These Colorado schools are housing teachers and staff

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Good morning, Colorado. As we get ready to turn the calendar to the last month of the year, a couple of housekeeping notes from us here at The Sun.

First, a reminder that we’re in the middle of our Winter Membership Drive. Our goal is to add or upgrade 200 members by our Dec. 17 deadline, with the bonus that every dollar will be matched by the Colorado Media Project.

If you’re not already a member or if you are interested in upgrading an existing membership, there’s no more impactful time to join than now.

And our next free live event is less than a week away, and just in time for open enrollment. Health reporter John Ingold will speak with a panel of experts about choosing the right health insurance plan. That’s coming up Wednesday, Dec. 6. RSVP for free here.

Now let’s turn to today’s news from The Sun.

EDUCATION

How two Colorado mountain school districts are working to house hundreds of teachers and staff

C.P. Martinez and his son, Te, install holiday lights on the tree in front of their home at the Roaring Fork School District’s staff housing neighborhood Wednesday in Carbondale. Martinez is a teacher at Colorado Prep Academy High School while his wife teaches at Roaring Fork High School. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

A report published Thursday by the Keystone Policy Center spotlights how two Colorado school districts — Roaring Fork and Eagle County — are working to develop housing that can accommodate educators and staff who aren’t being paid enough to live in the communities where they teach and work. Erica Breunlin has more details.

POLITICS

President Joe Biden, speaking on Lauren Boebert’s home turf, touts his clean energy work

President Joe Biden speaks at CS Wind on Wednesday in Pueblo. (Jack Dempsey, The Associated Press)

President Biden stopped by Pueblo’s CS Wind factory Wednesday as part of his “Investing in America” tour, a day after attending a fundraiser in Cherry Hills Village. And while speaking in the biggest city in Rep. Lauren Boebert’s district, the president dedicated part of his speech to criticizing Boebert’s lack of support for the Inflation Reduction Act. “And she called this law a massive failure,” Biden said. “Tell that to the 850 Coloradans who get new jobs in Pueblo at CS Wind thanks to this law.” Olivia Prentzel has more from the president’s visit.

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ENVIRONMENT

Suncor under fire again with new lawsuit, new pollution releases

Suncor Energy’s Commerce City plant photographed Feb. 17. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)

The Suncor Refinery in Commerce City keeps reporting accidental toxic air releases. Now, the watchdog Center for Biological Diversity is suing the EPA, saying the agency should have rejected Colorado’s operating permit renewal for Suncor’s Plant 2. Michael Booth has more information.

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Environmental justice grant will fund new urban gardens in Denver neighborhoods. Denver Urban Gardens plans to add new community gardens and food forests based on resident priorities, reports Clare Zhang.

CULTURE

Where to find Colorado holiday markets this year, and what you can expect

Astrid Hausdörfer manages Old German Christmas, where gifts and ornaments from Haselbach, Germany, are sold at the Denver Christkindlmarket. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)

I have a friend from central Europe visiting for Christmas this year, and one of the first things they asked me was where to find the markets. My American mind wondered why they couldn’t Google King Soopers themselves, but eventually I realized that they were referring to holiday markets, which are a much more common thing in their part of the world. But it turns out Colorado has tons of them. Parker Yamasaki has this handy guide to the hundreds of small business owners and craftspeople in Colorado taking their trades to holiday markets all around the state this year. We’ve even mapped out the locations for you.

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MORE NEWS

Colorado police sergeant, suspect killed in a shootout after a traffic stop. The suspects fled in their vehicle, and shots were exchanged with police a short time later. Prosecutors say Aurora paramedics ignored Elijah McClain’s distress and instead injected him with fatal dose of ketamine. Aurora Fire Department paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and several counts each of assault.

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Karen Garner, woman with dementia violently arrested by Loveland police, dies at 76. Her family remembers her as a “vibrant, creative woman who loved life.”
— The Denver Post The Jewish National Fund USA’s Denver conference and the protests around it, explained. The event, scheduled to begin Thursday, has become a focal point in recent weeks for local reactions to the Israel-Hamas war.
— Denverite Colorado’s newest town is ready to elect its first-ever leaders. Keystone will elect a mayor and six council members Jan. 30.
— Summit Daily “I shouldn’t be in this situation.” Broncos’ Kareem Jackson to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell while one game into a four-game suspension for what the NFL has called repeated unnecessarily hard hits to the opponent’s head area.
— 9News

An artwork from last year’s Bad Art Night. Now in its third consecutive year, Bad Art Night is more than just a chance to drink beer and make bad art. It’s also a competition. (Photo courtesy of Meredith Badler, Colorado Business Committee for the Arts)

Bad Art Night. The art world can be a stuffy place. Bad Art Night is a chance to air it out. It’s an opportunity to loosen expectations, flip everything on its head and try to make the worst piece of art possible.

“I taught elementary school art where I had to be really positive all of the time,” said Katie Taft, the facilitator of Bad Art Night. “So it’s really fun to be like, ‘That sucks!’”

Now in its third year, Bad Art Night is part of RiNo Arts District’s monthly “Tools for a Creative Life” workshop series, which offers a space for creatives to learn practical skills — like photographing their artwork, or copyright law in the age of AI —and connect with peers. But Bad Art Night isn’t just for artists and creatives, which is one of Taft’s favorite aspects of the evening (a close second to heckling the art makers). It’s actually the contrary, she said. It’s a great place for people who don’t usually make art, to make art.

Taft provides prompts throughout the night, and participants have an allotted amount of time to construct the worst piece possible using the materials provided. “It’s really humorous, really enjoyable, really social,” Taft said. Then she added: “And it sells out every year.”

Free; Dec. 6, 6-8 p.m.; River North Brewery, 3400 Blake St., Denver

Ullr Fest. Since 1963 the people of Breckenridge have shown their devotion to snow and winter with Ullr Fest, an annual festival with Nordic roots that skews wild, wild West. Picture Viking hats, an ice plunge, a giant bonfire and the world’s longest shotski. Free; Dec. 7-9; Main Street, Breckenridge Shining Mountains Film Festival. A two-day film festival created to educate viewers about Native history, struggles, cultures and traditions. The documentary “Lakota Nation vs. United States” opens the festival Friday, with a short film program and another feature documentary Saturday. $65 festival pass, $28 general admission; Dec. 1-2; Wheeler Opera House, 320 E. Hyman Ave., Aspen All of the holiday markets. As mentioned in the story above, there are dozens of holiday markets to choose from this time of year. Some highlights opening this weekend include the Georgetown Christmas Market, Telluride Holiday Arts Bazaar, Boulder Winter Farmers Market, and the Holiday Food and Gift Festival in Colorado Springs.