Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com from May 4-10. 

1. Body found in Dillon Reservoir identified as Minnesota man who was last seen in November

The Summit County Coroner’s Office has positively identified the body found in Dillon Reservoir near the Frisco disc golf course on Wednesday, April 30, as 51-year-old Leroy Schmidt.

The Moorhead Police Department of Moorhead, Minnesota, has confirmed that a missing person’s case is now closed following the identification of the body found in Dillon Reservoir. The Moorhead police department issued a missing persons alert on Jan. 7, 2025, noting he was last seen or heard from on Nov. 2, 2024. Moorhead police believed he was in the areas of Las Vegas, Nevada, or Omaha, Nebraska.

Coroner Amber Flenniken said the determination of his cause and manner of death is pending an autopsy, which typically takes around six to eight weeks to receive results. Flenniken arrived on scene around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and confirmed Schmidt was found fully clothed. 

Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said people using the disc golf course, which is near the Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area and Frisco Nordic Center, notified authorities about the body on Wednesday. Summit County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Mike Schilling said Schmidt was found in the water near the shoreline.

— Andrew Maciejewski

2. Breckenridge Grand Vacations hotel near Peak 8 base area of ski resort prompts threat of lawsuit while others show support

Five years ago, Breckenridge planning officials signed off on a hotel slated near the base of Breckenridge Ski Resort’s Peak 8. On May 6, they gave approval for an entirely new concept on the same site. 

What is now known as Lot 4 of the Peak 8 subdivision, colloquially called “admin lot,” has been a parcel of land lacking a concrete plan for the last seven years. Local developer Breckenridge Grand Vacations just received clearance to build The Imperial Hotel & Private Residences after a yearlong planning process, with neighbors sharing mixed opinions along the way. 

The project is one of seven parts of the developer’s plan to introduce numerous housing units, both those geared toward the workforce and market-rate ones, and commercial components to key areas of Breckenridge.  

— Kit Geary

3. Here’s what Colorado mountain town housing officials have to say about the term ‘affordable’

One of the sturdiest threads tying Colorado’s High Country communities together is a decades-long sentiment held by many locals that affording to live in the communities they work in is a growing struggle.

It has resulted in officials shifting significant resources toward housing and locals taking to the pollsto approve tax hikes to create more substantial funding streams to go toward solutions. Across Colorado’s mountains, hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into the problem, and affordability issues continue to fuel the relocation of locals who might be considered middle class elsewhere.

School districts have even found themselves participating in the housing game to keep their teachers around. For instance, Summit School District and Breckenridge are considering a deal where district employees will have first dibs on some units in a neighborhood being planned by the town.

— Kit Geary

4. Letter to the editor: Copper Mountain’s expansion is a sad ski industry trend

There’s news this spring from Copper Mountain Resort, which has always been a polite, respectful ski area, clearly reared in a good home. But then Copper fell in with the wrong crowd and turned tragically wrong. 

Copper Mountain recently unveiled plans to expand its operation footprint by 500 acres for skiing while also upgrading trails, facilities and more. The Summit Daily News also wrote a story about how traffic is often a problem in that area on high-use days and storms. 

The wrongness of it all is the unquenchable thirst for the mega-many additional skiers that Copper hopes to lure to Summit County because corporate math makes it seem like it’s not possible to have too many customers. In the language of corporate skiing, there are many words for more — but none for enough.

— Mac Griffith, Keystone

5. Summit Fire & EMS says wildfire in Frisco not expected to grow overnight

Editor’s note: This story was published Saturday, May 10. Further updates can be found here.

Summit Fire & EMS and Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District firefighters have successfully limited the growth of a wildfire near the Whole Foods in Frisco, according to a Summit Fire & EMS Facebook post. No structures are currently threatened by the fire, which was first reported around 5 p.m. Saturday. The post states that the agency does not expect the fire, which is estimated to be around 6.3 acres and contained to town of Frisco property, to grow overnight.

The fire is suspected to have been human-caused, and an investigation is underway, according to Summit Fire & EMS.

— Summit Daily News staff report