Colorado could raise age limit to buy bullets

Good morning, Colorado.

I recently jumped into the world of watercolor painting, signing up for a color theory and watercolor technique class at a local art center. It turns out to be the perfect remedy to quiet my racing thoughts after a long work day and focus on how the water pulls the pigment across the paper. It’s also good practice in accepting that my “art” at the end of class will consist of a few brown blobs. They say practice makes perfect, right?

One of my favorite Colorado Sun stories in today’s lineup, by Nancy Lofholm, is also centered on a group of people taking a pause from everyday life and doing something because it is “just fun.” Even if these Colorado ice anglers — who are competing for $10,000 in prize money — don’t catch a single fish, sometimes the reward exists in simply being out on the lake doing something they love.

Let’s get reading.

Olivia Prentzel

Reporter

THE NEWS

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Colorado is on track to raise the minimum age to buy firearm ammunition to 21

House Bill 1133, introduced last week by Colorado Democrats, would raise the age to buy ammunition and require that retailers keep bullets in an enclosed display or behind a counter. Jesse Paul digs into the bill and how it intersects with the state’s other gun regulations.

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• Colorado public media outlets express concern at Trump’s FCC investigation threat. Trump-appointed FCC chair Brendan Carr sent a letter to the heads of NPR and PBS notifying them that the agency’s Enforcement Bureau is investigating the programming of their roughly 1,500 member stations for allegedly running commercial advertisements. Reporter Robert Davis talked to First Amendment lawyers and public media officials to get a sense of what this could mean.

OUTDOORS

Colorado ice anglers vie for cash — and help control fish population — at Blue Mesa Lake Trout Tournament

Let’s say that you’ve got a big, beautiful lake, with some tiny, beautiful kokanee salmon fry you’d like to protect from being eaten by a big, not-so-beautiful population of lake trout. If you thought, “We should get local ice fishing enthusiasts to compete for a cash prize by catching the trout,” congratulations, you’re already on the same page as Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Read Nancy Lofholm’s fish tale for more on the science behind the tournament (and the cash prizes at stake).

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TRANSPORTATION

Does Colorado love the Winter Park ski train enough to support a rail line to Steamboat?

Those are just a few of the stats that our own Jennifer Brown compiled during her first trip on the Winter Park Ski Train. If you’ve been ski train-curious, dig into this report — especially as momentum is picking up to create a route that could whisk snow hounds from Denver to Steamboat.

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CLIMATE

Self-service emissions kiosks coming to the Front Range in 2026

Next year, checking your own emissions will be easier than ever. Parker Yamasaki reports on the revisions to rules by the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division, including stricter heavy-duty and diesel testing requirements that the division hopes offsets some of the shortcomings of the more convenient kiosks.

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BUSINESS

King Soopers workers to start 14-day strike starting Thursday

Workers at 77 Front Range King Soopers stores are set to walk out Thursday to begin a two-week strike after the union rejected management’s “last, best and final” offer, which included some pay raises, but not the across-the-board changes about staffing shortages and security workers are demanding. Tamara Chuang has more, including which other areas could see strike actions soon.

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Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Rep. Crow: Buckley Base won’t be used to house immigrants for deportation. “I have been told that it will not be used to house immigrants and detainees,” Crow said Monday. “It will only be used as a staging location for law enforcement and a coordination center for ongoing operations.”
  — Sentinel Colorado
• What happens if ICE comes to Pueblo? Attorney offers guidance on constitutional rights. “We’ve had an election, the people have spoken,” Pueblo native and attorney Fred Galves told The Chieftain. “I certainly respect that as a lawyer, but as a lawyer and as someone who cares about justice, I want to make sure that the laws are actually upheld.”
  — The Pueblo Chieftain
• Hidetora Hanada, sumo wrestler turned CSU Rams lineman, receives NIL offer from WWE. Hanada posted on Instagram that he received an offer from the pro wrestling company’s NIL program, launched in 2021 with the intention “to recruit and develop potential future Superstars,” according to the WWE.
  — The Denver Post
• Denver NWSL team reports record-breaking season ticket demand. Denver’s NWSL team does not have a name, colors or identity yet, but it’s already selling out faster than any other franchise.
  — Denver Business Journal
• Denver Roller Derby keeps sport thriving 20 years on. Seeing this excellent profile of the Denver Roller Derby organization is also serving as an uncomfortable reminder of the passing of time as I realize one of my first journalism assignments in the city was covering the DRD’s second season back in 2006.
  — Washington Park Profile

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• As Colorado legislators eye budget cuts, behavioral health reforms must remain a priority. We cannot give up hope and should continue to implement solutions that require little resources.
  — Summer Gathercole, former deputy commissioner of the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration

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

REVIEW

Trouble tracks twin sisters in opening to “The Killer Without a Face”

When a cop shows up at Dani Calderwood’s door, she quickly understands that her twin sister is in trouble again. In Helen Starbuck’s thriller “The Killer Without a Face,” Dani inevitably gets sucked into the vortex of her sister’s murder and finds herself pursued by both the police and the killer who thinks she can identify him. That sends her into hiding in a small mountain town, where she finds danger — and maybe a tinge of romance.

READ AN EXCERPT

• Interview with the author. The excerpt offers some backstory to the difficult relationship between Dani and her sister, Hannah. As Starbuck explains, that relationship, and how the characters respond to the challenges it presents, form the bedrock of her novel.

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

Thanks for joining us this morning and hope to catch you back here soon.

— Olivia & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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