Stories in this list received the most page views on postindependent.com from April 13-April 20:

1. Medicaid and SNAP are set for an overhaul. Colorado counties and lawmakers are wondering how to respond

With major changes coming to the country’s social safety net system, Colorado counties are bracing for heavier caseloads and federal funding cuts. 

Under the sprawling tax and spending law passed last summer by congressional Republicans, which President Donald Trump coined the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, states could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars as they race to implement new eligibility requirements for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. 

States will now have to reverify Medicaid eligibility twice per year, rather than annually, and ensure enrollees comply with new work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP. 

-Robert Tann 

2. Cloud seeding couldn’t save Colorado from a historically bad snowpack, but the dry winter sparked more interest in the technology

Colorado’s weather modification program is seeing an increased interest in cloud seeding technology after the record-low snowpack this past winter.

In the past couple of weeks, Weather Modification Program Manager Andrew Rickert said he’s received inquiries from two major ski resorts hoping to learn more about cloud seeding, which can increase the amount of snowfall a storm drops.

“After a year like this, it makes sense that these ski resorts are looking for anything they can do to bolster snowpack,” Rickert said. “They’re very interested in seeing what else they can do to get more precipitation.”

-Ryan Spencer 

3. I-70 closed over Vail Pass again for multiple crashes

3 p.m.: Westbound lanes of Interstate 70 are closed at Copper Mountain due to a four-vehicle crash, according to CoTrip.org.

1 p.m.: Vail Pass has reopened.

11:40 a.m.: Eastbound I-70 is closed over Vail Pass due to safety concerns, according to an Eagle County Alert

-Vail Daily Staff report 

4. Roaring Fork Schools announces new Carbondale Middle School principal

The Roaring Fork School District announced that Cora Carballeira will return to Carbondale Middle School as principal beginning in the 2026-27 school year, according to a district news release.

Carballeira has an extensive history in Carbondale schools. Since 2021, she has served on the Roaring Fork High School leadership team as dean of culture and assistant principal. Before joining RFHS, she was a teacher leader at Carbondale Middle School from 2002 to 2021. She also has worked as an adjunct instructor at Colorado Mountain College for the past five years.

“I am truly honored to return to the Carbondale Middle School community,” Carballeira said in the news release announcing the change. “The dedicated educators at CMS have been a source of inspiration to me over the years, and I am grateful for the support of the CMS families and community. Middle school is such a pivotal time in a student’s educational journey. I am committed to supporting CMS students as they build the skills, confidence, and character that will prepare them for high school and beyond.”

-Staff report 

5. Betsy After resigns from RFSD school board amid family medical needs

Roaring Fork School District Board Director Betsy After resigned during Wednesday’s meeting, saying she could no longer give the district the level of service students deserve as she focuses on her son’s recovery after a Feb. 16 ski accident and her family’s upcoming medical needs.

After told the Post Independent her son, Jules, was injured on Buttermilk Mountain in February. She said he suffered a concussion and later developed an eye complication that will require ongoing medical care and surgery. He is a student at Carbondale Middle School.

“His recovery and caring for him has been a lot more complicated than we anticipated at the outset of the accident,” After told the Post Independent. “It just is requiring a lot of time, a lot of attention, a lot of care. So something had to give for me personally, so I can keep my day job and manage his health and recovery and my family. So the thing that had to go was the job that I was doing as a school board member.”

-Taylor Cramer