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Plaintiffs Win $10 Million Settlement in CU Anschutz Case Over COVID Vaccine Mandate
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

Plaintiffs Win $10 Million Settlement in CU Anschutz Case Over COVID Vaccine Mandate

By: John Ingold | The Colorado Sun The Thomas More Society sued the University of Colorado Anschutz in 2021 alleging that the university violated its plaintiffs’ religious freedom. The University of Colorado Anschutz will pay more than $10 million to settle a lawsuit brought by students and staff who sued in 2021 after being denied religious exemptions to the campus’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, according to a group that represented the plaintiffs. CU Anschutz has also agreed to make policy changes, the Thomas More Society announced Monday. The group, which represents plaintiffs in religious liberty cases nationwide, called it one of the only cases in the country where plaintiffs have received money damages in a lawsuit over a COVID vaccination mandate. Th...
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Copper Creek Wolves Linked to Another Livestock Killing in Gunnison County
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Copper Creek Wolves Linked to Another Livestock Killing in Gunnison County

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette A heifer found dead in eastern Gunnison County on Nov. 22 was killed by one of the yearlings from the Copper Creek wolf pack, according to a rancher, who did not want to be identified. It’s the fourth livestock death in November attributed to wolves. Two calves and a ewe were also killed by wolves in November in Routt, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The Copper Creek pack is believed to be responsible for numerous livestock deaths in Pitkin, Gunnison and Grand counties. One of the yearlings was killed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) staff in May in Pitkin County after a weekend of livestock killings; a second was shot by wildlife officers in Rio Blanco County in September after it killed si...
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Incoming Progressive Douglas County School Board Sparks Backlash With Early Swearing In
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Incoming Progressive Douglas County School Board Sparks Backlash With Early Swearing In

By Noah Festenstein | The Denver Gazette The new members of the Douglas County school board have already assumed their seats — in “secret,” according to the outgoing president. The move by incoming directors effectively kicked out the four outgoing members early, said the outgoing board president, who accused the new members of being less than transparent. Douglas County voters in November elected a group of progressive-leaning directors, flipping the once conservative Douglas County School District Board of Education.  Elected directors already started their positions before Tuesday’s special meeting, when the board is supposed to be formally sworn in, according to Christy Williams, the outgoing board president. “This action, conducted without transparency, appears to ...
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‘Somebody’s In Our House’: Colorado Father Stops Alleged Repeat Burglar Near Children’s Bedroom
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Fox News, Approved, Local

‘Somebody’s In Our House’: Colorado Father Stops Alleged Repeat Burglar Near Children’s Bedroom

By Stepheny Price and Ashley Papa | Fox News A Denver family said they lived every parent’s worst nightmare, waking up in the middle of the night to find a stranger walking toward their children’s bedrooms. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Kevin and Sarah Root described the terrifying early-morning encounter inside their southwest Denver home. The couple said the break-in happened around 3:30 a.m. "We heard the footsteps coming up the stairs to where our room is," Kevin recalled. "We looked at each other and said, ‘Somebody’s in our house.’ You realize you’re not dreaming — this is real." Sarah immediately grabbed her phone to call 911 while her husband went to check the hallway. "The fear of what’s going to happen when my husband opens the door, that’s what ...
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Audit Finds Denver Council Still Lacking Clarity on Public Funds Spending
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Audit Finds Denver Council Still Lacking Clarity on Public Funds Spending

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette Denver’s councilmembers continue to give city funds to local organizations using a process lacking clarity and accountability, weakened by inconsistent terminology and legal opinions around donations, sponsorships and grants, according to city auditors. City Council officials countered that no definitions exist in the city charter or in ordinance for these terms and changing them at one level would have a ripple effect across government. In a new follow-up report, Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien commended the City Council on its efforts to remedy recommendations from an earlier audit but suggested there’s more work to be done. “I commend the City Council for doing a great job implementing most of our recommendations from our initial 2...
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Families Mourn After Douglas County Crash Leaves Five Dead
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Families Mourn After Douglas County Crash Leaves Five Dead

By Noah Festenstein and Nick Smith | The Denver Gazette A week meant for family gathering around a table has turned into a time of grieving and standing vigil at local hospitals for relatives of victims in a car crash that killed two adults and three children in Douglas County on Monday. The Douglas County Coroner on Wednesday identified the victims in the crash as: Alvin Corado, 35, Toretto Corado, 8, MaKenlee Corado, 11, and Jase Green, 12, all of Colorado Springs. The stolen car suspect, a 31-year-old man from Denver, was not identified by the coroner “at the family’s request.” A week meant for family gathering around a table has turned into a time of grieving and standing vigil at local hospitals for relatives of victims in a car crash that killed two adults and three child...
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Colorado Parents Sue After Daughter Placed in Same Bed as Biological Male Student on School Trip
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Fox News, Approved, Local

Colorado Parents Sue After Daughter Placed in Same Bed as Biological Male Student on School Trip

By: Bonny Chu | Fox News Lawsuit alleges Colorado district assigns overnight rooms by gender identity without parental consent Several Colorado parents are suing their local school district after an overnight school trip allegedly tried to place a transgender-identifying male student in a hotel room — and ultimately the same bed — with an 11-year-old girl. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal organization that advocates for religious liberty, filed its opening brief Wednesday in "Wailes v. Jefferson County Public Schools" with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on behalf of four families. The lawsuit alleges that the district, located near Denver, allows biologically male students to share overnight accommodations with girls based so...
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Trying to move the needle in Mesa County’s mental health crisis as leaders call the moment “historic”
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Trying to move the needle in Mesa County’s mental health crisis as leaders call the moment “historic”

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice “This is historic. This is transformational. This is a game changer.” Suicide now claims about 50 lives a year in Mesa County, a rate of roughly 31 deaths per 100,000 people. That’s about one and a half times Colorado’s rate and more than double the national average. At the same time, nearly 13 percent of residents who needed mental-health care last year weren’t able to get it. Those realities form the backdrop for a local effort that has taken shape inside Canyon View Vineyard Church. The program is called BeWell, and it began with a simple question: what a Jesus-centered mental health approach could look like in a county where access is limited. How the idea took shape Sondrol said the idea started forming as he watched Compassion...
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Audit Raises Questions Over DPS Debt Practices As Taxpayers Foot the Bill
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Audit Raises Questions Over DPS Debt Practices As Taxpayers Foot the Bill

By Nico Brambila | The Denver Gazette Denver Public Schools is operating with a negative net position — owing more in long-term obligations than it holds in assets — a rare and troubling financial posture for a major Colorado school district, according to an audit. Presented on Thursday, the audit for fiscal year 2024–25, which ended June 30, showed the district is carrying $4.07 billion in long-term liabilities. (For context, the district budget last fiscal year was about $1.5 billion.) Total assets remained lower, even after the district added nearly $1 billion in unspent 2024 bond proceeds to its books — cash voters approved a year ago that had not yet been put to use. As those bond dollars are spent, the cash asset will disappear, while the long-term debt remains,...
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Denver Food Pantry Scrambles After Sudden Eviction Disrupts Aid to Thousands
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Food Pantry Scrambles After Sudden Eviction Disrupts Aid to Thousands

By Anna Coon | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A Denver nonprofit that provides groceries to about 5,000 families a month said it was forced to close its doors after it was kicked out of its warehouse space. Joy’s Kitchen, a food pantry that has operated in the Denver metro area for more than a decade, is now running pop-up food pantries in Lakewood, but organizers said they are desperate for a new permanent home. On Sunday, volunteers worked to pack up the group’s supplies, including thousands of pounds of food, so they could temporarily set up in the gymnasium at The River Church in Lakewood. The Sunday before Thanksgiving is typically one of the busiest days of the year for Executive Director Kathleen Stanley. Holiday weeks bring extra demand to the pantry, which she said usually...
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