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Fort Collins to Debut Ranked Choice Voting in November Election
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Fort Collins to Debut Ranked Choice Voting in November Election

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7 Denver7 is taking your questions and concerns about ranked choice voting to the Fort Collins city clerk and the Larimer County clerk. FORT COLLINS, Colo. — For the first time, Fort Collins voters will use ranked choice voting to elect a mayor and city council members during November's election. Fort Collins voters approved the switch to the new voting method in 2022 with 58% of the vote. For the past few years, local election officials have been working to educate people on ranked choice voting, which allows people to rank candidates in order of preference instead of voting for one person. Ranked choice voting has faced criticism for being too complicated for voters in a climate where it's already difficult to get people to vote in local elections. ...
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Small Colorado Town Turns Tragedy Into Triumph After Fire
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Small Colorado Town Turns Tragedy Into Triumph After Fire

By Russell Haythorn | Denver7 GoFundMe nears $200K as Nederland comes together in wake of Caribou Village Shopping Center fire. NEDERLAND, Colo. — It’s been a tough week for the small mountain town of Nederland, but amid the ashes, hope is taking root. The Caribou Village Shopping Center fire has destroyed more than 30% of the town’s businesses, but now, neighbors, local businesses, and volunteers are coming together to help turn heartbreak into action. Nederland is the kind of place where neighbors feel more like family, said Dan Vollmer, a local realtor with Berkshire Hathaway who launched a GoFundMe campaign for the town. “I’ve been up here a handful of years," Vollmer said. "You really start to call this place home after about two." As the fir...
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Rural Colorado Airports Face Flight Cuts if DC Gridlock Continues
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Rural Colorado Airports Face Flight Cuts if DC Gridlock Continues

By Shannon Ogden | Denver7 The Essential Air Service (EAS) provides federal subsidies to commercial airlines to serve small, rural airports that would not otherwise have commercial air service. DENVER — A key lifeline for rural communities may soon be cut. Small commercial airports in Colorado and nationwide may see flight cancellations if the government shutdown continues. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that funding for the Essential Air Service (EAS) would lapse Sunday if the government doesn't reopen by then. EAS provides federal subsidies to commercial airlines to serve small, rural airports that would not otherwise have commercial air service. This includes the airports in Cortez, Pueblo, and Alamosa in Colorado, as well as 174 other communities nationwide. ...
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Gov. Polis Faces Lawsuit Alleging Forced Labor Continues in State Prisons
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Gov. Polis Faces Lawsuit Alleging Forced Labor Continues in State Prisons

By Allie Jennejahn | Denver7 Does slavery still exist in Colorado? That's the question a class action lawsuit heading to trial Tuesday is looking to answer. DENVER — Does slavery still exist in Colorado? That's the question a class action lawsuit heading to trial Tuesday is looking to answer. It's against Governor Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC), and it's focused specifically on forced labor in prisons. It goes back to the 13th Amendment which has a clause that states, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States." That clause has previously allowed forced labor in prisons, but in 2018, Colorado voters amended the state's constit...
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Logan County Families Fear Foreclosure as Water System Fails
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Logan County Families Fear Foreclosure as Water System Fails

By Jaclyn Allen | Denver7 Sage Pointe residents told Denver7 Investigates their fight is part of a bigger rural infrastructure problem. STERLING, Colo. — Just west of Sterling, Colorado, the Sage Pointe neighborhood is in crisis. Families say their private water and sewer system is failing, and they are being asked to foot a skyrocketing bill. “There’s roughly 90 plus homes here,” Jason Sanders told Denver7 Investigates. “We had no awareness of it, no disclosure of it, but now we’re having to front the bill.” Sanders said his family was never informed that the community operates on its own well water and septic system when he purchased his home in 2023. That system is currently under a state cease-and-desist order due to past code violations. Heather Gage, secretary for b...
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Evergreen Stands Strong: Community Heals Together After School Tragedy
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Evergreen Stands Strong: Community Heals Together After School Tragedy

By Maggy Wolanske | Denver7 Benefit held in the heart of Evergreen to bring hope and healing after school shooting. EVERGREEN, Colo. — Hope and healing were on display at a benefit in the heart of Evergreen as community members gathered together to dance, draw, and uplift one another. After a school shooting happened at Evergreen High School, Cactus Jack's Saloon and Grill stepped up to serve the community they love. The local spot first gave out free burgers to students in September. On Saturday, they hosted CJ's Be The Change benefit. "Obviously we wanted to bring something to bring the community together, to do something for Evergreen, but we also wanted to use Evergreen as an example that communities can come together and be kind and treat each other the way we should, and ...
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100x stronger than fentanyl: Elephant tranquilizer carfentanil behind 11 Colorado deaths
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DENVER7, Approved, State

100x stronger than fentanyl: Elephant tranquilizer carfentanil behind 11 Colorado deaths

By Shannon Ogden | Denver7 Denver7 did some digging about the powerful drug in Colorado and found that the state has recorded 11 drug overdose deaths involving carfentanil, including 5 so far this year DENVER — An alarming warning went out this week about a powerful synthetic opioid detected in Colorado. The El Paso County Coroner's office said it came across the first known instance of carfentanil used as a standalone drug in an individual who died of a drug overdose in Colorado Springs in August. That person was found to have carfentanil and acetaminophen in a blood test. A spokesperson for the office said this is the first time carfentanil has been detected without fentanyl. Carfentanil is 100 times stronger than fentanyl and 10,000 times stronger than morphine, acco...
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Castle tow truck driver receives 16 year prison sentence for auto theft scheme
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Castle tow truck driver receives 16 year prison sentence for auto theft scheme

By Sydney Isenberg | DENVER 7 The 23rd Judicial DA's Office confirmed to Denver7 that sexual exploitation of a child/possession of child sexual abuse material charges against Brian Chacon were dropped as part of a plea deal. DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — A Castle Rock tow truck driver was sentenced to 16 years in prison for orchestrating an auto theft scheme that spanned across the Denver metro area. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office said its investigation began in December 2023 after a detective with the Auto Theft Unit was assigned a stolen vehicle case. The detective later learned that the case may be related to several incidents involving Eagle Wing Towing. According to the 23rd Judicial District Attorney's Office, between April 2023 and February 2024, Brian Chacon, 34, owner o...
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CU Boulder Condemns Anti-Mormon Chant at BYU Game
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

CU Boulder Condemns Anti-Mormon Chant at BYU Game

By Micah Smith | Denver7 According to community members who attended the Colorado vs. BYU football game, several students chanted “f*** the Mormons” BOULDER, Colo. – On Sunday, the University of Colorado Boulder chancellor and athletic director released a joint statement condemning a student chant that targeted Mormons during CU Boulder’s football game against Brigham Young University (BYU). According to community members who attended the game, several students chanted “F*** the Mormons” and said other hateful statements throughout the game. In their statement, Chancellor Justin Schwartz and Athletic Director Rick George said: The University of Colorado Boulder strongly condemns the use of expletives and religious slurs by individuals in the stands during the recent football...
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Bomb Squad Called After Suspicious Device Forces School Closures in Brush
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Bomb Squad Called After Suspicious Device Forces School Closures in Brush

By Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 The Greeley Bomb Squad will be on campus early Monday morning to remove the device. BRUSH, Colo. — A "suspicious device" has closed down Brush School District, and an investigation is underway Monday morning. The Greeley Bomb Squad will be on campus early Monday morning to remove the device. Until that happened, no staff or students were allowed on campus. "This means there will be no classes for any grade level on Monday. All staff should not report to work, and all athletic practices and on-site events scheduled for Monday are cancelled. School facilities will be closed to the public," Superintendent Marsha Cody said in a statement on the district website. Later Monday, the Brush School District posted an update to Facebook that...
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