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Seven States Fail to Agree on Colorado River Plan Before Key Deadline
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Seven States Fail to Agree on Colorado River Plan Before Key Deadline

By: Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado The future of the Colorado River, and its use by seven states that rely on it, is still up in the air after negotiators failed to meet a deadline set by the federal government. The Upper Basin and Lower Basin states were asked to have a plan set for the future of the river by Tuesday night, as the current plans are set to expire by the end of 2026. The river is heavily utilized by the Lower Basin states, which make up Arizona, California and Nevada. Otherwise largely deserts, the Colorado River allows for both communities and agriculture to thrive in those states. The Upper Basin, consisting of Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, comparatively rely less heavily on the Colorado River even as populations continue to rise in those states. "We made an ag...
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Do Better Denver breaks cover, says her mission is “calling out the failures of our elected officials”
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Commentary, Local

Do Better Denver breaks cover, says her mission is “calling out the failures of our elected officials”

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has no shortage of critics, but perhaps his harshest is the mysterious person behind "Do Better Denver." The social media account -- on X and Instagram -- launched right after Johnston took office two years ago and has amassed a following of more than 150,000. The manager of the account is anonymous and has never granted an in-person interview until now. She spoke exclusively with CBS Colorado Your Political Reporter Shaun Boyd, but insisted she remain anonymous. Her critics say she hides her identity to avoid accountability for what she posts online. She says she's concerned for her safety, especially with the recent rise in political violence. She shared some of the threats she's received. She is a polarizing and powerfu...
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Federal Investigation into Colorado Wolf Death Underway, Questions Remain Over Legality of Importing Wolves
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Federal Investigation into Colorado Wolf Death Underway, Questions Remain Over Legality of Importing Wolves

By: Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado Colorado Parks and Wildlife said an investigation is underway after a female gray wolf died in southwest Colorado last month. They received a mortality alert for wolf 2506 on Oct. 30. The wolf was part of a group of wolves from British Columbia that were brought to Colorado in January. Because gray wolves are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, it's illegal to harass, harm, or kill them without federal authorization. Officials said they will determine the wolf's cause of death following a necropsy and investigation. The reintroduction of gray wolves into Colorado has been a controversial one. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has spent about $3 million to relocate 30 wolves to the state since 2023, nearly four times...
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Broomfield Church Defaced With Swastika as City Leaders Denounce Hate
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Broomfield Church Defaced With Swastika as City Leaders Denounce Hate

By Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado Someone spray painted a large swastika on a church's sign in the Denver metro area over the weekend. That's according to elected officials in the City and County of Broomfield, who say the incident is under investigation.   Police believe it happened sometime Sunday morning at Beautiful Savior Church near Main Street and West 120th Avenue. The city's mayor and members of the city county jointly posted a statement on the city's website that said volunteers cleaned up the swastika along with other symbols that were painted on the sign. In their statement they wrote that the sight was "painful and deeply disturbing." READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
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Polis Sounds Alarm on Medicaid Spending: “We Can’t Fund Everything”
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Polis Sounds Alarm on Medicaid Spending: “We Can’t Fund Everything”

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Gov. Jared Polis released his budget request for next year, and Medicaid will take a big hit. The governor says the health insurance program for low-income Coloradans is growing at nearly twice the rate of the state government overall. Polis says, if the state doesn't slow the rate of growth, the program will crowd out everything but funding for schools in the next few years. In the state, 1.2 million Coloradans rely on Medicaid. The governor says none of them will lose coverage, but what that coverage looks like will change.  "There's two levers on Medicaid," Polis said during a press conference. "One is how many people you cover, and two is what you cover." Polis' budget request hones in on what services Medicaid covers. "There have bee...
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Safety, Discipline, and Learning at Heart of Denver School Board Races
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Safety, Discipline, and Learning at Heart of Denver School Board Races

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado Voters will elect four members of the Denver School Board next week. That will determine a majority on the seven member board and the future direction of the district, including the tenure of Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero. DPS parents who are stressing the importance of casting ballots talked with CBS News Colorado. Chanele Simmons is a business owner and mom to three DPS students attending schools in far northeast Denver. She says her children's well-being is on her mind every day they're in classes. "That they're good and safe, that they're learning and that they're emotionally great," she said. Simmons would like to see the next Denver Board of Education focus on bringing down class size. She fears with the current class sizes are making i...
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Colorado Republicans Slam Bennet, Hickenlooper Over Prolonged Shutdown
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Republicans Slam Bennet, Hickenlooper Over Prolonged Shutdown

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado As the government shutdown stretches into another week, federal funding for food assistance is set to run out in just over a week. Friday was supposed to be the payday for many federal employees who have been furloughed for a month. Instead, some employees got a paystub showing zero dollars. Colorado's Republican members of the United States Congress are growing increasingly frustrated with the refusal of Democratic members to pass a funding bill. U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert, Jeff Crank, Gabe Evans and Jeff Hurd fired off a letter to U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and warned Coloradans are suffering because of the shutdown. Fifty-five thousand federal employees are facing financial hardship, and more than 600,000 Colorada...
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“Everything Was Gone”: Colorado Victims Speak Out After Crime Ring Arrests
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

“Everything Was Gone”: Colorado Victims Speak Out After Crime Ring Arrests

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado Victims in Colorado are sharing their stories after the Boulder County Sheriff's Office announced arrests in a crime ring spanning at least 18 months. As CBS Colorado reported, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office executed several search warrants on Wednesday morning that are part of a grand jury investigation into an organized crime ring targeting the Front Range. Five arrests have been made, and one suspect remains at large. According to the 20th Judicial District Attorney's Office, they executed the search warrants as part of a criminal case. Boulder officials said a crime ring is responsible for 26 burglaries and 15 motor vehicle thefts, and many other offenses. Last July, Rich Caudill woke up to find his truck ransacked, at first not know...
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License Plate Readers Expand Across Colorado, Raising Privacy Concerns
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

License Plate Readers Expand Across Colorado, Raising Privacy Concerns

By: Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Police across Colorado say they make communities safer, but privacy experts have a different opinion about license plate readers. While license plate readers have been around for decades, the cameras now capture, not just license plates, but vast troves of information. That information is fed into a national database, where it can be combined with other surveillance to develop detailed travel patterns of millions of people as they go to a political rally, or an abortion clinic, a house of worship, or a gay bar. The cameras are so prolific that it's difficult to avoid them in many cities. Boulder software engineer Will Freeman is the first to begin mapping them. A year ago, he didn't even know what license plate readers looked like, let alone w...
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Colorado Wolf Reintroduction May Have Violated Federal Law
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Wolf Reintroduction May Have Violated Federal Law

By: Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado A plan to import 15 more wolves to Colorado from Canada may violate federal law.  Wolves are listed as an endangered species here, so Colorado Parks and Wildlife needs a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to relocate wolves here from other states. The permit issued by USFWS in 2023 lists six states where Colorado can source wolves. It doesn't list Canada, where CPW got 15 wolves last year and plans to get another 15 wolves this year. Former congressman and current gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez says USFWS dropped the ball by allowing CPW to import wolves from Canada, which he says is a clear violation of its federal permit.  "The terms and conditions are that they can only get wolves from the Northern Rocky Mountains. They...
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