It’s feast or famine for Colorado snowpack

Good morning, Sunriser readers! The skies are dark and the wind is whipping through the streets around my house right now, bending trees and blowing over trash cans. I like this stage of a storm, when all signs point to sheets of snow but they haven’t quite arrived.

News has been burning hot and fast around here lately, so the literal cool-down outside feels like a welcome chance to tuck in and catch up on some of our state’s longer running threads, like wolf reintroduction.

We’re in our second year of the program now with an estimated 29 gray wolves roaming about Colorado. Last night The Sun’s rural reporter Tracy Ross sat down with Eric Odell and Brenna Cassidy from Colorado Parks and Wildlife to get a better understanding of where we are now with the wolves — and to ask a few reader-submitted questions. You can watch the recording here.

Hold on to your hats, we’ve got a lot of news for you today.

Parker Yamasaki

Reporter

THE NEWS

WATER

Colorado is split into snowpack haves and have-nots, drought report shows

It’s a great time to ski in the northern mountain ranges of Colorado, Olivia Prentzel writes. But heading south, the La Niña winter and some of the warmest winter temperatures recorded are raising the alarm about drought.

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• Arizona lawmakers seek do-over for $5B tribal water settlement after failed 2024 effort. In an effort to address the concerns from Upper Basin states like Colorado, lawmakers in Arizona have proposed a water settlement that would resolve water rights claims for three tribes, establish a reservation and secure water for thousands.

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

608 federal workers have filed for unemployment in Colorado — so far — as Trump cuts continue

Colorado’s Department of Labor and Employment has been preparing for this moment. Tamara Chuang reports that the first wave of federal workers who were fired by the Trump administration has started applying for benefits, but officials expect that number to steadily increase.

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• Senate Democrats — including Colorado’s John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet — refuse to go along with GOP spending plan. Democrats are pushing a stopgap 30-day funding bill as an alternative. But its prospects are dim in the Congress controlled by Republicans.

OUTDOORS

Durango’s Purgatory ski area cuts expenses, sends seasonal workers home as it tries to close $900K hole

Lift mechanics working at the restaurant. Managers parking cars. These are just a few of the ways the staff at Purgatory Resort are stretching as owner James Coleman tries to cut around $14,000 per day in expenses to satisfy a loan refinancing plan. Jason Blevins digs deep into Purgatory’s past, present and future.

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EDUCATION

Colorado School of Mines dangles “golden ticket” of guaranteed admission for Jeffco STEM students

This year’s high school juniors in Jeffco Public Schools have a chance to jump directly into a Colorado School of Mines bachelor of science program when they graduate, Olivia Prentzel reports — as long as they secure at least a 3.8 GPA and follow a STEM-endorsed program.

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EDUCATION

Colorado charters could open without school board approval in low-performing areas under proposal

Colorado Senate President James Coleman, D-Denver, proposed a bill that would, among other reforms, allow a charter school to open in an underperforming area with no input from the local school board. While Gov. Jared Polis has indicated his support, advocates say the move would further destabilize the public school system, Erica Breunlin reports.

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MORE NEWS

• Quickly growing Meridian fire prompts evacuations in Colorado Springs. The Meridian fire sparked 1 p.m. east of the Colorado Springs airport before growing 4,000 acres by 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
• Black Hills Energy allowed to raise electric bills by $17M for 309,000 southern Colorado customers. Colorado regulators slashed Black Hills Energy’s rate request as consumer advocates argued the utility should have received no increase at all.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Did an airport contamination lawsuit create a thriving Denver wildlife refuge? Yes. A legal settlement over contamination at the former Stapleton Airport led to the creation of the Bluff Lake Natural Area.
• Passengers evacuate on slides after American Airlines plane catches fire at Denver airport. An airport spokesperson told multiple news outlets that the plane was at gate C38 when the fire started Thursday afternoon.

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Navigation center for unhoused in Englewood to open in April. On one side of the 13,150-square-foot facility will be the Ready-to-Work program of Bridge House, a Boulder-based nonprofit that provides services for up to 49 adults experiencing homelessness. On the other side of the building will be the Tri-Cities Homelessness Navigation Center, and it will contain 20 beds.
  
  — Colorado Community Media
• After decades of chaos and coffins, Nederland locals say Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival was “a gift and a curse” The festival that made Nederland famous has found a new home in Estes Park.
  — Colorado Public Radio
• Bustang driver injured in rollover crash on state highway in San Miguel County. The Bustang was traveling westbound on Colorado 62 when it drifted off the right side of the road while navigating a curve, went partially up the embankment off the road and rolled onto its left side.
  — The Denver Post

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Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Steven Harrington is fighting his murder conviction. DNA evidence once again proved his guilt. The Marshall Project and others championed Steven Harrington’s case. But sometimes, in our criminal courts, truth and justice still prevail.
  — Craig Silverman
  

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” Myra lays out the way men have allied with women over generations, until now it’s — finally — no longer all in the family.

CARTOON

Jim Morrissey illustrates how, as the St. Patrick’s Day holiday approaches, you may find a leprechaun guarding a different sort of pot o’ gold.

CARTOON

Drew Litton notes that while we’ve come to expect the ridiculous stats Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic puts up on a regular basis, last week’s performance against Phoenix marked an NBA first.

CARTOON

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.

Podcast Playlist

CONVERSATION

Each weekday The Daily Sun-Up podcast brings you a thoughtful conversation and headlines of the day. We keep it tight so you can listen on the go, or stack up a few and tune in at your leisure. Download the Sun-Up for free on your favorite podcasting app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or RSS to plug into your app. Check out this week’s lineup from The Sun team:

• Cross-pollination of a mysterious kind. Award-winning Colorado author Barbara Nickless talks with the SunLit editor Kevin Simpson about “Play of Shadows.” The third in a series, The mystery novel melds Greek mythology and international politics.
  LISTEN
• The Colorado fallout from state, federal cuts. Sun reporters John Ingold and Parker Yamasaki talk about the local impacts of these latest budget cuts — including to one Colorado program that runs what has been described as a ferret bootcamp.
  LISTEN
• Can’t get enough Colorado ski season chatter. Spring break crowds are here, and as you try to navigate the crowds, Sun outdoors reporter Jason Blevins has insight on a return to the old ways at Arapahoe Basin, early peek at 2025-26 ski passes and more.
  LISTEN
• Colorado companies trying to navigate ever-changing tariffs. Mexico and Canada are where we buy and sell a lot of stuff. As the president changes gears on tariffs, Sun business reporter Tamara Chuang has more from the small business perspective.
  LISTEN
• Turning a Winter Park ski accident into inspiration. Rachel Walker broke her neck in 2023. But the Boulder author tells Sun reporter Tracy Ross her new memoir chronicles her recovery, which has brought her back to skiing the lines she always loved.
  LISTEN

????️ Remember, you can ask Siri, Alexa or Google to “play the Daily Sun-Up podcast” and we’ll play right on your smart speaker. As always we appreciate your feedback and comments at podcast@coloradosun.com.

Section by David Krause | Editor

Whew, you made it! Enjoy the weekend and we’ll see you back here Monday.

— Parker & 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.