Author: reporter

COMMERCE CITY — Police in Colorado say a man’s sturdy necklace probably saved his life by blocking a bullet fired at his neck.The bullet lodged in the almost half-inch-wide, silver-colored, metal chain in the shooting Tuesday night in Commerce City, a suburb north of Denver.The shooting happened during an argument. The victim, whose identity was not released, suffered only a minor puncture wound, the Commerce City Police Department wrote in a statement posted on Facebook.Police were unsure what the necklace was made of but doubted it was silver, a soft metal unlikely to withstand a bullet, the statement said.The shooter…

There’s plenty to do this weekend at the inaugural Outside Festival, a celebration of Colorado’s outdoor lifestyle, industry and economic impact. The challenge is deciding which experiences fall into the do-not-miss category. We’ve got some suggestions, but before we get to them, let’s review what this thing is all about. It was organized by Outside Interactive Inc., an outdoors digital media giant based in Boulder, along with the state’s Outdoor Recreation Industry Office and Visit Denver. It’s bringing together athletes, brands, speakers and films for two days of fun, good times and great outdoors inspiration at Civic Center Park. Outside…

The Arapahoe County coroner on Friday identified a man shot and killed by Aurora police in an apartment complex near Expo Park as 37-year-old Kilyn Lewis.Lewis was suspected in an attempted homicide in Denver when the Aurora police SWAT team contacted him in the complex on South Ironton Street on May 23, police have previously said. Lewis was exiting a car at the apartment complex when police contacted him.An officer shot Lewis during the interaction and Lewis was hospitalized. Lewis died of a single gunshot wound on Saturday and the death was ruled a homicide, according to the Arapahoe County…

Colorado’s demand for people working in the mental health and addiction fields more than doubled during the pandemic, but the supply of actual workers hasn’t kept up — a situation that state agencies, higher education and health systems are trying to fix.The number of openings for behavioral health jobs in the state increased 152% from 2019 to 2022, and projections show that figure could rise another 30% from 2023 to 2030, said Lisa Weinberg, the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration‘s workforce development director.In Colorado, as in the rest of the country, mental health worsened during the pandemic, with some public officials…

Warming temperatures will sap more water out of the Colorado River — and many other waterways fed by mountain streams — as groundwater is depleted over the long term, new research shows.The depletion will be enough to render sections of one important tributary river in Colorado completely dry in arid years, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature that examined data from the East River outside Crested Butte.As water experts negotiate the next long-term plan among several states to divvy up the overallocated Colorado River, scientists working in Colorado identified a new factor that will affect…

A severe hailstorm pelted swaths of the Denver area Thursday evening, damaging cars, homes and trees — and more severe weather is possible Friday.The destructive hail rained down on central and east Denver, Aurora and some of the northern suburbs, including Thornton, Broomfield and Northglenn. Hail up to 2.75 inches wide — just shy of the size of a baseball — was reported in Commerce City, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder. Many other locations recorded hail more than an inch in diameter.The storm will likely be one of the more destructive hail events in Denver history, but…

A 60-year-old woman was killed after she was struck by an SUV while crossing Belleview Avenue on Thursday morning, according to the Cherry Hills Village Police Department.The woman was crossing the street from the north side and was not in a crosswalk when she was struck by a Rivian SUV just after 10 a.m., Cherry Hills Village police said Thursday.Belleview Avenue was closed at South Clarkson Street and University Boulevard after the crash.Drugs, alcohol and speed do not appear to be factors in the crash and the driver remained at the scene, police said Thursday. The driver of the Rivian…

I wish I was as thin as Broncos Country’s patience.This came to mind while watching the Broncos practice on Thursday morning. Before the unscripted flyover, before the press conferences, before the injury updates, there was a moment of pause.Former Oregon Duck Bo Nix dropped back during practice and fired a dart to tight end Lucas Krull. Release the Quackin’. This is what we all came to see — the young kid microwaving his development. Krull made the catch. Then he didn’t, the football swatted away by a defensive back, followed by trash talk.Seeing the ball on the grass, memories flooded…

Several Republican candidates vying to represent Colorado’s mostly rural 4th Congressional District went hard after U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert during a televised debate Thursday night, accusing her of accomplishing little during her more than three years in Congress and raising the question of whether she can prevail against a Democrat in November if nominated.“You have passed nothing,” state Rep. Mike Lynch said during a testy exchange with the congresswoman. Then turning to 9News moderators Kyle Clark and Marshall Zelinger, he said: “She has passed no legislation.”Rehashing a theme she has used before, former conservative radio host Deborah Flora criticized Boebert…

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis police officer who was killed Thursday had responded to a shooting call and was providing medical attention to a man when he was ambushed in a shooting that killed two other people including the suspected gunman, authorities said.Minneapolis Officer Jamal Mitchell was trying to help an injured man when the man shot him, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said.The Minneapolis Police Department said the public was not in danger but encouraged people to stay away from the scene at a Minneapolis apartment complex in the south Minneapolis neighborhood of Whittier.The Minnesota Police…