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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...
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No Signatures, No Recall: Aurora DA Stays in Office
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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...
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Denver Firms Charged With Selling Chinese Forklifts as “Made in USA”
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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...
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State Review Reveals Widespread Misconduct in Juvenile Strip Searches
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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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Colorado Hit With $50,000 Fine After Anti-LDS Chants
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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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Brave Teen Stood Up to Evergreen High School Shooter, Saved Classmates
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Brave Teen Stood Up to Evergreen High School Shooter, Saved Classmates

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — The family of a 14-year-old boy who was shot during the Sept. 10 shooting at Evergreen High School has shared a lengthy statement, saying their son was injured when confronting the shooter. “On September 10th, inside Evergreen High School, our 14-year-old son endured the unimaginable: a face-to-face encounter with a violent school shooter filled with anger and hatred,” the family wrote, shared by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in a press release. “Our child suffered traumatic gunshot injuries and has remained hospitalized and undergone multiple surgeries since the incident.” The boy will remain unnamed as the family wishes to remain confidential, according to the sheriff’s office. The other victim shot in the incident, 18-year...
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UNC Dorm Gun Case Spurs Sheriff’s Push to Fix Colorado Competency Loophole
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UNC Dorm Gun Case Spurs Sheriff’s Push to Fix Colorado Competency Loophole

By Heather Willard, Vicente Arenas | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A man accused of carrying a long gun onto the University of Northern Colorado’s campus in Greeley appeared in court on Thursday for a bond hearing, just weeks after he was released from the Weld County Jail. Ephraim Debisa, 21, was released from jail on Sept. 8 after he was found not competent to stand trial in an attempted murder case, as is required by Colorado law. When he was released, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to the community, calling Debisa “dangerous” and highlighting his alleged previous violent actions. On Wednesday, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office announced Debisa was re-arrested at his home after a report of him inside a UNC residence hall holding a long gun on Tuesday. Accordin...
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D49 Moves to Protect Privacy With Biological Sex Bathroom Policy
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D49 Moves to Protect Privacy With Biological Sex Bathroom Policy

By Ashley Eberbach | KDVR FOX31 (COLORADO SPRINGS) — At a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 24, School District 49 (D49) voted to enact changes to its bathroom policy, which segregates bathrooms and other private spaces like locker rooms by biological sex. The changes to the district’s policy segregate private facilities according to students’ biological sex, though the district said single-stall bathrooms would be available at each school for any student who requests additional privacy. D49 said the policy allows the district to comply with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs. “There is no perfect solution to this, there is no perfect answer,” said Lori Thompson, President of the D49 School Board. While many board members stressed the comp...
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Man With Prior Ban Taken Into Custody After Firearm Incident at UNC
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Man With Prior Ban Taken Into Custody After Firearm Incident at UNC

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A man whom law enforcement issued a warning for earlier this month has been arrested after he was allegedly seen on video dancing and displaying a firearm inside a University of Northern Colorado dorm. On Tuesday, UNC police responded to an anonymous report of an individual unaffiliated with the campus at the Arlington Park Apartments residence. The report included a video that had been posted to social media showing the incident. Later, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office shared an alleged screenshot of the video, which appeared to show Debisa holding a long gun with a detachable magazine. It’s illegal to have firearms inside UNC residence halls, and while officers responded immediately, the suspect was not found at the location. ...
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Colorado e-bike tax credits will be reduced by 50 percent in 2026
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Colorado e-bike tax credits will be reduced by 50 percent in 2026

By: Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — Challenging economic times have hit many this year, including the state of Colorado. A popular program that helped more Coloradans get outside will have you paying more out of pocket next year. Tax credits for Colorado e-bikes are set to be reduced next year. That action, combined with other economic pressures, has small business owners concerned. Dan “DJ” Johnson of Cycle Erie said his business has been doing well this year.“It’s been a strong year for us. Not quite as strong as we hoped but it’s been good,” Johnson said about the year his business has had in 2025. He worries that uncertainty handed down from both the state and federal government could get in the way of the shop’s success next year. A $450 tax credit for ...
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