Before I get into this week’s edition of “Who Had the Worst Week,” I wanted to shared that a Celebration of Life for Stacey Sepp is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26, at 10 a.m. at the Southeast Christian Church in Parker. Members of the community are invited.

Now, onto the list.

• Flu hospitalizations in Colorado have surged to their highest levels in 20 years, and medical experts expect it to only get worse in the coming weeks.
• President Donald Trump‘s revenge tour against Colorado appeared to be in full force over the holidays. First, he vetoed a bill that would have funded a pipeline to bring clean water to 50,000 residents in heavily Republican southeast Colorado, infuriating conservative U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert and Jeff Hurd. Then, he offered holiday wishes to Gov. Jared Polis and Mesa County D.A. Dan Rubinstein (“I wish them only the worst. May they rot in Hell. FREE TINA PETTERS!”). And, finally, his EPA ordered that Tri-State‘s coal-burning plant in Craig remain open rather than shut down as planned this week.
• In a bit of stunt-casting, Cards Against Humanity has hired Jeffrey Epstein – no relation to the disgraced financier – as a spokesman to appear in the card game’s new commercial. The company explained, “We were looking to cast a big name—someone who could really grab people’s attention—and we found the perfect guy. He wasn’t even that expensive.”
• Aspen Daily News Publisher David Cook announced he is selling the newspaper to Florida-based Hoffmann Media Group. HMG has been on a buying spree over the past few years, and The New York Times profiled its billionaire CEO David Hoffmann last year.
• The long-awaited Denverite article on turmoil at the Denver Metro Chamber finally appeared, and it put CEO JJ Ament squarely in the crosshairs. Rumors of the article had circulated for more than nine months.
• Back in October, Sam Tabachnik at The Denver Post published an incredibly unflattering article about Chuck Horning, the combustible owner of the Telluride ski resort. It included details such as he was booed out of an upscale restaurant, he engaged in fist fights with his son and the resort’s CEO, and he sexually harassed and/or assaulted multiple women. Now, Horning is in the news again, this time for shutting down the entire resort during the prime holiday season because members of the ski patrol went on strike.
• A woman was found dead on a hiking trail in Larimer County in what authorities believe to be the first fatal mountain lion attack in more than 25 years.
• The University of Colorado now owns the longest bowl win drought among Power 4 conference members. It last won a bowl game in 2004.
• President Donald Trump is quick to claim his late-night TV show host adversaries have low ratings, so he can’t be happy that last week’s Kennedy Center Honors special that he hosted saw record-low ratings.
• Tesla is no longer the best selling electric vehicle manufacturer in the world. That title now belongs to China‘s BYD, in part because Tesla sales declined 9% last year.
• Champagne sparklers held too close to the ceiling likely sparked a fire at bar at a Swiss ski resort on New Year’s Eve. The fire killed at least 40 and injured another 120.

Who won the week?

• One of Denver‘s most accomplished PR professionals, Steve Silvers, announced he has retired effective the end of 2025. Silvers most recently was a partner at Silvers Jacobson, and he and his business partner Paul Jacobson have now closed the firm.
• Planview promoted Leslie Marcotte to Vice President of Corporate Marketing.
• Dovetail Solutions added Monica Kurtz as Vice President of Client Success.
• Fletcher Group Senior Account Executive Alexa Stegeman has been selected as a Rising Star in Ragan’s Top Women in Communications 2026 awards.
• Jay Clark published his book, “Build Your Ballpark: Powerful Lessons and Inspiration to Help Make Your Mark and Boost Your Impact.“
• The Denver Post added Nate Peterson as its new sports editor. Peterson, who formerly led the Vail Daily’s newsroom, replaces Matt Schubert, who left to become Deputy Managing Editor at The Athletic.
• Pete Coors has been named Grand Marshal of the 2026 Stock Show Kick-Off Parade.
• Colorado Avalanche players Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews have been named to the Canadian Olympic hockey team, and Brock Nelson was named to Team USA. The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, start February 6.