SPEED LIMIT TO BE RAISED IN GLENWOOD CANYON

SPRINGS» State GLENWOOD transportation officials announced plans to install new technology along Interstate 70 that would increase the speed limit through Glenwood Canyon.

The Colorado Department of Transportation expects to increase from 50 to 60 mph for most parts of the 14-mile canyon during good weather.

CDOT officials say speed limits would drop to as low as needed when road conditions worsen or when construction and emergency closures occur.

Officials say the speed limit system would be the first of its kind installed in the state along with a dozen new signs, weathermonitoring stations and closed-circuit cameras.

Officials say the partially automated, partially staffed technology is expected to be in place by November, followed by a 90-day testing period.

Algae growth causing odor in water.

Because of a wet spring and early summer, followed by a string of 90degree days at the end of summer, algae blooms have formed in the creeks, ditches and reservoirs containing Lafayette’s water supply and are affecting the water’s taste and smell, according to the city.

The Lafayette Public Works Department reported that the odd smell and taste are the result of natural compounds released by the algae when they die and are not harmful to consume. The city’s Water Treatment Department is adding activated carbon to abate the taste and odor, but the odor can be detected at levels as small as about 8 parts per trillion, according to the city. As a result, some consumers may continue to experience the odd smell and taste until cooler temperatures kill the algae.

In the meantime, using a carbon filter or refrigerating water in a pitcher can help improve the smell and taste, according to the city.

Searchers in Rocky Mountain National Park seek signs, clues for man missing since February.

About 50 Rocky Mountain National Park searchers looked for signs Wednesday of a man who went missing in February.

Search efforts for James Pruitt, of Tennessee and 70 at the time of his disappearance, were concentrated in off-trail areas in the Prospect Canyon drainage and the Glacier Gorge drainage above Jewel Lake, according to a park news release.

Forty searchers in five teams conducted grid searches in areas covered with thick timber, dead trees, downed trees, thick willow, tall grass and mountain streams, park officials said.

Pruitt was last heard from Feb. 28. Search efforts were undertaken March 3, after his vehicle was found at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead.

Wednesday’s search unveiled no clues. Pruitt is considered missing, and park officials will continue to investigate his disappearance.

BLM opposes potential train route from Utah.

CRAIG» A coalition of Utah counties has asked the federal government to pull a rail route from consideration after a federal agency expressed opposition.

The Craig Daily Press reports that the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado sent a letter to the federal government saying the proposed Craig rail route would impact wildlife management plans, displace big game species from finding suitable winter habitats and disrupt buried prehistoric sites in the region.

Land officials say the route would connect to an existing railroad line in Moffat County in Colorado and is one of three beginning in Utah to primarily service the oil and gas sector.

The coalition says the Craig route is not economically feasible after information developed during the public scoping process.

Man who stabbed person eight times gets three years in prison.

A man who stabbed a person eight times during a physical altercation on University Hill was sentenced Friday to three years in prison. Christopher Shane Boyce, 29, pleaded guilty Aug. 9 to second-degree assault causing serious bodily harm. Judge Bruce Langer sentenced Boyce to serve three years in prison and three years of parole.

Dinosaur National Monument to allow e-bikes on roads.

UTAH» Dinosaur JENSEN, National Monument is permitting electronic bicycles. E-bikes will have access to paved and unpaved roads.

Monument officials say traditional and electronic bikes cannot be on trails.

The new policy also takes effect in Arches and Canyonlands national parks and in Hovenweep and Natural Bridges national monuments.