Sunflower contest
Where, oh where, is the tallest sunflower reaching for the sky in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys? Perhaps in your garden? Send photos and measurements by Aug. 31 to news@soprissun.com for the chance to win a shout-out and bragging rights. The winner will be announced the first week of September.
Hoop D’Ville this Saturday
Members of the Roaring Fork High School girls basketball team will be playing in the high school division of the Hoop D’Ville outdoor four-on-four basketball tournament at Sayre Park in Glenwood Springs this Saturday, Aug. 1. The Lady Rams tip off against Rifle at 9:30am on the north court. Other participating teams will represent Coal Ridge, Glenwood, North Fork/Meeker and Grand Valley high schools, Rams head coach Mike Vidakovich said. An adult team division will also be playing on the south court. Spectating is free, and the competition will end around 1pm.
Limestone legislation
On July 23, Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Jeff Hurd introduced the Glenwood Hot Springs Protection Act in Congress to protect Glenwood Springs and the local hot springs from the impacts of Rocky Mountain Industrial’s (RMI) proposed limestone quarry expansion. The bill would prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from processing or approving any application for an expansion. The Bureau of Land Management recently accepted RMI’s new application for a 56-acre expansion and mining modification plan. The application is now under technical review and is yet to be approved. On a press call about the bill, Marvin Pinnecoose, acting chairman of the Southern Ute Tribe, said the hot springs in Glenwood hold the power to heal and soothe the soul. “These are our sacred sites,” he said.
Wolf update
A gray wolf pack has settled in Eagle County, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), and an uncollared gray wolf died in the northwestern part of the state this month. CPW announced on July 22 that pups born this spring in Eagle County are part of the Piney Ridge pack — the fifth to form since wolf reintroduction began in December 2023. Two days later, CPW announced the wolf death. No further details are available about the death except that it is under investigation. CPW’s annual report, published in May, shows an estimated 32 wolves in the state. Luke Perkins, CPW statewide public information officer, told The Sopris Sun that this total does not include the two recent wolf deaths or the exact number of pups born this spring.
CORE grants
The Community Office of Resource Efficiency (CORE) awarded nearly $1.42 million to 130 energy-efficiency and electrification projects (120 residential and 10 commercial) in Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle counties within the first half of the year, serving more than double the number of efforts compared to the same time-span last year. According to a press release, the projects will save 3,785 metric tons of carbon emissions over the lifetime of the projects, which equates to not burning 425,903 gallons of gasoline. “Awarding nearly $1.42 million across 130 projects in six months is an achievement our region can celebrate,” Cedric Gamble, CORE’s director of climate action programs, stated in the press release. For details, visit tinyurl.com/CORE2026part1
North Star closure
On Tuesday, July 28, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails announced a mandatory river closure on the North Star Nature Preserve section of the Roaring Fork River, east of Aspen, due to water levels consistently measuring below 20 cubic feet per second. All river access within the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails boundary of the North Star Nature Preserve, from just above South Gate to Stillwater Bridge, is now closed, according to the press release. Folks are still able to access designated areas, including the Wildlife Viewing Platform, James H. Smith Nature Trail and the beach area. Floating upstream or downstream of the beach area is prohibited, “and contact with the riverbed outside the beach area constitutes trespassing,” stated the press release. For more information, visit PitkinCounty.com/1534/North-Star-Aspen
Unaffiliated voters
Unaffiliated voters dominated the primary election, according to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who, on July 24, certified the results. Of the 1.44 million ballots cast, 582,786 were cast by unaffiliated voters, or 40.35% of total votes cast. Democratic voters tallied the second-highest voter turnout, with 486,531 votes cast, or 33.69%. Republican voters tallied 371,181 votes cast, or 25.7%. Libertarian voters constituted 0.25% of the total vote, with 3,627 ballots cast, and the Unity Party made up 0.01% of the count, with 179 ballots cast. The 1.44 million Colorado voters who cast ballots in the primary account for 24.02% of Colorado’s 6.01 million population, according to July 2025 population estimates.
They say it’s your birthday!
Folks celebrating another trip around the sun this week include: Nancy Barnett, Debbie Bruell and Cheryl Loggins (July 31); Anibal Guevara and Sarah Uhl (Aug. 1); Jeff Dahl, Hattie Gianinetti, Catherine Masters, Maciej Mrotek and Justin Patrick (Aug. 2); Margarita Alvarez, Gavin Dahl and Sara Preston (Aug. 3); Megan Gianinetti, Kallie Hyer, Tony Madrigal and Andrew Roberts-Gray (Aug. 4); Cilla Dickinson, Rosie McSwain, Shiloh Merriott and Ixchel Muniz (Aug. 5).