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CBS Colorado

Teen pleads guilty to second degree murder in shooting at Longmont car rally
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Teen pleads guilty to second degree murder in shooting at Longmont car rally

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado A teen charged in a fatal shooting at a car rally in Longmont pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Friday. Christian Mendoza, 17, was charged as an adult after he fatally shot 16-year-old Robert Maldonado in the Longmont Hobby Lobby parking lot in March 2024. Officials said an altercation at the car rally between Mendoza and Maldonado turned physical. When Maldonado turned to head back towards the vehicle he arrived in, Mendoza shot him in the back right side. Maldonado fled the rally in his vehicle and crashed nearby. He later died from his injuries at the hospital. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
DA George Brauchler launches new 23rd Judicial District with tough-on-crime approach
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DA George Brauchler launches new 23rd Judicial District with tough-on-crime approach

By Olivia Young | CBS News For the first time in over 60 years, Colorado is getting a new Judicial District. The change will happen on Tuesday. For decades, the 18th Judicial District has encompassed Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties. As those communities grew, the district became the largest in the state. A political divide also emerged between left-leaning Arapahoe County and the other conservative communities. In 2020, a bipartisan effort in the state legislature split the district, leaving only Arapahoe County in the 18th Judicial District and creating a new district for the remaining counties, the state's 23rd. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Marshall Fire victim in Colorado loses childhood home in California wildfires
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Marshall Fire victim in Colorado loses childhood home in California wildfires

By Gabriela Vidal | CBS Colorado It can be hard to imagine experiencing the loss of one home from a wildfire, let alone two. Yet, that is exactly what Boulder resident Christian Maljian is facing right now, amid the ongoing wildfires in California.  "I'll miss all of it," said Christian.  Christian spoke with CBS Colorado as he FaceTimed his sister Natalie Maljian. She held up her phone to all of the wreckage of what was left of his childhood home in Altadena, California.  "We kind of knew it was already burned, so we had a day to prepare before we came," said Natalie.  READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Horse rescued after falling into icy pond in Northern Colorado
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Horse rescued after falling into icy pond in Northern Colorado

By Jennifer McRae | CBS Colorado Fire crews with Loveland Fire Authority rescued a horse that had fallen into an icy pond in Northern Colorado. Crews rushed to the pond on South County Road 13 on Thursday where a horse found a way through the fence and onto a frozen pond.  Firefighters said the pond could not support the horse's weight and ended up in the icy waters in the middle of the pond. The horse could not get back to shore.  Firefighters donned ice rescue suits and broke apart the ice using axes and sledgehammers. Eventually, they were able to walk the horse to shore after clearing a path.  READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Colorado led effort to conceal medical debt from credit reporting in 2023
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Colorado led effort to conceal medical debt from credit reporting in 2023

By Alan Gionet | CBS Colorado A move Tuesday, in the last weeks of the Biden Administration means credit reporting agencies like TransUnion, Equifax and Experian will no longer be able to include unpaid medical bills on credit reports. At least for now. The move is a duplicative one for Colorado residents after the passage of a first-in-the-nation law in 2023 barring the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports. "I'm just starting to feel that like, 'wow, this is like, this is pretty amazing,'" said Western Slope resident Misty Castaneda. "I got to be part of something to help change a massive amount of everybody's lives." READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Mayors of Denver and Aurora clash over ‘offloading of illegals’ in Aurora
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Mayors of Denver and Aurora clash over ‘offloading of illegals’ in Aurora

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado In an op-ed published in the Colorado Springs Gazette, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman accused Denver Mayor Mike Johnston of not being truthful about how migrants, including Venezuelan gang members, ended up in Aurora. Coffman said he filed an open records request that shows Johnston used the cover of non-profits to quietly dump migrants in other cities. Johnston denied the allegations, stating,  "The City of Denver never places anyone anywhere."  Johnston said he was blindsided by the op-ed that included a headline claiming, "Denver's Mayor offloads immigrants on Aurora." READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Colorado family hopes murder suspect will reveal location of man missing for 25 years
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Colorado family hopes murder suspect will reveal location of man missing for 25 years

By Logan Smith | CBS Colorado He played Santa Claus during the holidays and hand-delivered gifts to local children. He drove teenage royalty in the high school's homecoming parades with his rebuilt classic cars. He picked up broken down motorists and fixed their cars.  But his body has never been found.  Dale Williams was presumably murdered by a childhood friend 25 years ago.  His willingness to help others appears to have contributed to his disappearance. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Grocery chains and union workers temporarily extend contract negotiations
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Grocery chains and union workers temporarily extend contract negotiations

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado Contracts for union employees at King Soopers and City Market have been extended almost two weeks in a stopgap measure while negotiations continue. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 President Kim Cordova and the bargaining committee met with representatives from the grocery chains on Jan 3, one day before their contracts were set to expire. The bargaining committee said they accepted an offer to continue negotiation on Jan. 15-16 and a short extension of contracts. Those contracts are now set to expire on Jan. 16. The union said it continues to have concerns about chronic understaffing in the stores and the ability to protect seniority in the scheduling and vacation processes. They also expressed the desire to share in the company's ...
These were the areas of the state to see the most weekend snowfall accumulation
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These were the areas of the state to see the most weekend snowfall accumulation

By Maddie Rhodes | Fox 31 News Several inches of snow fell throughout Colorado causing traffic and flight delays for three days in a row. What was expected to be a “record-breaking” amount of traffic on Interstate 70 over the weekend didn’t disappoint as weather impacts and crashes stalled the road to and from the mountains on Friday and into the weekend. Meanwhile, visibility and winter weather caused over a thousand flights at the Denver International Airport to be delayed and several canceled from Friday through Sunday. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
Some concerned spring Lakewood election could have low voter turnout
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Some concerned spring Lakewood election could have low voter turnout

By Andrew Haubner | CBS Colorado Some residents of the municipality of Lakewood are concerned about the possibility of low turnout in an upcoming special election. There are two city council seats, Ward 3 and Ward 4 -- two of the largest wards in Lakewood -- that are up for grabs this year. Council member Rich Olver, who was known as a dissenting voice on the council, resigned and moved to Arizona. Resident Karen Morgan said his voice was needed in the face of a council that typically is in lockstep.  "[There are] little details that Rich would bring up and that was great," she told CBS Colorado, "and we won't have that." READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO