Ski patrollers strike, Vail Resorts scrambles over holiday week

There’s a New Year’s tradition in many Japanese households of eating a warm bowl of ozoni — a soup made with pounded rice cakes called mochi — for the first meal of the year. It’s the one tradition that I’ve been most consistent with throughout my life. Even as a high schooler out partying, I’d keep tiny Tupperwares of mochi and broth with me so that wherever I woke up I could grab a saucepan, bring the soup to simmer, and scarf down my New Year meal.

Jan. 1 fell on a weekday this year, and in my current household that signals a different kind of ritual: booking it to the mountains to ski. I thought I’d have my (rice) cake and eat it, too, so I cooked the broth the night before, steamed a bunch of veggies and fish cakes, par-boiled some mochi, and threw the ingredients into separate containers.

The mochi hardened on the drive up, though, and by the time we got there wasn’t remotely cooked anymore. So I gnashed through a solid, starchy cake, sucked down some broth and called it good. I’m still counting it, and the wide open New Year’s Day runs were worth the blunder.

Happy 2025, everyone! Here’s the news.

Parker Yamasaki

Reporter

THE NEWS

OUTDOORS

Ski patrol strike disrupting holiday week at Park City may set tone for union talks ahead in Colorado

As holiday crowds gathered at the country’s largest ski area, its ski patrollers walked off the job. The Park City, Utah, patrollers filed four unfair labor cases against Vail Resorts over the course of December, before going on strike Dec. 27. Jason Blevins looks at what the strike could mean for Colorado’s newly unionized patrollers, while Vail Resorts scrambles to do damage control.

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WATER

Critical water quality permits designed to protect streams remain backlogged, but numbers are improving

Wastewater permits are an important safeguard for Colorado’s rivers and streams, preventing factories and treatment facilities from dumping pollutants into the water. But over the past couple of years, those permits have been expiring faster than authorities can keep up with them. Jerd Smith of Fresh Water News takes a closer look at the issue.

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AGRICULTURE

Rural Colorado communities still lack adequate behavioral health services. A new state-sponsored group will help.

A new group under the Colorado Department of Agriculture focuses on the mental and behavioral health struggles that Colorado’s agricultural community faces. The Ag Behavioral Work Group, composed of 14 experts in agriculture and mental and behavioral health, will work with a rural communities liaison and meet monthly to address service gaps and stigmas. Tracy Ross has the details.

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• Grand County wolf was shot, say federal authorities who are looking for its killer. The male wolf was captured in late August for feeding on livestock, and died four days later due to a gunshot wound on its hind leg. Jennifer Brown has more.

MORE NEWS

• Fact Brief ☀️Does Colorado require adults in the backseat to wear seatbelts? New seatbelt laws that went into effect Jan. 1 are stirring up conversations about who is legally required to buckle up. Por Jaijongkit sorts it out.
• Fired Jefferson County Schools executive found dead in Maryland. The former chief of staff for Jefferson County Schools was fired on Dec. 19, 2024, and was being investigated for possession of child pornography materials, Colorado Community Media reports.
• Colorado Springs Army sergeant found dead inside Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas, authorities confirm. The master sergeant was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and a number of explosives in the rented truck, which caught fire outside of a Trump hotel. Olivia Prentzel has more.

Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Colorado inmates to monitor plates on toll roads. E-470 will use Colorado prison inmates as outsourced labor to manually review more than 73 million images of license plates captured by automated ticketing cameras every year.
  — Denver7
• Teen boy injured after falling into missile silo near Watkins. A teenager was injured after falling 30 feet into a decommissioned missile silo north of Watkins on New Year’s Day, according to South Metro Fire Rescue officials.
  — The Denver Post ????
• Vail Resorts asks California Supreme Court to overturn settlement in case involving labor malpractice accusations in 16 states. A sticky, wide-ranging labor malpractice case spread across Vail Resorts’ American footprint could be back in court, where plaintiffs in a similar Colorado case are arguing that the class-action case should be handled by federal court in Denver.
  — Vail Daily
• Meet 5280’s new CEO and publisher, Charity Huff. Congrats to Huff, who has been a longtime supporter of The Sun, for taking 5280 into the future.
  — 5280

???? = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team

THE OPINION PAGE

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” on a trip to the comics store, Ossie learns some disappointing history about Captain Marvel, but still leans into the character.

CARTOON

Jim Morrissey imagines Colorado Gov. Jared Polis perhaps having second thoughts about his support for anti-vaxxer RFK Jr.

CARTOON

Drew Litton illustrates how, after being tripped up twice on the road to their first NFL playoff spot in a decade, the Denver Broncos face one last hurdle. And a big one.

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, a bit of Colorado history, 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:

• Digging up the history of a trilogy. Sun literary editor Kevin Simpson chats with Colorado geologist-turned-author Jeff Lelek about the latest book in his trilogy, “Sinai Surrender,” and how he based it in part on his past experiences roaming the world.
  LISTEN
• It was a wild year in the Colorado outdoors. The outdoors industry has topped the $1 trillion mark in impact to the U.S. economy, and outdoors reporter Jason Blevins reviews some of the top stories that shaped the trade and what to watch for this year.
  LISTEN
• Highs and lows of Colorado’s biz and tech worlds. Megamerger gets squashed, new Colorado laws go after AI, Denver restaurants struggling to survive. These were just some of the storylines for Sun business and tech reporter Tamara Chuang in 2024.
  LISTEN
• Heads up for the year ahead in climate and health news. There are going to be some big battles when the Colorado legislature returns next week, and Sun reporters John Ingold and Michael Booth break down those in the health and environment spheres.
  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

I actually prefer to eat mochi crisped and puffed in the toaster oven, then dipped in sugar and soy sauce. Give it a try.

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

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