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Tag: Weld County

A Town on Edge: Inside the Erie Mail Threats That Resulted in No Charges
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

A Town on Edge: Inside the Erie Mail Threats That Resulted in No Charges

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In early October, residents across Erie and in Virginia, began opening their mailboxes to find sympathy cards inside plain envelopes. The message referenced the assassination of Charlie Kirk, accompanied by an empty packet of Gushers candy taped to the card, glitter and a loose powdery substance that spilled when handled. Twenty residents in total received the cards. Many were former candidates, business owners, volunteers, and known conservatives within the community. One envelope opened in Virginia triggered a full hazmat activation. Loudoun County Fire & Rescue’s official report shows responders in Tychem suits isolating the scene, testing the substance, and alerting federal authorities. Their lab equip...
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Rep. Gabe Evans is a Colorado Energy Champion
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Rep. Gabe Evans is a Colorado Energy Champion

By Hunter Rivera | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As the seventh-largest energy-producing state in the nation, Colorado has established itself as a leader in not only traditional energy, but renewable and next-generation sources as well. That’s why new, all-of-the-above energy legislation moving through Congress is so important for the Centennial State. Just last week, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced the SPEED Act, a bipartisan perm​​itting reform bill that would remove barriers to energy development and deployment. Before it comes to the House floor for a vote, the Energy & Commerce Committee will offer its own contributions to the legislative package. As a member of that important committee and the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, our represent...
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Colorado needs an all‑of‑the‑above energy strategy
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado needs an all‑of‑the‑above energy strategy

By Rep. Ryan Gonzalez | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As we all know, energy is vital in policy making. If we have no secure energy sector, uncertainty will ensue. While there are different views on energy policy, we must not rule out any single source of energy (like fossil fuels) for a clean environment that also secures our demand to provide for our consumers.  Energy affects virtually everything from the cost of raw materials to the finished goods or services you see in the market. More rigorous energy policy that isn’t cost effective, only raises prices and may create scarcity of resources available. In the Colorado legislature, as a first term state Representative, I have seen these concerns unfold in real time as they push a very ambitious 2040 zero emissions ...
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Johnstown Breeze publisher under fire for “Mexican whipping” email to Weld County GOP
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Johnstown Breeze publisher under fire for “Mexican whipping” email to Weld County GOP

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff | Rocky Mountain Voice The publisher of the Johnstown Breeze signs her emails with a Dalai Lama quote: “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” But her recent message to the Weld County Republican Party was anything but kind.  At issue is Bangert’s response to an email that was sent with details to party members and media about the Weld County Hoedown on Oct. 6. Bangert simply replied:  “What time is the flag burning and the Mexican whipping?” Weld County GOP Chairman Hunter Rivera called Bangert’s reply “deplorable and unacceptable” after it surfaced in a Facebook exchange with her husband, Breeze co-owner Matt Lubich. The email in question had been sent to more than 3,000 recipients—a routine community announcemen...
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Lawmakers Face Public Backlash After Violent Suspect Freed Under New Incompetency Law
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Lawmakers Face Public Backlash After Violent Suspect Freed Under New Incompetency Law

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A high-profile case out of Weld County involving an attempted murder has renewed debate about the state’s competency laws and public safety. The case arose from an incident last spring, in which a group of men led by 21-year-old Debisa Ephraim allegedly attacked a man and his friends in downtown Greeley. After Ephraim was found incompetent to stand trial, his charges, which included attempted murder, were dropped, and he was released from the Weld County Jail earlier this month. The office of Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams posted a video of the Greeley attack on X, saying Ephraim had been released under a 2024 law that, he said, required individuals declared incompetent and unlikely to be restored to be released from jail. “The state le...
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UNC Dorm Gun Case Spurs Sheriff’s Push to Fix Colorado Competency Loophole
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

UNC Dorm Gun Case Spurs Sheriff’s Push to Fix Colorado Competency Loophole

By Heather Willard, Vicente Arenas | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A man accused of carrying a long gun onto the University of Northern Colorado’s campus in Greeley appeared in court on Thursday for a bond hearing, just weeks after he was released from the Weld County Jail. Ephraim Debisa, 21, was released from jail on Sept. 8 after he was found not competent to stand trial in an attempted murder case, as is required by Colorado law. When he was released, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to the community, calling Debisa “dangerous” and highlighting his alleged previous violent actions. On Wednesday, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office announced Debisa was re-arrested at his home after a report of him inside a UNC residence hall holding a long gun on Tuesday. Accordin...
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Man With Prior Ban Taken Into Custody After Firearm Incident at UNC
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Man With Prior Ban Taken Into Custody After Firearm Incident at UNC

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A man whom law enforcement issued a warning for earlier this month has been arrested after he was allegedly seen on video dancing and displaying a firearm inside a University of Northern Colorado dorm. On Tuesday, UNC police responded to an anonymous report of an individual unaffiliated with the campus at the Arlington Park Apartments residence. The report included a video that had been posted to social media showing the incident. Later, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office shared an alleged screenshot of the video, which appeared to show Debisa holding a long gun with a detachable magazine. It’s illegal to have firearms inside UNC residence halls, and while officers responded immediately, the suspect was not found at the location. ...
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State Leaders Put Criminal Rights Ahead of Public Safety
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The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

State Leaders Put Criminal Rights Ahead of Public Safety

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Gazette Only days ago, The Gazette editorial board weighed in on how easy it is for dangerous criminal suspects with lengthy records in Colorado to walk free — and never come back — as they supposedly await trial or other court proceedings. That includes when they are deemed “incompetent” to understand the charges against them — usually, due to presumed mental illness — and at times are released pending psychiatric assessment and treatment to restore their competency. Even under those circumstances, suspects can wind up going free for good, either because they fail to follow through on outpatient psychiatric care and disappear onto the streets, or, incredibly, they have been found permanently incompetent — and by state law, the char...
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Law tied sheriff’s hands as violent suspect walked free in Weld County
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Law tied sheriff’s hands as violent suspect walked free in Weld County

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics eld County Sheriff Steve Reams says a 2024 law required him to release a man who had been charged with attempted murder stemming from an incident in Greeley earlier this year. According to Reams, 21-year-old Debisa Ephraim was arrested in April and charged with second-degree attempted murder following an altercation between him and another man that had been captured on video. The victim suffered a brain injury and spent a “substantial” amount of time in the hospital and rehabilitation, but Reams says he is now mostly recovered. Ephraim, a refugee from Tanzania who had a previous record of violent behavior, had been detained in the Weld County Jail for several months when his defense team asked the court to determine whether he was compet...
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GOP Lawmaker Barb Kirkmeyer Enters Colorado Governor’s Race
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State, Approved, kdvr.com

GOP Lawmaker Barb Kirkmeyer Enters Colorado Governor’s Race

By Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR FOX 31 DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado state Sen. Barbara “Barb” Kirkmeyer is officially launching her gubernatorial bid, hoping to get a seat that Republicans have not secured in almost 20 years. The 2026 race for Colorado’s governor is starting to take shape. Republican Barb Kirkmeyer is joining the list of serious contenders, like Democrats Attorney General Phil Weiser and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. “It’s time that we have a governor who knows how to govern and lead this state and understand that our best days are ahead of us. I think I am that person. All you have to do is go back and look at my accomplishments and my record as a county commissioner, as a state senator. I’ve been able to reduce property taxes. I led my county to zero debt. And as a stat...
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