The ripple effect of Bennet’s run for governor 

Good morning, Sunriser readers! Earlier this week I spoke with a dancer who knows the exact moment she decided to become a ballerina. She was just a few years old, sitting in her living room in a tiny Montana town, watching a performance of “Romeo and Juliet” on PBS. She can still feel the touch of the couch and the way her feet tingled, she told me. Now she’s one of the principal dancers at Colorado Ballet.

Like the dancer, I can actually pinpoint the moment that I decided I wanted to be a journalist, sitting in an echoey science building on my university campus, unable to peel my eyes away from some bootleg website where dozens of old magazine articles had been copied and pasted onto a white background.

Sometimes these things happen slowly, sometimes they hit you all at once.

That’s why I’m super excited to participate in this year’s Rise and Shine program, a free, daylong workshop for high school students who want to learn more about journalism as a career path. They’ll hear from journalists who work in a variety of mediums — print, online, audio, photo, TV — and who report all over the state. Prior experience is not required, just a curiosity about the industry. Who knows where it could lead? Applications close on April 25.

But enough about me, how is Colorado doing?

Parker Yamasaki

Reporter

P.S. We’re proud to give back to our state in many ways, and that’s made possible by our members and donors. If you haven’t joined The Sun community yet, now is the time.

THE NEWS

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Michael Bennet’s campaign for Colorado governor has officially begun. So has the power struggle to fill his Senate seat.

Michael Bennet’s Senate term isn’t over until January 2029. But as he throws his hat into the ring to become Colorado’s next governor — joining Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in the race — Jesse Paul examines the jockeying already happening, as a Bennet victory would allow him to choose his Senate replacement.

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STATE LEGISLATURE

Colorado’s housing needs are colliding with water scarcity. Here’s what lawmakers are doing about it.

Tapping into a water system can cost developers tens of thousands of dollars, which is too high to keep some housing projects affordable. Shannon Mullane looks at how House Bill 1211 aims to rein in the fees to keep construction of new units going.

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• Gov. Polis signs bill banning manufacture, drastically limiting sale of many semiautomatic guns. After weeks of debate and several significant changes, the gun bill put forward by Democratic lawmakers is now law. Starting in August 2026, the manufacture, sale and purchase of certain semiautomatic firearms that can accept detachable ammunition magazines will be outlawed in Colorado.
• Polis signs bill halting expansion of hard liquor sales in grocery and big-box stores. Senate Bill 33 was brought as a way to protect small businesses that sell alcohol from further economic decline following the expansion of beer and wine sales in grocery stores. Supporters worried Gov. Jared Polis would veto it.

WILDFIRE

Colorado counties take control of wildfire protection as DOGE slices federal funding

Years before Donald Trump and Elon Musk started slashing funding for public lands management, Chaffee County commissioners began work to take control of their own wildfire response destiny. Now, as Tracy Ross reports, the efforts have become models for other counties dealing with uncertain — and often scarce — funding.

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• For a world class ski town, Aspen has a “quite high” risk of burnover. This is a good explainer of how communities on the wildland urban interface can end up at higher risk for fast-moving, destructive and unpredictable fires.
  — The Aspen Times

COLORADANS

The Aspen Divas, carving out a niche since 1998, are more downhill than Dior

You may not have heard of synchronized skiing, but that’s not stopping the latest generation of the Aspen Divas from carving their way through another season. Photojournalist Kelsey Brunner has the story — and the smiles — from the slopes.

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MORE NEWS

• Support for Trump among Colorado Republicans remains overwhelming, even if they’re uneasy about economy. A recent poll revealed that 87% of registered GOP voters in Colorado had a favorable opinion of Trump at the end of March, though 61% felt the current state of the economy was fair or poor.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Are most Colorado gun deaths ruled suicides? Yes. Roughly 71% of Colorado’s 1,012 firearm deaths in 2023 were suicides, up 4 percentage points from a year earlier, health data shows.

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Western Michigan hockey headed to title game after beating defending champs University of Denver in double overtime. This is the one time that Colorado sports fans do not want to hear about a thrilling Broncos victory. Cheers to another great season, Pios.
  — Detroit Free Press
• Denver has the largest free Lime Ride program in the world. It will soon be scaled back. Chalk this up to the “things I only learned about as they were being taken away,” but Denver currently has the largest program that allows users to ride the scooters for free if they receive subsidies like SNAP or Medicaid — and those rides accounted for 45% of all rides last year.
  — Westword
• How the relationship with USA Boxing packs an economic punch for Pueblo. As the USA Boxing International Open kicks off, this is a fun little walk through Pueblo’s pugilistic past.
  — The Pueblo Chieftain
• Denver metro’s housing market faces “price stagnation” with almost 10,000 homes for sale. Homes are sitting on the market for far longer than in past years, but the final prices paid aren’t dropping yet.
  — Denverite
• People experiencing homelessness can sleep in their cars in this wealthy ski town in Colorado, but only if they have a job. The headline kind of says it all, but this is a fascinating look at what life serving the vacationers in Frisco looks like when you can only afford to live in a car.
  — New York Times
• Judge finds Newsmax aired false and defamatory claims about voting-tech company. A Delaware judge finds the right-wing network aired false and defamatory statements about Denver’s Dominion Voting Systems’ role in the 2020 presidential election. A jury trial is slated for late April.
  — Colorado Public Radio

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Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” Ossie wonders why the White House correspondents group pulled its invitation to comic Amber Ruffin for fear she’d do … Amber Ruffin things.

CARTOON

Jim Morrissey lends his artist’s eye to the Trump portrait controversy at the state Capitol.

CARTOON

Drew Litton shows how in one brutal stroke the recent NBA champion Denver Nuggets fired their coach and GM. But is more housecleaning needed?

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 bit of Colorado history, headlines and a thoughtful conversation. We keep it tight so you can quickly listen, or stack up a few and tune in at your leisure. You can download the Sun-Up for free in your favorite podcasting app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts or RSS to plug into your app.

• Crested Butte’s post office headaches. Jason Blevins got into the impending mess that could leave residents driving 40 miles just to get their mail.
  LISTEN
• Republicans and Democrats in Colorado are all looking to new leaders. In this episode of the Purplish podcast, Jesse Paul talks to Colorado Public Radio about who is stepping up to lead as both parties deal with major changes.
  LISTEN
• Art vs. climate change, consumerism. How can art stand up to something as huge and looming as climate change? Tracy Ross talks to installation artist Jessica Moon on how her works dovetail with advocacy.
  LISTEN
• Putting the truth in true crime. Kevin Simpson talks with Stephanie Kane, the author of a memoir, “True Crime Redux,” built around a cold case murder that was revived by her previously published, fictionalized account.
  LISTEN

????️ Also, remember to ask your favorite smart device to “play the Daily Sun-Up podcast” and we’ll be on the speaker. As always we appreciate your feedback and comments at podcast@coloradosun.com.

See you back here Monday!

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

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Corrections & Clarifications

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