Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: COLORADO SPRINGS

D-11 school board votes to adopt policy requiring sports participation based on biological sex
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

D-11 school board votes to adopt policy requiring sports participation based on biological sex

By Grace Brajkovich | Denver Gazette During a special meeting on Wednesday, Colorado Springs' District 11 became the second El Paso County school district to approve a new policy requiring students to participate in school sports based on their biological sex. The D-11 Board of Education voted 6-1 to approve policy JBA-Preserving Fairness and Safety in Sports, which will classify sports teams as either “male, men or boys,” “female, women or girls” or “coed, mixed or open.” This will ensure that students aren’t allowed to participate in sports, be present in locker rooms, or lodge in hotels with the opposite biological sex.    Board Director Julie Ott cast the only dissenting vote.  "This policy is illegal. It goes against Colorado law. This poli...
Mayor Mobolade’s town hall tour met with mixed reviews across Colorado Springs
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Mayor Mobolade’s town hall tour met with mixed reviews across Colorado Springs

By Brennen Kauffman | Denver Gazette Friday marks two years since Yemi Mobolade was sworn in as Colorado Springs' 42nd mayor. His achievements so far have drawn mixed reactions from the city's residents who attended the Report Out Community Tour events this week. Mobolade launched the tour on May 23, holding a meeting in each of the six Colorado Springs City Council districts to hear how residents felt about the progress made on the goals. The largest turnout was Tuesday night, when several dozen people sat in the auditorium of The Classical Academy for the District 2 meeting. The crowd was unhappy to find out that Mobolade would not be appearing. City staff and council members said he had attended Monday's town hall while sick but had begun feeling worse. Mobolade was absent from...
Home rule vs. housing order: Colorado Springs challenges Polis directive
Approved, KRDO.COM, Local

Home rule vs. housing order: Colorado Springs challenges Polis directive

By Mackenzie Stafford | KRDO COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - On Tuesday, the Colorado Springs City Council decided to roll the dice on roughly $20 million in funding, according to the city's estimates. It comes after Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed executive order D 2025 - 005, which includes blanket statewide housing requirements aimed at improving affordability. The city claims that there are a handful of laws in the order that are not right for the Colorado Springs community. The only issue is that, as part of the executive order, not following these laws could put the city under noncompliance, which is a one-way ticket to getting those dollars pulled.At a city hall meeting on Tuesday, councilmembers voted 7 to 2 on a resolution to reaffirm Colorado S...
DOJ declined to indict, but questions mount over Colorado Springs mayor’s role in hoax
Approved, Daily Wire, Local

DOJ declined to indict, but questions mount over Colorado Springs mayor’s role in hoax

By Luke Rosiak | Daily Wire A black radio host convicted of staging burning cross to help sway the election testifies that mayor was in on it. A black media personality was convicted last week of faking a hate crime against Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade to gin up votes for him, with the ringleader Derrick Bernard testifying that Mobolade was in on the hoax, and the FBI testifying that the mayor misled agents about his contact with Bernard. Mobolade, who is Nigerian, won the election as a left-leaning independent in the traditional Republican stronghold in 2023 after the n-word was scrawled on one of his campaign signs and a cross set ablaze in front of it. Video of the scene was sent to the media, resulting in a swell of sympathy. At the five-day trial in federal court f...
Livability plunge: Colorado Springs now ranks 406th in national report falling from top 5 spot
Approved, KRDO.COM, Local

Livability plunge: Colorado Springs now ranks 406th in national report falling from top 5 spot

By Paige Reynolds | KRDO COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – It’s a dramatic fall that has residents and city officials asking, what happened? Colorado Springs, ranked #3 in the nation just last year by U.S. News & World Report for "Best Places to Live, has plummeted to #406 in the latest release. The rankings, which consider factors like affordability, desirability and quality of life, are used nationwide as a snapshot of where people want to live and why. So why the drop? "Colorado Springs was in the top 16% for crime, which is not really a designation that you want to see when looking for a place to live," said Erika Giovanetti, Consumer Lending Analyst with U.S. News & World Report. According to Giovanetti, both violent and property crime rates are...
Hate crime hoax trial continues with Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade on the stand
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Hate crime hoax trial continues with Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade on the stand

By Mackenzie Bodell | Denver Gazette DENVER • The openly emotional mayor of Colorado Springs was asked to testify Tuesday about the details of his 2023 mayoral campaign season before and after a hate crime “hoax.” In November, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado announced that three individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury for “maliciously conveying false information about a threat made by means of fire” to draw support for the eventual mayoral race winner, Yemi Mobolade, who is Colorado Springs’ first elected Black mayor. The indictment alleged the crew staged a hate crime by defacing one of Mobolade’s campaign signs with a racial slur and placing a small burning cross in front in the early hours of April 23, 2023. Videos and photographs of the incident were sent in ...
A tale of two cities: How two Colorado mayors stand far apart on immigration
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local, State

A tale of two cities: How two Colorado mayors stand far apart on immigration

By Deborah Grigsby | Denver Gazette Colorado's two most populous cities are separated by fewer than 60 miles, but when it comes to their approach to immigration law enforcement, the mayors of Colorado Springs and Denver stand much farther apart. To some extent, both mayors are merely articulating their respective cities' positions, though the crackdown on illegal immigration by the Trump administration has put the spotlight on their contrasting views. On the one hand, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has repeatedly defended his city's response to the illegal immigration crisis, and, at one point, suggested civil disobedience as a proper action against a federal mass deportation program.  On the other hand, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade welcomed a major ICE ...
Trial for suspects in mayoral campaign hate crime ‘hoax’ commences Monday
Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Trial for suspects in mayoral campaign hate crime ‘hoax’ commences Monday

By Mackenzie Bodell | Denver Gazette The federal trial for two of the three suspects facing charges related to a hate crime “hoax” that made headlines during the 2023 Colorado Springs mayoral runoff election is set to begin Monday. In November, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado announced that Derrick Bernard Jr., 35, Ashely Blackcloud, 40, and Deanna West, 38, were indicted by a federal grand jury for “maliciously conveying false information about a threat made by means of fire” to draw support for the eventual mayoral race winner, now Mayor Yemi Mobolade. The indictment states that the hate crime itself involved a burning cross in front of a campaign sign defaced with a racial slur amid the runoff between Mobolade, who is Black, and Wayne Williams, who is White. READ THE...
Homeless camp tapping I-25 power cleared by Colorado Springs deputies—site continues to reappear
Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Homeless camp tapping I-25 power cleared by Colorado Springs deputies—site continues to reappear

By Ashley Eberhardt | Fox31 COLORADO SPRINGS (KXRM) — On Tuesday, May 13, multiple law enforcement agencies cleared out a homeless encampment beneath Intestate 25 near Woodmen Road, where televisions, lighting and stereo equipment were found to be powered by illegally tapping into I-25’s light poles. According to a press release sent by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, its agency teamed up with the Colorado Springs Police Department and the Colorado Department of Transportation to help initiate a restoration project beneath I-25 just north of the Woodmen Road exit. EPSO said this location, where Pine Creek flows under the interstate, has been a frequent site for homeless encampments. “This encampment has been a persistent concern for the surrounding community, affecting res...
Colorado Springs City Council passes third resolution rejecting sanctuary city label
Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Colorado Springs City Council passes third resolution rejecting sanctuary city label

By Brennen Kauffman | Denver Gazette Colorado Springs is still not a "sanctuary city." The City Council drove the point home on Tuesday morning by passing a resolution affirming the stance. The resolution introduced by Councilmember Roland Rainey was along similar lines as resolutions the council passed in both February and September 2024 saying the city was not a sanctuary city. The council statements do not change any city laws or ordinances. Four new council members have joined the dais since the last version of the proclamations, including Rainey and Gold, but the outcome of the vote was along similar lines. The resolution passed 7-2 with opposition from Nancy Henjum and Kimberly Gold, who said the city should use funding to support law enforcement instead of words. ...