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Western Slope school district cancels class because of potential school safety concerns
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Western Slope school district cancels class because of potential school safety concerns

By Morgan Whitley, Lanie Lee Cook | Fox 31 News A school district in Colorado’s high country canceled class on Wednesday due to “school safety concerns,” later announcing that the district would cancel class for the rest of the school week. Just after midnight on Wednesday, the Lake County School District that serves Leadville, Twin Lakes and surrounding areas sent a letter to families that school would not be held. The district said the cancellation comes on the advice and collaboration with Sheriff Heath Speckman after school safety concerns emerged midday Tuesday and lasted through the night and early morning Wednesday. On Tuesday, a letter to families said the school-related safety concern was “more local to Lake County.” READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS...
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Over 700 people are homeless in Boulder — fewer than last year, but higher than in the past six
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Approved, Boulder Reporting Lab, Local

Over 700 people are homeless in Boulder — fewer than last year, but higher than in the past six

By Brooke Stephensen | Boulder Reporting Lab In January, volunteers counted 727 people experiencing homelessness in Boulder County. While this is a decrease from last year’s count of 839, it is still the second-highest figure recorded since the count began in 2017. The Point-in-Time report, published on Aug. 13, is a count of the number of homeless people on Jan. 22, 2024. Mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and conducted by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, the data provides some of the most reliable indicators of homelessness trends in Boulder County and across the Denver metro area, despite year-to-year variations due to weather, methodology and volunteer turnout. Of the 727 people counted, at least 193 — over a quarter — were uns...
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Testimony begins in Boulder grocery store shooting trial
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Testimony begins in Boulder grocery store shooting trial

By Scott Weiser | CBS Colorado More than three difficult years later, the people who lived through the infamy of the mass murder at a Colorado King Soopers grocery store on March 22, 2021, dutifully recalled what happened in a Boulder courtroom Thursday. Seven people took the stand, the first to testify in the case against Ahmad Alissa for the killings of 10 people. Prosecutor Michael Dougherty began to try to show that Ahmad Alissa had clarity of mission that day; that actions were planned, deliberate and intentional, while defense attorney Sam Dunn is hoping the jury will find Ahmad Alissa not guilty by reason of insanity. "This guy was not just moving just shooting randomly, he was pointing and aiming," said Kevin Slay, one of the first witnesses for the prosecution."...
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Colorado’s police officer shortage linked to higher crime rates
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado’s police officer shortage linked to higher crime rates

By Scott Weiser | Colorado Politics A recently released report issued in support of Colorado Ballot Initiative 157 shows a correlation between police departments that suffer under-staffing issues and higher crime rates.  The Common Sense Institute, a Denver free-enterprise research organization, released a report Tuesday on Ballot Initiative 157 — which asks voters to approve appropriation of $350 million to fund police recruitment, training, and support for police officers and their families. A change in state policy and funding aimed more towards prioritizing civilian roles within police departments and regulating policing strategies has reduced the number of police with arrest powers on the streets, according to the report. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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No more late-night food trucks in Denver’s LoDo neighborhood starting Friday, police say
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

No more late-night food trucks in Denver’s LoDo neighborhood starting Friday, police say

By Jasmine Arenas | CBS Colorado Beginning Friday, food trucks will no longer be allowed to park in Denver's LoDo neighborhood on late-night weekends. Police handed out notices to food truck businesses on Friday. It's part of a Denver Police Department pilot program to try to curb violence in the area and increase safety. LoDo is known as one of the busiest parts of the city on weekend nights. The areas in which food trucks can operate will be restricted between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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In Fort Collins, man attempts to board school bus
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

In Fort Collins, man attempts to board school bus

By Morgan Whitley | Fox 31 News A man was arrested after he allegedly tried to get on a school bus, Fort Collins police said. On Tuesday afternoon, Fort Collins Police Services told FOX31 that a school bus full of children stopped at a regular bus stop to let the kids out. The bus stop is across from the Murphy Center, which is described as a hub for those experiencing homelessness. A man allegedly walked across the street and tried to enter the bus, police said. A security guard spotted the man and walked across the street as well. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Man who pulled gun in parking lot on Glenwood Springs police officer was shot and killed, police say
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Man who pulled gun in parking lot on Glenwood Springs police officer was shot and killed, police say

By Austen Erblat | CBS Colorado A police officer in Glenwood Springs shot and killed an armed man after trying to contact him in a shopping center parking lot on Monday afternoon, Glenwood Springs Police Chief Joseph Deras said. In a Monday news conference, Deras said two uniformed officers approached a man they had recently secured an arrest warrant for just before 1 p.m. in the parking lot of the Glenwood Meadows shopping center. When they approached him, he pulled out a gun and one of the officers fired his weapon at the man, striking him, Deras said. "As the suspect moved toward his vehicle, the officers took up a secondary position and again engaged the suspect with gunfire. One officer was involved in that shooting exchange and the suspect was wounded and took refuge behind ...
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570,000 fentanyl pills seized by DEA from Colorado in 1 week
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Approved, CBS Colorado, State

570,000 fentanyl pills seized by DEA from Colorado in 1 week

By Kasey Richardson | CBS Colorado The state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing underestimated how sick its members would be. Medicaid covers about 1.26 million people in Colorado. The department that runs Colorado’s Medicaid program overshot its budget for the most recent fiscal year by more than $120 million after underestimating how sick its members would be. Medicaid rolls were in flux over the last year as states started removing people for the first time since early 2020. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, states couldn’t kick people off Medicaid, meaning they spent much of the last year determining who still qualifies. For the fiscal year that ended in June, the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing had to attempt to project n...
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China involvement in fentanyl crisis a ‘huge problem’, official says
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Approved, National, Westernslopenow.com

China involvement in fentanyl crisis a ‘huge problem’, official says

By Jamie Joseph | Westernslopenow.com China is a driving force behind much of the illegal drug trade in the United States, including fentanyl and marijuana, according to law enforcement authorities. Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Director Donnie Anderson says China’s involvement is a “huge problem.” “It’s been a problem here in Oklahoma since 2019 or 2020,” Anderson said Monday on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.” “It’s not just marijuana. It is directly related to the cartels. The Chinese criminal organizations are laundering money for the cartels, and they’re very good. … They’re the best we’ve ever seen.” READ THE FULL STORY AT WESTERNSLOPENOW.COM
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Video shows armed gang at troubled Colorado apartment building believed to have been taken over by migrants
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Approved, Fox News, State

Video shows armed gang at troubled Colorado apartment building believed to have been taken over by migrants

By Jasmine Baehr | Fox News Potential gang activity was caught on surveillance camera in a  Colorado apartment building after what one former resident calls "no accountability" kept law enforcement from assisting.The video shows many men armed with handguns, and one with a scoped rifle, bursting through the door of the apartment complex for unknown reasons. The group appears to be Tren de Aragua, or TdA, a transnational gang based out of Venezuela. The gang, with reportedly 5,000 members, has a motto of "real until death," or "real hasta la muerte." READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX NEWS
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