Colorado consumers filed a record-setting 12,130 complaints with the Colorado attorney general's office in 2020, new data shows.

Driving the news: The pandemic spurred the 24% increase from 2019. It also changed the nature of the complaints.

• The No. 1 complaint involved obtaining refunds from airlines after canceled trips. It replaced robocalls at top of the list.
• Problems with retail sales — from service to delivery issues — more than doubled to land in the third spot.

Flashback: In 2020, the attorney general's office reached settlements with Denver-based Nationwide Medical Supply Inc. and a hand sanitizer company for misleading consumers.

What they're saying: "We were prepared for scammers to prey on consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we acted quickly to warn Coloradans of frauds as we detected them," Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement.

What to watch: Nine out of 10 complaints involving air travel targeted Denver-based Frontier Airlines.

• The Biden administration is reviewing the Frontier complaints after Weiser sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asking for an investigation.

Colorado officials are starting to offer a picture of what life looks like when the pandemic eases its grip.

Driving the news: More school districts are returning to in-person learning before the end of the school year and the state is considering relaxing its rules for event venues, the Denver Post reports.

• Jefferson County schools, the state's second largest district, announced plans Friday to resume in-person learning for middle and high school students starting March 15, joining four other local districts that moved in that direction.
• Denver Public Schools officials said Friday they are starting to discuss how to bring more students back.

At the same time, a number of popular Denver event venues are announcing plans to welcome back fans:

• The Colorado Rockies will allow 12,500 fans into Coors Field for opening day April 1, or 25% capacity, after the state public health department granted permission.
• Red Rocks is seeking approval to allow 2,500 people when the concert season begins in late April. The venue — which holds 9,500 — hopes to reach 75-80% of full capacity by July.

Not so fast: Federal public health officials warned states not to relax restrictions after the latest data showed that infection, hospitalization and death rates may no longer be declining. In Colorado, the infection rate is greater than a week ago.

The big picture: Colorado's reopening depends on an increasing federal supply of vaccines to states.

• The general public can now expect to get vaccines starting in late April or early May, Gov. Jared Polis said on Friday. Earlier estimates put the target date later in summer.

Keeping the Colorado Convention Center closed for most of 2020 cost "far more than expected," Richard Scharf, the president and CEO of Visit Denver, told Axios.

By the numbers: The economic impact of lost convention center business and related hotel bookings last year topped a whopping $720 million.

• This year looks rough, too. The city-owned megavenue has already lost at least 152 vendors — a blow of about $392 million.

Why it matters: Denver's largest meeting space serves as a major economic driver for the downtown district, hosting hundreds of events each year for thousands of people who put their pennies into hotels, shops and restaurants.

Context: Last April, Gov. Polis repurposed the Convention Center into a COVID-19 overflow hospital, "essentially canceling all conventions for the remainder of the year," Scharf said. The alternate care site was never needed.

The good news: The convention center plans to resume hosting events as early as May, Scharf said.

• The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, a major event, returns in August.

Plus: The years-delayed $233 million expansion — which includes another 80,000 square feet in meeting space and a new rooftop terrace — remained on track during the pandemic.

• Officials are now boasting "definite plans" to break ground in June and open in late 2023.

The big picture: The pandemic is fueling competition among cities of all sizes to build bigger, better event spaces, meaning convention tourism could be the next big push to revitalize local economies, the New York Times reports.

🍴 Gov. Polis once again shifted vaccine priority groups, putting restaurant workers further down the list — even though the industry was assured they would be in the same phase as grocery store workers. (9 News)

🌞 An analysis finds regions with a high share of fossil fuel jobs could potentially benefit from wind and solar development — with the right policies in place. (Axios)

🚍 A new bus service at Denver International Airport will transport visitors straight to the mountains through direct routes to Breckenridge or Loveland, thanks to a partnership between United Airlines and Landline. (Denver Post)

❓ Did you know Denver once had a bustling Chinatown? If you didn't, you're not alone — which is why Asian-American leaders are launching a new project to honor Denver's Chinatown history. (Denverite)

🎤 Denver is now home to one of four radio stations in the nation created under the rubric "Urban Alt." The Drop — known as "The People's Station for R&B and Hip Hop" — is at FM signal 104.7. (Denver Post)

Big news: Ziggy Stardust is home!

Details: The fluffy floof, who we reported was stolen last month from his yard in Aurora, returned to his family over the weekend.

• A woman who says she found the dog near the airport called the Denver police on Saturday after seeing FOX31's story on the missing Pomeranian.
• Ziggy's owners had offered a $10,000 reward — cash they'd been saving to buy a house — but only paid a portion. (They chose not to disclose specifics).

🥲 "We're really grateful for everyone's help and social media shares," mom Emily Wright told Axios. "We wouldn't have been able to get him back, if it wasn't for the outpour of support from friends, family and the community."

Morn Mosley II and his five siblings devoted 10 hours to create this massive 77-foot-long snake snow sculpture in front of his mother's house in Park Hill — and locals are loving it.

• Check out more photos of the slithering sculpture on his Instagram page.