Good Morning, Colorado, you’re listening to the Daily Sun-Up with the Colorado Sun. It’s Thursday September 30th.

 

Today - Even as the state and federal government works to limit the environmental impacts of coal mining, Colorado has just allowed six coal mining companies to reduce their payments for access to public land.

 

But before we begin, let’s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett’s book “Colorado Day by Day”:

 

Today, we’re going back to September 30th, 1873 when a remarkable visitor achieved her goal of reaching the summit of Longs Peak, one of the most challenging mountains in Colorado. Isabella Bird, a globetrotting Briton, exhausted her vocabulary in lavishing praise on Estes Park and present-day Rocky Mountain National Park.

 

Now, our feature story.

 

Colorado is allowing all six companies mining coal in the state to reduce the payments they make to the federal and state government in exchange for access to public land. The annual reduction of royalty payments recently approved by Colorado means coal mining companies are paying less every year, even as both the state and federal government work to limit the impacts of coal mining. 

 

Colorado Sun reporter Michael Booth looked into why state officials approved these smaller payments from coal mining companies. 

 

Read Michael’s story at coloradosun dot com. 

 

And Before we go, here are a few stories that you should know about today:

 

Colorado’s Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission late Tuesday approved a new eight-district congressional map. Some Democrats are not pleased, even though incumbents remain in their districts under the proposed map, which now must be approved by the Supreme Court by Nov. 1 or sent back to the commission for revisions.

 

Telluride’s Original Thinkers festival kicks off today, with an array of artists, activists, musicians and movie-makers exploring the world’s triumphs and challenges in the last year. 

 

The ACLU team that helped pass a recent slate of sweeping criminal justice reforms in Colorado resigned this month. The nonpartisan civil rights nonprofit is accused of being too aggressive in wielding its new status as one of the most influential groups in the state. Supporters say the ACLU’s hard push for the end of the death penalty and police reform led to important change. 

 

Colorado’s rental assistance program offering up to 15 months of free rent to residents struggling during the pandemic has paid out only 15% of its available funds. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program is now distributing about $6 million a week and has helped about 18,000 Coloradans. But there are still thousands more applicants waiting to be approved for help with their rent payments.

 

For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. And don’t forget to tune in again tomorrow for a special holiday episode. Now, a quick message from our editor.

 

The Colorado Sun is non-partisan and completely independent. We're always dedicated to telling the in-depth stories we need today more than ever. And The Sun is supported by readers and listeners like you.

 

Right  now you can head to ColoradoSun.com and become a member starting at $5 per month and if you bump it up to $20 per month you'll get access to our politics newsletter, 'The Unaffiliated,' as well as our outdoors newsletter, 'The Outsider,' and our new health and environment newsletter 'The Temperature,' -- All three exclusive newsletters delivered to your inbox every week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good Morning, Colorado, you&rsquo;re listening to the Daily Sun-Up with the Colorado Sun. It&rsquo;s Thursday September 30th.
&nbsp;
Today - Even as the state and federal government works to limit the environmental impacts of coal mining, Colorado has just allowed six coal mining companies to reduce their payments for access to public land.
&nbsp;
But before we begin, let&rsquo;s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett&rsquo;s book &ldquo;Colorado Day by Day&rdquo;:
&nbsp;
Today, we&rsquo;re going back to September 30th, 1873 when a remarkable visitor achieved her goal of reaching the summit of Longs Peak, one of the most challenging mountains in Colorado. Isabella Bird, a globetrotting Briton, exhausted her vocabulary in lavishing praise on Estes Park and present-day Rocky Mountain National Park.
&nbsp;
Now, our feature story.
&nbsp;
Colorado is allowing all six companies mining coal in the state to reduce the payments they make to the federal and state government in exchange for access to public land. The annual reduction of royalty payments recently approved by Colorado means coal mining companies are paying less every year, even as both the state and federal government work to limit the impacts of coal mining.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Colorado Sun reporter Michael Booth looked into why state officials approved these smaller payments from coal mining companies.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Read Michael&rsquo;s story at coloradosun dot com.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
And Before we go, here are a few stories that you should know about today:
&nbsp;
Colorado&rsquo;s Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission late Tuesday approved a new eight-district congressional map. Some Democrats are not pleased, even though incumbents remain in their districts under the proposed map, which now must be approved by the Supreme Court by Nov. 1 or sent back to the commission for revisions.
&nbsp;
Telluride&rsquo;s Original Thinkers festival kicks off today, with an array of artists, activists, musicians and movie-makers exploring the world&rsquo;s triumphs and challenges in the last year.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The ACLU team that helped pass a recent slate of sweeping criminal justice reforms in Colorado resigned this month. The nonpartisan civil rights nonprofit is accused of being too aggressive in wielding its new status as one of the most influential groups in the state. Supporters say the ACLU&rsquo;s hard push for the end of the death penalty and police reform led to important change.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Colorado&rsquo;s rental assistance program offering up to 15 months of free rent to residents struggling during the pandemic has paid out only 15% of its available funds. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program is now distributing about $6 million a week and has helped about 18,000 Coloradans. But there are still thousands more applicants waiting to be approved for help with their rent payments.
&nbsp;
For more information on all of these stories, visit our website,<a href="http://www.coloradosun.com/"> www.coloradosun.com</a>. And don&rsquo;t forget to tune in again tomorrow for a special holiday episode. Now, a quick message from our editor.
&nbsp;
The Colorado Sun is non-partisan and completely independent. We're always dedicated to telling the in-depth stories we need today more than ever. And The Sun is supported by readers and listeners like you.
&nbsp;
Right&nbsp; now you can head to ColoradoSun.com and become a member starting at $5 per month and if you bump it up to $20 per month you'll get access to our politics newsletter, 'The Unaffiliated,' as well as our outdoors newsletter, 'The Outsider,' and our new health and environment newsletter 'The Temperature,' -- All three exclusive newsletters delivered to your inbox every week.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Welcome to The Colorado Sun's daily podcast, The Daily Sun-Up. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. For more visit us at https://coloradosun.com/.

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