Rural Colorado losing teachers to neighboring states

Plus: What to do this weekend, tariff roller coaster wearing on businesses, Trump’s “emergency” logging order, push back on wastewater regulations

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Apr 10, 2025 - 09:09
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Rural Colorado losing teachers to neighboring states
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Good morning, Colorado.

I left a window cracked open last night and woke up to the sounds of birds chirping this morning. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear the soothing tones of their sweet, sweet songs.

The soundtrack playing throughout most of my mornings and into each afternoon is often composed of much harsher instruments: constant dings from my phone alerting me of new texts, emails, Slack messages and social media chatter; the ferocious clacking of my keyboard as I furiously try to keep up with a source on the phone or begin pounding out a story; the ear-splitting siren of a passing ambulance or firetruck; and my own ugly groans as I struggle to piece together a sentence just the right way.

But lying in bed for just a minute and listening to these songbirds greet the day helped me start my Thursday on a much gentler note. They’re still chirping and, at this point, probably yelling at me to silence my phone and listen to them a little longer.

While I abide, let’s pull up the morning headlines, shall we?

BREAKING: Colorado oil and gas industry advocate Kathleen Sgamma withdraws from consideration to lead the Bureau of Land Management. The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources was set to discuss Sgamma’s nomination early Thursday when she withdrew.

Students walk up a new sidewalk at Vilas School in southeastern Colorado on Jan. 7, 2025. (Vilas School District RE-5 Facebook page)

For school districts in rural Colorado, higher wages on the Front Range aren’t the only reason they struggle to recruit and retain teachers. Many teachers could cross the border into New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma and find paychecks worth thousands of dollars more per year. Erica Breunlin breaks down the new Keystone Policy Center study.

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A sign at the World Trade Center Denver office says, “Keep Calm and Trade On.” (Provided by World Trade Center Denver)

The tariff announcements that sank global markets — before they rebounded as tariffs were paused yet again — are keeping local businesses stuck in limbo. Tamara Chuang has tips for keeping track of the state of tariffs plus how local businesses are adjusting their plans for the future.

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A Ponsse Bear 8-wheeler cut-to-length machine lifts a beetle-kill tree in the forest harvesting process on Sept. 24, 2021, at Monarch Pass near Poncha Springs. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

A pair of Trump administration edicts could have a big impact on Colorado’s public forests. An executive order declaring more than 100 million acres of national forest land “an emergency situation” that requires industrial logging to fix comes on the heels of a directive to expand American timber production by 25%. Tracy Ross reports on how wildfire management and environmental officials are reacting to the orders.

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The Weld County town of Ault has spent millions in the last decade to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant, but the work is already out of date as strict new standards and Colorado discharge permit requirements take effect. (Tri Duong, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Representatives from 64 towns attended a meeting organized by Akron Town Manager Gillian Laycock to discuss what wastewater managers say is a sudden and expensive shift to stricter environmental standards. But as Jerd Smith writes for Fresh Water News, the regulations have been a long time coming and lawmakers are trying to fast-track state support to help get them in compliance.

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The 2025 EATSS event will feature plates from four chefs who showcase Native foods through an “ingredient driven” approach, said Ben Jacobs, co-founder of Tocabe, an American Indian eatery. “Flavorwise, it’s very approachable, but everything is still unique,” Jacobs said. (Photo courtesy of the American Indian College Fund)

Denver EATSS. Ten years ago, less than 11% of Native people held college degrees. That number is up to 17%, according to NancyJo Houk, chief marketing officer for the American Indian College Fund.

“That’s some pretty amazing progress,” Houk said. “They start with pretty small dreams, like, ‘I just want to get through my first semester,’ you know? But we have a ton of scientists — agricultural scientists, students who work with NASA — their dreams just grow. And it starts with people acknowledging they are here.”

The American Indian College Fund is a national program headquartered in Denver that provides scholarships and programming for American Indian and Alaskan Natives to access higher education, and supports them throughout their college careers.

Houk and the fund are gearing up for their big, annual fundraiser event, Denver EATSS, this Friday and Saturday.

The event consists of a culinary showcase and a concert, and tickets can be purchased to one component or both.

“Bison, two different ways, if I can get my fingers on it, rabbit, multiple varieties of the three sisters — corn, beans, squash,” said Ben Jacobs, co-founder of Tocabe and one of the featured chefs. “We’re trying to provide a cultural experience through a culinary approach. What’s cool about working with other chefs is that everyone has their own take, their own creative approach.”

Jacobs, of the Osage Nation, will serve dishes alongside Paul Natrall of the Squamish Nation, Sherry Pocknett of the Mashpee Wampanoag, and Andean chef Andrea Condes.

Later in the evening, Nathaniel Rateliff is joined by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Raye Zaragoza, an Indigenous singer based in Los Angeles.

“It’s formal in the sense that people dress nice and get ready for a night out, but it’s not rigid at all, it’s just fun,” Jacobs said. Come ready to engage, he said, to talk, to look at art, to listen to music, to ask questions, and, of course, to eat.

“Something you should know,” Houk said. “Nobody will leave hungry.”

$55 and up; 5 p.m., April 11 and 12; Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1400 Curtis St., Denver

Well, now that you’re fully informed on everything you need to know to get your Thursday rolling, I hope you can take a minute to sit back and listen to the birds outside your own window. We’ll see you back here tomorrow!

— Erica & the whole staff of The Sun

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