Rabu, 22 Juli 2026

CoCo Plan, Odyssey Issues, and DIA 5K

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1893, schoolteacher and poet Katharine Lee Bates wrote what would later become “America the Beautiful” after climbing to the top of Pikes Peak.

Mudslides shut down part of Interstate 70 on the Western Slope yesterday. Meanwhile, the town of Carbondale had its own road trouble when a sinkhole opened up in the middle of West Main Street. Read the full stories below.

Colorado just came off one of its driest winters on record, and the question hanging over the state is whether next season will provide relief. Forecasters say the answer may already be forming in the Pacific. NOAA has confirmed El Niño is back, with an 81% chance it reaches "very strong" status by winter, and climatologists say Colorado should be paying close attention. In today's episode of The Flyover Podcast, Ayla breaks down what El Niño actually is and the five ways it could shape the months ahead. So is Colorado about to flip from record dry to buried in snow? Tune in here!

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Mudslides Close I-70

Interstate 70 was closed in both directions between Silt and New Castle Tuesday after a landslide pushed mud, water, and debris across more than 300 yards of highway Monday night.

CDOT said the debris was up to 3 feet deep in places, and crews were still working Tuesday with no estimate for when the highway will reopen.

Flash flooding also closed roads near Peach Valley and County Road 214, where deputies reported swift-moving water and multiple logs blocking the pavement.

More rain is expected on the Western Slope today as monsoonal moisture pushes into Colorado, raising fresh concerns about flash flooding in burn-scarred areas.

CoCo Plan Unveiled

State officials Monday unveiled a phased plan for the Front Range Passenger Rail District's Colorado Connector (CoCo), with a Fort Collins-to-Denver starter service still on track to launch by 2029.

If voters approve a one-third-cent sales tax in November, the district says two daily round trips could run the full 190-mile Pueblo-to-Fort Collins route within five years.

District general manager Sal Pace said full buildout would cost $2.7 billion, run on existing BNSF and Union Pacific tracks, and be operated for the district by Amtrak.

Planners expect most riders to be headed to concerts, games, and day trips rather than commuting. The plan takes shape as RTD grapples with falling ridership and a budget shortfall topping $200 million.

Technical Issues Crash Odyssey Screenings

Technical failures have plagued screenings of blockbuster epic The Odyssey at Denver’s Regal UA Colorado Center, one of only 25 theaters in the U.S.—and 41 in the world—that can play the film in its original IMAX 70mm format.

Just days into the film’s run, the theater’s projector broke down, forcing Regal to switch to a digital projector. The switch blindsided fans, some of whom traveled hours for a 70mm screening at the booked-out venue.

Several moviegoers who opted to stay for the digital screening reported even more technical difficulties. Experts attribute the trouble to the huge digital file size needed to project the film.

It’s unclear when Regal’s repairs will finish. Colorado's only other 70mm theater, in Colorado Springs, says its own reel damage has already been fixed.

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➤ Centennial: Arapahoe County deputies cited and released four protesters Monday during a "die-in" outside the city's ICE field office. (More)

➤ Aurora: Two operators of a local residential care facility face charges after an investigation into mistreatment of at-risk adults, including allegedly tying one resident to a wheelchair. (More)

➤ Fort Collins: The city paid $500,000 to settle a lawsuit from a Nebraska man wrongfully arrested for DUI after he stopped to help crash victims in 2021. (More)

➤ Roggen: A fire earlier this month destroyed a local farm's $250,000 storage building and about $200,000 in equipment, prompting a community fundraiser that's already raised $40,000. (More)

➤ Carbondale: The town closed part of West Main Street early Tuesday after a large sinkhole formed in the road. (See Photo)

➤ Castle Rock: A former Denver Nugget, Tywon Lawson, was arrested on suspicion of stealing vodka from a local store last week. (More)

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➤ The Colorado Rockies traded reliever Seth Halvorsen to the Dodgers this week for two minor leaguers, the first deal between the NL West rivals in over a decade. Halvorsen averaged 98.8 mph on his fastball this season but currently has a shoulder injury. (More)

➤ The Denver Broncos are likely bringing back Michael Wilhoite, the team's former outside linebackers coach, following the dismissal of all criminal charges from his 2025 arrest for allegedly assaulting a police officer. (More)

➤ Former Colorado State head football coach Leon Fuller died earlier this month at age 87. Fuller led the Rams from 1982 to 1988 and is credited with hiring Sonny Lubick as his offensive coordinator, laying the foundation for CSU's success in the 1990s. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA

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➤ AdventHealth and Intermountain Health, two of Colorado's largest hospital systems, signed a letter of intent Monday to form a joint venture combining their Denver-area hospitals, including three Intermountain sites AdventHealth would take over. (More)

➤ Denver City Council voted unanimously Monday to postpone a final vote on an ordinance letting some bars and clubs stay open until 4 a.m. The vote was taken in the wake of a deadly nightclub shooting that stoked community concerns. (More)

➤ Xcel Energy is burying power lines along U.S. 36 and 75th Street as Boulder develops a broader strategy to fight outages, which hit the city nearly twice as hard in 2024 as the rest of Xcel's Colorado customers. (More)

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➤ Loveland Ski Area is holding a lottery sale of 130 chairs from its retired Lift 5, a 1975 chairlift. (More)

➤ Denver International Airport (DIA) will host a sunrise 5K on one of its runways Sept. 12, the second such race in DIA's history. (More)

➤ Montrose Regional Health's Tiffany Stewart won the 2026 Community Hospital Corporation Mike Williams Award, which recognizes hospital employees for compassion and service to caregivers and their community. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Forecasters warn a record-strength El Niño could decide whether your state floods or dries out. (Hear Details)

➤ Mass shootings swept through eight states last weekend, leaving dozens of victims as investigators continue to search for suspects. (Hear Episode)

➤ The Secret Service officer who took a bullet stopping a gunman at the White House Correspondents' Dinner is being honored. (Listen Now)