Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com in the past week.

1. Summit County servers stung by lack of visitors with lowest occupancy rates since 2015

Tips have been low for Summit County businesses this summer. 

Tim Applegate, managing partner and partial owner at Sauce on the Blue in Silverthorne, said people aren’t spending as much money at all of his restaurant locations this summer. “Tickets themselves are lower,” he said.

Therefore, tips are lower too. 

— Eili Wright

2. Police arrest man who bragged about criminal activity during Summit County Uber ride

Michael McManus has seen a lot in his 6.5 years driving for Uber in Summit County.

Daily drives to Denver and more than 15,000 trips have given him many stories, but a trip to the Denver area on July 5 proved to be his most memorable yet. It was on that drive when a passenger told McManus he stole money from multiple banks, according to video footage captured by McManus that day.

Earlier this year, on June 30, a bank teller at Alpine Bank in Dillon called 911 to report suspicious behavior, an affidavit filed July 1 states. Dispatchers said the teller reported a man — later identified as Jonathan Dugan, 37 — was at the bank attempting to cash a fraudulent check, as Dugan had done at other Alpine Banks in Vail, Avon, Edwards, Eagle, West Glenwood, New Castle, Boulder, Cherry Creek, a tech center and Union Station for a total sum of $66,650, the affidavit reads.

— Luke Vidic

3. La Nina could persist this winter for the 3rd straight year, something that’s only happened 2 times in over 70 years

La Nina weather patterns are likely to continue into the winter according to the National Weather Service. La Nina was partially to blame for lower snowfalls through the month of December last year, and the pattern could return this year, although meteorologists say it’s too early to be certain.

La Nina tends to bring wetter than normal conditions for the northern half of the U.S. and drier than normal conditions for the southern half, with the dividing line falling on Colorado’s equator. As a result, northern Colorado tends to see increased precipitation with southern Colorado receiving less precipitation.

For Summit County, a mountain environment nestled in the heart of the state, predicting precipitation from La Nina can be tricky, Boulder’s National Weather Service Meteorologist Bruno Rodriguez said.

— Luke Vidic

4. Eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 reopened following RV fire inside Eisenhower Tunnel

At approximately 11:58 a.m. Aug. 13, Colorado State Patrol received a call about a recreational vehicle that had caught fire in the Eisenhower Tunnel eastbound on Interstate 70. 

The eastbound tunnel was closed due to the blaze, but all lanes were reopened by 12:50 p.m.

Inside the RV, there was a single occupant with a dog, said Gary Cutler, spokesperson for Colorado State Patrol. He added that there were no injuries to the human or animal after they escaped the tunnel. 

— Eili Wright

5. With AirBnBs on the rise, local reflects on over 25 years she hosted a traditional bed and breakfast in Summit County

Hanging on the wall of Kristi Blinco’s entryway that hundreds of people have passed through is a cross-stitch framed in gold. Below a little cottage with green stitched trees reads, “Let me live in the house by the side of the road and be a friend to man.” 

Blinco thinks at one point it was her mother’s. But now, she knows it serves as a kind of philosophy for the Blinco home. 

Blinco and her husband George, along with their two children Justin and Sarah, ran Snowberry Hill Bed & Breakfast out of their home in Summit Cove for over 25 years.

— Eili Wright