Stories in this list received the most page views on postindependent from June 9-16.

1. Western Slope drivers, riders an commuters weigh in on Colorado’s long-term planning for the mountains, including 1-70 and highway 82

Interstate 70 congestion, Colorado Highway 82 safety and the availability of public transportation were on the minds of Western Slope drivers, riders and commuters Monday as the Colorado Department of Transportation hosted a telephone town hall.

Hundreds of people from CDOT’s Region 3, which includes Summit, Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin and Chaffee counties, tuned in to ask questions and provide feedback on the state’s roadways and transportation systems. CDOT Regional Transportation Director Jason Smith said the interactive meeting was meant to inform the transportation department’s 2050 Statewide Transportation Plan.

“We need your help,” Smith said. “Our transportation dollars are limited, and with a state as large and diverse as Colorado, we want your feedback on CDOT’s priorities and how best to distribute our limited resources.”

-Ryan Spencer 

2.Highway 82 westbound reopens after fatal bicyclist incident near Carbondale 

A fatal incident involving a bicyclist temporarily closed westbound Colorado Highway 82 near Carbondale on Sunday, as Colorado State Patrol continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.

Emergency alerts initially reported the closure at mile marker 12 near the Highway 133 intersection around 10:20 a.m. Sunday. Garfield County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Walter Stowe said the bicyclist was discovered down an embankment along the westbound shoulder, but the incident may have occurred several hours earlier.

Colorado State Patrol initially categorized the case as a hit-and-run. However, the official cause of death remains undetermined as of Sunday afternoon.

-Taylor Cramer

3.PHOTOS: Colorado Rocky Mountain School celebrates 2025 graduating class 

There couldn’t have been better weather during the 2025 Colorado Rocky Mountain School graduation ceremony on Saturday morning on the CRMS campus. Mount Sopris sat beautifully in the background without a cloud in sight as the 2025 graduating class were celebrated by friends, families, faculty, and more. Graduating seniors played music and were told to “swing for the fences” in a touching ceremony on Saturday morning.

-Jaymin Kanzer

4. U.S. Forest Service Chief asks wildfire employees who took voluntary resignation to ‘come back’ 

Just months after the Trump Administration gave federal employees the option to voluntarily resign, the U.S. Forest Service is asking those who resigned to return to work for the wildfire season.

Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in a video posted to the Department of Agriculture website on Thursday that employees who took the Trump Administration’s deferred resignation offer should be encouraged to “come back” for the wildfire season.

Schultz’s comments come as officials around the country, including in Colorado, have raised concerns that the mass layoffs and voluntary resignations of federal employees could impact the Forest Service’s ability to respond to wildfires.

-Ryan Spencer

5. Homeland Security pulls down ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ list identifying several Colorado municipalities, counties 

The Department of Homeland Security’s list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” — which listed several cities and counties on Colorado’s Western Slope — was pulled from its website on Sunday.

The department published the list on May 29, citing its decision under President Donald Trump’s Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens executive order. The page claimed that “sanctuary jurisdictions undermine the rule of law and endanger the lives of Americans and law enforcement.”

Of the 53 sanctuary jurisdictions identified for Colorado when the list was taken down, Western Slope counties included Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Grande, Summit and Lake counties. Towns included Avon, Basalt, Carbondale, Dillion, Eagle and Vail. Routt County was not included on the list.

-Andrea Teres-Martinez