I did something over the weekend that my mom told me never to do and I haven’t done in a couple of decades. Hitchhike! But rules don’t always apply in the Colorado mountains, especially when the road is unexpectedly washed out 3 miles from the trailhead and a nice Buena Vista local offers you a spot in the back of his pickup.
It was a nice reminder that sometimes you’ve got to go with the flow, that people are generous, and that not everyone willing to pick up someone with their thumb out is a serial killer!
We’ve got news to share today on clean energy, future immigration centers and Colorado’s most-beloved fleece hoodies.
Jennifer Brown
Reporter
THE NEWS
OUTDOORS
Melanzana mystique: A peek into the rulebreaking business strategy of Leadville’s fleece factory
Fritz Howard founded Melanzana in Leadville in 1994. He now has about 115 employees and a new factory in Alamosa. (Gabe Rovick, Special to The Colorado Sun)People wait months for an appointment to buy Melanzana hoodies at the company’s Leadville shop, where no one can purchase more than two items per visit. The company does not advertise, deploy Instagrammers or sell its coveted hoodies online. Its founder, Fritz Howard, tells Jason Blevins that all that was not to build buzz or a sense of exclusivity.
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IMMIGRATION
Colorado towns are in the dark about whether ICE will reopen private prisons in their communities
Huerfano County Correctional Center. (Jeffrey Beal via Wikimedia Commons)Local officials know very little about possible plans by private prison companies to reopen closed prisons as immigration centers. Records obtained by the ACLU revealed that shuttered prisons in Walsenburg, Colorado Springs, Hudson and La Junta are possible sites to detain immigrants. Local officials who talked to Taylor Dolven said the companies might not need local approval to open them, but they would need local resources to operate them.
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OUTDOORS
What I learned from my first pack burro race, Colorado’s only indigenous sport
Colorado Sun reporter Olivia Prentzel races with her teammate Indi on July 20 during Victor’s annual pack burro race. The 7.3-mile course included more than 1,100 vertical feet of climbing on rough trails. (Photo provided by Ellen Ritt, Pack Burro Racing Photographers)Do not miss this fun, firsthand account of Olivia Prentzel being dragged over steep mountain trails, or being pulled, by a burro for 7.3 miles. “Terrifying but cool,” she writes.
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ENERGY
Holy Cross Energy hits 96% clean energy, wonders if progress might slow
New solar arrays sit near the Holy Cross Energy headquarters, Feb. 18, 2024, in Glenwood Springs. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)“We feel proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. We’re doing really well on our long-term plans. We also have been very successful in terms of keeping our costs low.”
— Holy Cross vice president of finance Sam Whelan
The co-op, which serves customers in Eagle, Pitkin, Garfield, Mesa and Gunnison counties, expects to deliver about 85% clean energy throughout 2025. In 2018, renewable energy accounted for about 39% of the Holy Cross electricity distributed. Michael Booth looks at the transformation and the concerns under the Trump administration.
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MORE NEWS
What’s Working: AI skills aren’t just for tech workers anymore, even in Colorado. Labor researcher Lightcast found that 51% of AI-related job listings were outside typical tech roles. A Denver tech-education company is capturing that data and building it into its course offerings. Colorado schools could reap millions of federal grant dollars previously withheld by Trump. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Friday confirmed plans to release frozen grant funds during a National Governors Association meeting in Colorado Springs. USDA to scatter half its Washington staff to field offices, including Fort Collins. Critics see a ploy to cut jobs. USDA lost 15,000 people earlier this year. Some worry this plan will further weaken research, services for farmers and rural Americans.COLORADO SUNDAY
The Southern Ute tribe has finally tapped into Animas-La Plata water. Why did it take 60 years?
Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who represented Colorado in both houses of Congress, poses for a portrait with his wife, Linda Campbell, on July 12 in their home on the Southern Ute Reservation. Campbell worked for years to advance the Animas-La Plata Project and a key tribal water settlement during his time in Washington, D.C. (Shannon Mullane, The Colorado Sun)In May, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe tapped into its water in the controversial Animas-La Plata Project, the first time a tribe has used its water from the project since it was authorized in 1968. Read more from Shannon Mullane about how the project encapsulates not only long-held dreams but long-fought debates.
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Section by Jennifer Brown | Reporter
THE COLORADO REPORT
? = source has article meter or paywall
Colorado district ranger bids farewell to the busiest ranger district in the National Forest System. Home to four ski resorts, seven Nordic centers, the Vail Pass Recreation Area and many other recreational opportunities, the Dillon Ranger District has drawn more than 8 million visitors annually in recent years. Adam Bianchi has served as the Dillon District Ranger since 2021.— Summit Daily Police in rural Colorado plowed into a suspect who had his hands up. The undersheriff who gave the command has since been promoted. Police shootings and excessive-force allegations have become increasingly common in recent years in Craig. ?— The Denver Post Vallecito hydroelectric plant returns to local ownership, powering regional energy shift. A plant below Vallecito Dam has served as a modest but steady source of renewable energy since the late 1980s. Now, it has come under local ownership with La Plata Electric Association, which is preparing to end its contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission next spring. — Durango Herald “It’s just a Golden thing”: Longtime attendees share what makes Buffalo Bill Days special. What started as a 100th birthday celebration for a Wild West icon has evolved into Golden’s largest event of the year. (And some fun photos, too.)— Golden TranscriptSection by David Krause | Editor
THE OPINION PAGE
COLUMNS
Why did Jared Polis cooperate with feds on ICE subpoenas? And what comes next? Is he wrecking his political future? And would AG Phil Weiser risk his run for governor by investigating the case?— Mike Littwin Gabe Evans’ hypocrisy over migrant deportation breaks the public trust. A recent investigative report documented how the Republican congressman misled voters about his grandfather.— Mario Nicolais Our do-nothing House of Representatives takes an emergency recess to avoid doing something. The threat of having to vote on releasing the Epstein files was enough to prompt the House to recess early.— Diane CarmanThe 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 [email protected].
Have a great Monday everyone.
— Jennifer and the whole staff of The Sun
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