Journalist · 21 articles indexed on Aspen News
Beau Toepfer Follow btoepfer@aspentimes.com is a bylined journalist whose reporting appears on Aspen News. We aggregate Beau Toepfer Follow btoepfer@aspentimes.com's work from trusted local sources with full attribution, linking back to the original publisher. To learn more about how we select and review stories, see our editorial standards.
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Climbers on Independence Pass could benefit from the new Protect America’s Rock Climbing act, which would allow for easier maintenance and installation of fixed anchors, or bolts, on rock walls. T
Record low precipitation, high temperatures and an ongoing drought are all lining up on the Western Slope this summer, but what does that mean specifically for Independence Pass? The Sawatch Range’
The annual Regeneration Ball will return at 5 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Hotel Jerome to celebrate local sustainable farms, support the Farm Collaborative and present food from award-winning chefs. The pr
Pitkin County Open Space and Trails has provided feedback on the Woody Creek Raceway’s proposal, seeking more commitment from developers to trail improvements before moving forward. The property wa
The city of Aspen is completing work on a new access path to Ute Park, a small playground next to the Ute Cemetery that has traditionally been accessible via several single track trails or a deeply ru
Despite its relatively small size, Snowmass would need to increase affordable housing by 508 units to meet the need for living space in Pitkin County. This is according to Rachel Schindman with Eco
The Aspen Ambulance District finished installing a life-saving blood donation set-up in their command vehicle on Thursday, allowing for blood transfusions to be done in the field going forward. Ch
Should rivers have rights? This was the question posed by Chuck Sams, the director of Indigenous Programs at the Yale Center for Environmental Justice and the former director of the U.S. National P
John Doyle and Rob Ittner are heading into campaign season for the Nov. 3 election after winning 40.6% and 39.2% of votes, respectively, for the position of District 1 Pitkin County Commissioner, whic
What is Snowmass Village’s evacuation plan if a wildfire were to threaten the town? There’s a complicated answer, according to Chief of Snowmass Village Police Brian Olson. Snowmass is fully su
Aspen will be hosting free amusement rides in Rio Grande park from noon to 8 p.m. on July 3 and 4, including a 65-foot ferris wheel, merry-go-round and other amusement park attractions for Colorado’s
Andy Fisher, deputy chief of Aspen Fire Protection District, presented to the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority board on Wednesday, June 17, about wildfire hardening procedures for APCHA-owned bui
Dr. Mark Gladwin, the dean of University of Maryland School of Medicine and the vice president of Medical Affairs, is slated to speak with Aspen Center for Environmental Studies from 6 to 7 p.m. July
Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and the U.S. Forest Service have partnered to allow free access to Maroon Bells for library card holders in Pitkin, Basalt and Garfield counties (Glenwood locatio
Aspen’s recently adopted wildfire resilience code is slightly increasing the costs of new developments and some renovations that include square footage expansion, according to contractors and architec
The Pitkin Area Co-Responder Teams program, or PACT program, served 249 individuals in 2025 with a total of 1,294 visits. This is according to Raleigh Bacharach-Hope, the PACT administrator for Pit
The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the schematic design for the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport terminal redesign Wednesday, with plans to continue finalizing more employ
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that Kara Silbernagel is the official county manager. Aspen City Council and the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners met on Monday to
Everyone from town officials to toddlers joined together on Wednesday to break ground on the new Little Red Schoolhouse expansion project in Snowmass Village. Snowmass Mayor Alyssa Shenk said that
The Pitkin County Board of County Commission District 1 election is set for June 30, with three Aspen candidates vying for the position. The candidates include former Mayor Torre, current Aspen Cit
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The 2026 legislative session left a bitter taste among those of us who spent 120 days with lawmakers under the gold dome advocating for policies to improve the lives of working folks. For Latino advocacy organizations like mine, Voces Unidas Action Fund, the session was largely defined by missed ...
The Roaring Fork Valley’s summer race season hit another level on Saturday with one of the area’s most prominent foot races, the Audi Power of Four Trail Run. Produced by Aspen Skiing Company, there were 50k, 25k and 10k race options. In the featured 50-kilometer run — that’s just over 31 mile...
The orchestra tunes, and then, in a piano concerto, the conductor and guest pianist enter, and the concert begins. You have not likely thought about the piano being tuned. You can watch and hear four-string instruments like a violin, bass, viola or cello tune, but consider what needs to happen fo...
Galerie Gmurzynska returns to The Aspen Art Fair from July 29 to Aug. 1 at the historic Hotel Jerome, 330 E. Main St. The booth will mix modern masters with contemporary highlights: Dan Basen’s Box with Paint Brushes (1968), Sonia Delaunay’s “Projet pour l’affiche Chocolat (1916–1917), Wifred...
Katherine Riesberg, a graduate of Middle Park High School in Grand County, has been skiing since the age of two. Riesberg said her love for outdoor recreation is a big part of what led her to pursue a Masters of Science and Ecology at Western Colorado University, where her thesis project led h...
Rain fell across parts of the state Friday, bringing mixed results for Gold Mountain, Ferris, Willow, Fishhook and Elk fires.
Vintage luxury retailer What Goes Around Comes Around will debut in Aspen with a pop-up inside The Aspen Times building at Hotel Jerome from July 25-Aug. 2. The pop-up, at 330 E. Main St., will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. “We are so excited to embark on this partnership with the i...
Willow Fire was 36% contained as of Friday
Ahren Victory stars as Cassie in ‘A Chorus Line’
Sen. Chris Murphy calls $100B spent by U.S. a mistake
Husband was shot, but deemed the aggressor
“A Chorus Line” won nine Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize when it premiered on Broadway in 1976. Theatre Aspen’s revival of the play concludes on July 25 at the Hurst Theatre.
Ahren Victory stars as “Cassie” in Theatre Aspen’s production of “A Chorus Line.” Victory grew up in Colorado Springs.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., speaks at the 2026 Aspen Security Forum on Thursday. He was joined by moderator Jim Sciutto, Robert Greenway, Karim Sadjadpour and Roxana Saberi.
CNN’s Jim Sciutto, left, moderates a panel on the Iran war at the 2026 Aspen Security Forum on Thursday. He is joined by Robert Greenway, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, Karim Sadjadpour and Roxana Saberi.
“You have definitely lost your mind,” my friend Erica says, without flinching. I was telling Erica how I really want to learn...
I have a delicate flower confession to make. When I was a kid, the smell of lawnmower gasoline made me so nauseated...
Ziska Childs — (Re: “Guths withdraw request to expand home’s livable area,” July 16, Aspen Daily News) By doggedly quoting code...
Michael Maple — I wholeheartedly support an increase in Aspen-Pitkin County Airport parking rates. Parking, and indeed all...
Climate change is becoming harder to ignore in Eagle County. Over the past nine months, its effects have touched nearly every aspect of our lives. We experienced a record-low snowfall last winter, followed by a dry spring that worsened our long-term drought. Unfortunately, the trifecta of histori...
Wildfires continued to ignite and burn across Colorado this week as widespread drought continues to plague the state. The Colorado Wildland Fire Status Dashboard showed seven large fires and a total of 28 active fires that had burned around 214,000 acres as of Friday afternoon. The wildfire ri...
Woody Creek is easy to misunderstand. To many people passing through, it’s little more than a post office, the Tavern and a bend in the road. But to those who have spent much of their lives here, it is something else entirely. It is a collection of dreams and memories — of ranches, hayfields,...
Mountain Rescue Aspen successfully rescued an overdue hiker from Maroon Peak on Thursday night into Friday morning. According to a press release, the Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center received a satellite text message at approximately 7:39 p.m., reporting an overdue hiker in the...
Almost two weeks ago, the Eagle County Open Space Program approached county commissioners about putting a property tax on the table for the 2026 election. After much discussion, shelving it for the 2027 election was proposed. On Tuesday, Eagle County commissioners picked the timeline that coul...
With the Willow Fire currently holding steady at roughly 6,800 acres and 40% containment, the Leadville Race Series announced Wednesday plans to move forward with its final four events of the summer, including the Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Run. “The smoke is lifting and the hundreds of perso...
David Weekley, a Texan and part-time resident of Crested Butte, was a multimillionaire by age 30 after founding his homebuilding company David Weekley Homes in 1976. But when he almost lost everything in his mid-30s, he said one of his biggest regrets was not the overnight disappearance of his we...
Prom dresses, tiaras and plenty of opening-night energy filled Thunder River Theatre Company on Thursday as SoL Theatre Company kicked off its run of “The Prom.” Some audience members dressed for the occasion, arriving in prom gowns and tiaras before posing for photos on the set after the perf...
Attorneys for the Eagle County commissioners on July 10 filed a “petition of condemnation” in Eagle County District Court to acquire a disputed parcel of land in Edwards adjacent to land the county owns west of the Eagle River Village mobile home park and wants to convert to a park. “The subje...
The dog days of summer are officially upon us, and while we need the moisture, I’m about to start doing a drinking game for every time someone says, “We need the moisture.” My box fan has been pointed directly at my face for much of the past two weeks, and my cooking has been limited to easy reci...
Extremely low flows and high water temperatures have prompted Colorado Parks and Wildlife to implement voluntary fishing closures on the Colorado, Eagle, Crystal and Roaring Fork rivers beginning Friday, July 17. Severe drought conditions have driven river flows well below 50% of normal, and d...
Brinley, a small terrier mix, weighed 28 pounds when she left Dallas, Texas, with her owner for a summer road trip last month. Thirty-three days after stopping in Summit County, the 12-year-old dog weighed just 17.2 pounds. She survived mostly alone in the wilderness after becoming loose near...
On July 15, Anderson Ranch Arts Center held its annual Ranch Gala and Live Auction in Snowmass, welcoming more than 200 guests from art, design and cultural communities. The event raised a record $1.6 million through ticket sales and the live auction. Proceeds support Anderson Ranch scholarsh...
“At 6 o’clock tonight the people of Aspen and all visitors are cordially invited to enjoy their supper at the Jerome Hotel — not a banquet or a spread — just the regular 6 o’clock supper with a few Home Coming frills and a good fellowship gathering,” The Aspen Democrat-Times announced July 20, 19...
The state's largest currently burning wildfire remains active near the communities of Rye and San Isabel. Plus: Updates on Gold Mountain, Ferris, Willow, Fishhook and Elk fires.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission narrowly passed a new daily hunting limit for the 17 species it classifies as furbearers at its Thursday, July 16 meeting in Ignacio. Recreational hunters can now only kill two per day — down from the previous unlimited precedent — of each of the fur...
Freeride skiing and snowboarding will debut at the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps — and Colorado athletes are among those hoping to compete. Shayne Blue Sandblom, a 23-year-old Silt native and Freeride World Tour competitor, described freeride — a discipline where athletes rip down steep, un...
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