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• Today's weather: Fall who? Sunny, with a high of 81.

🎂 Happy birthday to our members Ilene Kasper, Sandra Hagen Solin, Jody Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Johnston, and early HBD to Bill Ledebuhr and Marianne Swayze!

Today’s newsletter is 967 words — a 3.5-minute read.

The state's wolf reintroduction program is caught in a fundamental bind: building a self-sustaining population while limiting livestock losses for ranchers.

Why it matters: Nearly three years into a voter-mandated effort, Colorado is still searching for a way to make its wolf experiment work.

Driving the news: Colorado Parks and Wildlife this week suspended its policy allowing lethal removal of wolves that repeatedly prey on livestock, after the agency killed five wolves since April.

• The agency says future removals will be case by case using a "very conservative approach" due to concerns the population may not grow this year.

By the numbers: CPW has detected 45 wolves, including 20 pups born this year.

• But adult survival was just 61% last biological year, compared with roughly 75% that CPW says is typical for an unharvested wolf population.

State of play: The divide that's defined Colorado's wolf program from the start is deepening.

• Agricultural groups condemned the suspension — arguing lethal removal is necessary for conflict management.
• Wolf advocates applauded it and are pushing CPW to make the change permanent.

The intrigue: Don Gittleson, a Grand County rancher who's lost livestock to wolves and sought their removal, doesn't fit neatly into either camp.

• "Honestly, what [CPW] was doing wasn't working," he tells Axios.
• Gittleson argues CPW has been killing young wolves instead of older animals he believes teach them to prey on livestock, though he acknowledges the state's mandate limits its options.

Threat level: He calls the reintroduction "probably the largest calamity that CPW's ever had in their history."

Between the lines: CPW's margin for error is narrowing.

• Kill too many wolves and the state risks undermining its recovery mandate. Remove too few problem wolves and livestock losses could further erode ranchers' trust.
• "Their hands are tied," Gittleson says of wildlife officials.

What we're watching

Summit FC broke ground yesterday on its permanent stadium at Santa Fe Yards, unveiling renderings of its future home.

State of play: The 12,500-seat stadium, with standing-room capacity expanding the total to 13,000 seats, will anchor the 14-acre site near South Broadway and I-25.

Reality check: It's smaller — and later — than initially planned.

• The club's initial plan called for 14,500 seats.
• And the stadium's now expected to be completed by the end of 2028.
• Architectural firm Populous is emphasizing social spaces for fans, including expanded terraces and seats closer to the field.

Context: Summit FC will keep playing home games at its temporary 12,000-seat Centennial stadium next year and for most of the 2028 season.

• The club opened the CommonSpirit Performance Center, its permanent training facility near the temporary stadium, in June.

What they're saying: "We are laying the foundation for something that future generations of athletes and fans can take pride in for years to come," club captain Lindsey Heaps said in a statement.

What's next: Summit FC is fighting for a playoff spot with four regular-season games remaining.

Pass to a soccer fan

Go ahead and toss those greasy pizza boxes into your composting bins.

• Acceptable compost items now include food-soiled paper, the city announced Tuesday.

♻️ The big picture: That means items like coffee filters, napkins and paper towels, sugar bags, tea bags, toothpicks, wooden chopsticks or skewers and uncoated paper plates can be thrown in.

Context: The city initially banned those items to limit trash contamination.

• But low contamination rates, customer feedback and discussions with the city's compost processor prompted officials to loosen the rules.

How it works: Waste Management turns materials collected by the city's curbside programs into a soil amendment to be used on lawns, gardens and fields.

💰 Follow the money: The change won't prompt any additional costs for the city, transportation department spokesperson Nancy Kuhn tells us.

What they're saying: "We hope these changes continue to bring awareness to the compost program," Kuhn says.

What's next: Request new cart stickers with the updated guidelines by emailing [email protected].

Tell your neighbor

🕊️ Former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart died yesterday. She had resigned from the court in January, citing health reasons. Her cause of death wasn't released. (Colorado Sun)

🍎 Denver school board member DJ Torres — who was facing accusations of policy violations — resigned yesterday, citing "interpersonal conflict" and "politics." (Chalkbeat)

✅ Colorado's pro sports teams — including the Broncos, Rockies, Nuggets and Avs — endorsed Ballot Measure 7A, which would raise taxes to fund the "CoCo" passenger train expansion. (Denver Post 🔑)

🦕 The Denver Museum of Nature & Science yesterday named Kirk Johnson, who's led the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History since 2012, as its next president and CEO starting Feb. 1, Alayna reports.

Coffee lovers needn't travel far along the Front Range to find some of North America's best beans.

Driving the news: Lakewood-based Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters recently earned the top prize at the Global Coffee Awards, winning Best Roaster in the U.S. and Canada, plus a gold and a silver in two additional categories.

How it works: Two days of double-blind judging took place in Houston in August, pitting roasters against each other.

📍 If you go: Sweet Bloom has three locations in metro Denver, including its flagship Lakewood shop, along with storefronts in Arvada and Westminster.

• A fourth is in the works in Golden.

Tell a caffeine addict

🤧 John is scheduling his flu shot!

🎶 Alayna is checking out PorchFest.

😷 Esteban is taking it easy this weekend after catching a bug during his work travels.

Thanks to our editor, Gigi Sukin.