Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1. 

1. A billionaire, a land swap, gold medal fishing, ‘dinosaur’ trout and a permit proposal anglers are calling a ‘bait and switch’ in Colorado

Just months after the federal government closed on a land exchange with a billionaire, a proposal to institute a permit system on the Blue River has ignited a conversation about river access and fishery health in Colorado.

Blue Valley Ranch, a more than 2,000-acre property owned by billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II, and the nonprofit Friends of the Lower Blue River say a permit system is necessary to manage the negative impacts of increasing fishing pressure.

On the busiest days in recent years, the Lower Blue River — stretches of which are designated as Gold Medal fishing — has seen up to 45 boats on the river, according to data provided by Blue Valley Ranch. Meanwhile, the ranch’s data also show that fish mortality has increased while the number of fish per mile has dropped significantly in recent years.

“The Lower Blue River, long recognized as one of the greatest trout fisheries in the world, is at a crossroads,” the Friends of the Lower Blue River’s website explains. “With increase in use, so have the fishing pressures on the river. … Fish populations are declining, and the river’s world-class trout fishery is quietly slipping away.”

As currently proposed, the permit system would only apply to boaters planning to fish the Lower Blue River, while nonfishing crafts or those wading to fish would not need a permit. The Friends of the Lower Blue River launched a stakeholder process earlier this year to determine parameters of the permit system.

— Ryan Spencer, Oct. 28

2. I-70 reopens at tunnels

 Westbound Interstate 70 is moving again after being closed for more than an hour.

— Summit Daily News staff, Oct. 28

3. As Colorado mountain towns push for affordable housing, unreliable income data complicates their efforts

Spencer and Camille Messer are worried about getting a raise. 

The Eagle County couple, who live in a mobile home with their two children — aged 4 and 2 — may finally qualify for a highly coveted, deeply subsidized house through Habitat for Humanity, one of the few options for skirting the area’s sky-high real estate prices. 

Looming development plans for their mobile home community may eventually force them to move. Neither wants to go back to renting, and they say a Habitat house may be their best —and only — option for staying in the Vail Valley. 

But like most affordable housing in mountain towns, these homes are in short supply, high demand, and often come with strict income limits based on a longstanding, but imperfect, federal metric. If either of them sees even a small pay bump — any more than 2.5% — they may fall outside the cutoff to qualify.

“It’s the strangest type of housing insecurity,” said Spencer Messer, who works as an English teacher and cross-country coach at Battle Mountain High School. “It’s just weird when you have a career and you do as many things as you can to better yourself … that theoretically should put us in a better position to try to buy something.”

“We have to be cautious,” said Camille Messer, a part-time nurse at Vail Health, “about making sure that we’re not making too much money.”

As mountain communities race to dig themselves out of an affordable housing crisis, the range of housing needs is growing across a broader income spectrum. 

— Robert Tann, Oct. 28

4. Coroner identifies family killed in fatal October I-70 crash

Three people died in a semitractor-trailer crash the morning of Sunday, Oct. 12, on Interstate 70 at mile marker 208 east of Silverthorne.

Summit County Coroner Amber Flenniken released the identities of the three decedents, who were a family from West Palm Beach, Florida. Demario Torres, 39, Erlande Torres, 37 and their daughter Abigail Israel, 9, died in the crash.

The crash occurred around 5:42 a.m. Oct. 12 when the semitractor-trailer veered off the road to the right while approaching a curve to the right then came back onto the road, struck the center concrete barrier and rolled across the road, according to a Colorado State Patrol news release.

The semi became “fully engulfed” in flames as it rolled across the road, the release stated, and it blocked all lanes of travel when it came to a stop. The crash closed the highway until around 6 p.m. Oct. 12.

The crash investigation will take weeks if not months, according to state patrol. Anyone who may have witnessed the crash and has not spoken to investigators should contact the Colorado State Patrol Dispatch at 970-249-4392, reference VC250372 and be prepared to provide their name and contact information so investigators can reach them.

— Kyle McCabe, Oct. 25

5. Summit County man receives jail time, probation period and rehabilitation requirement for sexual exploitation of a child charges

The local man Summit County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested in April 2024 for sexual exploitation of a child received his sentence Oct. 13.

Judge Reed Owens sentenced Khidhr Odom, 33, to 90 days in jail and a four-year probation period with a deferred sentence, meaning the case could be dismissed if Odom does not violate the terms of his parole.

Odom’s parole requires him to register as a sex offender, only use the internet to clock in at his job, attend an inpatient treatment program and follow its recommendations, among other conditions.

— Kyle McCabe, Oct. 27