Tiny Colorado town getting the lead out

Ghoul morning, Colorado, and Happy Halloween!

How would you like a tortured metaphor linking spooky season to the election? Well, lucky for you, I got nothing. After a month of nightly scary-movie watching, poll-watching and doom-scrolling, I’m kind of just ready for October to end and Tuesday to get here.

We’re almost there. If you’ve been waiting for the calendar to flip to become more acquainted with your ballot, here’s another reminder to check out our Voter Guide.

Let’s turn to today’s news.

Kevin Jeffers

Product Team

THE NEWS

ENVIRONMENT

Oil company agrees to clean up historic lead contamination in settlement with small Colorado mining town

The town of Rico, a former silver mining camp 35 miles from Telluride that’s now home to about 280 people, will be the beneficiary of a complex deal with Atlantic Richfield Co., now a subsidiary of BP America, that promises to finish digging lead-contaminated soil from yards and paving over lead-tainted roadways over the next few years. Michael Booth has the details.

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• The Temperature ☀️ Denver Health cuts the gas. Plus: ♫ How much is that chest X-ray in the window? ♫ ????

WATER

What’s behind dirty snow? Researchers seek solutions for Colorado’s dust problems.

Each year, storms pick up dust from across the Southwest and drop it on Colorado’s mountain snowpack, where it influences how the snow melts and impacts water supplies, forecasts, ecosystems and more. It’s an issue being tackled by a new collaborative of 21 experts, who this week shared their thoughts and suggestions. Shannon Mullane has more.

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• As voters are set to decide if Colorado keeps more sports betting revenue, tribes are suing to keep their share. Proposition JJ would remove a cap on revenue the state can collect from online sports betting. A federal lawsuit aims to maintain tribal nations’ tax exemption if passed. Jerd Smith explains.

BUSINESS

Techstars returns to Boulder after its departure fractured the entrepreneur community — but it won’t look the same

The tech business accelerator Techstars — which made waves in the local entrepreneurial community earlier this year when it left its hometown of Boulder — is relaunching where it began. But things will be different this time around. Tamara Chuang explains how.

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MORE NEWS

• Mandatory evacuations lifted for Teller County residents as crews reach 80% containment of human-caused wildfire. Officials say the Highland Lakes fire, which grew to 166 acres in Divide, was human-caused and are investigating it as a potential crime, writes Olivia Prentzel.

Section by Kevin Jeffers | Product Team

COLORADO REPORT

• Wait, NFL players eat how many Uncrustables? The Denver Broncos lead the league with 700 Uncrustables consumed a week. The next closest was the Seattle Seahawks with a measly 320 a week.
  — The Athletic ????, Denver Business Journal ????
• Undercover video from Denver slaughterhouse: What experts say. An animal behavior expert says there’s nothing illegal in footage from a Denver slaughterhouse while Ballot Measure 309 proponents call for criminal charges.
  — Denverite
• University of Colorado professor explains why horror movie fans keep coming back for gore. As most of Hollywood continues to reckon with the streaming industry and shifting interest in theatergoing, the horror genre is one studios can generally count on to make them money at the box office.
  — CPR News
• Avs deal with another injury as team’s leading scorer Ross Colton sidelined by a broken foot. The injuries continue to pile up for the Avalanche.
  — The Associated Press

???? = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Danika Worthington | Presentation Editor

THE OPINION PAGE

COMMUNITY

• Denver Film Festival features 188 movies — many wonderful, fascinating and eccentric.  Some of the films have little commercial potential, but are thoroughly worth seeing, film critic Howie Movshovitz writes
  — Howie Movshovitz, who teaches film in the College of Arts & Media at the University of Colorado Denver, and is a film critic at KUNC

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.

What’s Happening

Oct. 31-Nov. 6

Día de los Muertos. Día de los Muertos has long been an important celebration in Mexico, and has made its way into American culture through the Latin American diaspora. Its origins are pinned to the Indigenous Mexican and Aztec tradition of memorializing the dead during two months of summer, but during Spanish rule, the Catholic calendar was introduced, and the Indigenous celebration was synced up with the Catholic All Souls’ Day, which falls on Nov. 2.

You can find Día de los Muertos celebrations throughout the state, marked by their bright and festive emblems: the sugar skulls, the marigolds and the richly decorated ofrendas, or altars packed with offerings to the deceased.

In metro Denver, attend the three-day street festival Muertos en Westwood, enjoy a community procession and ballet folklórico at Museo de las Americas, or check out a new art exhibit and block party in the 40 West Arts District in Lakewood.

In Pueblo, the Latino Chamber of Commerce will host the first costume parade along the riverwalk, and the El Pueblo History Museum will host sugar skull decorating, performances and a community ofrenda. And in the Roaring Fork Valley, don’t miss the Carbondale Arts festival on Friday, then stop by the Aspen Art Museum for family-friendly activities on Sunday afternoon.

Free; Nov. 1-3; Various locations

• El Cuco Fest. The inaugural El Cuco Fest hosted by Flamboyán Theater at its new home in the 40 West Arts District. Enjoy a family-friendly art market, costume parade and storytime featuring the most haunting figures in Latin American folklore. At 8 p.m. an R-rated independent film, “House of Waltz,” makes its Colorado debut. Free to attend festival, $15 film screening; 6-10 p.m., Oct. 31; The Three Leaches Theater, 1560 Teller St., Lakewood
• Denver Film Festival. The Denver Film Festival is back with another deep lineup of award-winning, indie and international films that may only be around Denver for the next 10 days. Full festival passes and multi-show packages are mostly sold out, but you can still buy tickets to individual shows if something catches your eye. $17 single films; Nov. 1-10; Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., Denver
• Scribing and Vibing. A literary adventure through downtown Alamosa. Pick up your map at 5 p.m. at Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative, then scour the town for writing prompts and riddle clues. Local authors will be on site to help with your hunt. Free; 5 p.m., Nov. 1; Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative, 602 Main St., Alamosa

Section by Parker Yamasaki | Reporter

Eat, drink and be scary.

— Kevin & the whole staff of The Sun

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