Colorado
Historic Colorado River deal to conserve flows advances after winning key approval from state water board
A yearslong effort to purchase two of the most powerful water rights on the Colorado River has cleared another hurdle after the state water board agreed to manage the rights alongside Western Slope water officials.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board voted unanimously Wednesday night to accept the two water rights tied to the Shoshone Power Plant into its environmental flow program. The approval is a critical piece in the Colorado River District’s $99 million deal with the owner of the aging plant in Glenwood Canyon — Xcel Energy — but the deal has faced pushback from Front Range water providers that fear the change could impact their supplies.
Backers of the deal aim to make sure the water now used by the small hydroelectric plant — and then put back in the river — will always flow westward.
“The importance of today’s vote cannot be overstated as a legacy decision for Colorado water and the Western Slope,” Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River District, said in a news release. “It secures an essential foundation for the health of the Colorado River and the communities it sustains.”
Colorado water officials hailed the decision as a monumental achievement for the state that will help protect the river and its ecosystem. The state’s instream flow program allows the Water Conservation Board to manage dedicated water rights for the health of rivers, streams and lakes.
“Acquiring the Shoshone water rights for instream flow use is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve and improve the natural environment of the Colorado River,” Dan Gibbs, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said in a news release.
One of the main sticking points during the hourslong meeting Wednesday was whether the board should manage the water rights with the River District. That would include decisions on how and when to require upstream users — like Front Range utilities — to send more water downstream. Generally, the board is the sole manager of water rights in its instream flow program, which the Shoshone rights are now a part of.
Several Western Slope entities said they would withdraw their financial support from the purchase if the Colorado River District was not allowed to co-manage the right with the board. Local governments and other organizations across the Western Slope promised more than $16 million toward the purchase.
Front Range water providers argued that the statewide board is the sole authority that can manage such rights and should have final decision-making power.
The water board instead approved the co-management strategy, which means that the two authorities will decide together how to act when there is not enough water to meet the right’s obligations.
The Colorado River District — a taxpayer-funded agency that works to protect Western Slope water — wants to purchase the Shoshone rights to ensure that water will continue to flow west past the plant and downstream to the towns, farms and others who rely on the Colorado River, even if the century-old power plant were decommissioned.
A stream of Western Slope elected officials, water managers and conservation groups testified in support of the deal and the rare opportunity it presented.
“The Shoshone call is one of the great stabilizing forces on the river — a heartbeat that has kept our valley farms alive, our communities whole and our economies steady even in lean years,” Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel said, urging the board to approve the plan.
The meeting on Wednesday came after weeks of extensive mediation between the River District and Front Range entities. However, the representatives from opposite sides of the Continental Divide could not come to a consensus on a way forward.
Representatives from Front Range utilities have said repeatedly that they supported the purchase as a whole, but they stated concerns about the purchase changing the status quo on the river.
The water rights connected to the plant are the oldest major water rights on the main stem of the Colorado River, which means that they must be fulfilled before any rights established afterward. Those include more junior rights held by Front Range utilities to divert water from the river and bring it under the Continental Divide to their customers.
The plant’s rights can command up to 1,408 cubic feet of water per second year-round, or about 1 million acre-feet a year — enough water for 2 million to 3 million households’ annual use.
The Water Conservation Board’s approval is one of several that must be acquired by the River District. The deal now must go through the state’s water court and its Public Utilities Commission.
Along with the $16 million coming from Western Slope entities, the district will pay $20 million and the Water Conservation Board allocated another $20 million. The financial plan also includes $40 million awarded under the federal Inflation Reduction Act by the Biden administration, but that money remains frozen as part of the Trump administration’s broad halt to spending by the previous president.
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Colorado
Bonnie Brae Conoco in Denver for sale after more than 80 years of family ownership
When you walk inside the Conoco station at the corner of University Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Boulevard in Denver, you can’t help but notice the history on the walls.
“Here’s the 40s. The 50s and my dad and uncle in the 70s,” says owner Ken Wilson pointing to the pictures on the wall.
Ken is the third generation of the Wilson family to own the gas station and service center.
“Grandpa Ken started to lease this out in 1942. My dad bought the business from my grandpa and my uncle worked his whole career here for my dad and for me,” Ken recalls.
In all, the Wilson family has owned the Conoco station for more than 80 years.
“I started working here in 1978 when I was 12, just part time in the summers. I worked through high school and through college and then did my own thing, and I’ve been back here about 15 years,” said Ken.
“It means so much to our family. It’s been a great business.”
But Ken is the end of the road for the Wilson family ownership. In February, a for sale sign went up at the Bonnie Brae Conoco.
“We’re just looking now. We’re not in a rush. It’s not like we’re going to sell and be done this year. We’re going to get a price we want to get, and if it takes us years to do that’s okay,” he said.
Wilson has seen a lot of change during his time working at the station and service center.
“There aren’t a lot of garages anymore. They used to be everywhere. There were four of them on this block when I was a kid, he said.
When asked what he’ll miss most, Ken points to his relationship with his customers.
“I’ve had customers now where I actually waited on their grandparents. And then their parents. And now them.”
As for what his grandpa would say if he could see the place now, Ken says, “I think he’d say he was really proud of what we’ve done. Both my father, my uncle and myself. Hopefully he’s still hanging around here once in a while.”
Colorado
Colorado offers composite five-star 2028 wide receiver from Texas
The Colorado Buffaloes are still putting the finishing touches on their 2027 class over the next few months, but their 2028 recruiting plan continues to take shape.
Earlier this week, Deion Sanders’ staff extended an offer to one of the top prospects in the class of 2028, composite five-star wide receiver Jaylen Addai. Addai now holds 43 offers, including one from nearly every blue-blood program in the country.
247Sports’ Composite currently ranks Addai as the No. 12 overall prospect in the 2028 class, the No. 3 overall wide receiver and the top player from the state of Texas.
At 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, the Pearland, Texas native fits the mold of the modern-day receiver. He seems likely to fill into his frame given his youth. Addai is a multiple-sport athlete with elite athleticism on the field, on the basketball court and on the track.
Given how early it is in Addai’s recruitment, several teams are in contention for his commitment, with Notre Dame and Ohio State leading the way early. When the 2028 cycle picks up later this year, who really has a chance should come into focus, especially when visits begin.
Colorado’s 2028 class does not have any commitments yet, but has offers out to 28 different wide receiver prospects.
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Colorado
Data shows more than half of Colorado voters aren’t registered with a political party
DENVER (KDVR) — New data from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office shows that more than half of Colorado voters are now registered as unaffiliated, meaning they are not registered with a political party.
With the primary election just weeks away, those voters will need to decide whether to participate in the Democratic or Republican primary.
Colorado operates under a semi-open primary system, allowing unaffiliated voters to choose which party’s primary they want to vote in. With unaffiliated voters now making up the majority of registered voters in the state, their choices will play a significant role in election outcomes.
According to the Colorado County Clerks Association, the trend has been building since 2004, with voters continuing to leave both the Democratic and Republican parties to register as unaffiliated.
While an unaffiliated voter’s ballot choices remain private, the party primary they participate in does become part of their public voter registration record.
Unaffiliated voters also face some limitations. They cannot participate in party caucuses and cannot sign petitions for party candidates.
“I think the largest reason why we have so many unaffiliated voters is because people are intensely unhappy with both political parties, and they don’t want to be a part of it,” Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said. “And now with the primaries, they really don’t have to make that choice. They can just vote and then move on and not have to worry about some of the baggage and garbage that comes with being a member of a political party.”
Election officials are reminding unaffiliated voters that they received two ballots in the mail: one for the Republican primary and one for the Democratic primary. Voters should return only one ballot. If both ballots are submitted, neither vote will be counted.
If an unaffiliated voter casts a ballot in-person, the clerk will ask them which ballot they would like to cast.
The Colorado County Clerks Association also reminded voters that ballots must be received by Election Day, with the exception of military and overseas voters. Voters planning to return their ballots by mail should send them by the Tuesday before Election Day, one week in advance, to ensure they arrive on time.
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