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Colorado congress members ask Trump for disaster declaration over Rio Blanco County wildfires
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Fox31, Approved, State

Colorado congress members ask Trump for disaster declaration over Rio Blanco County wildfires

By Jacob Factor | Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado’s congressional delegation is asking President Donald Trump to declare a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for the wildfires that struck Rio Blanco County over the summer. The lawmakers in a joint letter to the president asked him to make the disaster declaration and open federal assistance for Western Slope County after the Lee and Elk fires burned more than 150,000 acres and caused more than $27 million in damages.5 charged with starting wildfire while Lee, Elk and Crosho Fires burned nearby “Successful recovery is essential to restoring the County’s economy, which depends on oil and gas, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and hunting and fishing,” the lawmakers said in the letter. “Without additional support, resid...
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Shutdown Spurs Trump’s Call to Restructure Washington Power
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Fox News, Approved, National

Shutdown Spurs Trump’s Call to Restructure Washington Power

By Emma Colton | Fox News President says shutdown allows administration to cut 'vast numbers of people' and programs. The federal government partially shut down early Wednesday after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on a funding package. In the lead-up to the midnight deadline to pass a budget package, President Donald Trump warned the administration could make "irreversible" changes to the federal workforce, most notably through a new wave of fresh layoffs. The president has underscored that he and his allies did not want the government to shut down, but that it opened the door for some "good" that could come from it. Senate lawmakers failed to reach a spending agreement in time for the end of fiscal year 2025 Tuesday, after a short-term extension of fisc...
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Shutdown Impact in Colorado Small for Now But Storm Clouds Gather
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Shutdown Impact in Colorado Small for Now But Storm Clouds Gather

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado officials do not not expect to see major impacts on Colorado-run programs or its workforce for the first week of the federal shutdown, though the state stands to feel the strain, particularly if the stoppage goes into the second week or longer. Like other states, a big chunk of spending in Colorado is paid for with federal dollars. The state expects to receive approximately $14 billion in federal funding for the 2025-26 budget and almost every state agency sees some of that money. Indeed, numerous state programs heavily rely on federal funding. Already, the state has had to provide stopgap funding for one of them. Colorado lawmakers on Tuesday approved a one-month funding allocation of $7.5 million to cover the cost of con...
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Denver Schools Eye Another Bond Despite $975 Million Passed By Voters in 2024
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Schools Eye Another Bond Despite $975 Million Passed By Voters in 2024

By Nico Brambila | The Denver Gazette Denver Public Schools officials are already talking about the next borrowing after Denver voters just approved a nearly $1 billion bond 11 months ago. As previously reported by The Denver Gazette, DPS has grown increasingly dependent on voter-approved borrowing to fund the district’s basic needs. Over the past three decades, voters have approved billions in bond measures and mill levy overrides. During the board of education’s finance and audit committee meeting Monday, a finance official discussed “refunding” $67 million in bonds to “save” Denver taxpayers money. “It allows for the opportunity to create capacity for a future bond election without the district needing to increase the amount of money that we are paying in debt service and...
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State Review Reveals Widespread Misconduct in Juvenile Strip Searches
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kdvr.com, Approved, State

State Review Reveals Widespread Misconduct in Juvenile Strip Searches

By Nicole Fierro | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — A review of strip searches at juvenile detention centers in Colorado unveiled more than a thousand policy violations. Child Protection Ombudsman of Colorado tells FOX31 it has the legal authority to vet children’s complaints in the youth services systems by checking agencies’ documents. A complaint from a child is what initially prompted the review of more than a thousand strip searches where juveniles had to completely undress, according to CPO. “We have youth that are ages 10 to 21 that we’re talking about,” Stephanie Villafuerte, the Child Protection Ombudsman of Colorado, said. “These are facilities designed to rehabilitate these young people and send them back out into the community where they can be safe and they can also be prod...
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USDA move to Fort Collins could add 6,000 jobs and $1B in output, study finds
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

USDA move to Fort Collins could add 6,000 jobs and $1B in output, study finds

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s planned relocation of up to 2,600 employees to Fort Collins could bring more than $1 billion in new business output and over 6,000 new jobs to the area by the end of next year, according to a study by the think tank Common Sense Institute. In July, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the department would be relocating up to 2,600 personnel and operations to five new hubs, including Fort Collins. According to CSI study authors Dr. Caitlin McKennie and Cooper Pollard, the move is expected to “stimulate job creation, bolster local businesses, and enhance collaboration with Colorado State University,” which ranks 23rd in the nation for agricultural sciences. Agriculture plays a “vital role...
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Colorado Hit With $50,000 Fine After Anti-LDS Chants
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Colorado Hit With $50,000 Fine After Anti-LDS Chants

By Spencer Kristensen | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — The University of Colorado Boulder was fined by the Big 12 Division on Tuesday after reports surfaced of inappropriate chants by CU students during the football game against BYU at Folsom Field on Saturday. CU faces a public reprimand and $50,000 fine. “In accordance with the Big 12 Conference Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship, the Conference has issued the University of Colorado a public reprimand and $50,000 fine for the inappropriate chants that occurred during Saturday’s football game against BYU.” Alongside the announcement of the fine, the Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark made a statement: “Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference. While we appreciate Colorado apologizing for th...
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Secretary of War Vows to Restore Strength and Standards to U.S. Forces
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The Daily Signal, Approved, Commentary, National

Secretary of War Vows to Restore Strength and Standards to U.S. Forces

By Tyler O’Neil | Commentary, The Daily Signal I’ve witnessed many moments of “America is back” catharsis this year, but few have been quite as inspiring as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s declaration that he will strive to make every unit the efficient killing machine that he’d be proud to see his own son enlist to join. Speaking at the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia, Tuesday, Hegseth didn’t just discard what he rightly described as the “debris” of wokeness at the War Department—he also laid out a clear litmus test as he looks to whip the military into tip-top shape: what he called the new War Department golden rule. “Would I want my eldest son, who is 15 years old, eventually joining the types of formations that we are currently building?” the secretary asked. ...
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RTD requests additional $1.6 billion in funding for rail expansion project
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Fox31, Approved, Local

RTD requests additional $1.6 billion in funding for rail expansion project

BY Jared Dean | FOX 31 NEWS DENVER (KDVR) — Over 20 years ago, voters approved RTD’s expansion program, the largest in the nation. 113 miles of both commuter and light rail systems, 78 rail transit stations, and 18 miles of rapid bus transit were set to hit the metro. “We have a lot of challenges in terms of completing the program in a shorter period of time. And I know everybody’s anxious about it, but we really do need other sources of revenue in order for us to kind of be able to complete it in a reasonable amount of time,” senior manager for transit-oriented communities for RTD Bill Sirois said. Major hits to the economy and a massive decline in ridership have made funding the project nearly impossible. RTD is now asking for $1.6 billion to get the project done by 20...
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FBI informant exposed as serial killer after years of deception
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Fox News, Approved, National

FBI informant exposed as serial killer after years of deception

BY Peter D'Abrosca | FOX NEWS Scott Kimball received 70-year sentence for killing four people while working as confidential informant DENVER – A former FBI agent says a serial killer who doubled as an FBI informant for years manipulated agents into believing he was helping them, all the while preying on unsuspecting victims.  Scott Kimball will likely spend the rest of his life in a federal prison in Colorado after he was sentenced to 70 years in 2009. He pleaded guilty to killing four people between 2003 and 2004, and his number of victims could be much higher, according to former FBI Special Agent Jonny Grusing.  "He made a game out of tricking the FBI," Grusing told Fox News Digital, adding that Kimball's case was unprecedented. "As long as...
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