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Colorado Student Attendance Declines as Chronic Absences Rise Again
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State, Approved, The Gazette

Colorado Student Attendance Declines as Chronic Absences Rise Again

By Eric Young | The Gazette Colorado is heading in the wrong direction for absenteeism and student attendance, according to data released Wednesday by the state Department of Education. The daily attendance and chronic absenteeism report for the 2024-25 school year showed slight declines in the former and increases in the latter. More than one in four Colorado students were chronically absent, according to the report. The average daily attendance rate was 91.4%, a 0.1% decrease from the year before. Chronic absenteeism statewide was 28.4% compared to 27.7% in 2023-24. The news comes after the state experienced improvements over the last two school years. But over 244,600 students were chronically absent in 2024-25, the third-highest rate since the state began collecting data...
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Hoax Active Shooter Calls Spread Fear Across College Campuses Nationwide
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National, Approved, The Gazette

Hoax Active Shooter Calls Spread Fear Across College Campuses Nationwide

By The Associated Press | The Gazette A rash of hoax calls about active shooters on college campuses has spread fear among students around the country as the school year begins at institutions of higher learning. A rash of hoax calls about active shooters on college campuses — some featuring gunshots sounding in the background — has sent waves of fear among students around the nation as the school year begins. The calls have prompted universities to issue campuswide texts to “run, hide, fight.” Students and teachers have rushed to find cover, often cowering in classrooms for safety. Officers have swarmed campuses seeking out the threat. Yet in every recent case, the threat didn’t exist. The University of Colorado in Boulder received one of the calls Monday, along with several o...
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Polis says Colorado isn’t a sanctuary state but the laws say otherwise
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Polis says Colorado isn’t a sanctuary state but the laws say otherwise

By The Gazette editorial board | Commentary, The Gazette Gov. Jared Polis has distinguished himself in business and politics, yet he arguably missed his true calling — doing stand-up at a comedy club. He’d leave his audience in stitches. Case in point: His thigh-slapper the other day — about Colorado not being a sanctuary state. He had us rolling on the floor. We were laughing through our tears, of course, given the toll illegal immigration has taken here. But there’s no denying the governor is a hoot. He is in fact such a natural-born comic, his familiar, “Sanctuary? What sanctuary?” routine is uproarious even when delivered secondhand by his communications staff. “Colorado is not a sanctuary state,” Polis’ office deadpanned in a news release Thursday for our news affiliate Co...
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Local leaders warn new AI law could harm Colorado innovation
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Local leaders warn new AI law could harm Colorado innovation

By Seth Klamann | The Gazette While filling the $800 million gap in the state budget is a significant part of the special session set to go underway this morning at the state Capitol, the battle over artificial intelligence regulations is quickly taking center stage, with mayors from three major cities weighing in. In a letter, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman called on state legislators to intervene and stop Senate Bill 205 from going into effect as planned on Feb. 1, 2026, arguing they fear it would deter companies and jobs from coming to Colorado, not to mention millions of dollars in implementation expenses.  “As mayors of the three largest cities in Colorado, with different political affiliations, we are ...
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Trump Backs Jeff Crank in Colorado’s 5th District Reelection Bid
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Trump Backs Jeff Crank in Colorado’s 5th District Reelection Bid

By Ernest Luning | The Gazette President Donald Trump formally endorsed U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank’s bid for reelection on Tuesday, calling the Colorado Springs Republican a “Fierce Advocate for our America First Agenda.” Crank, a staunch Trump ally, is seeking a second term in the reliably Republican 5th Congressional District, whose border roughly coincides with that of El Paso County. The former podcaster and veteran political operative won election last year by a wide margin following nine-term Republican Doug Lamborn’s announcement that he wouldn’t seek another term. “Congressman Jeff Crank is doing a truly fantastic job representing the Great People of Colorado’s 5th Congressional District!” Trump said in a post to Truth Social, the social media site he controls. “Jeff is a F...
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Colorado Springs Community Partners Transform School Into Shelter for Homeless Families
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Colorado Springs Community Partners Transform School Into Shelter for Homeless Families

By Debbie Kelley | The Gazette Children’s laughter again will fill the hallways of an old elementary school in the Hillside neighborhood that closed nine years ago, but the kids won’t be in classes, they’ll be right at home with their parents. Helen Hunt Elementary School at 601 S. Institute St. is now Hunt Family Housing, a 24-unit transitional apartment complex for parents and children exiting homelessness. “We think this will have a significant impact on reducing family homelessness in our community,” Andy Barton, CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, said at a grand opening and ribbon-cutting event Wednesday. The annual count of the homeless population in El Paso County that was released last month showed 62 children through age 17 living in emergency shelters on o...
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USCIS to Screen Visa Applicants for Signs of Anti-Americanism
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USCIS to Screen Visa Applicants for Signs of Anti-Americanism

By Kanishka Singh, Reuters | The Gazette WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration has said it will assess applicants for U.S. work, study and immigration visas for "anti-Americanism" and count any such finding against them, sparking concern about implications for free speech. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a "policy alert" dated Tuesday that it gave immigration officers new guidance on how to exercise discretion in cases where foreign applicants "support or promote anti-American ideologies or activities" as well as "antisemitic terrorism." Trump has labeled a range of voices as anti-American, including historians and museums documenting U.S. slavery and pro-Palestinian protesters opposing U.S. ally Israel's military assault on Gaza. "Anti-Amer...
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Lawmakers Pass The Buck On Budget Deficit Leaving Decisions To Governor Polis
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State, Approved, The Gazette

Lawmakers Pass The Buck On Budget Deficit Leaving Decisions To Governor Polis

By Marianne Goodland | The Gazette Most measures introduced for special session offer no clear plan to solve budget deficit. More than two dozen bills have been introduced ahead of Thursday’s special legislative session, where lawmakers will try to come up with nearly $800 million in budget cuts. What’s notably absent from the proposed bills so far is any clear plan for how those cuts would be made. Indeed, only one bill even hints at specific reductions — a proposal from Western Slope lawmakers to cut $264,000 from the state’s wolf management program and redirect that money to help pay for health insurance subsidies. There are two bills, similar in some regards, from members of the Joint Budget Committee, that deal with Gov. Jared Polis' authority to enact spending cuts whe...
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Trump Backs Gabbard In Sweeping Move Against Intelligence Community
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Trump Backs Gabbard In Sweeping Move Against Intelligence Community

By Kanishka Singh and Jonathan Landay | The Gazette WASHINGTON - U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Tuesday that she had revoked security clearances of 37 current and former intelligence professionals whom she accused of "politicizing and manipulating intelligence." Gabbard said in a social media statement that the action was taken at President Donald Trump's direction. Gabbard has repeatedly alleged weaponization of the U.S. intelligence community, and last month the U.S. Department of Justice said it was forming a strike force to assess her claims. Trump has leaped on recent comments from Gabbard in which she threatened to refer officials from the administration of Democratic former President Barack Obama to the Justice Department for prosecution ove...
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Law Enforcement Cracks Down on Drug Cartels in Colorado
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Law Enforcement Cracks Down on Drug Cartels in Colorado

By Nick Sutton, Gabe Monte, and Michael Elizabeth Sakas | The Gazette Anti-narcotics federal agents conducted raids in Denver and Colorado Springs on Wednesday, hinting the operations focused on rooting out money-laundering activities. Authorities divulged few details. “The DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division, along with our partners from Homeland Security Investigations, FBI, IRS, and our state and local partners conducted law enforcement operations in the Denver and Colorado Springs areas today," the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Rocky Mountain Division said in a statement late Wednesday. Agents in Colorado Springs seized a phone, bags of cash and computers from multiple El Ranchito restaurant-grocery store locations.  "It seems like they're trying to accuse us...
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