Top 5 most-read stories last week

Stories in this list received the most page views on aspentimes.com from April 7-14. 

1. Colorado will stop issuing new licenses for grocery stores to sell hard alcohol after governor reluctantly signs bill

Grocery and big-box stores in Colorado will no longer be able to apply for state licenses to sell hard alcohol under a bill signed Thursday, April 10, by Gov. Jared Polis. 

Senate Bill 33 is hailed as a win for independent liquor store owners and craft alcohol producers who’ve been reeling since the introduction of wine in grocery stores, the result of a 2022 state ballot measure. 

“The bill is truly a victory for independent retail liquor stores and the craft beverage industry and the economy it supports from the farm to the table,” wrote Chris Carran, a board member for Colorado Independent Liquor Stores United, in a text message.

— Robert Tann

2. For a world class ski town Aspen has a ‘quite high’ risk of burnover

Aspen and its surrounding Roaring Fork Valley communities are famous destinations for vacationers, skiers, and outdoor enthusiasts. 

One thing visitors might miss when they visit is that the communities in the valley are at a “quite high” risk of experiencing a burnover like was seen in Paradise, California, or in the Marshall Fire, according to Angie Davlyn, RFV Wildfire Collective executive director.

The valley, almost in its entirety, is a part of the Wildland Urban Interface. The WUI is defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as the “area where human development … meets or intermixes with undeveloped wildlands.” 

— Beau Toepfer

3. Son of Aspen icon accused of sexually assaulting woman over two decades ago 

Klaus Obermeyer Jr., son of 105-year-old Aspen icon Klaus Obermeyer, is being sued for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman over 22 years ago.

Obermeyer Jr., 56, a filmmaker at Rocket Film production company, was accused of drugging and raping a woman in New York between the end of 2002 and beginning of 2003, according to a lawsuit complaint filed Monday, April 7, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

The plaintiff, a woman from the Australian state of Tasmania who was in her 20s at the time of the alleged crime, did not go to the police at the time because she had overstayed her visa. She feared being deported and losing her job, the plaintiff’s attorney, Albert J. Santoro of the New York-based The Bear Firm P.C., told The Aspen Times.

— Skyler Stark-Ragsdale

4. Pitkin County moose poaching ‘premediated’ records suggest 

Newly obtained records contradict an Aspen man’s claim to have illegally shot a bull moose on a whim in the Fryingpan Valley last fall.

Reuben Sadowsky, 36, admitted to poaching a young bull moose near Cunningham Creek in Pitkin County on Sept. 29, 2024. He told Colorado Parks and Wildlife authorities that, while hunting with an elk tag, he fortuitously came across two moose and eventually shot one due to a lapse in judgment caused by his “exhaustion.” Sadowsky, a co-founder of Beyul Retreat, a nature and wellness organization near Meredith, stepped down after admitting to the crime.

But CPW records obtained by The Aspen Times this week allege that the killing was premeditated.

— Westley Crouch 

5. First cat ascends Highland Bowl prior to closing Day

With the end of the ski season looming, Petra has made it in under the wire to become the first known cat to hike and ski Aspen’s iconic Highland Bowl.

Petra, a 3-year-old Siberian Forest feline, summited the Bowl on Sunday, March 30, with her pet parent Nicole Twohig. Twohig is an Aspen native who now lives in Alaska; she still teaches skiing when she’s back in town and often gets to take kids up on Highland Bowl for their first time. Experiencing the great weather up there last week inspired Twohig to take the adventure with her furry friend.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about doing with her for a long time,” Twohig said. “She just loved it; she’s really down for all of it. When we got to the top, she was so excited. We ripped down G-8 and she was stoked.”

— River Stingray