Author: reporter

A mudslide has blocked both directions of Colorado 133 near Geissler Mountain in Pitkin County on Thursday, according to Pitkin County authorities. The mudslide happened at mile marker 59, Pitkin County authorities said. Pitkin County Sheriff’s announced shortly after 4:30 p.m. that the Colorado Department of Transportation was en route to clear the road. Officials did not know when the road would reopen. Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter. Originally Published: July 3, 2025 at 5:15 PM MDTsource

Three Environmental Protection Agency employees in Denver are among 139 workers who on Thursday were placed on administrative leave for signing a letter that was critical of administrator Lee Zeldin and his oversight of the agency. Two employees in the EPA’s Region 8 headquarters in Denver and one who works at the EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center in Lakewood are under investigation for signing the letter, said Kate Tribbett, vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3607, which represents Region 8 employees. The “Declaration of Dissent” letter, which was sent to Zeldin on Monday, was published on…

Past students of a former Commerce City teacher recently charged with sexual assault on a minor alleged years ago when they were in the sixth grade, their teacher told them explicit details about her sex life, showed them naked pictures and sexually assaulted one of the children, according to Commerce City Police records. Prosecutors charged 44-year-old Michelle McMillan with sexually assaulting an underage student nine years ago when the student was in sixth grade, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in a press release Tuesday. McMillan turned herself into the Adams County Detention Facility on Sunday after detectives with…

Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland couldn’t help but think, “Here we go again.” In the first inning on Thursday, the Astros turned three cheap hits — an infield single by Jake Meyers, a bloop single by Jose Altuve, and an excuse-me double down the first-base line by Cam Smith — into a 2-0 lead. But Freeland didn’t pout; he got tough. And although he didn’t get the win, his six strong innings set the table for Colorado’s 7-6 victory at Coors Field. “When you start a game with weak hits, frustration starts to build immediately,” said Freeland, who gave up three…

Brent Burns has lived a full hockey life. He’s won international tournaments. He’s won the Norris Trophy. He’s been a guest star on one of his favorite television shows. He’s appeared on the cover of a sports magazine in his birthday suit. He will almost certainly have a plaque in the Great Hall someday at the Hockey Hall of Fame. After nearly 1,500 regular-season games, 135 playoff contests and a half-dozen trips to the NHL All-Star Game, Burns has one more item left on his to-do list. Get his name on the Stanley Cup. “I think it’s just there’s a…

Don’t cry wolf without the facts Re: “Tie should go to the ranchers,” June 20 letter to the editor A recent letter suggests that if a wolf might be involved in a livestock death, the “tie should go to the rancher.” But with fewer than 30 wolves in Colorado-and tens of thousands of coyotes and over 17,000 black bears — that’s not a tie. That’s a statistical mismatch. Colorado’s livestock compensation program already heavily favors ranchers. It pays 100% market value for confirmed wolf kills and even reimburses for “indirect losses,” like missing livestock, with just a 50.1% likelihood. That’s the…

A couple of years ago I bought a fancy cherry pitter at Sur La Table. For decades I’d been using the two I’d inherited from my mother. I loved those one-at-a-time pitters, but they disappeared. Most likely I left them behind at a cooking class. The new pitter works on 6 cherries at a time, pushing out the pits and leaving the cherries in pristine condition. Now that they are in season, I love to showcase those irresistible pitted orbs in a relish used to spoon over grilled pork tenderloin or chicken breasts. The mix has an appealing sweet-sour flavor…

The man suspected of killing a fellow inmate in Denver’s jail early Monday is now accused of two fatal stabbings in Aurora the day before. Ricky Roybal-Smith, 38, of Aurora, faces first-degree murder charges in each of the three separate homicides, according to Aurora and Denver police. Roybal-Smith was being held in Denver’s Downtown Detention Center for investigation of first-degree murder in the Monday morning strangling death of his cellmate, Vincent Chacon, when Aurora detectives obtained a warrant connecting him to two fatal stabbings in northwest Aurora. In the Denver case, Roybal-Smith alerted a deputy around 2 a.m. Monday that…

A pedestrian bridge pitched by Gov. Jared Polis as a way to honor the 150th anniversary of Colorado’s statehood faces a rocky path to approval, with most members of a key legislative committee casting wary-at-best eyes toward the $28.5 million proposal. The Colorado 150 Pedestrian Walkway is designed to snake through Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park west of the Capitol like one of Colorado’s rivers, then rise above Lincoln Street to reach the Gold Dome’s grounds. It won cautious approval last week from an advisory committee. But the proposal’s next stop, as soon as August, is a six-member panel of elected…

By MATT OTT, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage fell for the fifth straight week to its lowest level since early April, an encouraging sign for potential buyers who have wrestled with rising home prices. The long-term rate fell to 6.67% from 6.77% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.95%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, fell to 5.80% from 5.89% last week. A year ago, it was 6.25%, Freddie Mac said. High mortgage rates can add…