Never far behind, Wheeler’s woes catch up
Possibly his betrothal hit a snag, or the countess puffery may have been a set up for a pretextual return to Aspen in 1907, when he took back control of the Aspen Times, announced he was running for the state House of Representatives and trumpeted reopening the Little Annie and Famous Tunnel.
Aspen mayor and defendant
Newspaper accounts reported claims against Wheeler, painting a pattern of manipulation and a life under pressure. But in the frontier era, when physical distance from problems created more insulation, Wheeler put off what he could by traveling and conducting state senate business, as he delayed and jockeyed assets.
RECENT ENVIRONMENT DESK NEWS
Latest North Star plan includes ‘peak-use’ policy, commitment to conservation
Record high temperatures compound low-snowpack problems
RECENT WATER DESK NEWS
River District proposes actions to address drought
March heat wave fueled worst end-of-winter snowpack on record
RECENT SOCIAL JUSTICE DESK NEWS
Law enforcement from Aspen to Silt considers changes to street-camera surveillance in response to immigration concerns
City could revoke permit after data shows ICE detainees held for more than 12 hours at Glenwood facility
UPCOMING EVENT: MAY 6

This conversation brings together local voices from across key water-use sectors — agriculture, municipal, and environmental stewardship — to explore how each is navigating uncertainty and adapting to change.
RECENT WATER DESK NEWSLETTER
LOCAL SNOW & WATER NEWS
Real time snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin
SNOTEL sites in the Roaring Fork basin show that snowpack has never been this low at this point in the season, breaking the previous record low of 6.1 inches measured on Jan. 29, 1990.
Real-time local streamflow
Aspen Highlands master plan includes gondola to Cloud Nine, summer operations
Highlands’ lift fleet has changed little since a push for upgrades in the ’90s. SkiCo wants to “be in business forever” and can’t do that on essence alone.
THE BILLIONAIRES OF ASPEN
The Aspen 80
There have never been more billionaires in the world—3,028, by Forbes’ count, crossing the 3,000 threshold for the first time in 2025. It stands to reason that there also have never been more billionaires in Aspen, their collective influence shaping the community’s social fabric.
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