for health care.
  — The Denver Post 🔑
• Gold King Mine spill compensation for residents and businesses at the center of Colorado senators’ new bill. The fallout from the Gold King Mine spill was devastating for tourism, farming and families not only in Colorado but also in New Mexico, Utah, the Southern Ute reservation and across the Navajo Nation.
  — CPR News
• 62-year-old Western Slope resident sets speed record on a motorized skateboard. Pioneer, El Jebel blacksmith and world-renowned stuntman Vaughn Shafer set a speed record in Grand Junction on a motorized skateboard. Official speed: 82.46 mph.
  — The Aspen Times

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Danika Worthington | Presentation Editor

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• BLM Colorado goes wireless to create a better experience for ranchers and public land users.  From virtual fencing to cellphone apps, the Bureau of Land Management is leaning into ways tech can help users navigate.
  — Doug Vilsack, the Bureau of Land Management’s Colorado state director since 2022

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.

What’s Happening

Sept. 26-Oct. 2

Tarantula Fest. If there are any arachnophobes in the audience, feel free to keep scrolling. This one is for the folks who aren’t creeped out by crawlies, who don’t suffer at the sight of spiders, who aren’t terrified of a tarantula or two —or 10.

Every year in early fall, thousands of male tarantulas emerge from their burrows in southeastern Colorado and set out in search of a mate. While some towns might shy away from this wildlife ritual, the town of La Junta has decided to celebrate it at their annual Tarantula Festival, which features a tarantula parade, an eight-legged race, expert talks, food trucks and more. The festival was started in 2022 as a way to draw visitors into town and to educate the public about the important role that tarantulas play in the Eastern Plains ecosystem.

Even though the spiders are the festival’s headliners, you won’t see many —if any — hanging around town. Instead, the spiders spend most of their time roaming the undisturbed prairies of the Comanche National Grassland near the border with Oklahoma. Day tours to the grasslands during the festival weekend are full, but you can take a self-guided trip and try to catch the spider spectacle until around November, or whenever the weather dives into single digits.

Free; Sept. 27-28; La Junta

• Silent Film Festival. An array of silent cinema over three days, including a collection of early silent shorts, like George Méliès’ classic “A Trip to the Moon,” and movie milestones like D.W. Griffith’s “Intolerance,” accompanied by live music. $75 full festival pass; Sept. 27-29; Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., Denver
• Muscle Cars and Scraper Takeover. A muscle car and scraper show at the Adams State campus in Alamosa. Car show runs from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., followed by a cruise to Zapata Park for an evening of live music, DJ sets and a performance by Salida Circus. Free; 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Sept. 28; Adams State University McDaniel Hall Parking Lot and Zapata Park, Alamosa
• Creeporado. Check out History Colorado’s creepiest collection of artifacts, make a Victorian hair wreath, listen to some authentic Colorado ghost stories and browse an evening market. $20; 7-10 p.m., Sept. 27; History Colorado Center, 1200 N. Broadway, Denver

Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter

See you at SunFest!

— Kevin & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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