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Colorado Could See Thousands Furloughed if D.C. Gridlock Persists
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado Could See Thousands Furloughed if D.C. Gridlock Persists

By Spencer Kristensen | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — The United States government has been shut down since Oct. 1, with Congress unable to agree on funding for 2026. On day eight of the shutdown, many federal agencies have deferred to contingency plans for funding, which means that many employees have been furloughed. Those employees will not receive a paycheck until a deal is struck, and might not receive backpay if a budget is approved. A study by SmartAsset, a financial advisory agency, estimated how many jobs will be affected in each state. SmartAsset described its methodology as follows: “SmartAsset ranked 50 states based on the estimated per-capita furloughs due to the October 2025 federal government shutdown. Data for federal employment comes from the FedScope Employmen...
Colorado Families Demand Action as Incompetency Rulings Free Violent Suspects
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Colorado Families Demand Action as Incompetency Rulings Free Violent Suspects

By Alliyah Sims | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Loved ones lost, cases dismissed and dangerous criminals walking free. Families and lawmakers across the state are demanding immediate change to a 2024 law they say is putting lives at risk. People gathered outside the Colorado Supreme Court, coming with broken hearts and a clear message. “To speak loudly and loudly against these competency laws that really just seek to prioritize the rights of a perpetrator over the victims,” said Lori Gimelshteyn, executive director of the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network. Backed by 6,000 petition signatures, speakers on Thursday demanded that district attorneys take a stand and lawmakers rewrite laws petitioners say are letting violent offenders walk free. “In 2024, I actually voted for this bi...
18-Year-Old from Denver Charged Over Alamosa Airport Bomb Hoax
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

18-Year-Old from Denver Charged Over Alamosa Airport Bomb Hoax

By Brett Yager | KDVR FOX31 ALAMOSA, Colo. (KXRM) — The Alamosa Police Department said a suspect has been arrested after police were alerted to a bomb threat to the San Luis Valley Regional Airport. According to the agency, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at around noon, police got information from the FBI about a social media post that contained a threat to detonate an explosive device at the San Luis Valley Regional Airport. The FBI also provided information on a potential suspect. Police responded to the airport and evacuated the premises. The suspect, identified as 18-year-old David Mejia of Denver, was apprehended in the airport’s lobby. The Alamosa agency said a thorough search of the airport yielded no explosive or suspicious devices. Mejia was booked into the Alamosa County Jail ...
Budget cuts and bots: Denver shortens 311 hours and expands AI usage in city services
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Budget cuts and bots: Denver shortens 311 hours and expands AI usage in city services

By: Jacob Factor | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Facing major budget shortfalls, Denver is cutting back hours and staff for its call center that assists residents with city services and looking to leverage an artificial intelligence chatbot to pick up the slack. Denver in Mayor Mike Johnston’s proposed 2026 budget is looking to cut more than $1 million from the 311 City Services budget, most of which comes from cutting vacant call center agents positions in the Technology-Services-Department-run office. One employed call center agent was also among the cuts. The city and county’s X page on Monday announced the new hours for the 311 phone line: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. This is a reduction of two hours each day, as it was previously open until 7 p.m. ...
University of Colorado Adds Plain-Clothed Police to Monitor Fan Behavior
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University of Colorado Adds Plain-Clothed Police to Monitor Fan Behavior

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — The University of Colorado Boulder is adding new procedures to its football games after fans shouted “expletives and religious slurs” in the stands during a home game against Brigham Young University. The game took place on Sept. 27, and the Buffaloes lost 24-21 to the private religious university’s team. Still, fans’ conduct during the game led to CU’s chancellor and athletic director releasing a joint statement condemning the actions taken, as well as a public apology from Coach Deion Sanders during his weekly press conference. On the same day, the Big 12 Conference admonished the school for “inappropriate chants” that were described as “hateful and discriminatory language,” and leveled a $50,000 fine ...
FAA Blames DIA Flight Delays on Air Traffic Controller Shortage
kdvr.com, Approved, National

FAA Blames DIA Flight Delays on Air Traffic Controller Shortage

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Staffing issues have hit the skies above Denver as U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the government shutdown is adding extra weight to air traffic controllers’ already high-stress jobs. Duffy visited air traffic controllers before speaking to the media at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday. The airport is under a similar ground delay as Denver International Airport, with both advisories stating that staffing was causing the delays. Duffy said that there has been a small uptick in sick calls from controllers, and that if that gets worse during a prolonged federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration will have to reduce the number of flights taking off and landing, which would create further ...
Colorado Faces Deep Cuts to Federal Clean-Energy Funds
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Colorado Faces Deep Cuts to Federal Clean-Energy Funds

By Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Day two of the federal shutdown is winding down. While members of Congress are not set to vote on another proposal until Friday, President Donald Trump and his budget director are working on a plan to cut federal funding and jobs in blue states. Colorado is set to see cuts. The president’s budget director warned that since Wednesday, Colorado may lose some federal funding for clean energy programs. There is now a better idea of exactly what could be cut. Russell Vought is the U.S. Director of the Office of Management and Budget. He also helped write Project 2025. He met with President Trump on Thursday to determine which agencies he should cut. The president said on social media that the two of them would determine if the cu...
No Signatures, No Recall: Aurora DA Stays in Office
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

No Signatures, No Recall: Aurora DA Stays in Office

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — An effort to recall a Colorado district attorney whose office prosecuted an attempted kidnapping case at an elementary school that ended with the suspect walking free due to competency issues has failed. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and 18th Judicial District Attorney Amy Padden both confirmed that as of Tuesday night’s deadline, no signatures on the petition to recall Padden from office had been turned in. The petition needed 75,875 registered Arapahoe County voters to trigger the recall election, Padden said. In July, Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky announced she was launching a campaign to try and remove Padden from office after registered sex offender Carmen Galligan walked free. Galligan was charged in con...
Denver Firms Charged With Selling Chinese Forklifts as “Made in USA”
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Firms Charged With Selling Chinese Forklifts as “Made in USA”

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Two Denver-area companies and three of the businesses’ top executives are facing federal charges for allegedly defrauding the government on sales of forklifts and trying to dodge tariffs on equipment imported to the U.S. According to a federal grand jury indictment and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs, the two companies involved were Endless Sales Inc. and Octane Forklifts, Inc., which both appear to have addresses on Lima Street in Denver. The indictment alleges that current company executives Brian Firkins and Jeffrey Blasdel, as well as former executive J.R. Antczak, conspired to import forklifts from China and then conceal the trucks’ foreign origin. Once disguised, the group would sell the fork...
State Review Reveals Widespread Misconduct in Juvenile Strip Searches
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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