so cold outside that staying out there too long could kill you.
I’m applauding the people going out in the deep freeze later for Denver’s annual MLK Marade (though delayed and shortened). I’ll offer up my favorite of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic quotes: “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” He was speaking in favor of peaceful protests, but I like to think he was also talking about the words we choose when trying to make a point in a world filled with combative opinions.
Stay warm out there, Colorado. Great day to grab a hot mug, watch the inauguration and catch up on the statewide news.
Jennifer Brown
Reporter
THE NEWS
CLIMATE CHANGE
Nonrenewals are fueling Colorado’s growing homeowners insurance crisis
Karen Murray Boston recently called her insurance agent to find out what the premium on her home in Fruita was going to be in 2025 and learned her policy was terminated because American National was no longer going to offer homeowners coveragein Colorado. (Gretel Daugherty, Special to the Colorado Sun)There’s nothing worse than finding out that your homeowners insurance premiums are doubling next year. Unless, as many Coloradans are finding out, your insurer is leaving the market altogether and you’ve been dropped. Tamara Chuang and Olivia Prentzel take a deep dive into the crisis to look at how extreme weather events made more common by climate change are pulling the rug out from under some homeowners — and how unprofitable the industry can be.
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Why disaster mitigation can protect your house, but may not lower your insurance bill — yet. In part two of their look at the state of homeowners insurance, Tamara Chuang and Olivia Prentzel explore the new technology and upcoming legislation that could make rising insurance premiums finally reflect the efforts owners put into lowering risk. Woman accused of sparking Colorado wildfire previously threatened to burn her home after losing insurance. Teller County investigators say Lacey Tillitt had been fighting with her insurance company for more than a year about her coverage being dropped.WILDLIFE
20 gray wolves released in Pitkin, Eagle counties, Colorado Parks and Wildlife says
A gray wolf runs across a snow-covered field in British Columbia as a helicopter flies overhead during capture operations in January. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife)15
Canadian gray wolves brought to Colorado
5
Remaining members of the Copper Creek pack, which have been captive since September
It’s official: There are now 20 more wolves roaming the high country after Colorado Parks and Wildlife completed three controlled releases last week. Click through to read more, including why CPW says the relocation of the Copper Creek pack “is by no means a precedent for how CPW will resolve wolf-livestock conflict moving forward.”
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NEWS
Jared Polis reveals his stance on the gun, labor and housing bills before the Colorado legislature this year
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, speaks to reporters Jan. 9 at the Colorado Capitol after delivering his seventh State of the State address. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)If you missed The Colorado Sun’s conversation with Gov. Jared Polis about the 2025 legislative session, don’t worry. Jesse Paul and Brian Eason break down the governor’s positions on a swath of hot-button topics that will be driving this year’s session and the state’s relationship with the incoming Trump administration.
READ MORE, WATCH THE DISCUSSION
Lawmakers aren’t allowed to have guns in the Colorado Capitol anymore, but there’s no proactive enforcement. The prohibition on carrying guns in the state Capitol was expanded this year to include lawmakers, but it didn’t come with any new security protocols or enforcement. Scott Bottoms, Republican state representative, will run for Colorado governor in 2026. Bottoms is one of the most conservative members of the legislature and has embraced election conspiracies and opposed efforts to protect and expand the rights of transgender people.ENVIRONMENT
Colorado identifies its top five toxic air contaminants. Next comes rules to regulate them.
An air particle and quality monitoring device provided by Boulder AIR on Feb. 17, 2023, in Commerce City. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission named five pollutants — formaldehyde, benzene, hexavalent chromium compounds, ethylene oxide and hydrogen sulfide — as “priority air toxics,” Parker Yamasaki reports. The identification is a key step in a process to ratchet down air pollution in neighborhoods.
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MORE NEWS
Office space is for rent in the original home of the First National Bank of Denver built in 1865, photographed in March. (Tamara Chuang, The Colorado Sun) What’s behind downtown Denver’s 34.9% office vacancy rate? While leasing picked up last quarter, Tamara Chuang reports on how the city is planning to address the fact that more than one-third of its office space is vacant as 2025 kicks off. Historic Western Slope water rights purchase receives $40 million surge of federal funding. Western Slope cities and water agencies want to buy the small Shoshone Power Plant’s mighty water rights, and the new federal funds put the effort within range of its funding goal. Fact Brief ☀️ Can putting cooking spray on a shovel make snow removal easier? Yes. A coating of cooking spray or similar oil can keep snow from sticking to your shovel, easing the task of clearing driveways and walks.Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler
THE COLORADO REPORT
Colorado lawmakers back bill targeting price gouging, especially in grocery stores. House Bill 1010 would expand an existing state law prohibiting price gouging during disasters and broadly bar the raising of prices on certain products by 10% or more in a 90-day period.— The Denver Post ? U.S. Forest Service presents results of beaver inventory. With $100,000 in funding from Pitkin County, technicians surveyed nearly 300 sites on 66 streams and found that 17% of the sites were currently occupied by beavers, 34% showed signs of recent beaver activity and 37% showed evidence of past beaver occupation.— Aspen Journalism Colorado’s “J6 Praying Grandma” among Capitol rioters allowed to attend Trump inauguration. Prosecutors didn’t object to allowing Colorado bed-and-breakfast operator Rebecca Lavrenz — the self-described “J6 praying grandma” — to attend the inauguration while she is on probation.— Sentinel Colorado As rural bus routes thrive, Colorado builds on what is working. Even as RTD struggles to attract passengers within the Denver metro area, Colorado ranks No. 1 in the country in rural ridership thanks to successful expansions of the Bustang lines and robust participation in local bus systems like the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority.— The Denver Post ?? = source has article meter or paywall
Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler
THE OPINION PAGE
COLUMNS
For progressives who have taken a vacation from the news, Monday is your wake-up call. The stakes are so high that you might even need to bite the bullet and watch Donald Trump take the oath, presumably on a Trump-branded Bible.— Mike Littwin Fight over the future priorities of Lakewood, and land adjacent to a major park, heats up. Even as the Park Hill Golf Course controversy concluded, a dispute over property adjacent to Lakewood’s Belmar Park reached a boiling point.— Mario Nicolais The social media world is a cesspool of lies, and we’re drowning in it. Social media barons are immune to the consequences of our culture of deceit, but the rest of us will continue to suffer.— Diane Carman TikTok is only part of the problem. Meta and X need regulating, too. All social media apps are underregulated. If we’re serious about national security and data privacy, that era must come to an end.— Trish ZornioCOMMUNITY
Justice demands that Colorado legislators modernize the state’s labor law this session. With Senate Bill 5, getting rid of a second election to form a union would go a long way to fix the state’s 81-year-old laws built on oppression.— Fredrick D. RedmondCARTOONS
Peter Moore: 7 life lessons from the National Western Stock Show. Meet your new personal coaches, currently standing in their own manure on Denver’s north side. But hurry! Office hours end on Jan. 26!— Peter MooreThe 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].
Thanks for starting out your week — and your experience under the Trump administration round two — with us. Things are going to be moving fast, so if you’d like to stay on top of the most important stories in Colorado without waiting for the next edition of The Sunriser, now’s a great time to install The Colorado Sun app! It’s free, fast and the best way to read news in Colorado, with curated reminders to read stories you may have missed.
Stay safe, stay warm, stay strong and we’ll see you back here tomorrow morning!
— Jen and the whole staff of The Sun
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