Coal plants still closing, despite Trump

Good morning, Colorado!

After a week of traveling outside the country in a warm, sunny place, it felt like a gift to come home to 75 degrees in Colorado. I started to daydream about hiking on trails in shorts and a T-shirt … until I saw snow in the forecast later this week. It’s springtime in Colorado, so it’s no surprise really. I’ll just go back to daydreaming about backpacking and camping for just a little while longer.

We’ve got a few more warm days before temperatures drop (along the Front Range anyway). Before you start searching for your hat and gloves, let’s get to the day’s news.

Olivia Prentzel

Reporter

THE NEWS

ENERGY

Coal-fired power plant in northwestern Colorado still set for 2028 closure despite Trump administration orders

The three coal-fired units at Craig Station are still scheduled to be shut down, despite President Donald Trump’s executive order to expand the production of “beautiful clean coal” — and as Mark Jaffe reports, the driving force behind the shutdown is economics, not politics.

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TECHNOLOGY

Colorado won’t become latest state requiring porn sites to verify their users’ age after lawmakers abandon bill

After privacy advocates pushed back — and the governor indicated he may veto the bill as written — the legislation that would have required pornographic websites to verify the ages of users through government-issued ID or an AI examination of live photos has been abandoned by its sponsors, Jesse Paul writes.

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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Democrat Yadira Caraveo will try to win back Colorado’s 8th Congressional District in 2026

After narrowly losing her seat to Rep. Gabe Evans during last year’s general election, pediatrician Caraveo has officially announced that she’s running again. But as Jesse Paul reports, she has competition in the Democratic primary before a rematch could be set.

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• Jeff Bridges, a top state lawmaker, is running to be Colorado’s next treasurer. Bridges, the chair of the powerful Joint Budget Committee, was first elected to the legislature as a state representative in 2016.
• Republican Greg Lopez is running for a third straight time to be Colorado’s governor. Earlier this year, Lopez finished a short-term stint as a member of Congress after being chosen in a 2024 special election to finish the rest of GOP Rep. Ken Buck’s term in the Republican-stronghold 4th Congressional District.

TECHNOLOGY

Colorado doubles down on quantum technology despite federal funding questions

Colorado officials celebrated World Quantum Day (which is on 4/14 in honor of the Planck constant) in Boulder by unveiling a package of lesson plans and blueprints designed to help build a “quantum workforce.” And as Tamara Chuang reports, the city’s top quantum companies are optimistic about the future, despite questions over the Trump administration’s commitment to the field.

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MORE NEWS

• Former Clear Creek deputy charged in Christian Glass’ death gets maximum sentence of 3 years in prison. “In my mind, this is about the homicide. That is, and always what this has been about, is that Mr. Buen killed Christian Glass and that deserves punishment. There is no question in my mind that that is appropriate,” Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Catherine Cheroutes said before the sentencing.
• Colorado Parks and Wildlife settles with hunting groups that sued claiming commissioners violated open meetings rules. The lawsuit, brought by two hunter advocacy groups, claimed CPW commissioners talked in secret to spread “falsehoods” through an op-ed opposing mountain lion hunting.
• Colorado funeral home owner who left corpse in hearse for over a year pleads guilty. Miles Harford faced a dozen counts, including four counts of abuse of a corpse, which prosecutors described as treating bodies or remains “in a way that would outrage normal family sensibilities.”

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• This company’s surveillance tech makes immigrants “easy pickings” for Trump. The private company that operates the ICE detention center in Aurora — The GEO Group — has been building a side business of apps, ankle monitors and other surveillance equipment that is tracking more than 180,000 people and helping the Trump administration target people living all over the country.
  — New York Times ????
• Pot stolen from state patrol recovered in Denver. Surveillance footage from the brazen break-in led investigators to a stolen Chevy Silverado, which in turn led them to a home in Denver where around 75% of the stolen cannabis was recovered.
  — The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
• Dialysis firm DaVita hit by ransomware attack, says patient care continues. DaVita said Monday it was hit by a ransomware attack that encrypted certain elements of its network, and some of its operations remained disrupted despite interim measures.
  — Reuters
• Skier injured after sliding about 1,100 feet in avalanche at Sky Chutes in Summit County. The skier triggered a wet slab avalanche on the Sky Chutes, a line of paths located on the opposite side of the mountain from Breckenridge Ski Resort that is visible across the highway from Copper Mountain.
  — Summit Daily

???? = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• Funding freeze in Colorado child care assistance program is opportunity for state to recommit, reimagine system. With federal and state support drying up, long-term public investment in child care is what will help fuel Colorado’s overall economy.
  — Steffanie Clothier (Gary Community Ventures), Laura Carlson (Buell Foundation), Sue Renner (David and Laura Merage Foundation)

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

“True Crime Redux”: Coming to terms with a murder in the family

Stephanie Kane was a college student at CU in 1973, about to get married, when her fiancé’s mother was brutally murdered. She was haunted by the crime for years, and eventually wrote a fictionalized account called “Quiet Time,” which triggered a reopening of the real-life cold case. “True Crime Redux” recounts how that case played out, both legally and personally, with Kane and her fictional work coming under close examination.

READ AN EXCERPT

• Interview with the author. Kane eventually became a criminal defense attorney, but it was her involvement in the murder case that, over the years, pointed her toward becoming an author.
• Listen to a podcast with Stephanie Kane.

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

Thanks for reading on this sunny day! Catch you back here tomorrow.

— Olivia & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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