Headlines Archives - KGNU Community Radio: Recent Episodes
Headlines Archives - KGNU Community Radio
An independent, noncommercial community radio station licensed in Boulder and Denver and dedicated to serving its listeners.
- play_arrowPhilip narrationGreta Kerkhoff State declares disaster emergency to fight avian flu in Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency to fight avian flu in Colorado.
The declaration will free up state resources and, in turn, help agriculture officials and farmers respond to the outbreak.
Infected animals have been discovered at a large commercial egg operation in Weld County, according to CPR News. The virus has shown its capacity to spread to humans – just last week, an employee at a dairy farm in northeast Colorado contracted the flu.
Colorado is currently reporting more cases among dairy cows than any other state.
The local outbreak comes as national concerns around avian flu are on the rise. Federal officials began detecting the presence of avian flu within domestic cattle herds across the nation this spring. Avian flu’s jump from birds to cattle has health officials concerned that the virus could continue to mutate and spread more easily to humans.
Still, federal and state officials maintain that the risk to humans remains low, and that pasteurized milk products and beef are safe to consume.
Read more
New tax for affordable housing in Denver Denver Mayor Mike Johnston unveiled a new sales tax proposal yesterday, with affordable housing in mind.
The new proposed tax would add 0.5% to the existing sales tax rate, which currency falls just under 9%.
According to The Denver Post, the tax would help raise roughly $100 million a year for affordable housing projects.
The tax wouldn’t be the only proposed hike on Denver’s ballot this November – nor would it be the first time the city has created new taxes or fees to fund housing-related efforts. Back in 2020, voters passed a sales tax dedicated to homelessness initiatives that brings in roughly $50 million a year.
If the tax ends up on the ballot, the measure would be the second sales tax hike up for voter approval this fall. The other relates to financing Denver Health, the city’s social safety net hospital.
Read more
Colorado group submits petition to ban hunting of bobcats, mountain lions, lynx In other November election news – a volunteer group has submitted a petition to Colorado’s Secretary of State to ban the hunting of bobcats, mountain lions, and lynx.
The group “Cats Aren’t Trophies” collected enough signatures last week to get their trophy hunting measure on November’s ballot.
The initiative would declare “the intentional killing, wounding, pursuing or entrapping” of any mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx as unlawful.
Supporters of the ban described the hunting of mountain lions and bobcats as “commercial killing,” and inhumane.
Opponents argue that decisions about managing wildlife resources should be left to wildlife experts.
The Secretary of State has 30 days to review the petition to determine whether it contains sufficient valid signatures.
Read more
Colorado Senator Faith Winter violated ethics policy by appearing intoxicated at public meeting, committee findsA five-member committee has decided that Colorado Senator Faith Winter failed to uphold Senate ethics standards when she appeared intoxicated at a Northglenn City Council meeting in early April.
Before entering the April meeting, Winter parked her car in a fire zone as shown on footage obtained by 9News. Body camera footage obtained from a Northglenn police officer shows Winter being advised by the officer not to drive home, to which she agreed.
While Committee members agreed that Winter’s behavior was questionable – in a 4-1 vote – they disagreed on which disciplinary measures to pursue.
The committee did not recommend a reprimand, censure, or expulsion but requested Democratic Senate President Steve Fenberg “prepare and deliver” a letter to Winter admonishing her behavior and encouraging her to continue her treatment for substance abuse.
The investigation into Winter’s behavior has lawmakers criticizing the state Capitol’s culture of substance abuse, which allegedly normalizes alcoholism. That’s according to Colorado Politics.
Read more
More people move in to the east, according to census data People in and around Boulder County are moving east at higher rates than they were a few years ago. That’s according to new population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Erie, and the nearby Carbon Valley region, have grown rapidly in the last four years, while the rest of the region in Boulder County and western Weld County has stayed the same or shrunk.
Government workers in Erie expect the town to grow to 60,000 residents in the next decade.
Meanwhile, Boulder’s population shrank slightly from last year. The Daily Camera reports that aging demographics and high home prices could play a part in that decline.
Read more
Three Boulder athletes will represent Team USA in Paris Athletes from across Colorado have qualified to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
Three athletes from Boulder will represent Team USA in the sport of climbing—Brooke Raboutou, Colin Duffy, and Natalia Grossman.
The other 20 or so qualifying Colorado athletes will compete in mountain biking, triathlon, volleyball, track and field, climbing, rowing, swimming, shooting, wheelchair fencing, and more. The Olympics begin in Paris in two weeks, on July 26, and will continue through August 11. The Paralympics will be held August 28 through September 8.
Read more
Read even more
The post State declares disaster emergency to fight avian flu, New tax for affordable housing in Denver appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow07_08_2024amheadlinesGreta Kerkhoff Boulder Valley School District funding Boulder Valley Public school officials are concerned about district funding, as enrollment in the district declines.
The yearly decline of around 1.5% combined with Colorado’s new school funding law is expected to decrease the district’s budget significantly.
The new law, known as the New Public School Finance Formula, passed in May and places caps on property taxes, a major revenue for the district.
Although the Formula may provide additional state aid, the District is ultimately expecting to see an overall financial loss due to the district’s high fixed costs.
According to the Daily Camera, BVSD spends over $4,000 more per pupil than the state average, with some schools allocating over $22,000 per student.
Educators are worried the new formula could impact children from historically marginalized communities the most, as those schools rely almost fully on district funding.
BVSD officials have said that the funding issues could lead to “tough decisions,” including school closures.
Read more
Boulder staffers present scenarios for future of Area III Planning Reserve Nearly 500 acres of mostly undeveloped land north of Boulder are being considered for housing.
The Area III Planning Reserve is northeast of U.S. 36 between Broadway and Jay Road. Boulder city staffers recently presented several potential scenarios for the pocket of land’s future – including the addition of thousands of housing units that could house up to nearly 15,000 people.
While there are parts of the Reserve that will likely be maintained as rural, the Daily Camera reports that the area’s geography makes it a good candidate for development, transportation, and recreation purposes.
In order to achieve these goals, the city would have to find ways to route city services and utilities there. It’s currently unclear if the city’s water and sewer systems would be capable of serving the Planning Reserve area, and how much developing the area would cost.
If the city does move forward with any of the presented scenarios, development could start around 2030, with a fully-built neighborhood completed by about 2050.
Read more
State assesses new power sources to help make Colorado 100% renewable New state reports from the Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission make the case for geothermal and hydrogen power.
The reports say that both geothermal and hydrogen offer significant chances to build on energy provided by wind, solar, and batteries.
State officials aim to get Colorado running on 100% renewable energy by 2040.
Governor Jared Polis is especially interested in geothermal, according to The Denver Post.
The areas in Colorado with the highest reported potential for producing electricity through geothermal include the Upper Arkansas Valley, San Juan Basin, and a spot in the Denver Basin in the eastern part of the state.
When it comes to hydrogen, the governor acknowledged that it is viewed as a controversial fuel by some, since it often comes from fossil fuels. However, The Post reports that the state is looking into “green” hydrogen options produced in Golden.
Read more
CU Boulder chancellor outlines vision for the futureCU Boulder’s new chancellor started on the job early last week.
Justin Schwartz told The Daily Camera his top priorities include sustainability and student success. He added that he has long-term goals to advocate for degrees outside of STEM, and improve student graduation rates.
The previous Chancellor, Philip DiStefano, left late last year after 15 years in the role. He was the university’s longest-serving Chancellor.
Read more
Medical marijuana sale decline Colorado’s medical marijuana sales have hit their lowest levels in at least a decade, down over 60% from April 2021.
Colorado Public Radio says this could be connected to the growth of the recreational cannabis industry, which has made cannabis more accessible and available to adults without the need for a permission slip from the state of Colorado.
More dispensaries in Colorado are operating only the recreational side, as it’s become the most viable option for owners to turn a profit.
According to CPR, current medical patients will likely stay in the medical market because the taxes are much lower than those levied on recreational marijuana.
Read more
Investors buy Boulder’s Walnut Business Center Two out-of-state investors have teamed up to purchase the Walnut Business Center in Boulder for $28 million dollars.
Real estate investors ScanlanKemperBard Companies and Landrock LP plan to reinvigorate the commercial park.
According to the Daily Camera, the pair says they intend to transform the property into a modern space while working with tenants and employees.
Planned improvements include upgrades to roofing, parking lots, and mechanical systems.
Read more
The post Boulder Valley School District funding, State assesses new power sources, Staffers present scenarios for Area III Planning Reserve appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrowMorningMagazine_2024-07-03Philip Armour Proposed changes to Iris Avenue
Boulder city leaders are considering four unique designs to change traffic patterns on Iris Avenue in North Boulder. The busy corridor saw 345 crashes from 2016 to 2023. According to Denver7 News, 22 of the accidents involved pedestrians and bicycles.
One of the designs would reduce the street’s four lanes to only two, one in each direction, with a center turn lane used by traffic in both directions. Some residents told Denver7 they’re worried that too much disruption of the current layout will increase traffic on side streets.
Boulder leaders want to achieve what they call “Vision Zero,” a plan to eliminate traffic-related serious injuries and fatalities along Iris Avenue from Broadway to 28th St. A final design decision is expected by this fall.
Read more
Boulder Chamber opposes plan to close Boulder Municipal Airport The Chamber’s senior director of policy programs said that decommissioning the airport could end up being a costly mistake. Jonathan Singer told BizWest that it could end up costing the city tens of millions of dollars over many years.
The Boulder City Clerk’s office has verified that a pair of separate but complementary petitions to close Boulder Municipal Airport have received enough signatures to appear on the November ballot.
Singer said that the Chamber is specifically opposed to the measure known as Repurpose Our Runways. Should that measure pass, the Chamber would support the second ballot measure, Runways to Neighborhoods, which would require the city to build affordable housing on the site.
The 180-acre Boulder Municipal Airport supports 299 jobs and generates nearly $100 million in total economic impact for the city, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s 2020 Colorado Aviation Economic Impact Study.
Read more
RTD Ballot measure
A fall ballot measure will ask voters to help further fund RTD. The measure would allow the agency to keep the tax revenue it collects indefinitely, instead of providing refunds required under Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
RTD’s current exemption from TABOR is set to expire in November. According to the Daily Camera, more than $600 million dollars in tax revenues that RTD has collected would be subject to TABOR requirements in 2025. However, if the ballot measure is passed, taxpayers wouldn’t see any of those millions.
RTD officials have said the funds will help maintain and operate the transit system for voters. If the ballot measure fails, RTD could be forced to cut about 20% of bus and train service within two years.
Read more
Outbreak of Bird flu among dairy cattle
More recorded cases of bird flu in dairy cattle have been found in northern Colorado, making the outbreak the worst in the country.
Colorado has identified 26 herds with cases of avian influenza, 22 of those being discovered within the past month.
The rapid spread has officials concerned. While chances of the disease spreading to humans is generally low, experts worry that the longer the virus spreads unchecked through cattle, the greater the chances that it will mutate and become more dangerous to people.
According to the Colorado Sun, state agriculture and health officials are working with dairies to identify cases of the virus and prevent the spread.
Read more
Breckenridge bans single use plastic
This week, Breckenridge started to implement their town ban of single-use plastic items. They’re following the lead of Frisco, another mountain town which similarly banned those items last year.
Breckenridge businesses are expected to stop selling plastic water bottles, plastic cutlery, and plastic containers for things like ice cream. This is the second phase of the ban, so additional plasticware will be cut out later down the road.
The town of Breckenridge will be issuing citations for businesses that don’t comply.
Some service businesses around Breckenridge and other mountain towns have found alternatives to plastic cups, including giving discounts to consumers that bring in reusable containers.
Colorado as a whole banned single-use plastic bags at the beginning of this year – but have yet to enforce such a widespread ban as these mountain towns.
Read more
Federal grant for Colorado’s quantum technology sector
Colorado was awarded roughly $41 million dollars in federal money on Tuesday in order to advance and commercialize quantum technology.
Colorado was one of just 31 applicants selected from 400 in 2023 in the first phase of the federal tech hubs program.
The Post says the funding could make Colorado the “Silicon Valley” of quantum.
This isn’t the first time Colorado has received funding for quantum development. Back May, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced a $20 million dollar grant for CU-Boulder to build a facility called the National Quantum Nanofab.
Read more
Democratic congressional candidate Adam Frisch calls on Biden to drop out of the presidential race
A Colorado Democratic candidate for Congress has called for Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
Democratic Candidate Adam Frisch called President Biden over the phone Tuesday, urging him to drop out of the presidential race. Frisch’s concern over the president’s well-being led him to make the call.
Biden plans to meet with Democratic governors today to solidify support after his debate performance last week.
Read more
The post Changes to Iris Avenue, RTD Ballot measure, Bird flu outbreak appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow07_02_24_am_headlinesGreta Kerkhoff Fire restrictions
The Boulder County Sheriff has enacted Stage 1 Fire Restrictions for unincorporated areas of western Boulder County.
The restrictions are effective immediately, and are due to increasing fire danger, brought on by a lack of moisture, and ongoing high temperatures. The fire restrictions will remain in effect until further notice, according to a sheriff’s office press release.
A Stage 1 Fire Restriction is also in effect in Gilpin County, according to Denver 7, and a more rigorous Stage 2 Fire Restriction is in effect in Elbert County.
The City of Boulder already has stricter regulations than the county does. But for western Boulder County, the immediate effect of the Stage 1 Fire Restrictions is a ban on the use of fireworks within the restriction area. First-time violators can be fined up to five hundred dollars, in addition to possible civil penalties. Additional violations can result in higher fines.
The Stage 1 Fire Restrictions issued by the Boulder County Sheriff prohibit selling, using, and possessing all fireworks. There’s also a prohibition on open fires, including campfires, barbecues, and grills.
The restriction in unincorporated Boulder County includes the area west of Highway 93, from the southern boundary of Boulder County to its intersection with Highway 119.
Also included is the area west of Broadway Avenue in the City of Boulder, from its intersection with Highway 119 to its intersection with Highway 36.
The restriction also encompasses the area west of 36, from its intersection with Broadway Avenue to its intersection with the northern boundary of Boulder County;
Also within the restricted area is the western boundary of the Rabbit Mountain Open Space to Highway 36 is; as well as all of Rabbit Mountain Open Space.
For a complete list of fire restrictions, visit the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office website.
Read more
Read even more
Read even more
Undeveloped land evaluated for housingCity officials in Boulder are looking at a nearly five hundred-acre parcel of land as a possible site for a new housing development.
Boulder Reporting Lab says that the city’s evaluation of the Area III Planning Reserve is in its early stages. It involves weighing the cost and feasibility of making the area north of Boulder livable by connecting it to water and sewer lines, among other city services.
The Area III Planning Reserve consists of mostly undeveloped city and private land. According to preliminary estimates presented to the City Council last week, the land could accommodate as many as 6,700 housing units.
Boulder Reporting Lab further says that even if the city goes ahead with developing the land, construction would probably not begin before 2030.
Read more
Colorado COVID cases risingThe number of COVID-19 cases in Colorado is on the rise, according to the state Department of Public Health and Environment.
There were 1,115 cases of COVID-19 in Colorado as of June 22nd. That’s up eighteen percent from the week before that, and up 127 percent from April 20th.
At the same time, there have been fewer COVID deaths reported statewide. Nineteen people died from COVID and its variants in May, down from fifty-six deaths in May of 2023.
The Centers for Disease Control is recommending that everyone over the age of six months get an updated, 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine, whether they’ve previously been vaccinated or not. They say that’s the best way to protect yourself against getting COVID.
Read more
COVID funding ends, impacting education
COVID-era federal funding that brought nearly two billion dollars into Colorado public schools is coming to an end, leading to budget shortfalls in some districts.
The 1.8 billion dollars in federal pandemic funding was used to expand educational services like the transition to remote learning.
This relief aid also funded more tutoring, after-school and summer programs, increased mental health assistance, and improving and tracking air quality.
The money came through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund, or ESSER for short. The last ESSER payment was three years ago, and was the largest, totaling nearly 1.2 billion dollars, according to the Denver Post and state education officials.
School districts have until September 30th to spend what’s left of this money.
The Post says after that deadline, programs paid for using ESSER funds will come to an end, unless new funding can be found.
At the same time these funds will no longer be available, enrollment in Colorado public schools is down across the state. That decline, and its economic impact, has led some districts, including Denver and Jefferson County, to close schools. The districts will be reevaluating which programs and services they can offer.
Read more
Second-hottest June
This past June was the second-hottest ever in the Denver area, and we’re on track for an even hotter July.
The National Weather Service is reporting that the average temperature for June was 73.8 degrees. That’s more than five-and-a-half degrees higher than the average.
While 73.8 degrees may not sound that hot, the average factors in overnight lows, which averaged 57.5 degrees in June, according to Fox-31.
The highest average June on record in Denver was 75 degrees, back in 2012.
July is usually the hottest month of the year, with an average of 75.1 degrees.
Read more
The post Fire restrictions, Undeveloped land evaluated for housing, Colorado COVID cases rising appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow07_01_24_AMheadlinesGreta Kerkhoff New State laws in effect todayA handful of new laws go into effect in Colorado today.
First up, Senate Bill 131 prohibits carrying firearms in sensitive spaces, including government buildings, child care centers, and public schools.
Critics of the bill say the new law isn’t tough enough on those who carry guns onto school grounds. A violation of the law is considered a Class 1 misdemeanor, as opposed to a class 6 felony as it was before.
According to Colorado Politics, before the bill, a person caught with a gun in certain locations could face over a year in prison and up to $100,000 in fines; now, someone carrying a gun on school grounds faces a shorter jail sentence and a maximum of only $1,000 in fines.
There’s also House Bill 1007, which prohibits local governments from limiting the number of unrelated people who can live together in a single house, with a few exceptions.
The bill says occupancy limits may still be enforced if they are essential to upholding health and safety standards and government affordable housing guidelines.
The City of Boulder has previously limited unrelated people living together per household to as few as three, but raised the number to five across much of the city last year. Now, due to the new bill, that limit no longer exists explicitly.
However, Boulder will still enforce the International Property Maintenance Code to regulate properties. It requires that each bedroom be no fewer than 70 square feet in size and prescribes minimum areas for living and dining rooms.
Another bill from this past legislative session is House Bill 1147, which regulates the usage of deep fake videos and other AI-generated political content. It mandates that any manipulated media about a candidate must include a disclosure statement stating it has been altered by AI.
You can see a list of other laws that passed at coloradopolitics.com.
Read more
Read even more
Read even more
Boulder Camping Ban and SCOTUS Ruling An ongoing lawsuit seeking to overturn Boulder’s camping ban may be derailed by a Supreme Court ruling on a similar case.
In a 6–3 ruling along ideological lines, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of Grants Pass, Oregon, to ticket people for sleeping in public spaces.
The Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, the city’s main shelter in North Boulder, only has 180 beds, and unhoused individuals are often turned away. The lawsuit seeking to overturn Boulder’s campaign ban was filed by the ACLU of Colorado, alleging that the city violated protections against cruel and unusual punishment by issuing citations to people sleeping in public spaces, when they had nowhere else to go. That trial was scheduled for a trial in August 2024, but paused due to the pending Supreme Court Grants Pass ruling.
The ruling is likely to significantly impact how cities across the country – including Boulder – address encampments and homelessness, according to Boulder Reporting Lab.
Read more
BoCo Voter TurnoutBoulder’s voter turnout in this past primary election was noticeably lower than in years past.
$1.5 million dollars went into campaign spending for this year’s primary election, yet voter turnout was down from 2020 and 2022. Results from Boulder Reporting Lab show only around one-third of registered voters cast their ballot in this year’s race.
Boulder Reporting Lab also found that the population of people who voted in Boulder’s primary was , “disproportionately older.” While the average age of registered voters in Boulder is near 50, the average age of those who voted in this year’s primary election hovered near 60.
Results are not expected to change, given the leads in the polls by current projected winners. but a final vote count will be posted by the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder.
Read more
Frontier and United Airlines face federal wage theft lawsuitsTwo separate lawsuits in Colorado Frontier and United airlines of wage theft.
Frontier employees report working up to 16 hours a day without breaks or overtime.
Meanwhile, flight attendants from United claim they were not paid full wages while planes were stopped.
According to Colorado Public Radio, attendants are only paid $2 per hour for duties before and after takeoff, a violation of Colorado wage law.
HKM Employment Attorneys in Denver filed both cases and are seeking class-action status for the cases.
Read more
Rare Disease In BoCo Rabbit A dead rabbit with tularemia has been found in Boulder County.
The carcass was discovered west of 95th Street near Phillips Road in unincorporated Boulder County, according to Fox 31/KDVR.
Tularemia can spread to humans, though rarely fatal if treated with antibiotics. The bacterial disease can cause skin ulcers and swollen lymph nodes.
Pneumonic tularemia is the most serious and results from breathing dusts or aerosols containing the organism.
According to the Boulder County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control, other ways humans can be infected include tick and deer fly bites, skin contact with infected animals, and drinking contaminated water.
Read more
Stabbing at Large EDM Concert at CU Boulder’s Folsom Field – Suspect is on the loose CU Boulder Police are searching for a suspect involved in a stabbing at Folsom Field during an EDM concert.
CUPD received the report of an individual who was stabbed in his hand in a stairwell at 11:30 p.m. during the Odesza concert.
The victim was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
The suspect is described as a 5’10” male with a black zip-up hoodie and a white t-shirt.
Anyone with information regarding the crime or the suspect’s location is encouraged to contact CUPD.
Read more
The post New State laws in effect today, Boulder camping ban and SCOTUS ruling, Voter turnout appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow06_27_2024amheadlinesGreta Kerkhoff Election UpdatesMore likely winners are emerging in Boulder County races as primary election results roll in.
Incumbent state Rep. Junie Joseph and retired science educator Tina Mueh both sought the democratic nomination for state House District 10.
According to the Daily Camera, by 4:13 p.m. Wednesday, Joseph appeared on track to win the Democratic nomination as of yesterday afternoon, with a near-20% lead.
Another closely-watched race, the at-large seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents, is also wrapping up.
Elliott Hood, a school attorney and former teacher, is leading ahead of DEI executive and former CU athlete Charles “CJ” Johnson by around 15% of the vote.
In the State Board of Education race for the Second Congressional District, Democrat Kathy Gebhardt; former Boulder Valley School Board president, is the projected winner. She has an almost 17-point lead over her opponent Democrat Marisol Rodriguez, an education consultant.
In state House District 11, republican and IT professional Kathy Reeves is leading by 19 points over former Longmont mayoral candidate Terri Goon.
You can find an updated list of Boulder County election results at electionresults.bouldercounty.gov.
Read more
Colorado tax breaksColorado lawmakers approved $1 billion in new tax breaks in the annual legislative session that wrapped up in May.
According to Axios Denver, the 26 new tax credits prioritize specific groups, over popular TABOR refunds that go to all taxpayers.
Parents, older homeowners, freight rail operators, movie makers, and others will see tax relief. For example, parents filing individually making $75,000 or less will receive up to $3,200 for each child under age 16.
According to a new report released on Thursday, the redistribution of tax breaks decreases TABOR refunds by roughly $3 billion over three fiscal years. The largest of the new tax breaks starts this year and will reduce state revenue by roughly $740 million.
Read more
Confirmed West Nile case Arapahoe County reported the first human case of West Nile Virus in Colorado this year.
Colorado doesn’t usually see their first case of West Nile until later in the summer, which is setting off alarms for Arapahoe County Public Health officials about mosquito activity.
Last year was Colorado’s worst for West Nile virus in 20 years, with over 600 cases spanning 40 counties. 50 died as a result, according to CBS News Colorado.
Symptoms like fever, body aches, and headache generally appear 2–14 days after exposure.
Less than 1 percent of people infected with West Nile virus will develop severe symptoms that can affect the nervous system. While these symptoms can occur in any person, people over 60 years of age are at higher risk, as well as those with certain medical conditions.
Mild symptoms of West Nile virus infection usually pass on their own.
Read more
Youth Led program distributes grant funding to local nonprofitsJust over $41,000 was recently distributed by the youth-led arm of the Community Foundation of Boulder County.
15 Forever, the 13-member youth-led grant-making program of the Community Foundation, has officially granted funds to 6 nonprofits working to support youth mental health in Boulder County.
The youth cohort raised the $41,100 in grant funding through donor outreach and fundraising. They received applications from 28 organizations, and chose six to distribute the money to. Those include Creativity Alive in Boulder, and Impact on Education in Louisville.
Read more
Wildfire mitigation rebate program Boulder County residents are eligible for a new wildfire mitigation rebate program managed by Wildfire Partners. The program will provide county residents a rebate up to $500 for completing wildfire mitigation at their homes.
To receive the rebate, residents can complete one of four actions: removing highly flammable juniper vegetation, replacing the perimeters of a home with noncombustible landscaping material, replacing fencing attached to a home with noncombustible material, or screening vents on a home with mesh or replacing them with flame-resistant vents.
The rebate program is open to all Boulder County residents, including all municipalities and the City of Boulder, who own or rent a home in Boulder County. Applications must be sent in by October 31, 2024, and the mitigation work must be done on the property located in Boulder County.
Learn more at wildfirepartners.org/rebate.
Read more
MSU program awards associate degrees to former studentsMetropolitan State University of Denver – or MSU – formally handed over associate’s degrees to roughly 300 former students this week, following through on a 2021 law.
The Colorado Re-Engaged Initiative recognized that more than 25,000 Coloradans who invested time and money into their education but couldn’t finish their bachelor’s degrees, could be eligible for an associate’s degree.
MSU Denver has awarded the largest number of degrees among participating universities, and hosted a special graduation ceremony on Monday.
According to Colorado Public Radio in order to qualify for the MSU Denver degree, people needed at least 18 credits from MSU.
The law directed participating colleges to go through the past 10 years of their records to identify eligible students for the program.
On the whole, former students who’ve completed at least 70 credits towards their bachelor’s degree are eligible, as 70 credits is about two years of school.
Read more
Denver Zoo announces new name The Denver Zoo will now be known as the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, or DZCA.
According to 9News, the zoo announced its new name, brand and logo on Tuesday, saying the name reaffirms its commitment to wildlife conservation.
As a wildlife conservation organization, the Zoo will conduct research, implement sustainability practices, breed and release wildlife, restore habitats, and rescue and rehabilitate animals.
In total DZCA has more than 600 conservation programs they’ve funded and executed over the past few decades.
DZCA’s recent work includes launching conservation programs in Africa and Southeast Asia with the mission of protecting the regions’ endangered animals, including Asian elephants and mountain gorillas.
Like some other Zoos, DZCA has moved towards larger enclosures with fewer animals and more realistic habitats in recent years.
Read more
Read even more
Read even more
The post Election updates, Colorado tax breaks, Confirmed West Nile case appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrowMorningMagazine_2024-06-26Philip Armour Election results
Results are rolling in for this year’s state primary elections.
Several high-profile local races were on the Democratic primary ballot this year, as we discussed yesterday on the Morning Magazine. Those included a seat on the state Board of Education, and three seats for Colorado’s legislature.
The County updated their unofficial election results last night, at 11:15 p.m. At that point, Kathy Gebhardt held a nearly 17% lead over her opponent, Marisol Lynda Rodriguez, in the race for the District 2 Board of Education seat. That race was the spendiest on the Boulder County ballot this year—largely in support of Rodriguez. Boulder Weekly reports that a lot of “dark money” went into supporting Rodriguez’s campaign—nearly $1 million on phone calls, web and newspaper ads, and direct mailers opposing Gebhardt.
The Daily Camera reports that clear leaders have emerged in the three County Democratic races for legislature seats. The closest race as of last night was House District 10, where incumbent state Representative Junie Joseph is leading retired science educator Tina Mueh by about 15%.
You can see a full breakdown of all local primary election results at https://electionresults.bouldercounty.gov.
Unofficial election results will be posted after 7:00 PM on June 25, 2024.
Read more
Two contentious state/congressional races
A quick look at a few of the closely-watched Republican state and congressional races:
Representative Lauren Boebert has won the race for the 4th Congressional District, leading in the polls ahead of her five opponents by at least 30%. According to Colorado Public Radio, this means Boebert will be a republican candidate for Congress for the third time—this time, representing a different part of the state.
In other Republican race news, Jeff Crank won the GOP nomination in House District 5, defeating Dave Williams. Williams, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has faced widespread attention lately for his mass emails and social media posts calling gay people “godless groomers” and calling for the burning of all PRIDE flags.
Finally, Republican Greg Lopez won the vacancy election for the state’s 4th Congressional District. That means Lopez will fill out the remainder of retired Representative Ken Buck’s term.
Read more
Read even more
Rent assistance and subsidized housing programs accepting applications As state evictions climb, Colorado leaders are accepting pre-applications for rental assistance this week from those who have fallen behind on rent and are at risk of displacement.
The Colorado Department of Local Affairs, or DOLA, opened a three-day pre-application process yesterday to low-income residents at risk of eviction or displacement.
The application is open until Thursday at 5pm.
According to the Colorado Sun, department leaders will randomly select pre-applicants, who will then be invited to apply for emergency rental assistance. Applicants will have 8 days to submit applications after selection. Those chosen will receive the funds by early September.
The $24 million dollars in funding for the emergency rental assistance program comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Households that qualify will receive an average award of $6,000. The total rental assistance cannot exceed seven months-worth of rent, or $10,000, whichever is less.
To apply, you must earn 80% of your area median income or less, and face imminent threat of eviction. Applicants must also not have received rental assistance from any program within the past year and must have experienced a life event that has impaired their ability to pay rent.
To submit a pre-application, listeners can go here.
Read more
Boulder Housing Partners lottery
Boulder Housing Partners, Boulder’s largest affordable housing provider, also opened the application process yesterday for residents to get subsidized housing.
The Housing Choice Voucher lottery runs through today, Wednesday, June 26.
The program, also funded by the federal government, helps lower-income families, older adults, and people with disabilities to afford housing.
You must be under 61, have a disability or live with someone who meets the program’s criteria, and make less than 50% of your area median income to be considered eligible.
In the 2023 lottery, Boulder Housing Partners received 2,210 applications, according to the Boulder Reporting Lab. Only 350 applicants were selected.
Boulder Reporting Lab says this highlights the pressing demand for affordable housing in Boulder.
To apply, visit boulderhousing.org.
Read more
Today is Bike to Work Day
June is Colorado’s bike month, and today, June 26th is bike to work day! Employees are encouraged to leave cars behind and get to work on their bikes.
According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, participation helps improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce traffic congestion.
The Department of Transportation will be hosting a Bike to Work Day Station at the intersection of the South Platte River and Lakewood Gulch Trails.
There are Bike to Work Day breakfast stations across the city, including at KGNU. The station will have breakfast, coffee, bicycle maps, educational materials, and prizes.
Listeners can find the nearest bike to work day station to them by going to biketoworkday.co/map.
Read more
The post Election results, Rent assistance, subsidized, and lottery housing programs, Bike to Work day appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow06_25_24_am_headlinesGreta Kerkhoff Gregory Canyon wildfire extinguishedFirefighting crews put out a wildland fire in Gregory Canyon last night, after containing damage from the blaze to an area of about a hundred feet by a hundred feet.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office says the fire was probably started by fireworks. A twenty-one-year old suspect was arrested near the scene and is in the Boulder County Jail this morning, facing a charge of second degree arson.
Crews from the Sheriff’s office, Boulder Fire-Rescue, Boulder Police, and Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks responded to the fire last night shortly after 9:30, according to a press release.
The base of Flagstaff Road was closed during the incident, but has since been reopened. The fire remains under investigation.
Read more
Kilyn Lewis protest at Aurora council meetingAbout 70 demonstrators rallied at the Aurora City Council meeting last night to protest the police shooting of 38-year-old Kilyn Lewis.
The unarmed black man died two days after being shot by Aurora Police in late May. Newly-released body camera footage shows officer Michael Diek firing a deadly shot at Lewis as Kilyn holds his hands in the air and says he is unarmed, according to the Denver Post.
The edited video also shows the shooting happened less than eight seconds after the confrontation began, and that Lewis held a cellphone in one hand.
Aurora City council members stopped last night’s meeting several times, as protestors chanted Kilyn’s name.
After an hour of public comment Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman ended the session, despite about a half-dozen people still waiting to speak – including Lewis’ sister.
The mayor relented after protestors rushed the podium and sat, chanting Lewis’ name.
The shooting death remains under investigation. 9News says that Kilyn Lewis’s family plans to sue Aurora police.
Read more
Read even more
Boulder oil company lawsuits can continueThe Boulder District Court has cleared the way for the City and County of Boulder to pursue a lawsuit against ExxonMobil and two Suncor entities.
The city and county first brought the suit against the oil companies in 2018, on the grounds that their actions have contributed to climate change. They argue that the costs of dealing with climate change is an unfair burden on taxpayers.
The oil companies had sought to get the case dismissed.
In a joint press release yesterday, the city and county are calling the District Court ruling a landmark moment in the case. They said they have worked hard to keep the lawsuit in a local court, rather than in a federal court.
Read more
Election dayToday is primary election day in Colorado, as voters choose candidates for U.S. Congressional races, the state House of Representatives, state Senate, and other city and county offices.
Ballots were sent out by the Colorado Secretary of State weeks ago, and we’re now past the deadline for mailing them back. But, completed ballots can be dropped off in-person at polling places all over the state.
Voting can also be done in-person. Polls opened at seven o’clock this morning, and will remain open until seven o’clock tonight.
The latest available numbers indicate a little more than 530,000 ballots have been returned so far. That’s about fourteen percent of eligible voters, according to Colorado Newsline, and is somewhat less than at this same point in the 2022 primaries.
This morning on the Morning Magazine, we’ll speak with Boulder Weekly editor-in-chief Shay Castle about today’s election – and the dark money that has made its way into the primaries.
Read more
Read even more
Read even more
Fourth Congressional District electionsOne of the most closely-watched races that voters will decide on today is in Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District.
There are actually two elections in Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District today.
One is a special election to fill the seat vacated by Representative Ken Buck, who left the House of Representatives earlier this year, before his term was up.
Four candidates are running to complete Buck’s term: Democrat Trisha Eloise Calvarese, Republican Greg Lopez, Libertarian Hannah Goodman, and Approval Voting candidate Frank Atwood.
That’s the special election. Today’s primary election will determine who will run for the Fourth Congressional District seat in the next congress, which begins in January.
Democrats Trisha Calvarese, Ike McCorkle, and John Padora Jr. are on the ballot. The Republican candidates are Lauren Boebert, Deborah Flora, Richard Holtorf, Jerry Sonnenberg, and Peter Yu.
The Fourth Congressional District covers most of Colorado’s Eastern Plains, but also includes the front range cities of Loveland, Wellington, Castle Rock, Parker and Highlands Ranch.
Read more
Gender-affirming care ban kept off Colorado ballotA proposed ballot measure to ban gender-affirming care for children will not appear on the November ballot in Colorado, after a ruling by the State Supreme Court.
The justices reached their decision on narrow procedural grounds. The state constitution requires that ballot initiatives be single-issue, and the court ruled that the ballot measure to ban gender-affirming care for children did not meet this standard.
The ballot initiative would have outlawed the provision of gender-affirming surgery and medicine for minors.
According to Colorado Politics, a three-member Title Board, which screens citizen-initiated measures, initially approved the initiative. But the Title Board reversed their decision after challengers argued the measure’s language was not limited to a single subject, as required by the state constitution.
Rather than start from scratch, the gender-ban proponents tried to meet the single-subject requirement by deleting some of the bill’s language.
The Title Board said that instead of deleting language, the proponents modified, and added to, it.
Read more
Extreme heatAnother day of scorching temperatures is expected along the Front Range today, and some local governments are doing what they can to help people escape the heat.
The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for the second straight day today. Temperatures are expected to get into the mid-nineties.
In Denver, the city is opening cooling stations at each of its rec centers. They’ll be open during normal business hours, and provide access to water, restrooms, and somewhere to sit, according to a city press release.
The city also says its public library branches can also be used by those needing a spot indoors to cool off.
In Boulder, city officials told KGNU that there are no cooling stations per se. But people looking to escape hot temperatures can go to Boulder’s government and public buildings, like the courthouse and libraries. Unhoused people can go to the Day Services Center at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless.
Extreme heat can cause illness, and health officials caution people to stay indoors as much as possible.
Read more
Denver cooling stations
Homeless Day Services Center
Wolf kill ruleNewly-approved rules are giving Colorado ranchers more latitude to kill wolves that attack their livestock.
Under the new rules approved by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, ranchers can use artificial lighting to help them kill wolves caught in the act of attacking livestock at night, when most wolf attacks occur.
Under current rules, ranchers can only use artificial lighting to harass wolves. They’re already allowed to kill wolves during the day, if they catch them attacking livestock.
Ranchers have been concerned about protecting livestock since wolves were reintroduced to Colorado late last year. The Colorado Sun says there have been at least eleven fatal wolf attacks on livestock since then.
Critics of the new rules say it’s only been six months since the wolves were reintroduced, and ranchers already want new tools to kill them.
Read more
Boulder artist censusThe City of Boulder wants to learn more about the lives of professional artists who live and work in town.
The city is conducting an Artist Census to learn more about the role that artists play in the local economy and society.
For the census, the City is defining an artist as a creative professional who earns income from creating or performing visual art, design, music, film, photography, literature, and other creative disciplines.
Interested Boulder artists can find out more, and fill out the census questionnaire, at Bouldercolorado.gov/artist-census.
Read more
Denver E-bike rebatesA new round of e-bike rebates will be made available to Denver residents today.
The rebates will be released at eleven o’clock this morning, on the Denver Climate Rebates.com website.
The city offers three levels: low-income rebates, moderate income rebates, and standard rebates. The low- and moderate-income rebates require proof of income, or proof of participation in other state or local income-qualified programs, according to a city press release.
The rebates can be used at participating bike shops. They cannot be stacked with the State of Colorado e-bike tax credit.
The rebates are made possible through the voter-approved Climate Protection Fund. After today, Denver’s next round of e-bike rebates is set for August 27th.
Read more
The post Gregory Canyon wildfire extinguished, Kilyn Lewis protest, Election day appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow06_24_2024amheadlinesPhilip Armour Aurora Cops fatally shoot unarmed black manNew body camera footage shows a Black man killed by Aurora police in May was unarmed and holding a phone at the time of his murder.
The footage, released on Thursday by the Aurora Police Department, showed 37 year-old Kilyn Lewis standing next to an open trunk of a car in an apartment complex next to a walker. Officers surrounded him and demanded he get on the ground.
Lewis placed his right hand behind his back, before raising his hands in front of him toward his head, holding a phone in his right hand. Within six seconds of beginning to shout commands, Aurora police SWAT Officer Micheal Dieck shot him.
Lewis was shot on May 23, and died from a single gunshot wound on May 25. The Camera reports Lewis was a suspect in a first-degree murder attempt.
Dieck has been placed on paid administrative leave. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Aurora Police officers were also involved in the killing of another unarmed black man, Elijah McClain, in 2019. One officer was found guilty in that murder, of the three charged.
Read more
Boulder city council changes meeting participation rules
Many of the new procedural rules are aimed at minimizing disruptions during meetings. In a meeting last Thursday, councilmembers said the rules are needed to make sure meetings stay orderly.
Some community members said the changes feel aimed at silencing them. Since last fall, impassioned public speakers have regularly come to council meetings to speak about Israel’s war on Gaza, according to the Daily Camera. Some have urged the council to pass a ceasefire resolution, while others have called on council to stay out of the international conflict and keep its focus local.
The Camera reports that participation rules have been amended nearly three dozen times since they were first adopted back in 1982.
North Boulder Library OpeningA new library in North Boulder is set to open June 29th, nearly 30 years after the idea was conceived. North Boulder Library will join four other branches under the new Boulder Public Library District. The library is replacing the previous Corner Library, which was too small to keep up with community demands.
According to Boulder Reporting Lab, the new library will be fully staffed with 11 employees, some coming from the Corner Library. Organizers hope that the library will serve as a free meeting place for community to connect. Amenities will include meeting rooms, study rooms, a makerspace and a computer area.
The new branch is a result of a property tax-funded library district, approved by voters back in 2022. That decision put Boulder County’s libraries in the hands of a seven-member Library District Board of Trustees, rather than the City of Boulder.
The NoBo Library, located at 4500 13th Street, will host a grand opening party on Saturday, June 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will include food, activities, and the unveiling of an art piece on the second floor.
Read more
Read even more
Colorado’s first gray wolf pup
There’s a new gray wolf pup in Colorado – the first to be born since the species was reintroduced back in December.
Last Thursday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed the pup was sighted in Grand County during their routine wolf monitoring.
According to Colorado Politics this means the wolves are officially considered a pack. Colorado Parks and Wildlife have named them the Copper Creek Pack.
Parks and Wildlife may have identified the wolf’s mother. All the adult wolves are fitted with GPS collars, and one female wolf in particular stopped moving as usual in early April. That wolf restarted normal movement later in the month, leading experts to say she was possibly in a den and out of reach with the satellites during that time.
While only one pup has been confirmed for now, it is possible that there are more. Wolves typically give birth to an average of four to six per litter.
In the meantime, Parks and Wildlife says it’s continuing to monitor the area for more pups, and working with nearby landowners to minimize potential disturbances.
Read more
Read even more
Boulder and St. Vrain creeks tubing bans end Tubing is once again allowed at the Boulder and St. Vrain creeks. Boulder County put tubing bans in place due to high water flow. Those bans were lifted late last week.
Though water levels have calmed down, tubing on the creeks remains hazardous. The Daily Camera is reporting that a man had to be rescued from St. Vrain Creek on Saturday, after he got stranded on a rock in the creek near Lyons. The man sustained minor injuries. Tubers are still encouraged to exercise caution, as well as wear personal safety equipment; including life jackets, wetsuits and helmets.
Those using water sport equipment are also encouraged to communicate their whereabouts with others and label their equipment in case it’s lost in the water.
Read more
Read even more, 1
Read even more, 2
The post Aurora Cops fatally shoot unarmed black man, Boulder city council changes meeting participation rules appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrowPamPhilip Armour Club Q shooter hate crimes guilty pleas The man who committed a mass shooting at Club Q—a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub—pleaded guilty to 74 federal hate crime and weapons charges on Tuesday.
24-year-old Anderson Aldrich killed five people and wounded 22 others at Club Q back in 2022. In addition to pleading guilty, he received an additional 55 life sentences plus 190 years in prison.
Aldrich was already serving five life sentences plus 2,208 years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and related charges in state court last year.
U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney accepted Aldrich’s plea deal with federal prosecutors, avoiding a lengthy court process, and allowed the mass killer to avoid the death penalty.
The judge made Aldrich admit for the first time that the shooting was bias-motivated, targeting victims due to their sexual identity or gender identity.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Aldrich declined the judge’s invitation to address the Club Q victims and families present in the Denver courtroom.
Read more
Colorado Supreme Court hears arguments in anti-discrimination caseThe Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit against a Christian baker who refused to make a pink cake with blue icing to celebrate a gender transition. KGNU’s Pam Johnson has the story.
The Court considered a variety of hypothetical cake-design scenarios while discussing two cases involving Lakewood baker Jack Phillips. The first case was back in 2012, when Phillips refused to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding. He partially prevailed before the U.S. Supreme Court in that case in 2018.
The more recent case originated when Phillips initially agreed to make a cake for attorney Autumn Scardina, but then refused when he found out it was going to be used to celebrate her gender transition.
The Colorado Court of Appeals sided with Scardina, ruling that the cake—which was not to have any writing on it—does not qualify as speech protected by the First Amendment.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court asked attorneys for both sides to describe what kind of cake without any writing on it a baker could refuse to make.
The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits refusing to provide services based on protected characteristics such as race, religion, or sexual orientation.
There are currently three cases in Colorado pitting LGBTQ+ [plus] civil rights against First Amendment rights.
Read more
Read even more, 1
Read even more, 2
Colorado in-person primaries voting begins Colorado voting centers are now open across the state for those who want to vote early in-person for next week’s primary election.
Election day is June 25th and voters have up until 7 p.m. on Election Day to register to vote at a polling center.
Voters can find the location closest to them by going to the Secretary of State’s website.
According to Colorado Newsline, Registered Democrats may vote in the Democratic primary, and registered Republicans may vote in the Republican primary. Unaffiliated voters may vote in either, but not both.
Voters will also find congressional district races, the state Board of Education, the statehouse, and other local races on their ballots.
Read more
Denver Basic Income Project report A first-year pilot program provided 807 homeless adults with no-strings-attached cash, and saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands in the process. KGNU’s Philip Armour has more.
That’s according to a new report by Denver University’s Center for Housing and Homelessness Research, which found that the program participants stayed in homeless shelters less frequently. They also required fewer ambulance rides, emergency room visits and hospital stays, and spent fewer nights in jail or drug and alcohol treatment centers. As a result, taxpayers saved nearly $600,000 according to The Denver Post.
The program is also connected to an increase in employment. Roughly 23% of participants had jobs at the start of the program, and that number grew to 27% after one year.
The Post reports that the project paid out $9.4 million over the past 14 months
The Denver Basic Income Project split enrollees into three groups. One received $1,000 a month for a year, the second received a $6,500 lump sum at start and then $500 a month over 11 months, and the third received $50 a month for a year.
Researchers found a significant increase in housing security for all three groups after 10 months of payments.
Read more
Wapiti Trail rerouted for eagle protection The new Wapiti Trail route at Heil Valley Ranch opened on Tuesday.
During the extended park closure due to the Cal-Wood fire, Golden eagles built a nest in the area. The new route was built to protect them.
Now, all of Heil Valley Ranch is restricted to on-trail use only because of the new critical wildlife habitat, and burn areas.
Read more
Eldorado Springs sues Boulder County
A bottled water company has filed suit against Boulder County for allegedly standing in the way of its newly-renovated resort facilities.
Eldorado Artesian Springs spent the last several years upgrading their popular spring-fed swimming pool, originally opened in 1906, and remodeling the site’s historic ballroom.The lawsuit accuses county officials of withholding occupancy permits for the facilities, and imposing requirements that weren’t agreed upon, among other allegations.
The company is also seeking a temporary restraining order to block the county from continuing to prevent the opening of facilities.
That’s according to the Daily Camera.
Eldorado Artesian Springs owns the road through town that accesses Eldorado Canyon State Park. The company and county commissioners agreed on roadway and parking improvements that would be funded jointly by Boulder County, the state of Colorado, and Eldorado Artesian Springs Inc. That work has not been completed.
Read more
The post Eldorado Springs sues Boulder County, Denver Basic Income Project report, Club Q shooter hate crimes guilty pleas appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow06_18_24_am_headlinesGreta Kerkhoff Rocky Mountain Airport truck crashA truck that crashed through a fence at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield caused a lot of damage, but the incident did not appear to be malicious, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver of the Ford F-150 was the only person in the pickup truck yesterday when it crashed through the fence and hit two unoccupied airplanes. While the exact cause of the incident is under investigation, 9News said the driver was apparently experiencing medical issues at the time. The driver was taken to a hospital.
A spokesperson with the Sheriff’s office said the truck did extensive damage to several planes, and debris is scattered throughout the site of the crash.
The crash is being investigated by Colorado State Patrol. Because it is considered a car crash, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are not involved.
Read more
Valmont Power Station ash meetings Two public meetings are scheduled for today, about coal ash remediation at Boulder’s Valmont Power Station.
The first of the two meetings is at eight o’clock this morning for business owners, while the second is from six to eight this evening, for people living near the power station at Valmont and 63rd Streets.
Both of the meetings will be in person, at the Boulder County Recycling Center at 1901 63rd Street
These meetings are meant to provide information about plans to clean up the landfills on the property that are full of coal ash. Coal was burned at the facility for more than ninety years, before coal operations ended in 2017. Elements in coal ash, like lithium and selenium, can filter into the environment.
The plant is currently operated by Xcel Energy, which is expected to clean up the landfills. The Camera says Xcel’s own testing has found higher-than-acceptable contaminant levels.
Neither of today’s meetings include a virtual option. But the Camera says Boulder County Public Health will upload video to its website, in the near future.
More information about the coal ash remediation project is available on the bouldercounty.gov website.
Read more
Read even more
Club Q shooter sentencingThe person already serving life in prison for the 2022 Club Q murders in Colorado Springs is expected to enter a guilty plea in Federal court in Denver today.
Anderson Aldrich pleaded guilty to fifty-one state level charges a year ago, for killing five people and wounding many more at the LGBTQ+ nightclub. Seventy-four federal charges were filed against Aldrich earlier this year, including multiple hate crimes and firearms charges.
The Denver Gazette is reporting that Aldrich accepted a plea deal on the federal charges that keep Aldrich from getting the death penalty. The Gazette says Aldrich most recently has been incarcerated at the Wyoming State Penitentiary.
Read more
Boulder County health care merger Two health care organizations in Boulder County have announced a merger, which could impact low-income people in the area.
Mental Health Partners and Clinica Family Health announced the merger last week. Boulder Reporting Lab says the merger is meant to create an “integrated healthcare model” that will better serve the people who have relied on the two organizations.
Mental Health Partners is the largest mental health care provider in Boulder County. They have more than ten thousand clients, and are one of the county’s few emergency mental health options outside of hospital emergency rooms.
Clinica Family Health offers affordable medical and dental care.
According to a press release, the newly formed agency will be called Clinica Family Health and Wellness and is expected to be up-and-running starting in September. It will provide physical, mental, and oral health care at locations in Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin and Adams counties.
Boulder Reporting Lab says the merger comes on the heels of the pandemic-era continuous coverage for Medicaid, which ended mid-last year. Thousands of people in Boulder County lost their Medicaid coverage as a result.
Both Mental Health Partners and Clinica mainly serve people on Medicaid, and those without insurance.
Read more
Read even more
Denver sales tax proposalsThe Denver City Council has given initial approval to a bill that would let voters decide whether to raise the sales tax in the city.
City Council approved the increase in a 9-1 vote yesterday, and will take a final vote on it next week. If it passes then, the proposed tax hike would go before voters in November.
The proposed .34% increase would bring Denver’s total sales tax to 9.14%, one of the highest in Colorado.
Revenues would provide up to $70 million for Denver Health, a network of healthcare providers throughout the city.
According to Fox31, Denver Health estimated there were $140 million in unpaid medical bills in 2023 and said it can’t maintain its current cost of care without additional funding.
The City Council also approved a $5 million contract for homeless shelters, on an 8-2 vote. The Denver Gazette says the contract for Housing Connector will provide financial assistance and rental subsidies to unhoused people.
Read more
Read even more
Louisville bear sightingThe sighting of a bear in Louisville has police there reminding the public that they should use extreme caution, if they encounter one of the animals.
The bear was seen near the Coal Creek golf course on Sunday, according to the Daily Camera, and was reported by about a dozen people. No one was hurt or threatened, and the bear eventually wandered away.
Police say such sightings are not uncommon. Anyone who sees a bear should stay calm, back slowly away, and avoid eye contact. They also recommend that people keep garbage cans clean and secure, and keep their garage doors closed.
Read more
The post Rocky Mountain Airport truck crash, Valmont Power Station ash meetings, Boulder County health care merger appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow06_17_2024amheadlinesGreta Kerkhoff Jefferson County GOP leader censured
The Jefferson County Republican Party has formally censured their party chair, following her efforts to oust Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams.
JeffCo party chair Nancy Pallozzi started circulating a petition last week without endorsement from the local Republicans she leads. Her own executive committee moved to nullify the petition, as it was not circulated on behalf of the party but was publicized on the party’s Facebook account and under its letterhead.
The efforts were prompted by Williams’ anti-LGBTQ+ email and social media post last week, calling gay people “godless groomers” and encouraging people to burn all Pride flags. The petition lists several concerns with Williams’ leadership.
The Jefferson County executive committee released a public statement, saying, “this action concerns only the matter of the Chair acting without authority and is not to be construed as an endorsement of or opposition to statements or actions of any other party.”
The censure bars Pallozzi from speaking on the matter any further.
Pallozzi’s efforts garnered public support from several prominent Republicans in the state. Similarly, the Denver Republican Party’s executive committee unanimously voted to call for Williams’ resignation or removal as state chair on Wednesday last week.
In addition to the recent criticism related to his anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments online, Williams has received backlash for calling LGBTQ+ Pride supporters “Nazis” in a recent debate, and for using party resources to attack his primary opponent in the 5th Congressional District race.
Read more
Proposal to drastically change Colorado’s elections
There’s a newly-approved ballot initiative that aims to eliminate single-party primary elections.
According to Colorado Public Radio, Initiative 310 advocates for an “all-candidate primary,” as well as ranked-choice voting for general elections.
The measure is backed by one of Colorado’s wealthiest residents: Kent Thiry, the wealthy founder of the dialysis company DaVita.
Though backers still need to collect 125,000 signatures from voters by the first week of August in order to get on the ballot, CPR reports that Thiry’s funding will almost certainly carry the initiative through to the November elections.
The initiative’s supporters argue that the changes would improve Democracy by lessening the political strength of the two-party system. They also say that candidates will be less inclined to appeal to extreme views in order to win primaries, and that third party candidates will have more opportunity.
Critics say the new system may be hard for voters to understand, and that there would be limited time to educate voters before the upcoming election.
Read more
Boulder airport neighborhood on ballot for fall
Two proposed measures to close the Boulder Municipal Airport and turn the area into a neighborhood have officially garnered enough signatures to appear on the Nov. 2024 ballot.
The news came from the City Clerk’s Office last week. According to the Boulder Daily Camera, “Repurpose Our Runways” and “Runways to Neighborhoods” ballot initiatives each gained just over the 3,401 signatures required to qualify for the ballot.
Supporters say the proposed measures would fill a gap in Boulder’s need for affordable housing.
Aviation enthusiasts oppose the measure, saying it’s unlikely the Federal Aviation Administration would allow the airport to be closed. Boulder currently has about 18 years left on a 20-year contract requiring the airport to operate due to FAA grant funding.
The City Council will make final determinations about the ballot measures in the upcoming months. They may suggest amendments to the measures – but if the campaign committee doesn’t agree to those changes, the city and committee could end up putting competing measures on the ballot. It’s also possible that Council could bypass the whole process and adopt the measures as city ordinances, in which case the measures wouldn’t go on the ballot.
The City plans to have a conversation about the airport on July 25.
Read more
Record-setting revenue from skiing in Colorado
Sunday was closing day at the Arapahoe Basin ski resort, marking the end of the lift-served ski season for Colorado. Arapahoe was open for 222 days this season, from October 29 to June 16.
Colorado ski resorts logged 14 million visitations for the 2023/24 season – higher than most other states, but slightly down from 2022/23.
According to the Colorado Sun, total ski season spending in Colorado’s ski resort municipalities reached $4.5 billion, up from $4.4 billion in the record-setting 2022-23 season and up 50% from the pre-pandemic 2018-19 season.
Read more
The post Jefferson County GOP leader censured, Proposal to change Colorado elections, New communications plan for Flagstaff road appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow06_13_24 am headline newsGreta Kerkhoff Boulder Creek closed to tubers
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office closed Boulder Creek to tubing yesterday. The closure will remain in place until water flow reduces to a level that is deemed to be safer, according to the Daily Camera.
Until further notice from the Sheriff’s Office, the closure remains in effect for, “tubing and single chamber flotation devices” from below Boulder Falls at Colo. 119 to 55th Street in Boulder. Kayaks and white-water canoes are still permitted for use in the Creek.
Boulder Creek’s water flow is expected to increase as temperatures rise. The cold, high water can cause dangerous rapids and snags.
Read more
Boulder office building to be turned into affordable housing
In order to create more affordable housing in Boulder, some developers are converting commercial spaces into housing.
Boulder Housing Partners plans to turn a portion of an office building, located at 3300 Penrose Place, into permanently affordable housing. According to the Daily Camera, they also plan to add several more residential buildings on-site.
The site was previously home to the Geological Society of America, a collaboration of scientists from all industries.
The Camera said the building has been relatively unused since employees began working from home more at the onset of the pandemic. Boulder Housing Partners bought the building back in 2022 for $10.3 million.
The project will add 113 new permanently affordable housing units. Those units are required to be deed-restricted, meaning they stay affordable for people making no more than a certain percentage of the area’s median income.
Boulder’s Planning Board held a public hearing for the project on May 7 and unanimously recommended approving the site.
Construction is expected to begin in 2026.
Read more
Boulder considers limits on legal THC content
The City of Boulder’s Cannabis Licensing Advisory Board will consider a measure to limit maximum THC content.
On August 5th, the Board will review a policy recommendation to ban cannabis concentrates, though its authority to implement a ban is uncertain.
As reported by the Boulder Reporting Lab, parents, teachers and health care workers are concerned about the effects of high THC products on youth.
The last meeting of the board included an update from the Cannabis Research & Policy Project, including the latest information on high potency marijuana and THC concentrates.
At the state level, there have been attempts to regulate THC potency. Legislation was introduced back in 2021 to cap potencies at 15%. None of the potency regulations became law. However, restrictions did eventually pass regarding how Coloradans under 21 could get access to medical cannabis.
Read more
Wildfire near twin lakes
A wildfire burning in the Interlaken Historic District near Twin Lakes grew to 443 acres and prompted evacuation orders yesterday.
According to the Denver Post, the fire grew from 164 acres Tuesday evening to 443 acres by 8:45 p.m. last night.
The fire was started by an abandoned campfire about 60 yards from the Interlaken trail, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Fire officials believe the campfire was not properly extinguished, and left burning for several days before sparking the wildfire.
Four helicopters, at least one air tanker and 135 fire personnel are currently fighting the fire, agency officials said Wednesday afternoon.
The U.S. forest service is currently trying to calm the flames, but as of last night the fire had not been contained. No historic structures were burned as of 11 a.m.
Camping is prohibited on the east side of Twin Lakes, as well as around the Interlaken trailhead, until further notice.
Read more
First all-female climbing route established in Boulder
Rock climbing legend Lynn Hill and partner Sasha DiGiulian have completed a new route on the Maiden formation in the Flatirons.
Hill and DiGiulian’s successful effort marks the first all-female team to pioneer a new route in the area.
The Maiden is a distinct pillar of sandstone visible just west of South Boulder, and Hill and DiGiulian named the three-pitch route The Queen Line. It’s rated 5.13 – which is considered an advanced climb that requires experience and strength. The duo initially faced some opposition for needing to drill bolts into the rock. Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks eventually issued the permit on the second application.
A film crew documented the effort over the last four years, which included DiGiulian overcoming major physical struggles. The documentary, titled Here To Climb, premiered in Denver last Friday and will begin streaming on HBO Max on June 18.
Read more
Boulder Municipal Airport’s fate on fall ballot
Two citizen-initiated ballot measures about the future of the Boulder Municipal Airport will likely make their way onto the ballot this fall.
Both the “Repurpose Our Runways” and “Runways to Neighborhoods” ballot measures have exceeded the number of signatures required to qualify for the November 2024 ballot.
Both measures seek to close down the Boulder airport, and turn the area into a neighborhood.
Read more
The post Boulder Creek closed to tubers, Wildfire near Twin Lakes, Boulder Municipal Airport’s fate on fall ballot appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrowcorrect HEADLINESPhilip Armour Colorado GOP in revolt against Dave Williams
Colorado GOP officials and candidates are pressuring state party chair Dave Williams to resign after Williams sent out anti-LGTBQ emails and social media posts from official state GOP accounts.
According to Colorado Public Radio, Colorado’s GOP has suffered under the tumultuous leadership of Williams. Two GOP candidates have publicly rejected the state party’s endorsement, citing Williams’ comment.
A coalition of local party leaders from Teller County, Woodland Park, Cripple Creek, and Victor, are also demanding he step down. They signed a letter expressing their calls for immediate removal of the GOP chair for QUOTE “continuing to incite hatred and further division in Colorado.”
Williams’ focus on moving the party to the right, paired with his policing of fellow-Republicans’ values, has long divided party members. Former Republican state party chair Dick Wadhams, a longstanding opponent of Williams, called the emails “very damaging.”
Read more
Proposed Boulder-Lyons bikeway endorsedA proposed bikeway connecting Boulder to Lyons is one step closer to becoming a reality.
A plan to build an eleven-mile concrete trail along U.S. 36 has received the unanimous endorsement of Boulder’s Transportation Advisory Board. That route is one of the most popular among Boulder County cyclists, but also one of the most dangerous.
Under the current proposal, the path – called the North Foothills Bikeway – would be at least twenty feet wide, and built mainly on the eastern side of 36, according to Boulder Reporting Lab. It would also be set at least twenty feet from the roadway.
County officials estimate it would cost about $91 million. A final report on its engineering feasibility is due later this month.
Safety advocates have pushed for a bike path between Boulder and Lyons for years. Boulder Reporting Lab says that since 2005, seven cyclists have died along that stretch of U.S. 36.
Read more
Polis signs eight new gun laws into law MondayThe new laws impose major changes to the state’s gun sales and monitoring. Among the new regulations, one of the laws imposes stricter requirements for obtaining concealed carry permits, mandating at least eight hours of training, a live-fire test, and a written exam starting July 1, 2025.It also prohibits the open or concealed carry of firearms in schools, voting sites, the state Capitol, and other specified locations.
People under active domestic violence-related restraining orders in Colorado will not be mandated to surrender their firearms and ammunition.
Another measure requires credit card companies to assign specific merchant codes to gun and ammunition dealers by May 2025 to facilitate tracking purchases.
Firearms dealers must obtain a state permit by July 1, 2025, complete employee background checks, and report attempted illegal purchases – among other new requirements.
The laws reflect Colorado’s ongoing efforts to reduce gun violence through tighter regulations, background checks, and funding for related programs and services.
Read more
Xcel’s new energy plan could boost bills 7%
Xcel Energy received approval from state regulators earlier this week for a $440 million plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But, it could boost natural gas bills.
The so-called “Clean Heat Plan” aims to move more Colorado homes and businesses to electricity from using natural gas. The energy company predicts this will cut greenhouse gas emissions 22% by 2030, and lead to a decline in gas sales over the next few years.
But, the plan will impact customers’ wallets. Natural gas rates will go up 7% over the next four years, and electricity rates will raise 1.1%.
According to The Colorado Sun, some worry the utility could make significant profits through these efforts to seemingly fight the climate crisis
$820 million-dollar plan for statewide internet approvedThe Infrastructure Act that Congress passed in 2021 set aside $42.5 billion for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, or BEAD.
According to The Colorado Sun, providing internet to rural areas of Colorado is costly for internet service providers since the houses are often far from towns. This puts those areas at a disadvantage.
The Sun says BEAD should be able to fund internet for 99% of Colorado state households at an affordable rate.
The proposed cost will start at $30 per month, with the opportunity for providers in high-cost areas to increase the figure based on expected cost.
Public comment for the project’s guidelines and maps will open in July. Then, internet providers can start applying for grants to offset the cost of building broadband infrastructure in regions of the state that are lacking internet service.
Read moreThe longest flight from DIA ever
Passengers will board the longest flight that’s ever taken off from Denver International Airport today. The flight will connect Denver to Istanbul.
The plane will travel around 6 thousand miles over 13 hours. The second-longest flight to have taken off from Denver comes a few hundred miles short of today’s, connecting Denver to Tokyo.
According to Turkish Airlines, who are chartering the new service four days a week, the flights will bring in about $54 million annually for Colorado’s economy and create around 350 new jobs.
Read more
The post Colorado GOP in revolt against Dave Williams, Polis signs eight new gun laws, The longest flight from DIA ever appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow06_11_24_am_headlinesGreta Kerkhoff State GOP Moves To Oust Dave WilliamsState Republican Party leaders are expected to deliver an official letter today to State Party Chair Dave Williams, calling for a special meeting aimed at removing Williams from his leadership role.
Once he receives the letter it will be up to Williams, as party chair, to choose the date, time, and place of the special meeting. That’s according to KOAA, a Colorado Springs TV station.
State Republicans want Dave Williams removed in the aftermath of an anti-Pride Month mass email, which Williams signed. That email, sent out last week, attacked gay people as “godless groomers” who want to harm children. The same day, the State GOP tweeted out a call to burn all Pride flags.
Jefferson County GOP chair Nancy Pallozzi, who is leading the effort to oust Williams, said Williams crossed a line with attacks on Pride Month, and that he does not speak on behalf of the Republican Party.
Williams insists he will not resign, and has not backed away from his position.
The letter to be delivered to Williams today reportedly contains the signatures of more than 25% of the Colorado State Central Committee. Sixty percent of the committee’s four hundred members must vote in favor of Williams’s removal in order for it to succeed.
KOAA says the Republican leaders hope to schedule the meeting to oust Williams before the Republican National Committee and National Convention begins in July.
Read more
No Venue Change in King Soopers TrialThere will be no change of venue in the trial of the man charged with killing ten people at a Boulder Kings Soopers more than three years ago.
Judge Ingrid Bakke denied the motion yesterday to move the trial out of Boulder.
She said the defense failed to establish that pretrial publicity in the case had made it impossible to seat an impartial jury, according to the Daily Camera.
The judge also denied defense motions to close the courtroom to the public, and to sequester the jury.
The lawyer defending Amad Alssia argued last week that there are reminders of the March 2021 mass murder all over town. He said between the work of support groups, Boulder Strong, numerous memorials, social media, and traditional media, it would be impossible for the accused to receive a fair and impartial jury.
Last October, the defendant was deemed legally competent to stand trial. He had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to ten counts of first-degree murder, 47 counts of attempted first degree murder, and numerous other felonies.
The trial is scheduled to begin on September 3rd, and is set to last for three weeks.
Read more
Denver Youth Jobs Program FundedThe Denver City Council has approved a $1.7 million dollar state grant to fund the city’s YouthWorks Initiative Program.
The grant, approved last night, fully funds the program. The Denver Gazette says the program will provide up to one thousand summer jobs to students between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one.
The $1.7 million grant comes from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief, a COVID-era federal program.
Read more
Denver Schools Enrollment DeclineEnrollment in Denver Public Schools is expected to decline by more than six thousand students over the next five years.
The school district, which is Colorado’s largest, had 76,157 K-through-12 students enrolled in the just-completed school year. The District projects that will drop to just under 70,000 69,819 students in the 2028-29 school year, an 8.3% decline.
One reason for the falling enrollment is a corresponding drop in the number of Americans having babies, according to the Denver Post. Another is gentrification, since rent hikes and types of housing have shifted the city’s demographics.shifting demographics.
Enrollment in public schools in Colorado was at its lowest point in ten years at the start of the 2023-24 school year. The Post says that declining enrollment has Denver and other districts considering closing some of their schools.
Read more
New Eating Disorder Clinics LawEating disorder clinics in Colorado will be operating under new guidelines, due to a new law signed by Governor Jared Polis last Thursday.
The newly-signed law will require the state Behavioral Health Administration to issue new rules for eating disorder treatment clinics.
According to The Denver Post, new rules include private and clothed medical exams; specific accommodations for transgender and nonbinary patients; guidance for the use of restraints on patients; and an emphasis on obtaining consent before using feeding tubes.
The new rules are a direct response to complaints from patients at the Eating Recovery Center, a national eating disorder treatment provider with its headquarters in Denver.
Some say they experienced a threatening and invasive environment at the Center, traumatizing them further and making them resistant to seeking out future care.
The Behavioral Health Administration has until Jan. 1 2026 to implement these changes.
Read more
Royal Arch Trail ClosuresBoulder’s Royal Arch Trail will be closed Mondays through Thursdays until early September.
The closure began yesterday, to allow maintenance on the trail.
The city said in a press release that during the maintenance period, Royal Arch Trail will be open Fridays through Sundays.
The work includes rebuilding the area along Sentinel Pass near the top of the Royal Trail, which leads to the Royal Arch formation.
The Hall Ranch trailhead will also be closed, but for a much shorter duration.
All nearby trails, and the Antelope Trailhead, will remain open.
Read more
Read even more
The post GOP moves to oust Dave Williams, DPS enrollment decline, No venue change in King Soopers trial appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow06_10_2024amheadlinesGreta Kerkhoff New Boulder energy codeBoulder City Council has officially adopted a new energy code, marking a step toward setting efficiency standards for buildings.
The new City of Boulder Energy Conservation Code will require many newly built and remodeled buildings to use all-electric appliances.
According to the Daily Camera, the code does not ban gas in all new buildings – there are exemptions for certain commercial and industrial spaces like restaurants and hospitals.
In large renovations, gas can still be used for backup heat sources, stoves, and fireplaces, though main space and water heating systems will need to be electric.
While the move to electric can be more expensive for developers, the code change is expected to cut energy costs overall and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Boulder.
Read more
Colorado state Republican leaders call on chairman to resign after GOP’s anti-LGBTQ+ messagesThere are growing calls for Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams to resign.
The calls started after the GOP sent out a mass email last Monday signed by Williams, accusing the LGBTQ+ community of being “godless groomers” who want to harm children. That same day, the Colorado GOP also posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, calling for the burning of all pride flags.
According to Denver7, state Republican leaders denounced the behavior late last week, saying it is not in alignment with the party.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser also chimed in, stating it can be a crime to burn a Pride flag, depending on the circumstances.
Williams defended the email, saying he will not apologize for putting his name behind the message.
A group of Arvada residents are wondering if William’s email connects at all to a number of missing Pride flags in their neighborhood. They told Fox31 they fly the flags every June, in honor of Pride month.
Read more
Read more
Read even more
Study reveals Colorado schools still have lead in drinking water
Nearly two-thirds of the water sources that supply drinking water to Colorado school districts still have excessive levels of lead, more than a year after those high levels were first identified.
The lead is found in water fixtures, according to the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, in a new study cited by Colorado Public Radio. The district with the largest exposure is Aurora Public Schools, with 88% of its fixtures needing help. Denver Public Schools are just behind that, with 83% of its fixtures requiring service.
The report identified nearly 1,500 water sources across the state’s 10-largest school districts with excessive lead levels.
Lead is highly toxic and can cause learning disabilities and other problems for those who are exposed to it.
Read more
Colorado middle and high schools must provide menstruation products by 2028
Middle and high schools in Colorado will soon be required to provide free menstrual products to all students.
According to the Colorado Sun, House Bill 1164 was signed by Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday. The bill says all restrooms in the state’s middle and high schools must be stocked with free pads and tampons by 2028.
The bill comes after a survey conducted by Justice Necessary, a Colorado nonprofit working to increase access to hygiene products, which found that 90% of teen girls have started their menstrual cycle unexpectedly at school and didn’t have access to period products.
Eighty percent of those girls missed class because they didn’t have a pad or tampon.
The bill aims to better students’ instructional time and increase access for those who struggle to afford menstrual products.
Read more
Marshall Fire Rebates ExtendedThe Colorado Public Utilities Commission has approved a one-year extension for the Xcel Marshall Fire Rebuild Rebates. The rebates are meant for Xcel customers who lost their homes in the 2021 Boulder Marshall fire and are rebuilding.
According to the Boulder County Website the new deadline for receipt of an approved permit is June 30, 2025, for the mixed fuel rebate tiers.
The rebates are available for homes permitted on or before that June date.
More information can be found at www.bouldercounty.gov.
Read more
St. Vrain Creeks and Rivers closedThe Saint Vrain creeks and rivers in Lyons are closed for tubing, due to safety concerns.
The closure started Friday, when officials announced the river was flowing too fast for single-chamber rafts and inner tubes. That’s according to 9News.
Kayaks and white water canoes are still permitted; however, anyone using those watercrafts is encouraged to exercise caution and wear a life jacket and helmet.
Those who violate the closure can receive A fine of $100.
9News says the closure includes the North Saint Vrain and Saint Vrain creeks from Apple Valley Road to North Foothills Highway.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office has not clarified when the closure is expected to end.
Read more
The post New Boulder energy code, Study reveals lead in school drinking water, St. Vrain Creeks and Rivers closed appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow06_06_24_am_headlinesPhilip Armour King Soopers murder trial venue change requestAttorneys representing the man accused of murdering ten people in a Boulder King Soopers three years ago are asking for a venue change in the defendant’s trial.
At a motion hearing at the Boulder County Justice Center Tuesday, defense lawyers said their client cannot get a fair trial in Boulder County because of what they called “massive, pervasive, and prejudicial publicity” in the case, according to the Denver Gazette.
The defendant has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, meaning that he did not understand the difference between right and wrong at the time of killings. According to published reports, he used a firearm with a high-capacity magazine and killed most of his victims in just over one minute.
The victims included King Soopers employees and shoppers, as well as Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley. There were no non-fatal shooting victims. The defendant is facing ten counts of first degree murder, along with numerous counts of attempted murder, and weapons-related charges.
At present, jury selection is scheduled to begin on August 26th.
Read more
GOP calls for Pride flag burningThe Colorado Republican Party has issued a call for the burning of all Pride flags in the state.
In a mass email from the state GOP earlier this week, the party said that “God hates Pride,” and that with the arrival of June, “Godless groomers in our society want to attack what is decent, holy, and righteous so they can ultimately harm our children.”
The message was signed by Dave Williams, the state Republican Party’s chair, according to 9News. However, Colorado Politics is reporting that some Republicans are reacting with outrage to the call to burn Pride flags. Valdamar Archuleta, president of the LGBTQ advocacy group Colorado Log Cabin Republicans, said he will not accept the party’s formal endorsement as the Republican nominee in the state’s 1st Congressional District. He said that as an openly gay man, he considers the state party’s anti-LGBTQ message “disgusting and offensive.”
But he also said he still plans to support Republican candidates “from the top of the ticket down.”
Meanwhile, the chair of the Colorado Democratic Party condemned the Republican idea of burning Pride flags, saying it clearly illustrates the differences between the two parties.
Read more
Read even more
Colorado hate groups An annual report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, released Tuesday, listed 13 hate groups and 17 anti-government groups in Colorado. These include neo-Nazis, white nationalists, sovereign citizen organizations, anti-LGBTQ groups, and general conspiracy propagandists, according to The Denver Post. These groups were identified over the course of last year.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, list includes Moms for Liberty, which has chapters in Boulder, Garfield, Mesa, and Weld counties.
Moms for Liberty is disputing the hate group designation. Its founders said in a statement that the group is, in their words, “committed to ensuring that parents around the country have the protection of their fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their child.”
Other groups in Colorado, named hate groups by the SPLC, include the American Freedom Network, the Family Research Institute, Mass Resistance, the Proud Boys, and the Patriot Front. The SPLC urges people to take the information in their new report to advance their own rights, and protect democracy.
In its report, the SPLC says that one of the foundations for hate in America is male supremacy, as well as Christian supremacy and dominion theology. It says these elements could push the United States toward authoritarian government.
Read more
Read even more
Primary ballots mailedPrimary ballots are beginning to show up in Coloradans’ mail boxes, with the state’s primary elections less than three weeks away.
Mail-in ballots went out Monday to all registered Colorado voters. Colorado residents are automatically registered when they get a driver’s license or register for other state services. Registration can also be done online by visiting Coloradosos.gov, and clicking on “register to vote.”
Ballots must be returned by 7pm on Election Day, which is June 25th. They can be returned to dropboxes, to in-person voting centers, or mailed back to county clerks. Ballots returned by mail should be sent no later than Monday, June 17th.
Read more
Read about online voter registration
Concealed-carry law signedColoradans will soon need eight hours of in-person training from a qualified instructor before they can get a concealed-carry gun permit. That’s under a new law signed Tuesday by Governor Jared Polis. It goes into effect on July 1st, 2025.
The new law requires passing a live-firing exercise and a written exam. Newly-issued concealed-carry permits last for five years. For renewal, people will need two hours of in-person training, plus another live-firing test and written exam.
Read more
Colorado racism study Senate Bill 53, creating the new Commission, gives Colorado until June 30, 2025, to raise at least $785,000 for the study. If they fall short of that goal, donations will be returned and the study won’t happen, according to the Denver Post.
State Senator James Coleman, who sponsored the bill, said that studying the legacy of historic racism, and the structural inequities that resulted from it, are “the first step toward addressing it.” He added that it will lead to a deeper understanding of the impacts of past and current racial discrimination.
Supporters of the study say that a deeper understanding is necessary, because of ongoing disparities impacting the Black community – including disproportionately higher rates of incarceration, and lower rates of home ownership compared to white Coloradans.
Donations are being collected at chicdenver.org. Backers hope to reach their milestone before the June 2025 deadline so the work can begin.
Read more
Folsom Field fireworks canceledThere will be no Fourth of July fireworks at Folsom Field in Boulder this year.
The city said in a press release that their partnership with WK Real Estate has come to an end, forcing them to cancel the annual show. WK Real Estate has been the main sponsor of Ralphie’s Independence Day Blast for the last twenty-four years.
Read more
Read even more
First ninety-degree day
The Metro Denver area has seen this year’s first ninety-plus-degrees day. In Boulder, temperatures yesterday topped out at 89 degrees, though it reached ninety in Louisville, and 91 in Denver.
The hot days are a little early this year: Denver7 says that on average, we see the first ninety-degree day on June 10th.
Read more
The post GOP calls for Pride flag burning, Colorado hate groups identified, New concealed-carry law signed appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen:
- play_arrow06_04_2024_am_headlinesGreta Kerkhoff Private security service spending increase
The Denver City Council authorized up to $24 million last night for private security services across the city.
The increase in spending for this year is meant to address Denver’s changing safety needs. According to the Denver Post, the demand for these services has grown significantly over the past two years, largely due to the 24-hour security services at migrant and homeless shelters across the city.
The funding expands an existing contract with Securitas Security Services USA, from $25 million to $43 million. That company currently provides on-site security for three former hotels that act as shelters for the unhoused, as part of Mayor Mike Johnston’s All In Mile High initiative.
Read more
RTD Ridership
Coloradans aren’t taking RTD public transit as much as they were a few years ago, even as the agency’s budget increases.
That’s according to an analysis by the Common Sense Institute, which found that RTD ridership fell 46 percent from 2019 to 2022.
The report was released on May 18, and co-authored by former Denver mayoral candidate Kelly Brough, in an effort to make sure funding for Denver’s transit is producing a worthwhile outcome for riders.
The report said crime near and on public transit is a major reason people aren’t riding RTD, citing safety concerns.
According to Westword, RTD says that efforts to apply the report’s findings are already underway.
Read more
Denver aims to reduce the number of veterans living on the street
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is setting his sights on making Denver the largest city in the country with no veterans living on the streets.
At a press conference on Monday, Johnston acknowledged that veterans experience homelessness at a disproportionate rate in Colorado.
He said the city has already been tracking veterans living on the streets through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Denver Department of Housing Stability. By doing so, Johnston claims they’ve identified 52 veterans living on the streets and plan to provide them housing by the end of the year.
In order to achieve this, the city will be working with volunteer organizations and nonprofits to connect veterans with shelters and housing.
According to CBS News Colorado, Johnston aims to keep veterans off the streets by making sure there are more veterans gaining shelter than there are currently experiencing homelessness. The Department of Veteran Affairs reports 752 veterans were taken off the streets in Colorado in 2023.
Read more
Colorado makes in person voting available in all jailsA new bill will allow those incarcerated in Colorado’s jail system to vote in-person while in custody.
Senate Bill 24-072, signed on Friday by Gov. Jared Polis, requires Colorado’s county jails to provide at least six hours of in-person voting in the days before Election Day. The bill also requires the facilities to set up mail-in ballot drop off hubs on-site.
According to the Denver Post, Colorado is the first state in the nation to require its jails to provide in-person voting.
In Colorado, only convicted felons are prohibited from voting. Those serving jail time for misdemeanor convictions can still cast ballots.
According to the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, between 2020 and 2022, 9,293 jailed Coloradans who were eligible to vote didn’t do so.
In Denver, which offered in-person voting in jails during the 2023 mayoral elections, proportional voter turnout was higher.
Read more
Read even more
The post Colorado jails to provide in person voting, private security spending increase, RTD ridership falls appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen:
- play_arrow06_03_24_am_headlinesJackie Sedley New bill allows Coloradans to qualify for up to 2 years of free college
Students whose families make less than $90,000 a year can get up to two years of in-state tuition covered, under a new law signed late last week.
House Bill 1340 directs the state to reimburse qualifying students and their families through a refundable income tax credit. This means families must first pay on their own and are then reimbursed during tax season.
Eligible students will be able to claim the credit on their 2025 taxes.
The measure was one of several bills that sought to tap on state revenue collected by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR.
Read more
Read even more
Denver hailstorm recovery
Last Thursday and into Friday, Denver residents experienced one of the more destructive hailstorms in the city’s history. The storm spanned 20 miles from Erie to Aurora, and hit later in the evening than usual for hailstorms. That’s according to the National Weather Service, who received seven reports of hail larger than 2 inches in diameter following the storm that hit Thursday night.
Officials are comparing this storm to one that caused over $2 billion in damage back in May 2017. But, that hailstorm covered less ground.
Residents across the impacted region are still assessing damages.
Read more
Woman drowns in Boulder Creek
A 65-year-old woman has died after falling into Boulder Creek Friday afternoon. She was riding an ebike with her husband on Boulder Creek Path and fell into the creek near the intersection of Four Mile Canyon. The woman has not yet been identified to the public.
There have been 11 drowning deaths in Boulder Creek over the past decade, according to Boulder Reporting Lab. Two of those were from car accidents, while six involved alcohol or other substances. Most occurred during peak runoff in May and June.
Read more
Read even more
Colorado regions explore special taxing districts to fund child careA Colorado coalition is working to create one of the state’s first special taxing districts specifically to fund childcare. The Confluence Early Childhood Education Coalition says these special districts would allow for more accessible childcare, seeing that many families live and work in different jurisdictions.
According to the Colorado Sun, special taxing districts for childcare already exist in Florida and Missouri.
Efforts will have to win approval from commissioners representing the districts; then, voters will have the option to sign off.
Colorado passed a statewide nicotine tax back in 2020 that helps fund free preschool for four-year-olds; but several other statewide ballot initiatives for education have failed.
Read more
Denver residents sue Purina factory
Denver residents living near the Purina pet-food factory have filed a class-action lawsuit with the U.S. District court of Colorado. According to Westword, the suit claims that fumes from the plant are so bad that those living nearby should be compensated for health consequences and loss of property value and quality of life.
Residents name Nestle Purina Petcare as the defendant, claiming that the plant needs to be better maintained to avoid fumes.
Read more
Boulder County voting equipment testing completed
If you’re registered to vote in Colorado, you’re likely to receive your mail-in ballot soon. Ballots and equipment set to be used in Boulder County during the Statewide Primary on June 25 officially passed a required Logic and Accuracy Test (LAT) last week.
Ballots for the upcoming election are starting to be mailed out today, to all eligible and registered Democrats, Republicans, and Unaffiliated voters.
Today is also the deadline to change or withdraw party affiliation for the upcoming major party primary. New Colorado voters can register and vote up to and on Election Day. You can register or check your registration at GoVoteColorado.gov.
Read more
Popular scenic route through RMNP opened
Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park is officially open for the season, after an unexpected delay. Park officials announced on Friday that the high alpine road, which tops more than 12,180 feet, usually opens by Memorial Day Weekend, but above-average snowfall this winter and spring had slowed down road crews.
According to the Denver Post, access to the Alpine Visitor Center, gift shop, and nearby parking areas remains closed for now.
Read more
The post Denver residents sue Purina factory, Special taxing districts to fund Colorado child care, Woman drowns in Boulder Creek appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow05_30_24_am_headlinesJohn Kelin DU Encampment EndsPro-Palestinian demonstrators on the University of Denver campus have ended their nearly three-week long encampment.
The tents that went up on May 9th were peacefully removed from DU’s Carnegie Green yesterday.
DU officials said in a statement that the University and members of DU for Palestine met on Tuesday to discuss the encampment, as well as protester demands that DU divest from any companies linked to the ongoing war in Gaza.
The university administration told protestors that they would not meet any of their demands, according to 9News, citing practical and policy reasons. They also cited concerns about safety and discrimination on the DU campus during the encampment.
Later, in a statement posted on Instagram, DU for Palestine called the administration cowards who are supporting genocide. They also said that while the encampment was over, their fight was not.
A similar encampment on Denver’s Auraria campus ended on May 18th. Organizers there also vowed to continue protesting the war in Gaza.
Read more
Even more
BVSD Budget CutsThe Boulder Valley School District is eyeing $5 million in budget cuts in the coming fiscal year, with a vote on a final budget expected at its June 11 meeting.
The $5 million in cuts will allow the district to give all of its employees a four percent cost-of-living salary increase for the next school year, according to the Daily Camera.
The cuts mean the elimination of numerous teaching, administrative, and other positions.
Enrollment in BVSD schools is expected to drop by about three hundred students this fall, contributing to the tighter budget. Total enrollment in BVSD schools is 27,896 students.
Read more
AI And Other BillsA newly-signed state law requires campaign advertising with audio, video, or other content generated by artificial intelligence to be clearly marked as such.
According to the Denver Post, the law comes into play when AI advertising is used within sixty days of a primary election, or ninety days of a general election.
Colorado legislators passed the law in their recently-concluded session. They say it’s needed because artificial intelligence can be used to create false depictions of political candidates, which can damage the candidates’ reputation beyond repair.
Any candidate who is falsely portrayed by AI advertising can file a complaint with the Secretary of State’s office. They also have the right to sue.
Boulder Democrat Junie Joseph co-sponsored the bill. She said she wants to ensure more transparent and accountable elections in Colorado.
Governor Jared Polis has also signed several gun measures into law during the most recent legislative session. Senate Bill 003 gives the Colorado Bureau of Investigation more authority to investigate illegal gun activity. House Bill 1348 requires more responsible storage of firearms left in vehicles.
The governor also signed a bill that revives Colorado’s Federal Indian Boarding School Research Program.
The bi-partisan bill will extend funding, enhance the scope of the program, and establish a steering committee made up of survivors of the state’s boarding schools and other impacted people.
The bill directs researchers to collect oral histories from survivors of these schools, and conduct listening sessions with indigenous communities in the state. Researchers are meant to then make recommendations to Colorado state agencies to address the ongoing impacts of the schools.
A total of one million dollars in the next 3 fiscal years will be provided to determine the intergenerational impacts of the schools that, consistent with other Indian Boarding Schools across the U.S., sought to completely remove cultural identification and practices of the children attending these schools.
There were at least seven Indian boarding schools in Colorado that operated between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Read more (A.I.)
Read more (gun safety bills)
Read more (Indian schools)
RTD Zero Fare Program EndsMetro Denver’s Regional Transportation District won’t be offering free rides to adults this summer, as it has for the last two summers.
RTD created the Zero Fare for Better Air program to help cut down on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Ridership went up when the program was in effect, according to RTD statistics. But Boulder Reporting Lab says that a lack of new state funding has forced RTD to eliminate it.
Even though the Zero Fare for Better Air program won’t happen this summer, RTD is offering incentives to some riders to take a bus instead of their car. They’ll be extending their Free Fare Youth Program through August, and may extend it beyond that.
Other rider incentives include free shuttle service to Chautauqua Park on weekends and holidays from different stops around Boulder. That goes until September 2nd.
Also on weekends and holidays, there’s free shuttle service from Boulder to Eldorado Canyon State Park, and Marshall Mesa. That also goes until September 2.
Read more
Wolves and RanchersRanchers in Grand County want state wildlife officials to do more to protect their livestock from wolves.
The Stockgrowers Association says three calves have been killed by wolves since last month, when the state gave them $20,000 to hire range riders to protect their herds.
The association’s president says that non-lethal measures like range riders aren’t working. They want the state to kill two wolves specifically. The wolves are identified by the collar numbers they got when they were reintroduced to Colorado last year.
Ranchers say that the wolves have learned to evade range riders, instead of running away from them.
Read more
The post DU encampment ends, BVSD budget cuts, AI and other bills, RTD zero fare ends, wolves and ranchers appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow05_16_2024_am_headlinesGreta Kerkhoff Denver teachers demonstrate over payA contract dispute between the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools (DPS) led to protests in front of DPS headquarters this week. About 100 educators protested outside the building, while a Board of Education meeting inside hosted public comment.
The teachers’ union alleges that the district is breaking their 2022 contract. This agreement pledged to give educators a 5.2% cost-of-living raise annually, as part of a total 8.34% annual raise.
This year DPS is only offering a 2.06% cost-of-living raise for the 2024/25 school year, amounting to 5.2% total pay increase.
According to the Denver Post, DPS says state lawmakers are withholding the full raise percentages due to unavoidable budget shortfalls associated with the Great Recession.
Meanwhile, the district announced Friday that it has reached a tentative three-year contract with the Denver School Leaders Association, which includes a 4.5% cost-of-living raise in the first year for principals and other school administrators.
Read more
New Colorado school-funding formulaThe Colorado Legislature passed an overhaul of school funding that begins incrementally in the 2025-2026 school year. Legislators changed the formula to support needier school districts, however all school districts will continue to get support at a minimum of their current level.
Tanya Mares Kelly-Bowry, a lobbyist for the Boulder Valley School District, says the bill doesn’t provide predictability for school districts to budget according to the Daily Camera.
Eventually, the new formula will lead to a $500 million (dollar) increase in school funding statewide. The increase will be in addition to current funds that are sourced through a mix of local property taxes and state funding.
The new formula will provide more state support in part to school districts with more students experiencing poverty and with more English-learning students.
Districts such as Boulder that have had a surge of students migrating from out of the country will also receive additional funding from the state budget. According to the Daily Camera, BVSD will receive $700,000 of the one-time funding of $24 million to support newly arrived students.
Read more
Read more
Read more
Aviation study shows danger of leaded fuelA new study by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment shows that children living near airports have higher amounts of lead in their blood.
The study looked at those under age 18 living within 5 miles of an airport according to the Colorado Sun.
The bill funds airport’s use of unleaded fuel and helps pilots pay for plane upgrades that would allow the use of unleaded fuel.
Read more
Wolverines to potentially be reintroducedColorado legislators have passed a new bill authorizing the reintroduction of wolverines into the Colorado wilderness.
According to experts, fewer than 400 wolverines remain in the US, and Colorado’s high country could be a perfect habitat for this endangered species to thrive again.
According to Fox 31, if Gov. Polis signs the new bill, Colorado Parks and Wildlife can’t reintroduce wolverines until they are reclassified from a threatened and endangered species to a “nonessential experimental population” under federal law.
The bill also states that compensation must be given to any livestock owners that suffer loss of livestock caused by wolverines.
Read more
The Denver Police Department to restrict low-level traffic stopsThe Denver Police Department (DPD) is cutting down on low-level offense traffic stops. Minor violations, like expired registration tags, failing to use a turn signal, or headlights and tail lights which are not fully functioning will not be enforced as rigorously.
According to Axios Denver, Denver PD says the cuts will help with short staffing, police response, and racial profiling. Studies show Denver police arrest people of color at disproportionate rates.
DPD will continue to make traffic stops for any drivers who threaten public safety, such as speeding and reckless driving. Low-level offenses may still be punished if drivers are pulled over for additional safety concerns.
Read more
Read more
Denver restructures homeless shelter contractsThe Denver City Council has approved an $8 million contract to support family sheltering services. According to the Denver Gazette, the city council approved the contract with the Salvation Army on Monday and will also help support the Tamarac Family Shelter.
The Salvation Army has received $274 million from city contracts since 2021, however the operation of their shelters has come into question with frequent reports of gun violence, drug use, and other violent crimes.
The council also approved $12 million dollars for rental assistance expansion.
Read more
The post Denver teachers protest pay cut, fuel study shows impact on lead in blood appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow05_15_2024amheadlinesGreta Kerkhoff Boulder breaks ground on new affordable housing development Boulder Housing Partners began building a new affordable housing development in North Boulder Tuesday morning. Hawthorn Court will consist of close to 70 new units for people making between 30% and 60% of Boulder’s medium income.
According to the Daily Camera, the city is reserving five of the three-bedroom units for those at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness. The Emergency Family Assistance Association, the Boulder Valley School District, and the Family Resource Center will refer low-income families who are eligible for those units.
Additionally, the all-electric building will use solar energy and be wheelchair accessible. RTD will provide Eco passes to residents.
Read more
Colorado lawmakers push for new cell phone driving lawColorado legislatures approved a new bill last week to criminalize drivers using their cellphone while driving.
Cell Phone use while driving is already illegal in Colorado for those under 18. However, until recently efforts to expand distracted driving laws have failed according to CPR News.
If Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs the new law, drivers will only be able to make calls using hands-free accessories. Those reporting emergencies or parked first responders will not apply. Fines for usage will begin at $75, but drivers can get their first fee waived by purchasing a hands-free device.
Although the bill would address safety concerns, some are worried the bill could lead to over-policing of drivers of color. If signed, the law will take effect in January 2025.
Read more
CU study finds social distancing made a big difference
All that social distancing during the height of COVID-19 saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States. That’s the conclusion of a new study by researchers at CU-Boulder and UCLA.
The study, according to 9News, says that without pre-vaccine safeguards like social distancing, lockdowns, and school closures, another 800,000 people in the U.S. would have died from COVID and COVID complications.
Study
Worldwide deaths
Wolf killed by mountain lion
A wolf that was found dead in Larimer County last month was probably killed by a mountain lion.
That conclusion follows an examination of the wolf’s body conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Service said in a statement that the cause of death was not definitive, but the wounds were consistent with those inflicted by mountain lions. The wolf was one of ten gray wolves reintroduced to Colorado at the end of 2023, according to 9News.
An examination of the remains was required, because wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Read More
The post New cell phone driving law, wolf killed by mountain lion, and new affordable housing development in North Boulder appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow05_14_24_am_headlinesGreta Kerkhoff DU Demonstrations Ten people are facing charges after occupying part of a building on the Auraria campus in Denver.
The occupation of a restricted area by pro-Palestinian demonstrators began just after 4pm yesterday, and led campus authorities to place the campus on lockdown for about an hour, according to Fox31.
Auraria officials said in a statement that while some of the demonstrators left peacefully and continued their protests outside, ten stayed in the building. While authorities did not make any arrests, they have charged those who stayed behind with trespassing, interference, and disturbing the peace.
The Auraria campus has been the site of demonstrations against the war in Gaza for nearly three weeks.
Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the University of Denver campus say they intend to stay at their encampment where they set up more than two dozen tents last week more than there until administrators meet their demands.
The DU students set up an encampment of more than two dozen tents last week, according to CBS News.
Their demands include the disclosure of any financial ties the university has to Israel. KGNU’s Steve Miller has more.
Members of the student group “DU for Palestine” met with administrators on Sunday. They said afterward that the meeting didn’t accomplish anything. Fox31 says that a second meeting has been agreed to, but no date has been set.
Unlike at the Auraria campus, where a pro-Palestinian encampment has been in violation of campus rules, camping is allowed on the DU campus, provided everything remains peaceful.
Some protestors, however, said that on Saturday night authorities threatened a sweep, and said arrests could happen if they didn’t comply with requests. According to one student, that meant everyone at the camp had to show identification.
In a statement to the media, the university denied having threatened a sweep. But they conceded that students were asked to show IDs. They said by checking IDs, they could verify that everyone at the encampment was a DU student. They said they wanted to remind students of the need to follow university policy.
Auraria statement
Read more
Read more
Boulder Council Pay Raise?Voters in Boulder may be able to decide whether to give city council members a raise, later this year.
The City Council told city officials last week to draft a ballot measure to raise council member pay, and put the question on the fall ballot. The objective, according to Boulder Reporting Lab, is to get people from a broader socioeconomic background to serve on the council.
Council membership is not a full-time job, and members make about a thousand dollars a month, plus benefits. That can average out to below the minimum wage, so people can only be on the Council if they can afford to.
Voters in Fort Collins passed a measure two years ago that raised city council pay to 50% the area median income. Nothing has been decided in Boulder, but they could use the same formula, according to Boulder Reporting Lab.
Boulder City Council is expected to take an initial vote on how to craft the idea in July.
Read more
Boulder County Commissioners Review Greenway ProjectBoulder County Commissioners will meet next week to review plans for possible participation in the Rocky Mountain Greenway Project. Regional planners proposed the multi-use trail connecting Broomfield and Boulder via Rocky Flats in 2016..
The Greenway, a sprawling site south of Boulder was once home to a nuclear weapons plant. Even though its now a wildlife refuge, its opponents say it’s too dangerous for the trail. The route runs through a portion of the refuge that was not part of a federal cleanup. the remediated, cleaned up, area.
The Commissioners meeting is Thursday, May 23rd, at 2:30pm. The meeting is closed to public comment. More information can be found on the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center website.
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
Commissioners agenda
Rocky Mountain Greenway Extension
Fake Elector BillsColorado legislators passed a variety of bills highlighting voter protection and access for the upcoming 2024 State elections.
State lawmakers have sent a series of election integrity bills to Gov. Jared Polis to sign.
The measures include House Bill 1147, which requires Colorado candidates to disclose any use of Artificial Intelligence in their campaigns, according to Colorado Newsline. This includes content such as AI voices or images meant to represent candidates, commonly known as deep fakes. The governor has not yet signed this bill.
House Bill 1150 makes it illegal to serve as a fake elector, and disqualifies anyone those convicted of being a fake elector – from holding a public office in Colorado. Anyone convicted of contributing to a fake elector scheme is subject to a fine of up to $10,000. The governor has already signed this bill into law..
Senate Bill 72, requires county sheriffs to make sure people who are behind bars but still eligible to vote, have the opportunity to do so. This bill is not yet signed, but if it is, it would be the first of its kind in the United States.
Read more
New Wolf AttackState wildlife officials have confirmed another wolf attack on livestock in Grand County.
This most recent attack happened on Saturday, according to 9News. A cow was killed at the same ranch where four yearling cattle deaths were reported in April.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials added Saturday’s incident to their list of confirmed wolf attacks.
At least some of the Grand County attacks were from gray wolves reintroduced to Colorado last December.
Read more
A-Basin Open Until June Arapahoe Basin Ski Area has announced that it will remain open until June, following the 10 inches of new snow received on Sunday.
After June first, operations will be assessed on a week by week basis according to the Denver Post.
A-Basin is usually the last Colorado Ski Area to close for the season. Five years ago it stayed open until July 4th.
Read more
- play_arrow05_14_24_am_headlinesGreta Kerkhoff The post Auraria and DU protests, city council pay hike, Rocky Mtn Greenway, fake electors, new wolf attacks, A-Basin appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow05_13_24_am_headlinesJohn Kelin CEMEX AppealThe CEMEX cement company says that a decision by Boulder County to close its cement plant in Lyons is wrong, and should be reversed.
The company said late last week that forcing it to close the plant will have statewide implications, because it will make it more expensive to build new homes in Colorado.
Boulder County last month ordered the CEMEX plant in Lyons to shut down, because increased traffic into and out of the facility made it out of compliance with the county’s land-use regulations.
CEMEX says it has filed a response to the county’s termination notice, but has not shared it publicly, according to the Colorado Sun.
The Lyons plant is on an 866-acre property that is zoned for agriculture, according to BizWest. But because the plant has been there since the 1960s, before the code was enacted, CEMEX had been allowed to continue its operations.
CEMEX, which is based in Mexico, says the decision that the plant is now in violation of the code is factually and legally incorrect.
Read more (BizWest)
Read more (Colorado Sun)
East High School ThreatEast High School in Denver has stepped-up security today, following a threat posted to social media over the weekend.
The school district said that after learning of the unspecified threat, they notified their Department of Safety, which works with Denver Police, according to 9News. Both agencies began to investigate.
The district also said that any students with concerns should report them to a trusted adult, the Denver Police, or the Safe2Tell platform.
Read more
Rock Thrower PleaOne of three teenagers accused of taking part in a rock-throwing spree that killed an Arvada woman last year, has pleaded guilty to three felony charges.
19-year-old Zachary Kwak pleaded guilty to first degree assault, second degree assault, and criminal attempt to commit second degree assault last Friday.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 3rd.
Prosecutors say Kwak and two others killed 20-year-old Alexa Bartell as she drove along Indiana Street near Rocky Flats. She was struck by a thrown rock that smashed through her car’s windshield.
Prosecutors also say the three accused threw rocks at least six other vehicles the night Bartell was killed.
The Denver Post says that as part of Kwak’s plea, the defense has agreed he will serve a minimum of twenty years in prison.
Trials for the other two defendants are scheduled for this summer. One of them has a disposition hearing set for later this week.
Read more
Ticket Prices BillA new House bill awaiting the governor’s signature could provide Colorado concert-goers with more transparency when they’re buying event tickets.
House Bill 24-1378 would require online ticket sellers to list the price of a ticket with most additional charges, as opposed to not giving consumers the full price until checkout.
Those additional charges –at the end of a ticket purchase— can be up to 31% of the price of an event’s ticket from sellers such as Ticketmaster, according to The US Government and Accountability Office.
The bill is also aimed at combating bot software that quickly purchases the bulk majority of tickets after they drop from original sellers.
If Governor Polis signs the bill into law, it would also guarantee refunds for canceled shows hosted at Colorado venues who reside under The National Independent Venue Association.
Read more
CU Denver Commencement DisruptedPro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupted CU-Denver commencement ceremonies on Saturday, during a speech by Chancellor Michelle Marks.
Days before, protestors warned they would disrupt the ceremony.
Students on the Auraria campus in Denver have been demonstrating against the Israel-Hamas war for more than two weeks.
After the disruption, Chancellor Marks told the demonstrators that there is a time and a place for protests, according to Denver 7. She added that the commencement ceremony wasn’t it, because they were gathered to celebrate a graduating class.
CU-Denver shares the Auraria campus with Metropolitan State University and Community College of Denver. Denver 7 said neither of their commencement ceremonies were disrupted.
In Boulder, more than nine thousand students received their diplomas last week, in a ceremony at Folsom Field. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak delivered the commencement address, telling graduates that they might forget a lot of class work in the years ahead, but they would always remember their time at the University of Colorado.
Read more
Read more (CU-Boulder)
The post CEMEX responds to shutdown order; East High threat; rock throwing plea; ticket price bill; CU commencement disrupted appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow05_08_24_am_headlinesJohn Kelin False Claims By Metro State UniversityMetropolitan State University officials have admitted to making false claims about pro-Palestinian demonstrators yesterday.
According to 9news, Metro state officials said in a public statement that protestors had zip-tied doors closed after entering a building on the Auraria campus in Denver University president Janine Davidson said it was an example of how quote, “Protestors escalate tactics.”
That claim was later removed, but without any correction.
The university then told 9news that, in fact, police had zip tied doors behind protestors after they had entered Tivoli Hall, a student union on Denver’s Auraria campus.
Protestors entered the building yesterday, as Metro State University officials met with student leaders who have been encamped on the Auraria campus for nearly two weeks, protesting the Israel-Hamas war.
The pro-Palestinian demonstrators are demanding that the universities sharing the Auraria campus sever all financial ties to Israel.
The Denver Post, meanwhile, is reporting that at least ten demonstrators were arrested last night in Metro State’s Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute building. They had been sitting in a circle and chanting in support of Palestine. Most of those arrested were released after about an hour.
Read more (false claims)
Read more (arrests)
Read more
Legislative Session EndingToday is the final day of the 2024 legislative session in Colorado, and lawmakers are hurrying to complete as much work as possible.
The Denver Post says today’s workload includes an expected vote by the state House on Senate Bill 233, which would lower property taxes in Colorado.
And the state Senate is expected to make a final vote on a bill that would allow local governments to purchase subsidized housing properties before private buyers are allowed to bid on them.
Read more
King Soopers Defendant, Rock Throwing DefendantThere have been developments in two high profile criminal cases in the area.
An attorney representing the man charged with murdering ten people in a Boulder King Soopers supermarket three years ago has requested his client’s trial be pushed back to the spring of 2025.
At a status hearing yesterday, attorney Sam Dunn told the court that the defense would like a second sanity evaluation. Boulder District Attorney Michael Daughterty strongly objected to changing the trial date. The trial is currently set for this summer, according to the Daily Camera.
The defense has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
In a second case, one of the defendants accused of killing a 20-year-old woman last year by throwing rocks at her car is facing additional charges.
Investigators say one of the three defendants threw objects at other cars, months before the April 2023 incident that killed twenty-year-old Alexa Bartell [Bar-tell]. A rock smashed through Bartell’s car windshield and killed her as she drove near Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.
The three defendants will be tried separately, with the first of the trials scheduled to begin in June.
Read more (King Soopers case)
Read more (Rock throwing)
Denver SweepIn Denver, the city is expected to sweep a migrant encampment today.
About 100 migrants have been staying in Central Park, at a camp established by a group called All Souls, according to 9News. The people staying there include families with children.
The city says that they’re conducting the sweep because of safety concerns, and because the camp is on private property.
Read more
New Denver Homeless ShelterDenver City Council, meanwhile, has cleared the way for a new homeless shelter in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
The City Council’s vote Monday changes zoning regulations, to permit smaller shelters, according to the Denver Post.
The new shelter will be on Mariposa street, and operated by Haven for Hope, which already operates a larger shelter across the street. The new facility will be converted from an industrial space, and used as overflow space.
The City Council’s approval came in spite of objections that came in emailed comments. Most of those were about the possible effect on crime rates a new shelter might pose.
The new shelter is located near an encampment that was swept last month, reportedly because of three overdose deaths and a series of felony arrests that happened there.
Supporters, however, said those troublesome issues are symptomatic of when people have no easy access to food, water, or bathrooms.
Read more
The post False claims by MSU; legislative session ending; two high-profile cases; Denver sweep appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrow05_07_24_am_headlinesJohn Kelin High Wind Outages and CancellationsWinds are calming down along the front range, but the after-effects of yesterday’s powerful wind gusts are still being felt.
About ten thousand Xcel Energy customers lost power yesterday because of the high winds, which gusted up to 86 miles an hour in some places. More than two thousand of those customers were in Boulder County, according to Fox 31. However, there were no preemptive shutoffs by Xcel.
The power outages yesterday stretched from Boulder to the northwest, along the foothills corridor. But most of them were in Jefferson County, affecting more than eight thousand Xcel customers. Another 2600 Xcel customers in Golden also lost power.
Xcel said that its power system is designed to restore power automatically within a few seconds of an event like a tree making contact with a power line. But under yesterday’s windy conditions, settings were changed to prevent that automatic restoration. Instead, power must be restored by work crews.
About 55,000 Xcel customers in Boulder County lost power last month because of a preemptive shutoff by the energy company. It took up to three days for some to have power restored, and state regulators are still investigating that case.
At Denver International Airport, the high winds yesterday forced the cancellation or delay of more than 1,000 flights, according to the Denver Post, citing FlightAware.
High winds also forced the cancellation of a Monday night show at Red Rocks. Those who had tickets to see the indie band Hippo Campus will be refunded, according to the Post.
Read more
Read more
Read more (flight cancellations)
Auraria CampusAn anticipated Monday meeting between Metropolitan State University Denver officials and one of the leaders of a student pro-Palestinian group didn’t happen.
In a message posted to a Metro State website yesterday, the university said that the student they approached about the meeting declined the offer, unless other members of the group that has been encamped on the Auraria campus were allowed to attend. That stipulation was apparently unacceptable to the university.
The pro-Palestine demonstrations have been on the Tivoli Quad at the Auraria campus since April 25th. The campus is shared by Metropolitan State University, the Community College of Denver, and CU-Denver. Demonstrators have vowed to stay there until their demands are met.
Students at the Auraria Campus started a sit-in outside of the admin offices yesterday afternoon. They moved outside after a meeting was agreed upon for tomorrow at 11 a.m., with folks from the Auraria Campus Board of Directors.
That’s according to The Metropolitan, MSU Denver’s student-run newspaper.
Read more
Read more
Property Tax, and Other BillsWith time running out on this year’s legislative session, Colorado lawmakers have introduced a bi-partisan bill to lower property taxes.
Supporters on both sides of the aisle say if Senate Bill 233 passes, it will bring Coloradans meaningful property tax reductions.
The bill was negotiated over the weekend by state lawmakers, the governor’s office, and advocacy groups.
It would hold residential and commercial property tax rates steady this year for taxes owed in 2025, according to the Colorado Sun.
In other legislative news, the House of Representatives approved Senate Bills 229 and 230. The two measures lay the groundwork for a production tax on the oil and gas industry. Most of the revenues from the tax would pay for public transit, according to the Denver Post, with some of it going to public land restoration.
Senate Bill 229 still needs fine-tuning in the Senate, according to the Sun, while Bill 230 is ready for Governor Jared Polis’s signature.
Finally, a House bill that would have banned the sale, purchase and transfer of assault weapons in Colorado has failed. In shelving the bill, State Senator Julie Gonzales said that more conversations need to take place outside of the pressure cooker of the Capitol.
The regular legislative session ends on Wednesday.
Read more
Read more
Boulder County Mobile Home ProgramBoulder County has launched a new pilot program aimed at improving and repairing mobile homes at two mobile home parks.
The Mobile Home Communities program is starting with the Columbine and Orchard Grove parks, both are in Boulder. They decided to begin with Columbine and Orchard Groove because they have the greatest need. The project will address energy efficiency, health and safety concerns, accessibility issues, and general repairs in more than thirty mobile home units.
The work will include improvements like adding insulation, weatherproofing, bringing units up to code, and other physical improvements.
The program is funded by $400,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Boulder County will combine what they learn from the Columbine and Orchard Grove projects with the results from a 2023 survey of mobile home park residents in Longmont and Lafayette. With this combined information, what they learn will be applied to future mobile home repair initiatives.
Magnus White RideA memorial bike ride in memory of honoring a rising Boulder cycling star is scheduled for next August.
The “Ride for Magnus: Ride for Your Life” memorial ride will be held on August 11th.
The ride is in memory of Magnus White, a member of the USA Cycling National Team who was struck and killed by a driver along the Diagonal Highway last summer.
At the time of his death, the 17-year-old was training for the Junior Men’s Mountain Bike Cross Country World Championships in Scotland. He was also about to enter his final year at Boulder High School.
The route covers thirteen-and-a-half miles and, organizers say, has minimal elevation gain.
Magnus White’s father said that every pedal stroke of the ride will be in honor of his son.
Read more
The post High winds but no pre-emptory energy shutoffs; legislative news; Auraria campus appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen:
Metropolitan State University and SDS-Denver to discuss Auraria campus protestMetropolitan State University officials and Students for a Democratic Society-Denver have scheduled a meeting for this afternoon to resolve the impasse over an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the Auraria campus.
Metropolitan State is one of three institutions sharing the campus, along with CU Denver and Community College of Denver. Organizers for the Students for a Democratic Society-Denver, or SDS, last week rejected an offer from the campus of a $15,000 donation to the Red Cross in exchange for taking down their encampment, according to the Denver Post. SDS Denver says they won’t leave until administrators meet their demands.
Their demands include the University of Colorado publishing a statement condemning the actions of Israel; divesting from any corporations doing business in Israel and refusing grants from corporations that contract with the U.S. armed forces.
Denver Police arrested 45 students on April 26 during a sweep of the encampment. They have not arrested protesters since then. On Friday, police chief Ron Thomas said there are no plans for a second sweep because at present there are no legal grounds for doing so.
Also on Friday, Metropolitan State president Janine Davidson said that the university has agreed to provide demonstrators with financial information related to the university’s investments and industry relationships, according to Denverite. The Denver demonstrations are part of a wider movement on college campuses nationwide.
Check out our reporting on the protests
Read more from the Denver Post
Read more from Denverite
Colorado fines Cemex $1.3 million for air pollution violationsThe State of Colorado is fining the Cemex Cement plant near Lyons another $1.3 million for violating air pollution standards.
The new fines are for violations during 2022 and 2023, according to the Colorado Sun, and are on top of a $375,000 fine from 2021. State air pollution control officials have ordered Cemex to “take quick actions to reduce air pollution and improve compliance.
“The company said in a statement that while they have agreed to the terms of the fines, Cemex, “steadfastly maintains that it operates as a responsible environmental steward of the communities in which [they] operate.”
A member of a community advocacy group noted that fines “have clearly not been enough to deter Cemex’s actions.”
Last month Boulder County regulators issued an order terminating the right of Cemex to operate its Lyons plant, due in part to a safety hazard posed by increased traffic around the facility. The company is expected to respond to that order later this month.
Read more from the Colorado Sun
Read more about community pushback to Cemex
Colorado to vote on removing same-sex marriage ban from state constitutionColorado voters will have the opportunity to remove obsolete language from the state constitution this fall.
A proposed amendment to remove language banning same-sex marriage will be on the ballot this November, according to the Denver Post, after the state House of Representatives passed the measure on Saturday.
Colorado voters approved a same-sex marriage ban in 2006, but that became obsolete after the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions in 2015. The proposal to remove the ban passed the state House and Senate with two-thirds majorities.
Since it involves changing the State Constitution, it now needs voter approval to take effect. Supporters of removing the ban from the State Constitution say it’s necessary because the U.S. Supreme Court has indicated a willingness to revisit high-profile decisions.
Read more from the Denver Post
Federal judge upholds Colorado’s ban on ghost gunsA federal judge has denied a request by two gun rights groups to block Colorado’s new ban on so-called ghost guns.
The ghost gun ban became law last year. Ghost guns are generally defined as firearms assembled from kits or 3-D printers, and are untraceable because they don’t have serial numbers.
According to Colorado Politics, the new law makes ghost gun possession a misdemeanor, unless the owner obtains a serial number from a licensed dealer, and the dealer performs a background check.
The National Association for Gun Rights and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners sued to strike down that law under the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Judge Gordon Gallagher ruled last week that the law, in his words, “imposes a condition on the commercial sale of a firearm,” but does not prevent anyone from buying one.
Read more from Colorado Politics
Boulder considers future of municipal airportThe City of Boulder says they have not decided anything about the future of the Boulder Municipal Airport. In March, the city’s housing board recommended exploring the possibility of closing the airport and converting it to a mixed-income neighborhood.
Boulder Reporting Lab called that part of a broader plan to increase affordable housing. In a release posted to its website last week, the city said they are at a crossroads in determining the airport’s future.
Read more about Boulder’s airport site
Read more from Boulder Reporting Lab
RTD ramps up security across Denver transit systemsThe Regional Transit District has stepped up its security on its light rail platforms, lines, and buses.
As of yesterday, RTD Transit Police began 24/7 patrols, and a spokesperson says they are armed, and patrolling the system primarily on foot, although they have police vehicles, too. Before this round-the-clock patrolling, there were several gaps in the system, according to Denver7. RTD has 274 security guards.
In addition to that, there are sixty-one transit officers, with sixteen more graduating from the academy this month. There are also six mental health clinicians and five homeless outreach coordinators.
Read more from Denver7
The post Denver student protests continue; State issues fine on Cemex for air pollution; RTD Police now patrolling 24/7 appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen play_arrow*Denver student protests continue, Polis signs bill protecting transgender students, Boulder mental health workers move to unionizeKennedy Pickering CU Auraria campus protests continueStudent leaders of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the Auraria campus in Denver have told campus officials they have no intention of taking down the encampment they set up last week until their demands are met.
According to a statement from the Auraria Higher Education Center, Students for a Democratic Society—or SDS—leaders said they were engaged in civil disobedience in a meeting with campus officials yesterday.
The campus officials reiterated that while they support the student’s right to free speech and assembly, their encampment violates Auraria policy.
The student leaders replied that they fully understood they were violating Auraria’s no-camping policy, but according to the Auraria statement, they were engaged in civil disobedience.
Education Center CEO Colleen Walker and CU Denver Chancellor Michelle Marks were among the executive leaders who met with the SDS.
Chancellor Marks told the students that their demands that CU sever all financial ties to Israel were outside of her authority and were instead the responsibility of the CU Board of Regents and President.
According to the Denver Gazette, demonstrators later confirmed that the meeting produced no agreement with campus officials.
Meanwhile, some protestors have reportedly set up a homework tent at the encampment site so students can study for upcoming final exams.
CU Denver, Metropolitan State University, and Community College of Denver share the Auraria campus. The community college has canceled all in-person classes for the rest of this semester.
The demonstration against Israel’s war in Gaza began at Auraria last week and is one of many such demonstrations on college campuses nationwide.
In just a few minutes, we will speak with a local student journalist about the Auraria campus demonstration on the Morning Magazine.
Read here
Read more here
Read more info here
Read more updates here
New Transgender bill signedA new law signed by Governor Jared Polis requires school employees in Colorado to call students by their preferred names.
The law, signed yesterday, makes it discriminatory for school employees to not call students by their preferred, gender-affirming name, according to the Denver Post.
It also allows students to file a report with their school if and when there is a violation.
The bill is similar to one recently signed into law, which allows people who have been convicted of felonies to use gender identity as a reason for legally changing their names.
These Democrat-backed bills resulted in lengthy debate in the state Senate and House of Representatives.
Read here
Gray wolf confirmationColorado ranchers and state officials have reached an agreement to address rancher concerns about gray wolves, which attacked and killed eight livestock last month in Grand and Jackson counties.
In the agreement announced yesterday, the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association will receive up to $20,000 from the Colorado Department of Agriculture. The money will fund non-lethal deterrents against wolf depredation, a technical term for when a predator, like a wolf, repeatedly kills livestock.
The non-lethal deterrents include protecting livestock herds with overnight patrols and keeping livestock penned up overnight.
Ranchers and state wildlife officials have been at odds over the wolf depredation. At first, ranchers called on the state to take lethal action against the wolves, which the state declined.
Ten gray wolves were reintroduced to Colorado late last year. The governor said that statewide, voters approved a measure to reintroduce them despite knowing they would eat cattle.
But most voters in Grand County voted against wolf reintroduction, according to 9News.
In making the new agreement public, a spokesperson from the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association said the organization is thankful for the partnership with the state, which will help protect its animals.
Read Here
Colorado River Tribal talksSix Native American tribes, including two in Colorado, are now formally included in ongoing talks about water issues involving the Upper Colorado River Basin.
The tribes will meet with the Upper Colorado River Commission every two months under an agreement finalized last month.
The commission was formed in 1948, and its member states are Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
According to the Colorado Sun, critical issues include allocating federal dollars and addressing an ongoing drought that could affect water security for the forty million people in the west who depend on the river.
Under current law, thirty federally recognized tribes have rights to about 26% of the Colorado River’s average flow.
The six tribes that now have permanent access to Upper Colorado River Commission negotiations have been meeting with the commission since August of 2022.
Read press release
Mental health workers in the process of unionizingEmployees at Mental Health Partners in Boulder have scheduled a vote on unionizing.
The voting on a decision join the Service Employees International Union Local 105.
Begins on Friday, with mail-in ballots counted on May 21st, according to a press release.
Workers at Mental Health Partners’ Valmont facility cite safety issues, unsustainable wages, and scheduling and staffing instability as reasons for unionizing. Some workers say those issues have hurt client care and resulted in staff burnout.
The release says if the vote to unionize is successful, it will become the first unionized mental health facility in Boulder.
From a press release
Iris Avenue wanting new protected bike lanesThe City of Boulder proposes to add protected bike lanes along one of the city’s busiest streets.
The protected bike lanes would be along Iris Avenue, which has a conventional bike lane running alongside traffic.
The new protected lanes are still gathering community feedback on other possibilities for Iris Avenue.
Read here
Foothills North trials closedBoulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department is closing the Foothills North Trailhead and the northern part of Foothills North Trail to install a bridge.
The closures could begin as soon as today, according to a city press release, and last for a week.
The city also plans to use a helicopter to bring in materials for the construction of a bridge over the Foothills North Trail. Weather permitting, that’s set for tomorrow.
The release also says that Open Space and Mountain Parks is nearing completion of a new three-and-a-half-mile trail called the North Sky Trail. The new trail will connect several existing trails in North Boulder and be open to hikers, cyclists, and equestrians.
Read here
Eisenhower tunnel closerMotorists driving along I-70 west of Denver may encounter delays at the Eisenhower Tunnel over the next few weeks.
Colorado Department of Transportation crews will work overnight on improvements inside the tunnel, which will require lane closures in both directions.
Denver7 says the work began last night and will go through May 16th. C-DOT says there won’t be any closures on weekends or holidays.
Read here
The post Denver student protests continue, Polis signs bill protecting transgender students, Boulder mental health workers move to unionize appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen: play_arrowAs student protests over Gaza continue, Auroria school officials cancel in-person classes for rest of semester; Andrew Buen faces retrialAlexis Kenyon In-person classes canceled for the rest of the semester as Aurora protests continue* Community College of Denver has canceled in-person classes after five days of student antiwar demonstrations on its Auraria campus.
College officials cited safety concerns and said students will need to attend classes remotely for the rest of its spring semester, which ends May 6, according to 9News. The announcement made no direct reference to anti-war demonstrations on the campus that have gone on there since last week. Community College of Denver shares the Auraria campus with CU-Denver and Metropolitan State University.
More than 40 protestors were arrested on the campus last Friday. Campus officials said that was because an encampment they set up there violated a camping ban. The Denver Post says the encampment has doubled in size since Thursday, when campers set up tents.
Yesterday, pro-Palestinian activists on the campus began urging students to walk out of their classes and join them in protesting the Israel-Hamas conflict. The demonstrators have demanded that the universities cut all financial ties with Israel, because of the war in Gaza. They also want a meeting with CU Denver Chancellor Michelle Marks.
In a statement yesterday, Chancellor Marks said while she supports the students’ right to free speech and assembly, the encampments were, in her words, “a different matter.” Her statement did not address demonstrator demands. The other two colleges sharing the Auraria campus have not said whether they will switch to remote learning.
Read more on 9News
Read more on Denver Post
After deadlocked jury, Clear Creek County Sherrif’s Deputy in Christian Glass case faces retrialA former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Deputy, whose jury deadlocked on the second-degree murder charge against him, is facing a second trial on that charge.
Andrew Buen was convicted of misdemeanor reckless endangerment in the shooting death of Christian Glass, of Boulder, nearly two years earlier. Prosecutors requested the second trial yesterday, and the judge scheduled it for this coming August. Buen is the only one of eight officers involved in the death of Christian Glass to face trial. One other was fined and given two years of probation, while the remaining six are still going through the legal system.
On Sunday, the foreperson of Andrew Buen’s jury told 9News and the Denver Gazette that she believed the sole juror to hold out against conviction was predisposed against finding Buen guilty. She said the juror called the fatal shooting of Glass by Buen a “mistake,” for which he should not go to jail.
The foreperson also said that the jury saw the body cam video of the shooting five times during the trial, which convinced eleven of the twelve of Buen’s guilt.
Read more on Denver Gazette
Governor Polis signs budget; House approves two gun billsGovernor Jared Polis has signed a $40 billion-plus budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. According to Joint Budget Vice-Chair Rachel Zenzinger and Colorado Politics, it includes $737 more per student statewide.
Also, yesterday, as the legislature nears the end of its current session, the state House passed two gun measures and sent them back to the Senate, where they were first introduced. The House amended the original version of Senate Bill 131 to limit the number of so-called “sensitive places” in which firearms would be prohibited. According to Colorado Politics, those include polling places, schools, public college and university campuses, and local government offices and courthouses.
Senate Bill 131 allows the state Bureau of Investigation to investigate firearms crimes. Those would include gun purchases, where someone buys a gun for someone else who has been prohibited from buying one. Investigations would also include untraceable weapons known as ghost guns and illegal firearm components or accessories.
The bill includes a provision allowing citizens to challenge it once the governor has signed. If that happens, the bill could go before voters in November. Both bills were opposed by House Republicans and by some House Democrats.
Read more on Colorado Politics
State lawmakers make moves to protect same-sex marriage The State Senate has approved a measure that would help ensure that same-sex couples in Colorado have the right to be married, even if the US Supreme Court overturns its landmark same-sex marriage ruling.
According to the Denver Post, the state Senate passed the measure yesterday, but it still needs approval in the state House. If it passes there, the question of removing it from the state constitution will go before voters.
Colorado’s current legislative session ends on May 8 at the close of the day.
Read more on Denver Post
Gray wolf confirmationState wildlife officials have confirmed that the lethal attack on livestock in Grand County this past weekend was caused by a gray wolf.
Sunday’s attack was the fourth by a gray wolf in Grand County this month, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. This incident involved the death of one calf. The Middle Park Stock Growers Board asked Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials last week to kill two wolves suspected in these attacks.The agency denied that request, saying one wolf is likely in the process of breeding. But officials say that as the state’s wolf population grows, their position on this issue could change.
Asked yesterday about the wolf attacks, Governor Jared Polis said that any loss to a business is terrible, acknowledging that re-introducing gray wolves to Colorado had the approval of voters.
Ten gray wolves were re-introduced to Colorado late last year as part of a voter-approved initiative. One of those wolves was found dead in Larimer County earlier this month, reportedly from natural causes.
Read more on Daily Camera
Boulder bike theft ringBoulder Police have arrested two men in connection with a bicycle theft ring.
The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into a larger bike theft ring, according to the Daily Camera. So far, police have served ten warrants and recovered nearly $30,000 worth of property, including bikes and bike parts. They also seized two firearms, among hundreds of other items. Police said in a social media post that they also found a lab making MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy. That discovery required a hazardous materials team response. One of the two suspects arrested also has ongoing kidnapping and assault cases in Boulder County.
Read more on Daily Camera
The next round of Denver e-bike rebates opens this morning In Denver, the next round of the city’s E-bike rebate program starts this morning at 11:30. The program gives participants a rebate for buying an e-bike at a participating bike shop. It’s part of the city’s voter-approved Climate Protection Fund. The Denver e-bike rebates cannot be combined with Colorado’s e-bike voucher, which went into effect on April 1st.
To apply for a Denver rebate, visit DenverClimateRebates.com. The portal opens this morning at 11 a.m.
The post As student protests over Gaza continue, Auroria school officials cancel in-person classes for rest of semester; Andrew Buen faces retrial appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen: play_arrow04_29_24_am_headlinesKennedy Pickering Protest on CU Auraria campusPro-Palestinian demonstrators continued an encampment on the Auraria campus in Denver yesterday, but the campus remains open, according to Fox 31*.
Officials for the campus, shared by CU Denver, Metropolitan State University, and the Community College of Denver, said in a statement that they support the right to peacefully demonstrate in accordance with the law. The statement also said the encampment was still in front of the student union as of yesterday.
Forty-four people were arrested on the Auraria Campus Friday for violating a campus ban on camping.
On Saturday, veteran political activist Angela Davis told demonstrators that their actions made a breakthrough in Gaza possible. According to the Colorado Sun, Davis was at the Auraria campus after speaking at Colorado College the day before.
The demonstrators in Denver want the CU system to divest from corporations who are doing business in Israel, according to the CU Independent. They also want a meeting with Chancellor Michelle Marks.
The Denver demonstrations are among protests on university campuses nationwide, including some in California, Arizona, Missouri, Indiana, and New York.
Read here
Read the CU Independent here
Read the Colorado Sun here
Read more here
Second paramedic in Elijah McClain case sentenced to 14 months of work releaseThe second of two paramedics convicted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain has been sentenced to fourteen months of work release.
According to 9News, Former Aurora Fire Rescue paramedic Jeremy Cooper will begin serving his work release this June. At a hearing on Friday, he was also given four years of probation.
Cooper and former Aurora paramedic Peter Cichuniec were convicted together, with Cichuniec sentenced to five years in prison last month. The two of them injected a fatal dose of ketamine into Elijah McClain. McClain was walking home from a convenience store, but three police officers stopped him after someone called 911.
The officers forced him to the ground, and one put him in a carotid hold. He was handcuffed and restrained. After the paramedics arrived, he was injected with ketamine. His heart stopped, and he later died.
One of the three police officers was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault and received 14 months in jail. The two other officers were acquitted.
Read here
Trial verdict clears Sheriff Deputy of murder charges in Christian Glass caseJurors found former Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy Andrew Buen guilty of reckless endangerment last week during a trial over the killing of 22-year-old Christian Glass.
According to the Denver Post, reckless endangerment is a misdemeanor that usually results in a sentence of no more than 120 days in jail.
The jury deadlocked on second-degree murder charges. The jury foreperson says that only one juror opposed conviction on that charge and may have been biased in the former deputy’s favor.
The jury foreperson told 9Newsthat soon after deliberations began last week, most of the jurors wanted to convict Buen on the second-degree murder charge. It was the most serious charge against him, and the foreperson said bodycam video showed conclusively that he shot 22-year-old Christian Glass in June of 2022.
The holdout juror would not budge, and the foreperson said the juror may have had a bias they would not admit to.
Buen’s supervisor, Kyle Gould, was not at the scene on the night of the killing. But he live-streamed it and later pleaded guilty to failing to intervene in the use of excessive force. Gould was fined and sentenced to two years of probation and lost his police certification.
Read here
Read more here
Texas Uvalde mariachi band in BoulderAn award-winning high school mariachi band from Uvalde, Texas, wrapped up a six-day trip to Boulder County with a Skyline High School in Longmont concert yesterday.
The visit was the brainchild of Dr. Vicki Burrichter, the artistic director of Boulder Chorale, who was inspired to invite the group to Colorado after reading about them in Rolling Stone magazine.
The Boulder Concert Chorale performed with Los Coyotes, the Uvalde High Mariachi Band, at several concerts during the week. Tune in to the Morning Magazine tomorrow, to hear more about this tour which brought healing to two communities still reeling from mass shootings that took place just months apart.
Another possible wolf attackState wildlife officials are investigating another possible livestock killing by a wolf in Grand County.
The rancher whose calf was killed saw a wolf, according to 9News.
If it’s confirmed as a wolf attack, this latest incident will bring the number of young cattle killed by wolves in Grand and Jackson Counties in April to seven.
The string of killings has sparked controversy between ranchers who want the state to do something about the predators and those who want to protect the wolves.
Colorado lawmakers introduced 10 gray wolves last year. Colorado Parks and Wildlife have tracked more than one of the wolves in the areas where livestock have died.
The head of Parks and Wildlife, Jeff Davis, said last week that the state will not kill any wolves, as ranchers have requested.
Davis told the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association that the state is working to minimize conflicts. He indicated at the time that he thought the efforts had been working.
Read 9news here
Read more here
Read Colorado politics here
Boulder County wildfire mitigationBoulder County has released $2.4 million in grant money for wildfire mitigation projects.
According to a county press release, the funds, part of a new round of Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grants, are available for projects by local governments, fire protection agencies, and community organizations.
The current cycle runs through June 6th, with a new cycle beginning in the fall.
County officials call it an opportunity for communities and partners to improve wildfire protection.
Read and apply here
The post 44 arrested in Auraria Gaza protests, paramedic in Elijah McClain case gets 14 months work release appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen play_arrow*CPW will protect Gray wolves and US 287 one of the deadliest roads in ColoradoKennedy Pickering 287 traffic study calls for improvementsA new study on traffic safety along U.S. 287 in Boulder County calls on officials to develop improvements that could reduce fatalities.
The study found that nearly a third of all fatal crashes in Boulder County in 2021 and 2022 were on HWY 287.
The Daily Camera says the study recommends the installation of a barrier between north and south bound lanes, from just north of Longmont, to the Boulder-Larimer County line. It recommends a second barrier from south of Longmont down to Arapahoe Road. Many of the fatal crashes, it says, involved drivers crossing the highway’s centerline.
The Longmont City Council voted unanimously to accept the findings of the study.
Read here
CPW will protect Gray wolvesState wildlife officials are rejecting pleas from a group of Colorado ranchers who are asking the state to kill two gray wolves suspected of killing livestock.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has been inundated with requests from ranchers all over the western slope. The requests to kill the wolves come after seven cattle were killed over three days in Grand and Jackson Counties earlier this month.
The ranchers believe two out of the ten collared wolves re-introduced into Colorado last year are responsible for the cow and calf deaths.
Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis said that the wolves suspected in the killings are about to reproduce and that killing the male would be irresponsible management.
In a statement, WildEarth Guardians commented, “Colorado has eleven known wolves right now and some 2.8 million cows. We are sympathetic to the livestock owners’, but that’s why there is a robust compensation program. We ought to be celebrating the fact that these wolves are denning and hopefully going to have pups. This is what Colorado voters wanted and what restoration looks like.”
A rancher’ group called the Middle Park Stockgrowers said they are disappointed and discouraged by the decision not to kill the wolves. They have vowed to continue their efforts.
Read here
Green energy building rules lawsuitA group representing Colorado commercial real estate owners and developers is suing the state and the City of Denver over new “green energy” rules.
According to the Denver Post, the lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver.
It asks that new city and state environmental regulations be thrown out because they illegally go beyond federal guidelines by requiring expensive renovations to reduce carbon emissions.
A spokesperson for Conservation Colorado called the lawsuit a baseless attack on innovative programs that address pollution from big buildings.
Read here
Read more here
Buen trial closing argumentsThe fate of a former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s deputy charged in the shooting death of Christian Glass is now in the hands of a jury.
Both the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments yesterday in the second-degree murder trial of Andrew Buen.
Buen is also charged with official misconduct and reckless endangerment in the shooting death of 22-year-old Christian Glass. Buen has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Glass was returning from a trip to Moab in June 2022 when his car got stuck on a rock in Silver Plume. He called 911 for help. Prosecutors say he was having a mental health crisis as then-Deputy Buen and other officers arrived. Buen’s defense attorneys said that, in reality, Glass was drunk or on drugs.
Buen spent about an hour trying to persuade Glass to leave his car. When that failed, a bodycam video showed Buen broke the car’s window and ended up shooting Glass five times. Before Buen broke the window, he was in conversation with supervisor Kyle Gould, who was not at the scene but was watching a live-streamed video. Gould pled guilty in November and can no longer be in law enforcement or security in Colorado, among other penalties.
9News says that the deciding factor for the jury will be whether Buen was justified in using force to get Glass out of his car.
Read here
Colorado gets solar grantsThe Biden administration has granted $156 million each to the Colorado Energy Office and Oweesta, a tribal-based nonprofit in Longmont. The funding aims to assist low- and moderate-income families in installing rooftop solar panels.
This allocation is part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “solar for all” competition, which designated $7 billion for sixty applicants to enhance solar access.
According to Colorado Newsline, Colorado will utilize its funding to facilitate the installation of solar power in single- and multi-family homes as well as community solar projects. Energy Office Executive Director Will Toor stated that expanding access to rooftop solar will aid the state in achieving its clean energy objectives, reducing energy costs, and promoting the broader use of solar energy.
Read here
Read more here
Community wildfire protection plan webinarBoulder County will host a webinar next month to review its Community Wildfire Protection Plan updates.
The plan, which hasn’t been updated since 2011, identifies ways to reduce the risk of wildfire. According to Colorado Hometown Weekly, the new version is expected to be completed this year.
The Community Wildfire Protection Plan webinar is scheduled for May 23rd.
Read here
Webinar info
The post CPW will protect Gray wolves and US 287 one of the deadliest roads in Colorado appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen: play_arrow04_23_24_am_headlinesJackie Sedley Colorado Gun Bills Advance*State lawmakers have passed a series of gun bills, with one of them having received final approval from the state Senate.
House Bill 1174 passed the State Senate on a 20-14 vote yesterday, and needs only the signature of Governor Jared Polis to become law.
The new law would require in-person training and live-fire exercises for anyone applying for a concealed-carry permit in Colorado. It would also require eight hours of coursework followed by a test, according to the Denver Post.
The State Senate also passed House bill 1338 which says anyone leaving a gun in a vehicle must keep it in a “locked, hard-sided container.”
The bill is expected to go next to a negotiating committee where they will discuss increased criminal penalties.
Three additional gun bills also cleared the State House late Saturday night, and are headed to the State Senate. The three Democratic-backed bills passed in spite of the objections of state Republicans.
House Bill 1270 makes liability insurance mandatory for gun owners, and also requires insurance companies to offer firearm liability. The policies would be to cover any injuries that come from a weapon accidentally discharging.
House Bill 1353 would require Colorado firearms dealers to have a permit, to follow sales regulations, provide annual training to employees, and to report any suspicious activities. Violators could be fined up to $250,000 and face felony charges.
The third proposed bill, HB 1349, would create an 11% excise tax on most firearm and ammunition sales. Revenue from the tax could go to crime victim services and shooting range safety programs, according to Colorado Politics.
Each of the three proposed bills were criticized by House Republicans, who said they would be in violation of the second amendment. But supporters counter that they would improve public safety.
Read here
Read more here
Safe Injection Sites Postponed Indefinitely
The state senate has also indefinitely postponed a bill that would have created so-called “safe injection sites” in Colorado.
Under the proposed House Bill 1028, people would have been able to bring controlled substances to the safe injection site location, and use them under the supervision of medical providers.
The authorization of such sites would have been left to local governments. The measure is similar to one that failed in the same committee last year.
Read more
Boulder Gas Ban UpdateThe Boulder City Council has rescheduled a hearing to discuss the city’s new energy code.
The city originally planned the hearing for last week. They postponed it to discuss the impact of Xcel Energy’s planned power shutdown two weeks ago. The city plans to implement their ban on gas in new residential buildings and most commercial buildings starting July 1st.
In the aftermath of the Xcel shutdown, some say that reducing the use of gas and increasing the reliance on electricity may not be a good idea, according to Boulder Reporting Lab.
The city’s sustainability senior manager, Carolyn Elam, told them that electricity powers all appliances, whether gas or electric. And gas outages, she said, can be more difficult to resolve. That said, she added that Xcel’s planned outage underscores the need for a new energy code. The new code will lead to more energy-efficient buildings, which would be a benefit during any future planned outages. The city has rescheduled the hearing to discuss the policy next month.
Read more
RTD Expands SecurityThe Regional Transportation District or RTD is expanding its policing and security to around-the-clock coverage.
The added full-time coverage comes as an effort to increase personal safety of RTD employees and customers. 178 RTD passengers reported an assault or injury in 2021 and early 2022 according to 9News. The Chief of RTD police said the introduction of an overnight team has been a priority for RTD police dependent on their hiring success.
The department currently has 61 certified Transit Police officers. They plan to almost double that number by year end. They say they also plan to also hire six mental health clinicians and five homeless outreach coordinators.
According to a press release, RTDs expanded 24/7 police and security patrols will begin May 5th.
Read more
Read more here
Gray Wolf DeathThe body of a gray wolf was found in Elbert County, southeast of Denver, earlier this month.
State Wildlife officials said that because gray wolves are on the endangered species list, the death is under investigation.
They also said that genetic testing confirmed it was a gray wolf from the Great Lakes wolf population, and is not one of the gray wolves released into Western Colorado late last year. All ten of those wolves were collared.
Read more
The post Colorado gun bills advance; Safe injection sites postponed indefinitely appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen: play_arrow*04_22_24_am_headlinesKennedy Pickering Boulder road construction projectsIn the Boulder area today, two major road construction projects commence.
One, part of the 30th Street Corridor Multimodal Improvement Project, is located within the city between Colorado and Arapahoe Avenues.
Travelers in the area should anticipate delays. Detours will be available, and according to a city press release, access to surrounding neighborhoods and businesses, including Scott Carpenter Park, will remain accessible.
Expected to span about a year, the 30th Street Corridor Multimodal Improvement Project entails the construction of sidewalk-level, protected bike lanes, widened sidewalks, new landscaping, and improved transit stops.
The second construction project, also commencing today, is situated outside Boulder and will entail daytime closures throughout the week.
95th Street will be inaccessible to all travelers between Valmont and Lookout roads from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., today through Friday. As per a Boulder County press release, this marks the commencement of Phase 1 of a complete reconstruction project. Detour routes will be clearly marked.
The scope of work includes widening the road’s shoulders and implementing drainage enhancements.
The progress of all work is contingent upon weather conditions.
Xcel Exec appears Before Boulder City CouncilXcel Energy stands by its decision to disconnect electricity for approximately 55,000 customers in the Boulder area ahead of a severe windstorm two weeks ago.
Robert Kenney, president of Xcel Colorado, informed the Boulder City Council last week about the escalating risk of wildfires due to persistent high winds and dry weather conditions.
While addressing the council, Kenney acknowledged that Xcel could have improved its communication regarding the power shutoff plans to the public. The Daily Camera reported his remarks.
Some customers experienced power outages lasting up to three days, leading to significant criticism of Xcel. The company now faces an investigation by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which commenced last week.
Kenney mentioned that the accuracy of online outage maps could have been enhanced.
As part of its response, Xcel is donating $50,000 to Community Food Share, a Louisville food bank that suffered losses of around a thousand pounds of food due to the power outage.
Read here
Read from the Daily Camera
Read more here
Read from Boulder reporting lab
Colorado will find new immigrant studentsThe State of Colorado is set to allocate $24 million to public school districts and charter schools affected by the influx of immigrant students into their systems.
Governor Jared Polis signed the $24 million one-time funding bipartisan House bill last week.
According to the Denver Post, thousands of new students have enrolled in Denver Public Schools in recent months, surpassing the deadline for per-pupil funding to Colorado school districts.
Denver School District officials informed the Post that they anticipate receiving between three and five million dollars from the new bill.
A sponsor of the bill stated that state lawmakers have a responsibility to ensure that all individuals entering public schools in Colorado receive an education.
The funding is slated to be distributed before the conclusion of the current school year.
Read here
Boulder officials agree to pay Deaf woman from whom Boulder police took childrenThe City of Boulder will pay $75,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by a deaf woman.
The City Council unanimously approved the payment to Joslyn Montoya last week, with one council member absent.
Montoya sued the city under the Americans with Disabilities Act after a dispute with police two years ago resulted in her two children being taken from her for one night, according to the Daily Camera.
The city has also agreed to require the police department to improve its services for interpreting hearing-impaired people.
Read here
Oganizers cancel Ride the RockiesOrganizers have canceled this summer’s annual Ride the Rockies Bicycle Tour through the Rocky Mountain due to lack of interest.
The non-competitive, fully supported tour has been a fixture for thousands of cyclists since 1986.
The Denver Post, citing the Tour website, says that those who have registered for this year’s event will be refunded.
It isn’t known yet whether Ride the Rockies will be back next year.
Read here
Read more here
The post Xcel Exec appears before Boulder City Council, Boulder Road construction projects, Colorado funds new immigrant students appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
- play_arrowScience of deathbed visionsRingo Joon Many people have visions and dreams as they near the end of their life in which they reunite with loved ones who have gone before them. What can science tell us about these mysterious and common experiences? And how do they affect those who have them? These are questions that Chris Kerr, a hospice physician and neurobiologist, set out to answer through research decades after he witnessed his dying father having one when Kerr was an adolescent. Dr. Kerr, is the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo. He was featured in a recent New York Times magazine article . He is also the author of the book Death is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning in End-of-Life Dreams.
Host: Susan Moran
Producers: Susan Moran, Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender
The post Science of deathbed visions appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen play_arrow*04_18_24_am_headlinesAlexis Kenyon Community Input meeting reveals widespread and severe losses from Xcel power outagesLast night, during a Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) meeting, the word “bungle” was used several times.
PUC Commissioners held the virtual public input session as part of their investigation into Xcel Energy’s decision to shut off power to more than 55,000 customers earlier this month during a high wind event.
Over nearly two hours, the commission heard from business owners, disability advocates, hospital workers, and elected officials. They told the Commission that the last-minute power shutoff over several days resulted in millions of dollars in financial losses, several “near misses,” and serious threats to public safety.
Lorri Brovsky, director of Agilent Technologies, a Boulder-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, said their company lost millions of dollars.
“Providing a two-and-a-half-hour notice via a telephone voice message on an automated line on a Saturday that power was being shut down for over 24 hours was extremely disruptive to our manufacturing process and will result in product loss of several million dollars,” said Brovsky.
Boulder mayor Aaron Brockett told the Commission that Xcel failed to take the steps that would have resulted in better and more manageable outcomes for seriously impacted communities.
“Executing the shutoff was not a spur-of-the-moment decision by Xcel. It is something that they have been considering for some time. This leads us to the following questions: why was Xcel not proactively working with communities like ours to develop a shared plan for executing the shutoff? Why weren’t steps taken to work with us to protect our critical infrastructure? And there were major gaps in notifications to our business community. And why did that happen?” Brocket said.
The Commission said that in the weeks ahead, Xcel Energy should submit a plan for handling future outages.
Members of the public who would still like to share their comments on the power outage can leave a comment at Puc.colorado.gov.
A PUC representative said the investigation into the outage will likely take months.
A deaf woman alleges that Boulder Police took her child away from her without providing an ASL interpreterThe Boulder City Council is expected to vote tonight on approving a $75,000 settlement awarded to a deaf woman alleging discrimination.
Joslynn Montoya, who is deaf, had been at a domestic violence shelter in Boulder with her children two years ago and said she understood that she needed to leave by 7 p.m. This was not the time indicated by the shelter; it was the beginning of an apparent misunderstanding that was not resolved by the time Montoya left the shelter that day.
According to the Daily Camera, Montoya’s lawsuit says Boulder Police were called to the shelter several hours before Montoya thought she was required to leave. The responding officers were assisted by another officer who could finger-spell words in English. However, the lawsuit says she requested an American Sign Language interpreter and did not understand the finger-spelled communication.
Ultimately, the officers had the impression that Montoya could not make a deposit for lodging that evening, which had been arranged by an advocacy service. Consequently, the officers separated Montoya’s children from her for the night. The oldest was two years old at the time.
Montoya filed her lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act. City Council will vote tonight on whether to settle the suit in accordance with a current set of settlement terms, which include requiring the city and police department to make changes to comply with the ADA and awarding Montoya $75,000.
Read here
Read more here
Colorado Republicans vote down sex abuse amendment that would get rid of statute of limitationsState senators fell one vote short Wednesday of approving a proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution that would have allowed lawmakers to remove the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases.
The proposed law would have enabled victims from old sex abuse cases to sue their abusers.
Had the proposal passed, it would have placed the state constitutional amendment question before voters. Democrats failed to secure the one Republican vote needed to pass the proposal.
According to The Denver Post, Senate Republicans said in a statement issued after the vote that while they were united against those who commit crimes against children, retroactively ending the statute of limitations on such crimes would have “upended numerous constitutional and legally settled rights” that everyone depends on.
Read here
Buen Trial UpdateThe mother of a 22-year-old Boulder man shot to death by a former Clear Creek County deputy took the stand in the former deputy’s second-degree murder trial yesterday.
Sally Glass testified that her son Christian was driving back from Moab when the fatal shooting happened in June of 2022.
Defense lawyers for Andrew Buen had indicated Christian Glass had been in an accident with a white car the night Buen shot him five times.
But Sally Glass said the white scratch marks on her son’s car were from an accident several years earlier.
She also said her son had gathered some rocks at Moab because of his interest in them. The defense said earlier that Buen considered the rocks potential weapons.
Prosecutors say that Christian Glass was having a mental health crisis when his car was stuck in Silver Plume, and he called 911 for help.
Body camera video shows that after responding to that 9-1-1 call, former deputy Buen broke the window of Glass’s car, shot him with bean bag rounds, used a Taser on him, and finally shot him five times in the chest, according to 9News.
Read here
Police say they found a big-time bike thiefA 29-year-old man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after accepting a plea deal for his involvement in a series of bike thefts and burglaries across the Front Range, which spurred an investigation called Operation Vicious Cycle.
During a virtual court appearance from Denver County Jail on Tuesday, Gerald Garcia pleaded guilty to theft, burglary, and aggravated motor vehicle theft. The sentence was carried out immediately. The plea agreement includes a three-year parole term following his prison term.
This case highlights a larger criminal operation involving 29 bike shop burglaries and 22 auto thefts.
Read here
The post The word “bungle” was used several times last night during PUC’s community input meeting to discuss Xcel’s decision to cut power in early April; Republicans vote down sex abuse amendment appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen play_arrow*04_17_24_am_headlinesKennedy Pickering Denver Homeless Encampment sweep could displace more than 100Cleanup at a Denver homeless encampment is expected to continue today, one day after police swept the area at 8th Avenue and Navajo Street.
Police performed the sweep early yesterday amid concerns about public safety. The Denver Post says there have been three drug overdose deaths and more than two dozen felony arrests at the site in recent months.
However, the action is drawing criticism from advocates who say that none of more than 130 people living at the large encampment were relocated to a micro-community or shelter. It marks the first time in six months that relocation to a shelter hasn’t been an option for those affected by a sweep.
An advocate with House keys Action Network Denver said the size of the 8th and Navajo encampment was due to the city’s strict enforcement of its camping ban.
Mayor Mike Johnston’s senior advisor for homelessness, Cole Chandler, told Axios that the city doesn’t have enough space at its eight shelter sites. He said the city couldn’t wait until space became available because of the health and safety risks posed by the encampment.
Fox31 quoted a statement from the mayor’s office stating that the decision to sweep the encampment was difficult, but the site imposed a significant burden on the surrounding community.
The statement added that the city hopes to avoid shutting down encampments in the future without providing people with somewhere else to go.
Read Here
Read more here
Read more here
Traveler’s have a new process for resolving complaints at DIAA new process for resolving consumer complaints against air travel companies was announced at Denver International Airport yesterday.
The Airline Passenger Protection Partnership is an agreement between the Colorado Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
According to a press release from Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the partnership comes as complaints about flight disruptions, lack of refunds, and lost or delayed baggage are at an all-time high.
It’s intended to streamline the Attorney General’s office and the Transportation Department’s handling of consumer complaints against air carriers.
State Attorney General Weiser said consumers deserve to be treated fairly, know what they’re getting, and get everything they pay for when they fly.
The Denver Gazette says the agreement announced yesterday lasts two years but could be extended.
Read Here
Read more here
Bear grants from CPWColorado wildlife officials offer grants to organizations finding new ways to reduce conflicts between humans and bears.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has launched a $1 million grant program to help Colorado communities tackle human-bear conflicts. The application period is open until May 24.
As bear populations become more active after hibernation, Colorado Parks and Wildlife aims to reduce conflicts through its Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Community Grant Program. Human-bear conflicts, primarily driven by trash encounters, according to CPW data, are the focus of this initiative, which offers funding for innovative bear-proofing projects across the state.
With some 35,000 human-bear conflicts reported in 2023, the program encourages local governments, NGOs, businesses, and individuals to apply for grants. It aims to foster community engagement and provide practical solutions to reduce these incidents. Grant winners will be announced in July, marking a significant step toward enhancing Colorado’s wildlife management and community safety.
Read Here
Coloradans got scammed out of close to $200 million in 2023A new FBI report states Coloradans lost over $187 million to internet scammers last year.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, internet scammers cheated about 12,000 Coloradans.
That made Colorado seventh nationwide in the number of reports per capita. Investment fraud netted scammers the most money, bilking Coloradans out of about $60 million in 2023, according to the Denver Post. Business email scams netted around $57 million. Tech support schemes accounted for around $23 million.
An FBI supervisor said a major driver of investment fraud is cryptocurrency.
Read Here
Boulder County small business grant deadlineSmall businesses in unincorporated Boulder County can apply for grants from the County, of up to five thousand dollars. The application deadline is this Friday, April 19th.
Boulder County says in a press release that all applications will be evaluated, provided they are submitted on time. The process is not on a first-come, first-served basis.
To see the eligibility criteria and apply, visit boco.org/sbgrant.
Read Here
The post Denver encampment sweep with no places to go this time, and internet scammers making bank on Coloradans appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen play_arrow04_16_24_am_headlinesJohn Kelin Polis Signs Occupancy Limits Bill*Governor Jared Polis has signed into law a bill that eliminates most restrictions on how many unrelated people can live together in Colorado.
The new law makes it illegal for local governments to create occupancy limits, which the governor and others have called discriminatory.
The governor signed the measure yesterday, with the law set to go into effect on July 1st. The Denver Post says it will still allow local governments to limit housing occupancy for health or safety reasons, or under affordable housing guidelines.
In Boulder, officials raised occupancy limits for much of the city last year. Under that rule, up to five unrelated people can live together as roommates. A senior policy advisor for the city told the Daily Camera that in view of the new state law, Boulder will probably need to revise its occupancy limits, but exactly how it will do so remains to be seen.
Read more
Read more
Hwy 36 Bikeway ProposedBoulder County officials are developing a plan that could lead to a new dedicated bikeway along an eleven mile stretch of highway 36, between Boulder and Lyons.
That portion of highway 36 has the reputation of being hazardous for cyclists, and statistics back that up: Boulder County data shows that there are more crashes on that part of 36 involving bicycles than on any other road in unincorporated Boulder county.
The North Foothills Bikeway Feasibility Study is looking at creating a dedicated bike path, separated from motor vehicle traffic, to make it safer for cyclists riding there.
The plan is in its early stages.
Two public meetings are scheduled on the proposal. The first is tonight, a virtual meeting at 6pm.
The second is scheduled for Tuesday, April 30th at 6pm, at the Lyons Public Library.
Registration is required for tonight’s virtual meeting. For more information and to register, visit Bouldercounty.gov, and search “foothills bikeway.”
Read more
Denver Homeless Health Services GrantIn Denver, the City Council has approved a $2 million grant agreement to pay for homeless services in the city.
Council members approved the agreement unanimously yesterday. The money is for the micro-communities that are part of Mayor Mike Johnston’s “House1000 Behavioral Health and Substance Misuse Program.”
About $850,000 will be managed by the city’s Department of Housing Stability, while the rest will be managed by the Denver Department for Public Health and the Environment.
While the vote was unanimous, council member Shontel Lewis voiced her concerns about the control of the money, adding that the city should improve budget oversight.
Read more
Fewer Avalanche DeathsThe Colorado Avalanche Information Center has recorded more than five thousand avalanches this winter. The season is winding down now, and there have been only two recorded fatalities – far fewer than in years past.
117 people have been caught in an avalanche so far this year, and while every fatality is tragic, two is an unusually low number.
Avalanche Center officials say that over the last twenty years, there is only one other winter season where the number of avalanche fatalities is comparable. That was eight years ago, when snow levels were below average.
In a number of cases this year, some people got lucky, according to Brian Lazar, the avalanche center’s deputy director. He told the Colorado Sun that in some cases skiers were successfully rescued by partners, and in others, the rush of snow from an avalanche broke in such a way that potential victims were spared. He said cases like that can just as easily go the other way.
Currently, every river basin in Colorado has an above-average snowpack. Even so, snowpacks tend to stabilize at this time of year and the avalanche threat declines somewhat. But the season isn’t over, and Lazar says all of these statistics could change in the blink of an eye.
Read more
Andrew Buen TrialTestimony has begun in the trial of a former Clear Creek County deputy, charged in the shooting death of a Boulder man nearly two years ago.
Andrew Buen is one of six deputies charged in the death of 22-year old Christian Glass in June of 2022. Body camera footage shows he broke the window of Glass’s car and shot him five times. Buen is charged with second degree murder, official misconduct, and reckless endangerment.
Read more
Boulder Immigrant Business EventThe City of Boulder and the CU Boulder Law School are sponsoring an event to help non-citizens go into business for themselves.
The event is aimed at Boulder-area non-citizens. Professors and partner organizations will provide information on legal pathways for them to start their own businesses.
It’s set for this Saturday from 9:45 A.M. until noon, at the City Council chambers at 1777 Broadway.
The presentation will be in English, with Spanish interpretation available.
Read more
The post New state occupancy limits law signed; Proposed U.S. 36 bikeway; avalanche fatalities down appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen play_arrow*04_15_24_am_headlinesKennedy Pickering Colorado house passes assault weapons billState lawmakers have approved a bill that bans the sale, purchase, and transfer of certain high-powered semi-automatic rifles and pistols.
HB 1292 passed the state House of Representatives on a 35-27 vote in a Sunday session yesterday and now goes to the state Senate.
The measure defines assault weapons as certain semi-automatic rifles and pistols with fixed, large capacity magazines, or with the ability to accept detachable magazines, according to Denver Post. It does not ban possession of those weapons.
Read Here
Read More Here
CU concealed carry ban weighedMeanwhile, the CU Board of Regents is considering a ban on carrying concealed weapons on campus. They will address the question at their next meeting in June.
The Daily Camera reports that the board has faced increasing pressure to implement such a ban since two people were shot to death on CU’s Colorado Springs campus in February. A petition began circulating after the shooting, urging the regents to prohibit firearms on all of its campuses. To date, more than a thousand people have signed it.
The board convened this past Friday but did not take any action on the issue.
Read Here
Emergency landing on 287A private plane made a successful emergency landing on the southbound lanes of Highway 287 near Niwot Road Sunday.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said the emergency landing occurred just after 3 p.m. yesterday when the plane, en route to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, experienced mechanical issues.
According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer speaking to KGNU, 287 was closed in both directions for about a mile before the landing attempt was made.
The 36-year-old pilot safely landed the single-engine Mooney aircraft. He was uninjured, as were any individuals on the ground. The pilot was the sole person on board the flight, which originated in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Responders including the Boulder County Sheriff, Colorado State Patrol, members of Lafayette Fire Department, and various public safety departments arrived at the scene to move the plane off the highway. The highway later reopened to traffic.
The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an investigation.
Read Here
Boulder council rejects historic district proposalThe Boulder City Council has voted down a proposal to establish a new historic district in the city.
Council members voted 7-1 against the proposal last week, with one member absent.
According to the Daily Camera, the plan, which had divided city officials and the community, would have established a Civic Area historic district around the west side of the Penfield Tate II Municipal Building to 14th Street, and from Canyon Boulevard to Arapahoe.
The proposal aimed to connect a group of existing historic sites near the downtown area.
The Camera reported that the rejected plan included an area that, in the 19th Century, was a mostly-Black neighborhood.
Read Here
New CU building to break ground in OctoberCU Boulder will break ground this fall on its first new academic building in six years.
The new building comes with a $175.4 million price tag and will house the university’s chemistry and applied math departments.
It will occupy 79,200 square feet on the main campus, off Regent Drive.
According to the Daily Camera, the building will include office and lab space, as well as an auditorium.
Designed with sustainability in mind, the building will align with CU Boulder’s climate action plan, potentially earning Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.
Construction is scheduled to begin in October.
Read Here
CU study finds correlations between ants and climate changeA new study by a CU doctoral student has found that climate change is forcing certain ant species to move out of their original habitats in Gregory Canyon near Boulder.
The study by Anna Paraskevopoulos and her research team is set to be published in the journal Ecology, according to a CU press release.
The new study compares ant life to a similar CU study on Gregory Canyon ants conducted six decades ago.
Because ants are sensitive to changes in temperature, they provide a good indicator for studying the effects of climate change on ecosystems. Paraskevopoulos notes that Gregory Canyon has remained largely unchanged since the earlier study, presenting an opportunity to research the isolated impacts of climate change.
The finding supports the notion that changes in ant biodiversity could be occurring worldwide in both urban and wild spaces due to climate change.
Read Here
The post Assault weapons bill, CU concealed carry ban weighed, and new CU building appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen: play_arrowHuge win against CEMEX, XCEL is under investigation after power outages and there’s a new study about antsAlexis Kenyon Cemex plant in Lyons gets order to terminate operations*Boulder County has ordered the CEMEX cement plant in Lyons to stop operations. Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting Director Dale Case sent a letter to the 14-billion dollar cement manufacturer telling the company that a more than 100 percent increase in traffic to and from the plant violated the plant’s operating permit.
The letter cited a Transportation Department study showing that traffic around the CEMEX plant in Lyons has skyrocketed in the past year. Case said in a letter to the company that the increased traffic creates a hazard and is an “expanded use” of the plant, which operates in an agricultural zone.
The increase in traffic comes after Boulder denied the 14-billion dollar, Mexican owned cement manufacturer, permits to mine at their Dowe Flats Quarry site in Lyons last year. Many hoped the move would encourage Cemex to move the cement processing elsewhere.
Instead, CEMEX decided to truck in thousands of pounds of raw materials. CEMEX’s cement operations opened in 1964 and is the single largest contributor to ozone pollution in Boulder County and one of the largest polluters in the state. Community members who have fought for years to evict CEMEX from Lyons say this ruling is a huge win. The company has thirty days to respond to the letter to terminate. During that time, they could provide evidence to dispute that operations have expanded, reduce operations, or file an appeal with the Boulder County Commissioners. In the meantime, the CEMEX plant in Lyons can continue to operate.
Read more
Read more
Public Utilities Commission opens Xcel probeState regulators have formally launched an investigation into Xcel Energy’s decision to cut off electricity to tens of thousands of its customers in Boulder County this past weekend.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission announced the investigation yesterday, one day after Governor Jared Polis requested the probe. The three-member panel voted unanimously to open the investigation, according to Denver 7.
Power was cut off to 55,000 Xcel customers as a precautionary measure last Saturday, as winds exceeding 100 miles an hour whipped the Front Range.Most of those power cutoffs were in Boulder County.
Besides the precautionary outages, another 100,000 Xcel customers lost power because of downed power lines. Xcel says they cut off power as a precaution to avoid wildfire. Xcel faces hundreds of lawsuits for its alleged role in the Marshall Mesa Fire. Many say their dislodged power line was in part to blame for the fire, which burned 1000 structures and was the largest fire in state history. Xcel is facing similar lawsuits in states across the US.
Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission wants detailed information from Xcel about their response to last weekend’s wind storm, including their planning and communications. That includes getting input from those impacted by the power shutoff.
Read more
Read more
Denver will spend close to $90 million to support new migrantsThe City of Denver has announced it will spend $89.9 million on services for newly arrived migrants in 2024. The financing will come from citywide budget cuts affecting all city agencies except rec centers and DMV offices.
Both agencies will maintain regular operations and summer programs.
Public safety departments will see reductions. According to 9News, the Denver Fire Department and Police Department will trim their budgets by not filling vacant positions.
Additionally, the city plans to launch the Denver Asylum Seeker Program, which provides housing and workforce training to about 1,000 people in the shelter system seeking asylum. These reductions require approval from the City Council. They’ll be presented to the council’s finance committee on April 16.
Read more
BoCo suing Clean Energy LLC for not clearing an encampment in Longmont Boulder County officials are suing the owners of Clean Energy LLC in Longmont, claiming they have ignored requests to dismantle a homeless encampment. The lawsuit, filed by Boulder County Commissioners, says that by allowing the encampment, the owners of the site are in violation of county land-use and zoning codes. According to the Daily Camera, the complaint says that the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office issued warnings and swept the encampment in 2022. But homeless people have still been living there.
Read more
Colorado wildlife will pay to improve bear-human relationshipsColorado wildlife officials have launched a $1 million grant program to help Colorado communities tackle human-bear conflicts.
As bear populations become more active after hibernation, Colorado Parks and Wildlife aims to reduce conflicts through its Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Community Grant Program.
Human-bear conflicts, primarily driven by trash encounters, according to CPW data, are the focus of this initiative, which offers funding for innovative bear-proofing projects across the state.
With some thirty-five hundred human-bear conflicts reported in 2023, the program encourages local governments, NGOs, businesses, and individuals to apply for grants to foster community engagement and provide practical solutions to reduce these incidents.
Grant winners will be announced in July, marking a significant step toward enhancing Colorado’s wildlife management and community safety.
Applications are open to apply for the grants until May 24.
Read more
Colorado Ants CU StudyA new study by a CU doctoral student has found that climate change is forcing certain ant species to move out of their original habitats in Gregory Canyon near Boulder.
According to a CU press release, Anna Paraskevopoulos and her research team are publishing a study in the journal Ecology.
The new study compares ant life to a similar CU study on Gregory Canyon ants, done sixty years ago. It notes that because ants are sensitive to changes in temperature, they’re an excellent marker to study the effects of climate change on ecosystems.
Because Gregory Canyon is mainly unchanged from six decades ago, Paraskevopoulos says it was an opportunity to study the isolated impacts of climate change. The finding shows that changes in ant biodiversity could be happening worldwide in both urban and wild spaces because of climate change.
The post Huge win against CEMEX, XCEL is under investigation after power outages and there’s a new study about ants appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen: play_arrowXcel is getting questions about why so many people were caught off guard by power outageAlexis Kenyon BoCo food bank lost thousands of meals during power outage and says Xcel’s warning came after they had already closed for the weekendA Louisville food bank was forced to discard approximately 2,000 pounds of food this week after Xcel Energy cut power during the weekend’s winter event for nearly 40 hours. Xcel says a company representative called Louisville’s Community Food Share on Friday to inform them of a possible power cut. However, the call came after regular business hours, and a food bank director told The Denver Post* they were unaware of the outage until Sunday.
The prolonged outage compelled the food bank to dispose of thousands of pounds of food, including prepared meals and dairy products.
The Post reports that Community Food Share assists up to 5,000 people each month.
The president of the Colorado branch told KGNU they decided to cut power before any disasters to minimize the risk of downed lines causing a wildfire. However, the decision has faced widespread criticism from customers who claim they received insufficient warning.
Read more
Polis asks Public Utilities Committee to review Xcel’s communication with public about power outagesColorado Gov. Jared Polis is urging the state Public Utilities Commission to review Xcel’s public communication regarding the decision to proactively cut power to thousands of customers in the Boulder-Denver area.
In a letter to Xcel, he expressed his shared disappointment and frustration with many Coloradans over the company’s decision to “proactively cut power, its slow restoration of power, and its insufficient communication with customers.”
Polis asked for the Public Utilities Commission to “open a formal docket to fully understand the failures of this past week.”
Xcel is also facing lawsuits alleging the company has not done enough to prevent historic wildfires across the US. Boulder area homeowners filed a suit in December saying Xcel’s power lines caused the Marshall Fire.
The Boulder County Commissioners issued a statement yesterday acknowledging Xcel’s decision as understandable in a community still recovering from the December 2021 Marshall Mesa wildfire
The Boulder County Commissioners noted that two or three days without electricity can lead to significant financial hardship for some and negatively impact the health and well-being of community members. Xcel announced yesterday that they expected to have power fully restored to all customers by last night.
Read more
A gun bill to help police better track gun sales is on Gov. Polis deskA bill that would monitor the sale of guns and ammunition in Colorado has passed its final legislative hurdle. Senate Bill 24-066 was approved by the State House on Monday.
If Gov. Jared Polis signs it into law, credit card companies will be required to provide a four-digit code at the point-of-payment for firearms and ammunition.
According to FOX31, the bill’s sponsors claim the codes will assist law enforcement in tracking gun sales if credit card companies detect any suspicious patterns of activity. Critics argue the bill will impose additional bureaucracy on individuals purchasing firearms or ammunition with a credit card.
The bill is the first of several gun-related proposals this session to reach Gov. Polis’ desk. If he signs the bill, opponents have indicated they will challenge it in court.
Read more
Christian Glass case jury selectionJury selection has begun in the second-degree murder trial of a former Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy charged with the shooting death of Boulder’s Christian Glass.
On June 11, 2022, Christian Glass called 911 around midnight, stating he had gotten his car stuck in Silver Plume, Colorado, and required assistance. When officers arrived, the prosecution alleges Glass was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Officers attempted for over an hour to persuade Glass to exit the vehicle. Police reports indicate that then-deputy Andrew Buen shattered one of the car’s windows and shot Glass with a bean bag round. The situation escalated, leading to Glass being tased and then fatally shot.
Buen faces charges of second-degree murder, official misconduct, and reckless endangerment.
Read more
Another wolf kill Colorado has experienced another wolf attack on livestock, marking the second occurrence in less than a week.
The most recent incident took place in Jackson County, northwest of Boulder, where a wolf killed a calf on Sunday, as reported by The Daily Camera. State wildlife officials have identified four wolves in the area and confirmed that the injuries on the calf’s remains are consistent with wolf depredation.
At least twelve wolves are known to reside in Colorado, including ten reintroduced in Grand County last December. It isn’t known whether one of those wolves was involved in last weekend’s kill. The owner of the calf may be eligible for reimbursement of the calf’s fair market value, provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Read more
The post Xcel is getting questions about why so many people were caught off guard by power outage appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.
Listen: Download Audio Accused King Soopers Mass Shooter in Court Today The alleged gunman behind the mass shooting at the King Soopers grocery store on Table Mesa in Boulder is due in court today. The Arvada man accused of the […]
Listen: Download Audio CU Boulder Classes Start Today Today is the first day of classes at the University of Colorado Boulder. Expect more traffic in The Hill area and around off-campus student housing as school is back in full swing […]
Listen: Download Audio Mayor Johnston Announces Latest Updates On Homeless State Of Emergency Denver Mayor Mike Johnston held a press conference Thursday to address the city’s state of emergency on homelessness. Mayor Mike Johnston declared the current state of emergency […]
Listen: Download Audio King Soopers Shooting Suspect Found Competent To Stand Trial The Boulder County District Attorney’s office announced Wednesday that the man accused of fatally shooting ten people at the Table Mesa King Soopers is now mentally competent to […]
Listen: Download Audio Vitalant Expands Blood Donor Eligibility, Removes Gender and Sexual Orientation Restrictions Vitalant, a nonprofit blood donation organization, has broadened its acceptance of blood donors. According to the updated guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), […]
Listen: Download Audio Denver City Council Extends Emergency Declaration The Denver City Council has voted to extend Mayor Mike Johnson’s emergency declaration on homelessness. It’s the second time the council has extended the declaration, which the mayor announced at […]
Listen: Download Audio Changes Mark First Day Of School At DPS Denver Public Schools start today, with some changes. According to Denverite, armed police known as School Resource Officers will be back in 13 high schools. That includes East […]
Listen: Download Audio Mudslide Reports Briefly Close I-70 Near Glenwood Canyon Part of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon was closed for a few hours last night following reports of mudslides. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood advisory as a […]
Listen: First day of school for Boulder Valley schools Many Boulder Valley School District students start their school year today. Commuters should expect traffic and pedestrians around schools this morning, this afternoon, and throughout the school year. Two new programs […]
Listen: Download Audio Lewis Coal Mine Fire Mitigation Authorities will soon begin an effort at what they’re calling a “proactive effort to reduce the potential” for a surface fire in open space south of Boulder. The Colorado Division of Reclamation, […]
Colorado To Launch Statewide E-Bike Rebate Lottery Colorado is launching its statewide e-bike rebate program this week. Eligible residents can begin the application process through the Colorado Energy Office’s website from 9 am this Wednesday to 1 pm next Monday. […]
Listen: Download Audio Ryan Partridge’s Story and “Deliberate Indifference” to Mental Health in Boulder County Jail Yesterday, we reported on the story of Ryan Partridge, who, after a 6-year court battle, won a $2.5 million settlement from Boulder County. The […]
Listen: Download Audio Public Boulder Commissioner Hearings to Discuss New Ballot Measures The Boulder County Commissioners will be holding two public hearings regarding potential ballot initiatives for November, including one that would help establish a reliable funding source for affordable […]
Listen: Download Audio Representative Neguse Leads Bipartisan Legislation Increasing Firefighter Pay Congressman Joe Neguse introduced a bill yesterday to extend base pay increases for wildland firefighters. The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act incorporates provisions from a larger bill also introduced […]
Listen: Download Audio Gun Purchase Age Limit Law Halted Opponents of a new state law restricting the purchase of guns to people 21 and older have won a round in court. A district judge ruled yesterday that in signing Senate […]
Listen: Download Audio Bear Bites Man Relaxing in Hammock at Campground Colorado wildlife officials are searching for a black bear that bit a man Saturday night at a campground near Trinidad. The man told officials he was relaxing in a […]
Listen: Download Audio Neguse Encourages Veterans to Apply for PACT Benefits Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse held an online press conference Wednesday urging veterans to file a claim for benefits before next week’s deadline. The PACT Act, which greatly expanded VA […]
Listen: Download Audio Potential Gas Leak Closes Boulder Justice Center The Boulder County Sheriff’s Department evacuated its staff from the Criminal Justice Center Building on Wednesday evening after deputies detected a strong natural gas smell. After an investigation, the Boulder […]
Listen: Download Audio Colorado Air Quality Permit for Suncor Shot Down by EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered Colorado air quality regulators to revise an air quality permit for Suncor Energy’s refinery in Commerce City. This decision, viewed […]
Listen: Download Audio Space Force to Stay in Colorado Springs The U.S. Space Command will remain headquartered in Colorado Springs. That decision was announced by the Biden administration yesterday, reversing a decision made in the final days of the Trump […]
Listen: Download Audio Denver Housing Authority Announces Hotel Purchase The Denver Housing Authority’s board of commissioners has approved the purchase of another hotel that will be turned into supportive housing. The 194-unit Best Western Central Park hotel is at 4595 […]
Listen: Download Audio Lowline Wildfire Reaches Over 700 Acres Gunnison County is holding its mandatory evacuation order for Mill Creek residents near the Lowline Wildfire Thursday. Local and federal ground crews and helicopters are battling the forest blaze between Gunnison […]
Listen: Download Audio State Approves Funding For Denver Affordable and Homeless Housing The City and County of Denver is now eligible for funding towards the construction of thousands of affordable housing units. The Colorado Department of Local Affairs’ Division of […]
Listen: Download Audio Defunct CollegeAmerica Students in Colorado Awarded $130M in Federal Student Loan Relief The federal government has agreed to offer $130 million in student-loan relief to 7,400 students who attended the Colorado campuses of the now defunct CollegeAmerica. […]
Listen: Download Audio Homelessness Census Shows Increase Across Denver The number of people experiencing homelessness in Denver is up by more than 31% this year over last year. That’s according to a new survey by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative. […]
Listen: Download Audio Unhoused Group Challenges Johnston’s Emergency Declaration A Denver rights organization run by unhoused people is warning that Mayor Mike Johnston’s declared state of emergency could be used to further marginalize people living on the streets. In a […]
Listen: Download Audio Millennium Hotel Gunman Faces New Charges A gunman charged in February for a shooting at Boulder’s Millennium Harvest House faces new charges related to a Lafayette homicide earlier that month. 45-year-old Antonio Lucero allegedly fled the scene […]
Listen: Download Audio Fines for Unsafe Driving on I-70 Mountain Express Lanes Begins Friday The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will no longer be issuing warnings for drivers who use I-70 mountain express lanes unsafely. Beginning Friday, drivers who use […]
Listen: Download Audio Denver Mayor Declares State of Emergency on Homelessness Denver’s new mayor, Mike Johnston, has declared a state of emergency on homelessness and set a goal to house 1,000 unsheltered people by the end of 2023. This declaration […]
Listen: Download Audio Border Wall Settlement There’s been a settlement in lawsuits brought by a coalition of 18 states, including Colorado, against the administration of ex-president Donald Trump. The coalition of states sued twice, in 2019 and 2020, alleging that […]
Listen: Download Audio New Denver Mayor Takes Office Today Former state senator Mike Johnston will be sworn in as Denver’s 46th Mayor this morning. Johnston went through two rounds of voting; first in a crowded field of 17 candidates, then […]
Listen: Download Audio Marshall Fire Victims File Group Lawsuit Against Xcel Another lawsuit stemming from the Marshall Mesa Fire has been filed against Xcel Energy. In this latest filing almost 250 plaintiffs are seeking compensation for damages caused when one […]
Listen: Download Audio Colorado Lawmakers Propose U.S. Bill For Farmer, Rancher Mental Health Colorado lawmakers introduced a federal bill to help farmers and ranchers have easier access to mental health care. Democratic Representatives Joe Neguse and Brittany Pettersen co-sponsored the […]
Listen: Download Audio Xcel Sued by Over 150 Insurance Companies Over Cause of Marshall Fire Over 150 insurance companies and two survivors of the Marshall fire have now filed lawsuits against Xcel Energy. They are accusing the utility company of […]
Listen: Download Audio Xcel Energy Named in Marshall Mesa Fire Lawsuit A new lawsuit stemming from the Boulder County Sheriff’s report on the December 2021 Marshall Mesa Fire, has been filed against Xcel Energy. Filed Monday in Boulder County District […]
Listen: Download Audio Nationwide Heat Wave Comes to Colorado High temperatures affecting most of the nation are blowing into Colorado, bringing highs into the 90s through most of the week. Rains are forecast to return by Friday, bringing the temperatures […]
Listen: Download Audio Federal Judge Recommends Rio Grande Settlement To SCOTUS A federal judge is recommending that the U.S. Supreme Court approve a water sharing settlement proposed last month. The settlement would recognize the use of a water gauging station […]
Listen: Download Audio Boulder e-Bike Voucher Applications to Open This Week The City of Boulder is launching the first wave of applications for its highly anticipated e-bike voucher program today. Two types of vouchers are available, as of 9 a.m. […]
Listen: Download Audio I-70 Construction Begins A major reconstruction project along Interstate 70 is getting underway this week, and isn’t expected to be finished until 2028. The $700 million project, from west of Evergreen to eastern Idaho Springs, aims to […]
Listen: Download Audio Highway 36 Crash Blocks Traffic Traffic is back to normal on Highway 36 this morning, after a multi-vehicle accident brought the eastbound lanes to a standstill yesterday afternoon. The crash involved an RTD bus and three cars, […]
Listen: Download Audio Health Officials Monitoring Plague Activity in Southwest Colorado The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is partnering with the Montezuma County Public Health Department to investigate and monitor cases of plague in southwest Colorado. One […]
Listen: Download Audio New Police Video on Jor’Dell Richardson Killing Aurora police have released five new videos of the police killing of fourteen-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson that occurred on June 1. The videos, made public yesterday, show events from several different […]
Listen: Download Audio Judge Rules DPS Must Release Recording of Closed Board Meeting A Denver District Court Judge has ordered the school board of Denver Public Schools to release the entire recording of a closed door meeting in which they […]
Listen: Download Audio Boulder Rally to Mark Roe V. Wade’s Overturning Abortion rights advocates in Boulder will gather at the Central Park Bandshell Saturday to increase awareness about the ongoing fight for reproductive care in the United States. It’s one […]
Listen: Download Audio Polis Seeks Authority to Pardon Psychedelic Drug Crimes Denver is hosting the Psychedelic Science conference this week, bringing together celebrities and well-known supporters of alternative medicine, from author Michael Pollan to former football star Aaron Rodgers. Also […]
Listen: Download Audio Colorado AG Files Charges Against Six in Ballot Signature Fraud Six people are facing charges for allegedly forging petition signatures and information to influence last year’s Republican primary ballot for the 7th Congressional District. According to the […]
Listen: Download Audio Colorado Employment Holds Steady The unemployment rate in Colorado held at 2.8 percent from April to May. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment says the number of people without jobs during that period was about 90,000, […]
Listen: Download Audio Suspect in Club Q Mass Shooting Expected to Plead Guilty The suspect in last year’s mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs is expected to plead guilty at a hearing later this month. That’s according to […]
Listen: Download Audio Boulder City Council to Consider Changing Single-Family Zoning Laws Boulder City Council members are considering changes to zoning laws that could allow for more duplexes and triplexes. The City Council meets tonight. The ordinance under discussion mirrors […]
Listen: Download Audio Nuggets Victory Parade Planned for Thursday Morning The Denver Nuggets will celebrate their 2023 Championship title with a parade Thursday morning. The parade will begin at 10AM at Union Station and will proceed down 17th Street to […]
Listen: Download Audio Nuggets Win The Nuggets won this year’s NBA crown by knocking off the Miami Heat last night, in Game Five of their best-of-seven series. Final score: Nuggets 94, the Heat, 89. Last night’s celebrations following the win […]
Listen: Download Audio EPA: Suncor Has More Air Quality Issues Than Similar Refineries The Suncor oil refinery in Denver has more air quality incidents compared with 11 similarly operated refineries across the country. That’s according to a report released Friday […]
Listen: Download Audio Boulder Officials Announce Causes Of Marshall Fire Boulder County officials announced the results of the almost 17-month-long investigation into the cause behind the Marshall Fire. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Department investigation has concluded that the devastating fire […]
Listen: Download Audio Boulder Sheriff to Announce Marshall Fire Findings Boulder County officials are expected to announce their findings regarding the cause of the Marshall Fire in a 10am news conference today. The investigation has taken almost 17 months. Boulder […]
Listen: Download Audio Mike Johnston is Denver’s New Mayor and Other City Council Election News Former state senator Mike Johnston is Denver’s new mayor, beating out opponent Kelly Brough with 54% of votes. Brough conceded at 10 PM with Johnston […]
(Download Audio) Election Day In Denver Today is municipal runoff election day in Denver as voters decide between mayoral candidates Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough, and some districts elect their city council representatives. Ballots are due in secure drop boxes, […]
Listen: Download Audio Anti-Opioid Addiction Drugmaker To Pay $102.5M Settlement Colorado will receive millions of dollars more from another drug company, the result of a class action lawsuit filed by 42 states. The latest disbursement amounts to about $2.5 million […]
Listen: Download Audio Boulder Officials Declare June 2023 Gun Violence Awareness and Prevention Month Today, people observing the second annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day are wearing orange to honor survivors and victims of gun violence. In a press release […]
Listen: Download Audio Opponents Urge Against BLM Conservation Proposal The Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, is under attack by western lawmakers after introducing its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule to the public in Denver last week. The BLM oversees […]
Listen: Download Audio Residents Express Backlash Against Upcoming Homeless Day Services Center in Boulder Condominium Complex Residents at a condominium complex in Boulder spoke out against the upcoming opening of a new homeless day services center. The center, located […]
Listen: Download Audio Denver Schools Safety Plan Second Draft The second draft of the new Denver Schools Safety Plan leaves open the question of whether Denver Schools will have armed police officers on campuses in the 2023-24 school year. That […]
Listen: Download Audio United Airlines Pilots Picket In Denver United Airlines pilots seeking better pay marched outside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Denver Thursday, where their company’s board of directors was holding a meeting. Contract negotiations between United and the United […]
Listen: Download Audio Gov. Polis Signs Property Tax Relief Bill Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a tax relief plan Wednesday, which now will go on November’s ballot as Proposition HH. If voters approve the measure, it would remove $50,000 off […]
Listen: Download Audio Chevron’s $7.6B purchase of PDC Energy creates the biggest Oil and Gas company in Colorado Chevron Corporation will soon become the largest oil company in the state of Colorado. That’s according to a report from the colorado […]
Listen: Download Audio Christian Glass Family To Receive $19M Law Enforcement Settlement Three law enforcement agencies, along with the State of Colorado, have agreed to pay the family of a police shooting victim a $19 million settlement. Law enforcement fatally […]
Listen: Download Audio Barker Reservoir Expected To Spill Over Soon The City of Boulder announced Friday that Barker Reservoir is expected to flow over the spillway any day now. Last week’s rains, plus a surplus snowpack that’s now melting mean […]
Listen: Download Audio Flash Flooding May Have Led To Drowning Severe thunderstorms have caused flooding throughout Colorado, which may have contributed to one death. In some areas of Denver, almost two inches of rain fell in Thursday’s storm. Flash flood […]
Listen: Download Audio Yemi Mobolade Becomes Colorado Spring’s First Black Mayor Colorado Springs voters made history this week by electing the city’s first Black and first non-Republican mayor. Blessing “Yemi” Mobolade ran as an independent and defeated Republican Wayne Williams […]
Listen: Download Audio CO Supreme Court Eviction Notices The State Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Colorado landlords must give people living in federally-supported housing units thirty days’ notice of an eviction. That ruling is being hailed as a victory for […]
Listen: Download Audio Flood Watch Continues For Denver Area Thursday’s steady rainfall made it the wettest day in Denver since March 14, 2021. According to The Denver Post, the storm that began Wednesday has dumped almost 20 percent of Denver’s […]
Listen: Download Audio Storms Cause Airport Delays, Power Outages Severe storms over the last two days have led to hail damage, power outages and flight delays in the state. Colorado’s first tornado of 2023 was spotted in Washington County, and […]
Listen: Download Audio Surge Of Migrants Arrive In Denver Ahead Of Feds Expiring Title 42 Denver Mayor Michael Hancock approved late Tuesday afternoon another round of emergency resources to assist another influx of migrants that have newly arrived in the […]
Listen: Download Audio Colorado Legislative Session Ends The Colorado Legislature has wrapped up its 2023 session, adjourning at midnight last night with a mixed bag of results. Over the course of the session that convened in January, lawmakers addressed […]
Listen: Download Audio Colorado House Passes TABOR Refund Bill Colorado Democrats introduced last-minute legislation over the weekend that would alter the payout terms of the 2023 TABOR Refund. House Bill 1311, which passed along party lines on Sunday, would create […]
Listen: Download Audio Senators Approve Hospital and Pay Transparency Bills Colorado legislators are racing towards the May 6th finish line of the 2023 lawmaking season with multiple bills that are getting closer to the governor’s desk. On Thursday, state senators […]
Listen: Download Audio Colorado Wildlife Officials Approve Wolf Restoration Plan The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission made history yesterday, unanimously approving the state’s final wolf restoration and management plan. Commissioners held a marathon, nine-hour meeting at Colorado Mountain College’s Spring […]
Listen: Download Audio Amendments Suggested For Polis’ Housing Bill Democrats in the Colorado House have announced plans to try to amend a land use gutted by the Senate. Senate Bill 213 has the governor’s support, but has faced opposition from […]
Listen: Download Audio Bennet Reintroducing Superbug Antibiotic Development Bill Lawmakers have reintroduced a bill they hope will encourage the development of new antibiotics that target drug-resistant infections. Colorado Senator Michael Bennet joined in re-introducing the bipartisan bill, known as the […]
Listen: Download Audio Three Suspects Arrested In Rock-Throwing Spree Three high school seniors arrested in connection with a series of rock throwing incidents will appear in court this morning. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s office announced Wednesday that the suspects had […]
Listen: Download Audio Farmer ‘Rights to Repair’ Bill Colorado became the first state in the nation yesterday to guarantee farmers access to resources necessary to repair their agricultural equipment on their own. The farmer’s right to repair bill requires manufacturers […]
Listen: Download Audio SCOTUS Climate Ruling Affects Boulder City officials in Boulder are hailing a U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow lawsuits brought by municipalities in five states, including Colorado, to move forward in state courts. The high court yesterday […]
Listen: Download Audio Winter’s Last Hurrah? Another spring storm might hit the Front Range Tuesday and Wednesday. Blasting in from the Pacific, the system is expected to bring both heavy rain and wet, heavy snow throughout the region. Up to […]
Listen: Download Audio One Motorist Dead In Spate Of Rock-Throwing Attacks The Jefferson County Sheriff’s office is looking for attackers in a series of rock-throwing incidents that resulted in the death of an Arvada woman early Thursday. Investigators say rocks […]
Listen: Download Audio House Committee Kills Assault Weapons Ban Colorado lawmakers have voted down a controversial bill to ban assault weapons in the state. Four Democrats joined Republicans in the House Judiciary Committee in an 8-5 vote early this morning […]
Listen: Download Audio Fox News Settles Over False Election Claims Fox News has agreed to pay more than $787 million to settle a defamation suit brought against it by Dominion Voting Systems. The settlement will keep the lawsuit from going […]
Listen: Download Audio DPS Board Of Education Hear School Safety Comments The parents of students at Denver’s East High School are demanding that school officials enact new measures to protect their kids at school. During a public comment session at […]
Listen: Download Audio Colorado House Passes Bill To Increase Mental Health Resources The Colorado House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would evaluate a system to connect Coloradans with behavioral healthcare that leads to long-term recovery. Democratic Rep. […]
Listen: Download Audio Colorado Lawmakers Consider Bill To Reduce Medical Debt A bill that would lower the interest rate on medical debt in Colorado has received final approval, and is on its way to Governor Jared Polis for his signature. […]
Listen: Download Audio Juul Labs To Pay Settlement To 6 States, Including Colorado The e-cigarette maker Juul Labs has agreed to pay Colorado over $30 million as part of a multistate settlement. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Wednesday that […]
Listen: Download Audio Federal Proposal To Reduce Colorado River The federal government is floating a set of three proposals to prevent the Colorado River from drying up as it moves through drought-stricken Arizona, Nevada and California. The first of the […]
Listen: Download Audio Weiser Joins Effort To Block Anti-Abortion Ruling Colorado is joining 22 other states and the District of Columbia to challenge a ruling that could restrict access to medication abortion in the United States. A coalition of state […]
Listen: Download Audio AG Weiser Makes Statement On Abortion Drug Suspension A judge in Texas issued a ruling Friday afternoon to reverse the Federal Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a medication used for pill-based abortions. The ruling could affect access […]
Listen: Download Audio Denver Runoff Elections To Be Held In June The latest Denver election results determined that there will be a mayoral runoff on June 6. None of the candidates vying for Mayor received the minimum needed for an […]
Listen: Download Audio Denver Election Update The results from Denver’s local election are shifting as officials continue to count ballots. The top two mayoral candidates of a field of 16 will compete in a runoff in June. As of 5:00 […]
Listen: Download Audio Denver Local Election Results Denver mayoral elections narrowed the field of 16 candidates down to two last night, Kelly Brough and Mike Johnston. Brough was the chief of staff during former Mayor John Hickenlooper’s term and led […]
Listen: Download Audio Election Day In Denver Today is election day in Denver, as voters head to the polls to choose a new mayor, and decide who will fill seats on the City Council. If none of the 16 mayoral […]
Headlines for April 03, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Several Denver High Schools Will Have Police Officers After Break Denver high school students returning from spring break this week may see at least one police officer on duty. According to Chalkbeat […]
Headlines for March 31, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Colorado Lawmakers Weigh In On Trump indictment Colorado lawmakers are reacting along party lines to the historic indictment of former President Donald Trump. The Manhattan DA announced the indictment yesterday although the […]
Headlines for March 30, 2023 Listen: Download Audio CO Universal Pre-K Program Delayed It’s going to be another month before registered families find out where they can send their children to preschool at no cost, under Colorado’s new Universal Preschool […]
Headlines for March 28, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Colorado Lawmakers On Brink Of Passing Two More Gun Safety Measures Colorado lawmakers are on the brink of passing two major pieces of gun safety legislation, with two more edging closer. A bill […]
Headlines for March 29, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Boulder DA Seeks Competency Hearing Of King Soopers Shooting Suspect The Boulder County District Attorney is seeking a competency hearing of the Defendant in the Table Mesa King Soopers mass shooting case, […]
Headlines for March 28, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Colorado Lawmakers On Brink Of Passing Two More Gun Safety Measures Colorado lawmakers are on the brink of passing two major pieces of gun safety legislation, with two more edging closer. A bill […]
Listen: Download Audio Wounded Denver High School Staffer Released From Hospital The search for a 17-year-old suspect in a shooting at Denver’s East High School ended in Park County last night, near the town of Bailey, with the discovery of […]
Morning Magazine Headlines – March 22, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Fair Elections Fund Now Over Seven Million In Taxpayer Money Denver’s local elections are fast approaching, but the city’s fair election fund is dwindling. The fund matched over 19 thousand […]
Morning Magazine Headlines – March 21, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Gun Safety Measures/Testimony Gun safety activists say they have done their part to strengthen laws in Colorado, and that now it’s time for lawmakers to get a series of measures […]