Colorado
What is the “Cyclopean Cave” — and why are these guys hauling buckets of Colorado mud to find it?
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LEADVILLE — “It’s easy digging, but it’s scary as hell down there,” says Wes Devenyns, who is covered, helmet to boot, in mud.
“What’s so scary?” his pals atop the dark entrance of the historic mine shaft ask.
“The timbers,” he says. “Don’t touch the timbers.”
“Don’t even look at ’em. I mean, they were installed in the 1800s,” says Mike Frazier, who appears unbothered by the mud speckling his eyeglasses. “They are just kind of floating above you. But hey, this is what I like about caves. Finding places that so few people will ever see.”
Sure, this could be the mythological cave. Or it could be a hole full of mud. Cave digging is never a certainty.
— Wes Devenyns, spelunker
Right now, eight avid spelunkers are hauling buckets of mud and rocks up from the bottom of a hole, pulling together on a haul rope every few minutes. They’ve been digging here sporadically for a few years and they’ve cleared the mine shaft to a depth around 45 feet.
They are in the middle of a conifer forest near Leadville. The private land is dotted with prospecting holes where miners in the 1800s dug in search of gold, silver and precious metals. But this hole is littered with black shale. Down the mountain is a long-collapsed cabin next to what looks like a horizontal bore that accesses the mine shaft.
These are signs that this particular mine shaft is the entrance to a long-lost cave that some say is a myth made up by a newspaper reporter who occasionally veered into fiction.
“Sure, this could be the mythological cave. Or it could be a hole full of mud. Cave digging is never a certainty,” Devenyns says.
“Hoax, Humbug and Orth Stein.”
Orth Stein was a pioneer journalist at the just-launched Leadville Carbonate Weekly Chronicle in the late 1800s. He was prone to tall tales. (This was not uncommon in that age of news. Mark Twain was a young newspaper reporter in the 1860s, spinning yarns of dubious veracity in California and Nevada.)
One of Stein’s stories described a fully intact wooden ship, with two giant masts, embedded deep in a granite cave beneath Battle Mountain near Red Cliff. Another Stein report in the Leadville Chronicle in 1884 described “a hideous visitor” and “sea serpent” frightening residents around Twin Lakes.
So, not surprisingly, his reports of a vast series of caverns he called the Cyclopean Cave, which were written mere weeks after his ship-in-a-cave dispatch from Battle Mountain, were easily dismissed as fiction.
In the 1973 book “Caves of Colorado,” a sort of bible for spelunkers, author and caving pioneer Lloyd Parris included the Cyclopean Cave in a chapter titled “Hoax, Humbug and Orth Stein.” Parris cited previous reports calling the Cyclopean Cave an invention by “a bored newspaper reporter in Leadville in the 1880s.” In the early 1900s, a memoir published by Stein’s boss, Leadville newspaper editor C.C. Davis, described the Cyclopean Cave as “fiction from headlines to tailpiece.”
Across the globe, exploring spelunkers have investigated and proved the existence of mythical caves and the potential of the Cyclopean Cave being a hoax did not deter Colorado caver Richard Rhinehart.
Rhinehart, the editor of Rocky Mountain Caving Journal and author of several books on Colorado’s caves, and a crew of cave-crawling geologists spent several years poring over Stein’s newspaper reports as well as studying the geology around Leadville.
Stein described a miner near Leadville who was down digging in a shaft when he broke through and fell into a dark room.
“A guy disappeared down in the darkness and ended up on a ledge down below … so he calls up from below ‘Hell is not a half-mile off,’” Rhinehart says as he hauls on the mud-slicked rope on a recent Sunday afternoon. “And his colleague up here somewhere helps him climb back up. They probably drank some whiskey. They said they needed to get the nerve to go back down with candles and explore.”
Stein spoke with those miners, and the articles published in October 1880 described the shaft as 52-feet deep when the miner broke into the cavern, which held “thousands upon thousands” of stalactites. Stein wrote that month about joining several Leadville residents — all real people — in the cavern and “their wonder and delight was very great.”
He described a spring, stream, lake and a petrified waterfall he called “hushed Niagara.” Stein included a map of the cave in an Oct. 30, 1880, article in the Leadville paper titled “Marvelous. The Mammoth Cave of Colorado” that described “the first exploration of its bewildering labyrinths.” Stein described one chamber — Stein Gallery, he called it — as something akin to the galleries of the Vatican “bathed in moonlight.”
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Artist illustrations for the article show miners holding torches and panning for gold in the underwater river Stein called the “River Styx.” Upon returning from the cave on horseback, Stein describes seeing the lights of Leadville and thinking that his home city “not only surpasses the world in her mineral wealth, but possesses a natural cavern which will for years furnish food for thought and curiosity.”
Stein said the owner of the property was “negotiating with London capitalists for the sale and full development” of the Cyclopean Cave. Leadville was a booming silver town in the 1880s, with a population of more than 30,000 supporting saloons, brothels, hotels, restaurants and a new opera house.
Rhinehart spent many months tracking down the name of every person mentioned in Stein’s Cyclopean Cave articles and each was a known resident with a lengthy history in Leadville.
More articles in the years that followed noted local residents exploring the cave in the early 1900s. Rhinehart has found articles mentioning Cyclopean Cave visits in 1941.
Rhinehart suspects the cave was a bit of a bummer for miners who wanted precious minerals, not a tourist destination. Hence the cave’s fade into local Leadville lore.
“I’m sure it was exciting when they found this cave but it was also probably a disappointment because it was not some big vein,” Rhinehart says. “They were miners, not cavers.”
Cavers are curious explorers. In a previous life, they were the adventurers who sailed the seas to find new civilizations and in the future, perhaps they will sail into space, says Rhinehart, who has discovered new caves and chambers over several decades of spelunking.
“It’s exciting to investigate something that has never before been seen by anyone,” he says. “It’s been more than 80 years since the Cyclopean Cave has been visited. In that time, it’s been labeled as fiction by historians and media, based upon incorrect information. To reopen the cave will help set the record straight.”
In 2021, after several days scouring the area, Rhinehart and his friends found that pile of black Belden shale on the private parcel. The shale means the shaft had breached a layer dozens of feet below that stretches from Leadville across Battle Mountain to the old mines around the ghost town of Gilman.
It’s been more than 80 years since the Cyclopean Cave has been visited. In that time, it’s been labeled as fiction by historians and media, based upon incorrect information. To reopen the cave will help set the record straight.
— Richard Rhinehart, spelunker
More than three years ago they brought in ropes, hoists and equipment and started clearing the shaft, noting airflow as they carefully descended and removed trees and logs blocking the hole. After many days of digging since 2021, they suspect they are very close to the caverns of the Cyclopean Cave.
“I swear I felt air flowing out of there today,” Rhinehart says.
“Always up for a little adventure”
LEFT: Mike Frazier pulls on a rope with others to haul up dirt out of a mine shaft on Sept. 22, 2024 in Leadville. RIGHT: Wes Devenyns, left, and Mike Frazier lower a handbuilt safety shelter into the mine shaft. (Rebecca Slezak, Special to The Colorado Sun)
TOP: Mike Frazier pulls on a rope with others to haul up dirt out of a mine shaft on Sept. 22, 2024 in Leadville. BOTTOM: Wes Devenyns, left, and Mike Frazier lower a handbuilt safety shelter into the mine shaft. (Rebecca Slezak, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Rhinehart and his fellow explorers reached out to the property’s owner when they first found the mine shaft they suspect leads to the Cyclopean Cave.
“It’s always a scary thing to call an owner and say there’s a big cave on your property. They could tell us to never come back. They could close it down,” Rhinehart says.
But this owner, who bought the 42-acre mining claim near Leadville in the 1980s, says he has “always been up for a little adventure.”
“So I was happy for some exploring without actually having to leave home,” said the landowner, who asked that The Sun not publish his name or the location of the mine entrance “just yet.” (He’s wary that visitors may come exploring and get hurt, reflecting a growing concern among landowners in Colorado. All the digging cavers who visit his property sign liability waivers.)
The owner has hiked “every inch” of his property and nothing about the mine shaft ever seemed different than the many other prospector holes. The cavers pointed out the shale and a debris collapse exposing the shaft’s timbers. The owner now joins Rhinehart and his fellow cavers in hopes that maybe this is the entrance to the Cyclopean.
He’s keen to enter the cave if the shaft connects to caverns. If it is something “big and spectacular,” maybe there will be some sort of opportunities to host visitors, he says. Maybe nearby tourist operations in the Upper Arkansas River Valley would be interested in offering tours, he says.
“But that’s a long way away,” he says. “Let’s see what happens.”
The owner and his dog often join the cavers on their digs. He helps pull on the haul rope and enjoys the company of the well-traveled scientists and explorers. The conversation is riveting as they talk about discovering new caves and exploring Colorado’s darkest corners.
They talk about Groaning Cave, which cavers found in 1968 and is the longest in Colorado with a length of tunnels and caverns reaching 14.7 miles in the White River National Forest. They talk about how the hard-to-reach and ropes-required Fixin’-To-Die Cave in Garfield County is aptly named.
Frazier talks about spending seven hours last year navigating 57 rope drops into one of the deepest caves in the world, Abismo Batavia in Oaxaca, Mexico. He’s featured prominently in a full-length documentary detailing that 2023 expedition. He owns Cave of the Clouds in Glenwood Canyon. He dreams about retreating into a cave with his partner “and becoming cave hermits.”
“Most of the caves that are considered hoaxes, I think really exist,” he says.
In Colorado now it’s to the point where there’s still stuff out there to be found, but there’s more stuff to be found by digging at the back of caves that are already known.
— Mike Frazier, spelunker
He’s found caves that were considered lost or forgotten. Like the Cave Creek Cavern near Fairplay, which contains the largest known cave room in the state.
“The potential here is pretty fantastic,” Frazier says. “All the signs are right. But honestly, we could be in the wrong spot. You just don’t know. In Colorado now it’s to the point where there’s still stuff out there to be found, but there’s more stuff to be found by digging at the back of caves that are already known. I’m not saying this is not going to happen. I’m saying it’s not going to be easy.”
If Stein’s reports are correct, the mine shaft was about 50 feet deep and the cavers have plumbed close to that.
Fred Luiszer, who wrote his geology doctoral dissertation at the University of Colorado on the “Genesis of the Cave of the Winds” near Manitou Springs, specializes in speleology. He estimates he’s been on “more than a thousand mine digs” in his life. He makes sure that is not interpreted as his involvement in the discovery of more than 1,000 caves.
“But more often than not,” he says of his exploratory digs, “they are fruitful.”
Luiszer feels confident about this dig. The historical record, the layers of shale from deep below piled in the forest, the wooden beams in the shaft and the tunnel approaching the shaft from down the hill are signs that they are nearing a cave, he says.
He grabs a rock from the bucket that’s discolored and oxidized and calls it “a keeper.” The staining on the chunk of sparkling porphyry indicates hydrothermal activity below. Another sign, he says.
“Either way, this is character building,” the septuagenarian says, leaning into the rope to haul up the next bucket of mud and rocks.
Rain Enhancement Technologies (NASDAQ:RAIN) began operations of its first U.S. Weather Enhancement Technology Array (WETA) in Gill, Colorado, after the Colorado Water Conservation Board approved a weather modification permit on November 11, 2025. The permit is valid through October 31, 2026 with a potential five-year renewal. The solar-powered, chemical-free WETA can cover up to 360 square miles (≈230,000 acres) in Weld County and cites peer-reviewed trials indicating potential rainfall increases of 15–18%. The system will operate under strict oversight with real-time monitoring, automatic suspension during National Weather Service severe-weather warnings, and annual target-control evaluations and reporting requirements.
Rain Enhancement Technologies (NASDAQ:RAIN) ha avviato le operazioni della sua prima Weather Enhancement Technology Array (WETA) negli Stati Uniti a Gill, Colorado, dopo che la Colorado Water Conservation Board ha approvato un permesso di modifica del tempo l’11 novembre 2025. Il permesso è valido fino al 31 ottobre 2026 con una potenziale rinnovo di cinque anni. Il WETA alimentato a energia solare e privo di sostanze chimiche può coprire fino a 360 miglia quadrate (≈230.000 acri) nella contea di Weld e cita studi sottoposti a peer review che indicano potenziali aumenti delle precipitazioni del 15–18%. Il sistema opererà sotto stretta supervisione con monitoraggio in tempo reale, sospensione automatica durante gli avvisi di tempo meteorologico estremo del National Weather Service e requisiti annuali di valutazione e reportistica sugli obiettivi.
Rain Enhancement Technologies (NASDAQ:RAIN) inauguró operaciones de su primera Red de Tecnología de Mejora Meteorológica (WETA) en Gill, Colorado, tras que la Colorado Water Conservation Board aprobó un permiso de modificación climática el 11 de noviembre de 2025. El permiso es válido hasta el 31 de octubre de 2026 con una renovación potencial de cinco años. El WETA, alimentado por energía solar y sin sustancias químicas, puede cubrir hasta 360 millas cuadradas (≈230,000 acres) en el condado de Weld y cita ensayos revisados por pares que indican posibles aumentos de las precipitaciones del 15–18%. El sistema operará bajo supervisión estricta con monitorización en tiempo real, suspensión automática durante avisos de tormentas severas del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional y requisitos anuales de evaluaciones de control de objetivos e informes.
Rain Enhancement Technologies (나스닥:RAIN)은 2025년 11월 11일 콜로라도 주 Gill에서 첫 미국 기상 개선 기술 어레이(WETA)의 운용을 시작했다. 이는 콜로라도 워터 컨서베이션 보드가 기상 수정 허가를 승인한 데 따른 것이다. 허가 유효 기간은 2026년 10월 31일까지이며 최대 다섯 년의 재연장이 가능하다. 태양광으로 작동하고 화학 물질이 전혀 없는 WETA는 Weld 카운티에서 최대 360 제곱마일(약 230,000에이커)를 커버할 수 있으며 동료 심사를 거친 연구에서 강수량이 15–18% 증가할 가능성을 시사한다. 시스템은 실시간 모니터링, 미국 기상청의 악천후 경보 시 자동 정지, 연간 목표 제어 평가 및 보고 요건이 있는 엄격한 감독 하에 작동한다.
Rain Enhancement Technologies (NASDAQ:RAIN) a commencé ses opérations avec son premier réseau d’amélioration météorologique (WETA) aux États-Unis à Gill, Colorado, après que le Colorado Water Conservation Board a approuvé un permis de modification météorologique le 11 novembre 2025. Le permis est valable jusqu’au 31 octobre 2026 avec un renouvellement potentiel de cinq ans. Le WETA, alimenté par énergie solaire et sans produits chimiques, peut couvrir jusqu’à 360 miles carrés (≈230 000 acres) dans le comté de Weld et cite des essais évalués par des pairs indiquant des augmentations potentielles des précipitations de 15–18%. Le système fonctionnera sous une surveillance stricte avec un suivi en temps réel, une suspension automatique lors des alertes météorologiques sévères du National Weather Service et des exigences annuelles d’évaluation et de reporting des objectifs.
Rain Enhancement Technologies (NASDAQ:RAIN) nahm den Betrieb seines ersten US-amerikanischen Weather Enhancement Technology Array (WETA) in Gill, Colorado, auf, nachdem das Colorado Water Conservation Board am 11. November 2025 eine Genehmigung für eine Wettermodifikation erteilt hatte. Die Genehmigung gilt bis zum 31. Oktober 2026 mit einer möglichen fünfjährigen Verlängerung. Das solarbetriebene, chemiefreie WETA-System kann in Weld County bis zu 360 Quadratmeilen (≈230.000 Acres) abdecken und verweist auf peer‑reviewte Studien, die potenzielle Niederschlagssteigerungen von 15–18% anzeigen. Das System wird unter strenger Aufsicht betrieben, mit Echtzeitüberwachung, automatischer Aussetzung bei schweren Wetterwarnungen des National Weather Service sowie jährlichen Zielkontrollbewertungen und Berichtsanforderungen.
بدأت Rain Enhancement Technologies (المدرجة في ناسداك: RAIN) تشغيل أول شبكة لتقنيات تحسين الطقس (WETA) لها في Gill بولاية كولورادو، بعد أن وافقت لجنة الحفاظ على المياه في كولورادو على ترخيص تعديل الطقس في 11 نوفمبر 2025. الترخيص ساري حتى 31 أكتوبر 2026 مع إمكانية تجديد لمدة خمس سنوات. يمكن لـ WETA القائم على الطاقة الشمسية والخالٍ من المواد الكيميائية أن يغطي حتى 360 ميلاً مربعاً (حوالي 230,000 فدان) في مقاطعة ويلد ويشير إلى تجارب مراجعة من الأقران تشير إلى زيادة محتملة في الأمطار بنسبة 15–18%. سيعمل النظام تحت إشراف صارم مع رصد في الوقت الفعلي، وتعطيل تلقائي أثناء إنذارات الخدمة الوطنية للأرصاد الجوية، ومتطلبات تقييم وتقارير سنوية حول الأهداف.
Positive
- Permit approval for Colorado installation through 10/31/2026
- WETA can cover 360 sq miles (~230,000 acres)
- 15–18% potential rainfall increase cited from peer-reviewed trials
- Autonomous solar-powered, chemical-free operation
Negative
- Initial permit is short-term (expires 10/31/2026) and needs renewal
- Operations subject to automatic suspension during National Weather Service severe-weather warnings
- U.S. effectiveness not yet demonstrated; data collection required per permit
Insights
RAIN’s WETA begins U.S. operations in Colorado under a one-year permit; potential modest rainfall uplift and regulatory oversight matter most.
The system is now operational in Gill, Colorado, under a Weather Modification Permit valid through
Regulatory controls include automatic suspension during National Weather Service severe-weather warnings, real-time monitoring, coordination with local emergency management, and mandated annual target-control evaluations and periodic performance reports to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. These conditions create clear data collection and safety gates that limit operational risk and provide a formal performance record.
Key items to watch over the next 12 months include the permit performance reports, the annual target-control evaluation, and any permit renewal decision; the permit end-date is
This deployment targets agricultural water supply, promising measurable coverage and a stated
The WETA installation is positioned to affect up to 360 square miles of agricultural land in Weld County and is framed as a tool to supplement water for cropping and livestock operations; the release notes Colorado agriculture uses roughly
Operational characteristics—autonomous solar power and minimal maintenance—could lower ongoing costs if performance metrics validate the technology. The permit requires annual reports and target-control evaluations, which will produce the empirical evidence needed to assess whether the system yields agronomic or economic benefit across the stated 230,000 acres.
Concrete near-term monitors are the mandated performance reports and the annual evaluation due within the permit year ending
Company’s WETA Ionization Technology Begins Operations in Gill, Colorado, Marking State’s First Warm Weather Modification Program
NAPLES, FL / ACCESS Newswire / November 11, 2025 / Rain Enhancement Technologies Holdco, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIN) (“RAIN” or the “Company”), a leading provider of ionization rainfall generation technology, today announced it has commenced operations of its first U.S. installation following approval of a Weather Modification Permit from the State of Colorado’s Water Conservation Board. The Company’s Weather Enhancement Technology Array (WETA) system, installed in Gill, Colorado, in October 2025, marks the state’s first warm weather modification program and is now operational under a permit valid through October 31, 2026, with the potential for a five-year renewal. The installation can enhance up to 360 square miles of agricultural land in Weld County, where the technology has the potential to increase rainfall by 15
“This first U.S. installation represents a transformative milestone for Rain Enhancement Technologies as we bring our proven ionization technology to American agricultural communities,” said Randy Seidl, CEO of Rain Enhancement Technologies. “Colorado’s rigorous evaluation process and forward-thinking approach to water resource management validate the potential of our technology to address water scarcity challenges. We’re proud to pioneer the state’s first warm weather modification program at a time when innovative water solutions are critically needed.”
The ground-based WETA system operates by using electrical charge to create naturally occurring ionized aerosols, which then travel to cloud layers where they enhance condensation and stimulate precipitation. Unlike Colorado’s traditional cold weather cloud seeding that uses silver iodide, RAIN’s chemical-free, solar-powered approach harnesses natural atmospheric processes.
“After years of working with this groundbreaking technology internationally, it’s very exciting to see the growing interest in our solution to address the ongoing water shortage crisis,” said Scott Morris, Chief Technical Officer of Rain Enhancement Technologies. “With the first of our US installations to be deployed, we’re excited to demonstrate the real-world impact of ionization rainfall generation technology at scale. The Gill installation represents years of engineering refinement and will operate autonomously using solar power, making it both environmentally sustainable and cost-effective.”
This marks Colorado’s first warm weather seeding operation, differentiating it from existing cold weather programs in the state that use silver iodide to enhance snowpack. RAIN’s ionization technology has demonstrated effectiveness in warm weather conditions through international deployments, including a six-year trial in Oman’s Hajar Mountains, where results were published by the Royal Statistical Society showing statistically significant rainfall increases. The Colorado installation operates under strict regulatory oversight, including automatic suspension protocols during National Weather Service severe weather warnings, real-time weather monitoring capabilities, and coordination with local emergency management officials.
“We’re encouraged by the potential of this innovative technology to supplement water resources for Colorado’s agricultural communities,” said Andrew Rickert, Weather Modification Program Manager with the Colorado Water Conservation Board. “This program will provide valuable data on warm weather modification effectiveness while maintaining our rigorous safety and environmental standards. Rain Enhancement Technologies’ approach represents a new tool in our comprehensive water management strategy.”
The Colorado installation comes as western U.S. agriculture faces persistent drought conditions that have forced farmers to fallow fields, reduce livestock herds, and seek innovative water security solutions. Colorado’s agricultural sector, which consumes approximately
As part of the permit requirements, RAIN will conduct annual target-control evaluations, submit periodic performance reports to project sponsors, and provide detailed annual reports to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The solar-powered system operates autonomously with minimal maintenance requirements and produces no environmental residue through its chemical-free ionization process.
About Rain Enhancement Technologies, Inc.
Rain Enhancement Technologies was founded to provide the world with reliable access to water, one of life’s most important resources. To achieve this mission, RAIN aims to develop, manufacture, and commercialize ionization rainfall generation technology. This weather modification technology seeks to provide the world with reliable access to water and transform business, society, and the planet for the better. The Company is also developing applications for fog mitigation and snow enhancement to expand weather modification capabilities beyond rainfall generation. To learn more, go to www.investor.rainenhancement.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The disclosure herein includes certain statements that are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, (1) statements regarding expected benefits of the Company’s technology in Colorado; (2) references with respect to the anticipated rainfall increases; (3) references to permit renewals and future installations; (4) the projected effectiveness of the WETA system; and (5) potential expansion of operations. These statements are based on various assumptions and on the current expectations of RAIN’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties as set forth in the Company’s filings with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that RAIN does not presently know or currently believes are immaterial. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. RAIN undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made except as required by law or applicable regulation.
Media Contact
Linda Maynard
Rain Enhancement Technologies
Phone: (617) 869-4832
Email: linda@rainenhancement.com
SOURCE: Rain Enhancement Technologies
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
FAQ
What did RAIN announce about its first U.S. installation in Colorado (NASDAQ:RAIN) on November 11, 2025?
RAIN announced its WETA system in Gill, Colorado began operations under a permit valid through October 31, 2026 with potential five-year renewal.
How much land can Rain Enhancement Technologies’ WETA cover in Weld County, Colorado (RAIN)?
The WETA installation can enhance up to 360 square miles, roughly 230,000 acres of agricultural land.
What rainfall gains does RAIN cite for its ionization technology in the Colorado permit announcement?
The company cites peer-reviewed trial results showing potential rainfall increases of 15–18%.
How long is the Colorado weather modification permit for RAIN’s WETA system effective (RAIN)?
The permit is effective through October 31, 2026 and includes the possibility of a five-year renewal.
What operational safeguards and reporting does the Colorado permit require for RAIN’s WETA (NASDAQ:RAIN)?
Requirements include real-time weather monitoring, automatic suspension during National Weather Service severe-weather warnings, annual target-control evaluations, and periodic performance reports.
Is RAIN’s WETA chemical-based and how is it powered in Colorado (RAIN)?
The WETA system is described as chemical-free and operates autonomously using solar power.
Colorado
2 Colorado Tribes fire back at state, governor after court ruling walls off online sports betting
The leaders of two Native American reservations in southern Colorado recently called the state’s ban on their ability to partake in online sports betting an extension of the “troubling legacy” of broken agreements between governments and the Tribes.
A recent ruling by a federal court judge on the issue, along with a petroleum spill that has aggravated the relationship between the state and the Tribes, has apparently reopened old wounds. Healing them may happen in the coming weeks if the two sides can talk.
A money matter
Colorado voters narrowly approved legalized sports gambling here in November 2019. The amount of betting and the amount of tax paid to the state from it has grown substantially since then. In September alone, bettors from across the nation spent more than $99 million online with casinos in Central City, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek.
Reservation-based casinos are important to Native American economies. In 2023, tribally owned gaming operations nationally generated about $42 billion in revenue. Understandably, those reservations seek to maximize that cash flow.
In Colorado, both the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribes started sports betting platforms through their own casinos six months after voters gave online gambling the green light. The Southern Ute Tribe launched the Sky Ute SportsBook through its Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe started its own platform at its Ute Mountain Casino in Towaoc.
According to court documents, the vendor for the Sky Ute Sportsbook received a letter from the Colorado Division of Gaming (CODOG) two weeks after it started.
“[W]e believe that your company is participating in sports betting in Colorado on behalf of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe without complying with Colorado gaming law,” the letter stated.
Later, the vendor working for the Ute Mountain Utes’ operation received the same letter.
The gaming division advised the Tribes to apply for the state betting license, the same license that all other Colorado casinos are required to obtain. With that license would come a promise to pay 10% of net sports betting revenue to the state. The casinos declined, shut down their sports books and sued instead.
“The Tribes claim that Colorado’s actions made their sports betting operations challenging and more expensive,” Judge Gordon Gallagher summarized in last month’s ruling, “effectively freezing them out of the sports betting market.”
Last month, Gallagher dismissed the case.
“Colorado explicitly authorized sports betting, a Class III game, throughout the state,” the Tribes complained in a joint press release following the judge’s decision. “But the State immediately stymied the ability of the Tribes to engage in that activity despite clear authorization under the Gaming Compacts, and instead, elected to benefit out-of-state gaming interests over its relationship with the Tribes. When the Tribes sought to challenge that conduct, the Administration chose to hide behind its immunity. These actions by the Polis Administration in refusing to honor the Gaming Compacts entered into with Colorado’s two federally-recognized Tribes represents one of the lowest points in State-Tribal relations in recent history.”
History
The first gambling approved on a Native American reservation came in 1979 when the Florida Seminoles opened a high-stakes bingo hall. Its legality was challenged, but the U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled it was a legal operation.
In 1988, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) was enacted, giving way to the growth of casinos on reservation land.
Much has changed since then. First, online sports gambling became legal in most states in 2018, thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
That same year, the Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law that banned commercial sports betting in most states. This spurred most states to authorize sports wagering, as Colorado did one year later. This gave those states regulatory authority over such gambling outside reservation boundaries.
Of course, one of the most significant changes to occur was in technology.
“[B]ecause of the ability to place an online bet from a cellular phone or other electronic device, bettors can engage in gambling from
almost anywhere,” Judge Gallagher stated in his ruling. “If the gambler and roulette wheel were on Indian land, IGRA applied. However, in 2025, a gambler can be in Denver and the electronic game processed through a computer server on Southern Ute Indian Tribe land or Ute Mountain Ute Tribe land. Where then does the gaming occur?”
“This is a legal determination for the Court to make,” he stated.
In the end, Gallagher determined that any bet placed off-reservation is regulated by the state.
“That distinction is crucial in this action and fatal to the Tribes’ case,” Gallagher wrote. “A myriad of gambling houses offer legal sports betting in the State of Colorado. To engage in this service, they must remit 10% to the State. The State of Colorado has offered this possibility to the Tribes.”
Anger Spills Over
“The Tribe respects Judge Gallagher and appreciates the time he has given this issue,” the Tribes stated in their recent press release. “We believe a different result is mandated by federal law and will be evaluating how to move forward in the coming weeks.”
But after that expression of hope, the Tribes’ sentiments took a very different tone. The press release referred to the “bitter irony” of the situation – a legal setback over gambling funds, most of which are directed at the state’s effort to protect its water resources, while the Southern Ute Tribe deals with a nearly year-old gasoline spill that threatens the Animas River. Groundwater contamination has forced several residents from their properties.
In the months since CBS Colorado first reported the spill, the company whose pipeline is responsible for it has upgraded the extent of it, from 23,000 gallons to nearly 97,000. The spill is now the largest spill of its kind in Colorado since the state began tracking such incidents in 2016.
“We are confident that had this spill been in Denver instead of a remote, rural part of the state, the response would have been more robust,” the two Tribes stated in the press release. “The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has expended its own resources to ensure the local waterways and resources are protected in our region. It has done so without a single dollar of the millions of dollars in revenue the State has collected from sports betting, and without the benefit of additional revenue from tribally-run sports betting that could have been relied upon had the Gaming Compact been honored.”
The Tribes claimed Colorado Gov. Jared Polis failed to participate in a recent conference call with state and Indigenous leaders about the spill.
“Yesterday’s cancelled call between Governor Polis and (Southern Ute) Chairman (Melvin J.) Baker reflects an alarming lack of urgency on the Governor’s part to work cooperatively with the Tribe on this spill – it brings to mind the troubling legacy of how states have historically disregarded Tribal relations, an approach that is wholly unacceptable in today’s society,” they said. “The history of relations between Tribes and the state and federal governments is one of broken Treaties and agreements. The Polis Administration’s conduct is a reminder that those things we think are an artifact of a distant past still exist today.”
A spokesperson from Gov. Polis’s office responded with a statement:
“We deeply respect the government-to-government relationship the state has with the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian Tribes. We are glad that the court ruled in the state’s favor to ensure Colorado can continue to manage sports betting in a way that works best for Coloradans and our state, and continue funding important water projects around the state. We are dedicated to working together with the Tribes on gaming matters, and we look forward to ongoing conversations with the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian Tribes on this important issue.”
Elsewhere
The issue is not Colorado’s alone. Today, Indian gaming, as it is called, is played in 29 states. There are 532 gaming operations, which include casinos, bingo halls, travel plazas and convenience stores. These are owned by 243 Tribes. In total, they grossed almost $44 billion in fiscal year 2024.
However, according to Tribal Government Gaming, three of the 10 states containing the largest number of Tribes still do not have legal sports betting seven years after SCOTUS gave states the right to allow it. A ballot initiative is in the planning stages for 2028 in California.
Congress could enact a national standard for online sports betting through tribal casinos, but has not taken up the issue.
Adjacent to Colorado (from Tribal Government Gaming):
- All of Arizona’s Tribes can offer in-person wagering and digital betting on the reservation. But off reservation, the 10 Tribes licensed to offer online sports betting are regulated by the state and pay the same 10% tax rate as commercial operators.
- Nebraska voters agreed to legalize sports betting on the November 2020 ballot, and three years later, the first bets were taken. The Winnebago Tribe is a key player on the Nebraska gaming scene, but in this case, the Tribe is regulated and taxed by the state.
- Oklahoma Tribes are hoping to pursue legalizing sports betting when the current governor’s term limits are reached in 2027.
- New Mexico’s Tribes have their own regulatory body and are not beholden to the state. They also do not pay taxes.
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