On Feb. 19-20, Wilderness Workshop and the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) hosted the fourth of five speakers for the annual Naturalist Nights free lecture series. Dr. Christopher Monz is a professor at Utah State University, and teaches classes in recreation ecology and management. He presented to the audience remotely, offering insights on the […]
Annalise Grueter
Posted inSports
Aspen Skiers prove their namesake with double State Championships wins at home
Thursday and Friday, Feb. 20-21, saw a triumphant end to this winter’s Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) downhill skiing race season for Aspen High School (AHS). The Aspen teams hosted this year’s championships for the first time in nine years. The final races also marked a major shift: every prior year, the Skiing State […]
Posted inLocal Government
RFSD Report: Budget and strategic plan updates, recognition of Black History Month
A notable section of the month’s first Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) board of education meeting on Feb. 12 was Superintendent Dr. Anna Cole’s report. Her presentation focused on the district budget, with analysis of internal factors, external challenges, the revised current-year budget and the draft budget for the next school year. Internal identified factors […]
Posted inEnvironment
New ‘Muddy Meter’ aims to mitigate erosion of Red Hill trails
The Red Hill trail system, just off of the Highway 82 and 133 intersection, is one of the most popular and convenient recreation areas in the Valley. How popular? Well, the trailhead receives around 75,000 visitors each year. That is about three-times as many hikers annually compared to the state’s most popular 14,000-feet peaks. It […]
Posted inLocal Government
RFTA Report: BRT Glenwood extension planning still a ways out
This month’s RFTA board meeting was hosted in Glenwood Springs, a deviation from the usual Carbondale Town Hall venue. Many members of the public chose to attend this session, and public comment saw more engagement than usual. Public commentsRobbi O’Meara of Glenwood Springs started out the public comment period. She stated that she was attending […]
Posted inNoticias
El descenso en la matrícula escolar del valle es parte de una tendencia más generalizada; los distritos planean mitigación
Las escuelas de educación secundaria están experimentando un efecto de globo: la deflación. La matrícula no ha aumentado drásticamente en los últimos años, pero las cifras crecían lentamente.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Kevin Fedarko compels audience to get involved with outdoor stewardship
The second 2025 Aspen Winter Words event sold out weeks in advance, and it wasn’t a surprise. The Feb. 5 event at The Arts Campus at Willits (TACAW) featured outdoor writer Kevin Fedarko. His second narrative about the Grand Canyon, “A Walk in the Park,” came out in May 2024 and, just a few weeks […]
Posted inEnvironment
Wildfire preparedness top of mind in Colorado emergency management
Western Colorado communities are working to establish proactive emergency management plans conducive with the arid landscape. In recent years, significant wildfires have changed the conversation around both forest management and the risk fires pose to communities. In-town residents have seen fire breaks cut into the brush and forests on hillsides near their neighborhoods. Emergency managers […]
Posted inEducation
Pulitzer-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar kicks off Winter Words discussing creativity in the age of AI
The doors shut. The lights dropped, save for a single spotlight on a podium at the side of the stage. A slender tuxedo-clad figure emerged out of the audience into that spare brightness. It was not immediately clear whether the first words spoken were from William H. Macy as a local arts enthusiast or as […]
Posted inEducation
Declining enrollment in Valley schools part of a broader trend; districts planning mitigation
Secondary education schools are experiencing a balloon effect: deflation. Enrollment hasn’t increased dramatically in recent years, but numbers were slowly growing. That is starting to change, and local school districts are preparing for what smaller student numbers will mean moving forward. The Sopris Sun spoke with Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) and Aspen School District […]