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“One pill away from death”: inside Colorado Springs’ undercover fentanyl crackdown
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Fox21, Local

“One pill away from death”: inside Colorado Springs’ undercover fentanyl crackdown

By Austin Sack | Fox27 News (COLORADO SPRINGS) — A record number of fentanyl pills are being seized across Colorado, with local law enforcement agencies like the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) crediting the success partly to their department’s ability to deploy officers undercover. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Rocky Mountain Field Division announced it seized nearly 2.7 million fentanyl pills – or “fake” pills – in Colorado in 2024. This breaks the previous record set in 2023 with 2.61 million pills seized in the state. “It is an unfortunate record to set,” said DEA RMFD Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen. “We continue to work day in, day out fighting the cartels putting this poison on Colorado streets. While we have seen seizure numbers trendin...
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Denver City Council leaders reject $3 million contract with Salvation Army for homeless services
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Denver City Council leaders reject $3 million contract with Salvation Army for homeless services

By Gabriela Vidal | CBS Colorado Former case managers have spoken out about working conditions in Denver's homeless shelters. Now, city council members are rejecting a new contract with the Salvation Army. "I'm thankful I left when I did," said one former case manager who spoke with CBS Colorado on the condition of anonymity. That is the sentiment shared among three former case managers, after working in one of the city of Denver's homeless shelters, managed by the Salvation Army. Each of the three former case managers chose to remain anonymous as they have since taken other jobs in a similar field.  "When I walked out and got into my truck on my last night, I broke down into tears because it just felt like the stress was off my shoulders finally," said one of the ...
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City of Rifle blasts state for misusing severance tax dollars
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Approved, Local, Post Independent

City of Rifle blasts state for misusing severance tax dollars

By Katherine Tomanek | Post Independent A letter to state Sen. Marc Catlin and state Rep. Elizabeth Velasco has been prepared by the city staff of Rifle regarding the diversion of Local Government Severance Tax Funds to address budget shortfalls at the state government level.  The Local Government Severance Tax Fund was originally created to help support communities  impacted by resource extraction activities, like oil and gas, which sometimes leads to a “boom and bust” economy of those communities. The “bust” of that equation was to be offset by the Local Government Severance Tax Fund.  The city of Rifle relies on the Energy Impact Assistance Fund (EIAF) from the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) for their projects. Some of these funds include $1 million for the R...
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CU regents request internal investigation for conflict of interest
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

CU regents request internal investigation for conflict of interest

By Eric Young | Denver Gazette Members of the University of Colorado’s Board of Regents have requested an internal investigation into one of its fellow members over possible conflicts of interests in efforts to cut funding for a CU program. The investigation, requested by regents Ken Montera and Callie Rennison, comes after fellow regent Wanda James’ objections to a campaign created by the state legislature and funded through the Colorado School of Public Health and CU Anschutz Medical Campus to educate the public on the health risks of highly concentrated marijuana. “We know the people of Colorado expect the Board to provide excellent oversight and leadership to the University of Colorado,” Montera and Rennison said in a joint statement. “We expect that as well and are confident ...
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Colorado man facing multiple charges of sexual exploitation of a child, distributing child sexual abuse material
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Colorado man facing multiple charges of sexual exploitation of a child, distributing child sexual abuse material

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado A man from Boulder County has been arrested and is facing multiple charges for allegedly distributing child sexual assault material. After the Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was notified of the material they determined the suspect likely lived in Boulder County. One of their investigators at the Boulder County Digital Forensics lab identified Matthew Howard Cory of Lafayette as a suspect in the case. Once they obtained a warrant, Detectives and Boulder County SWAT team members searched Cory's home in the 1100 block of Chiron Street. They reportedly seized several electronic devices and determined that Cory had been distributing child sexual assault material. Authorities arrested Cory on March 14 and booked him into the Bou...
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Did Boulder County ban firearms on hiking trails? 
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Did Boulder County ban firearms on hiking trails? 

By Por Jaijongkit | The Colorado Sun Firearms and projectile weapons including paintball guns and slingshots are prohibited in all parks and open space in unincorporated Boulder County.  Open and concealed carry of firearms are also prohibited in other “sensitive” public areas including hospitals, county government buildings, child care centers and polling places. The ordinance says the presence of firearms in those locations poses unreasonable risks of gun violence.  A person can generally be charged only if these locations post signs regarding the prohibition. A conviction is punishable by up to 364 days in jail. Boulder County also prohibits the sale of firearms to people younger than 21 and has a 10-day waiting period for gun sales. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COL...
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Denver attorneys say potential IRS, ICE data-sharing agreement creates ‘catch 22’
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Approved, DENVER7, Local

Denver attorneys say potential IRS, ICE data-sharing agreement creates ‘catch 22’

By Veronica Acosta | Denver7 DENVER — A data-sharing agreement between the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is near, two sources told ABC News, which tax experts say could end up putting undocumented immigrants across the nation, including here in Colorado, in a "catch-22" situation. The agreement "would allow immigration officials to use tax data to support the Trump administration's deportation plan", according to our mother network. News of the potential agreement comes less than one month until Tax Day, April 15. READ THE FULL STORY AT DENVER7
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Did Grand Junction’s City Council enable a pay-to-play deal?
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Did Grand Junction’s City Council enable a pay-to-play deal?

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice When the City of Grand Junction accepted a $3 million donation from Intermountain Health (St. Mary’s Hospital) in exchange for naming rights to its new Community Recreation Center (CRC), the deal looked like a win for the community.  But behind that vote lies a contract process that critics say gave some bidders an unfair advantage — a deal many providers never had a fair shot at. A formal ethics complaint filed with the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (CIEC) accuses city officials of shaping a public request for proposals (RFPs) in a way that prioritized money over merit.  Among concerns that contributions guided the RFP process, there’s also allegations that some engaged in negotiating discussions lo...
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How will marijuana revenue shortfalls affect District 51?
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Approved, Local, The Business Times

How will marijuana revenue shortfalls affect District 51?

By The Business Times Amid reports that the city of Grand Junction’s marijuana revenue fell short of projections by $800,000 and that statewide marijuana revenue has declined by more than 41 percent since its peak in 2020-2021, The Business Times reached out to Melanie Trujillo, chief financial officer of Mesa County Valley School District 51, to understand how the shortfall might affect the district Trujillo said local marijuana-sales-tax revenue does not directly fund the district and addressed misconceptions about how much and how often marijuana revenue has been distributed to the district since legalization, despite public expectations. Since recreational marijuana was legalized, Trujillo noted funding from marijuana tax revenue has largely been supplemental, coming in the fo...
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Aurora authorities ‘declined’ to help search for 2 illegal aliens who escaped Colorado detention facility: ICE
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Approved, Fox News, Local

Aurora authorities ‘declined’ to help search for 2 illegal aliens who escaped Colorado detention facility: ICE

By Christina Shaw | Fox News Authorities in Aurora, Colorado, are allegedly declining to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) locate two illegal immigrants who escaped from the Denver Contract Detention Facility on Tuesday, the agency said. Illegal immigrants Joel Jose Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 32, and Geilond Vido-Romero, 24, escaped from the facility at some point on Tuesday after they were accounted for during a 2 p.m. facility-wide count. The Aurora Police Department shared a document with Fox News Digital that said staff at the facility became aware of the escapees at approximately 12:35 a.m. on Wednesday. It also said that an Aurora police officer responded to an "outside agency assist" at 5:13 a.m. on Wednesday. Aurora Police Public Information Officer ...
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