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25 Years Later Colorado Veterans Carry the Memories of 9/11
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

25 Years Later Colorado Veterans Carry the Memories of 9/11

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette For many years after the Sept. 11 attacks in Washington, D.C., Mark Schoenrock said he could still smell the burning jet fuel from American Airlines Flight 77. “It was just such an overpowering sensation,” Schoenrock, a former Lone Tree resident and survivor of the Pentagon crash, told The Denver Gazette. “You know, all of your senses are just totally overpowered.” Although he said he’s eventually “gotten over” it, he still remembers the day clearly — and the split-second decision that saved his life. Schoenrock was an active-duty Army officer serving as the inspector general for the state of Colorado when he and 13 others from the Colorado National Guard arrived by military aircraft in the nation’s capital on Sept. 10 for...
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Crank Asks DOJ to Investigate Outside Groups After Violence at Denver Anti-ICE Walkout
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Crank Asks DOJ to Investigate Outside Groups After Violence at Denver Anti-ICE Walkout

By Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank is asking the Justice Department to investigate violence at last week’s anti-ICE student walkout in Denver, including whether outside organizations helped organize, fund, or influence the demonstration. Crank sent a letter Tuesday requesting the investigation to Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. “Videos and on-the-ground reporting show that the Denver walkout turned violent, with assaults on journalists and counterprotesters, raising serious questions about whether participants were unlawfully prevented from exercising their own constitutional rights,” Crank wrote. “The growing mobilization of leftist and socialist groups like the Democratic...
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Former Colorado Bureau of Investigation Scientist Sentenced to 10 Years After DNA Evidence Misconduct
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Former Colorado Bureau of Investigation Scientist Sentenced to 10 Years After DNA Evidence Misconduct

By Olivia Prentzel | The Colorado Sun Yvonne “Missy” Woods ordered to serve 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to four felonies in June. Former state forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday, a milestone in a years-long scandal that cast doubt on DNA evidence in more than 1,000 criminal cases and continues to ripple through Colorado’s courts. Woods, who had worked for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for 29 years, pleaded guilty to four felonies in June. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the remaining 100 charges against her.  “At its core, this case is about trust — the extraordinary trust placed in Ms. Woods, and her breach of that trust,” Jefferson County District Judge Andrew Poland said before del...
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Castle Rock Council Approves New School Land Rules Despite District Concerns
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Castle Rock Council Approves New School Land Rules Despite District Concerns

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado Douglas County School District is grappling with a change in law in one of its most populous communities. The Castle Rock Town Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night changing the way land and funds dedicated to schools are allocated. Historically, developers have dedicated land or funding for future public schools. The town holds these assets until the district is ready to build a school, but now the district will need to meet certain conditions and timelines, or the land may be used for other purposes. There are currently 13 sites in Castle Rock planned for schools. The ordinance cites "changing demographic trends, school enrollment patterns, and long-range capital planning" as reasons many of them may not be developed into schools fo...
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After 4.25 Million Gallon Sewage Spill Arkansas River Faces a Long Cleanup
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

After 4.25 Million Gallon Sewage Spill Arkansas River Faces a Long Cleanup

By John Ingold and Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Are cantaloupes and peppers safe to eat? How will the river get clean? Everything we know about what comes next after a 4.25 million gallon sewage spill. A massive spill of raw sewage and untreated wastewater into the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado continues to wreak havoc on the region. Water in the river downstream of the spill, east of Pueblo, is still testing high for dangerous nasties like the bacteria E. coli. Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday issued advisories for people to stay away from the water in 10 state wildlife areas along the river, as well as the Las Animas State Fish Hatchery. And all of this is happening during one of the most agriculturally important times for the Lower Ark...
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Colorado Trucking School Faces Shutdown as Feds Tighten CDL Standards
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Trucking School Faces Shutdown as Feds Tighten CDL Standards

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado A federal agency coalition called for at least 270 commercial truck-driving training schools across the country to shut down on Monday, amid reports of fraud. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that 110 CDL training schools were being ordered to shut down over a lack of English proficiency.  The agency also recommended shutting down more than 160 additional schools over unsafe training practices. At least one Colorado school was among those. As the founder of truck rescue company Mountain Recovery, Charlie Stubblefield says some of the drivers he encounters have trouble understanding basic instructions about their trucks, raising questions about how well some commercial drivers are being trained before getting behin...
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Millions of Gallons of Untreated Sewage Spill Into Arkansas River Near Pueblo
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Millions of Gallons of Untreated Sewage Spill Into Arkansas River Near Pueblo

By Chierstin Roth | CBS Colorado More than four million gallons of untreated sewage containing harmful bacteria were dumped into the Arkansas River in Pueblo this week. While officials are working to mitigate any potential impacts from the contamination in Pueblo and communities downstream, some residents are concerned for their health.  "We walked earlier today from the City Park all the way to Runyon for a good two-hour walk, and the whole entire time we were walking, you could just smell it," said Nicoel Candelario.  Candelario and her friend Romy walked around Pueblo for hours Sunday, mostly along the Arkansas River. "A few times, I kept looking at it," said Candelario. "I'm like, this doesn't look like our water, you know. And like people have the...
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Audit Finds Denver Oversight Failures Added Millions to 16th Street Project
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Audit Finds Denver Oversight Failures Added Millions to 16th Street Project

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Surprise historic sewer discovery delayed completion a year, cost $18M The Denver Auditor recently found significant oversight and contracting problems with the $175.6 million 16th Street Improvement Project, including an $18 million contract increase and a nearly one-year extension that bypassed City Council review. The report also found that inadequate planning for historic brick sewers contributed to the overruns, even after one of the three qualified contractors withdrew from bidding because of utility risks. The city proceeded without fully investigating those risks, which later contributed to the $18 million increase and nearly yearlong delay. “Because the city did not consider the sewer while planning...
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Polis Asks Trump for Disaster Declaration After Devastating Colorado Fires and Floods
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DENVER7, Local, State

Polis Asks Trump for Disaster Declaration After Devastating Colorado Fires and Floods

By Robert Garrison | Denver7 White House says President Trump will evaluate Colorado's request with 'with great care and consideration'. DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis is asking President Donald Trump to approve a major disaster declaration after two of Colorado's most destructive wildfires burned hundreds of thousands of acres, destroyed hundreds of homes and triggered deadly flooding. Polis formally requested a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump and FEMA on Sunday to support recovery from the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain Fires, according to a news release from the governor’s office. The request seeks federal assistance for Pueblo, Custer and Ouray counties after the two fires burned more than 140,000 acres, destroyed 324 h...
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A change order, not an amendment: How Denver moved $18 million past City Council
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

A change order, not an amendment: How Denver moved $18 million past City Council

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A contractor digging up 16th Street hit a brick sewer the city hadn't mapped. The cost of Denver's signature downtown project jumped by $18 million, the finish line slid back nearly a year, and City Council found out after the deal was done. That sequence sits at the heart of a new audit from Denver Auditor Timothy O'Brien, released Aug. 20. The report walks through how the 16th Street Improvement Project grew from a $149 million council approval in 2021 to a final cost of about $175.6 million, and how the single biggest change along the way never came to a council vote. How $18 million skipped the council The Department of Transportation & Infrastructure (DOTI) hired PCL Construction Services to rebuild the roa...
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