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CVPA honors fallen teacher and student through dance

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Dancers from Central Visual and Performing Arts High School return to the stage for the first time since the shooting that killed two of their own in a performance called "In our hearts."Seven months ago, the stage went dark after tragedy struck the school. However, now the dancers are back doing what they do best."It's emotional,” said Jayden Brown, a CVPA dance student. “That honestly, nobody is going to forget, so we have to use that and turn it into our arts here."Through jazz, tap, hip-hop, and a variety of dance routines, students continue the healing process."We're still going, we're still strong, and nothing can stop us,” said Mars Sander, a CVPA sophomore dance student. Missouri AG: Gardner was at nursing school during contempt of court hearing It’s an act of perseverance."The hurt is very real; the trauma is very real, but it feels good to be on the side of hard work, and we call it heart work," said Dr. Kacy Shahid, principal at CVPA. "The title of this perf...

Push for younger voting age starts in Missouri

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Missourians could have two more elections to vote in before 2023 is over but one national group, Vote16USA, is trying to decrease the voting age to 16 for local and school board elections. The Missouri arm of that effort, Vote16MO, is starting its campaign, led by 16-year-old DJ Yearwood."Youth are tax-paying citizens, contributing society members, but we draw the line when it comes to voting, where it matters the most," Yearwood said. What Missouri lawmakers didn’t pass this legislative session He says if elected leaders are held accountable through elections, 16 and 17-year-olds are missing out on the ability to exercise that accountability over their local leaders."For me, I'm not going to be able to vote until we're out of high school," said 17-year-old Nathan Smith.Smith is starting to get involved with Vote16MO after believing in the organization's point that getting younger people actively involved in the electoral process earlier makes them more consist...

18-wheeler truck crashes on I-70, blocking two eastbound lanes near 32nd Avenue

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

An 18-wheeler truck crashed Tuesday morning, and two eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near 32nd Avenue are blocked.State transportation authorities said the lanes likely will be closed for several hours and advised drivers to expect delays.The lanes were closed between Colorado Mills Parkway (Exit 263) and 32nd Avenue (Exit 264).#I70 eastbound: Two right lanes closed due to a crash between Exit 263 – Colorado Mills Parkway and Exit 264 – 32nd Avenue. Expect delays. Use caution. https://t.co/F0RAoFeUQG— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) May 16, 2023Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.

Colorado nature photographer John Fielder, facing cancer, basks in beauty he helped preserve

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

Colorado nature photographer and environmentalist John Fielder sat on a couch inside his Summit County home recently gazing at jagged Gore Range mountains, not through the frame of a camera but a window — a spectacular scene among thousands that he has immortalized.A herd of elk had passed outside. A mountain grouse had been singing sonorously at the door.“Here I am at 72,” Fielder said, “and cancer is trying to take my life.”He’s been enduring this pancreatic cancer by relying on the same rational approach he honed in handling countless “curveballs” nature hurled while he covered all of Colorado’s 104,094 square miles photographing landscapes. Vehicle breakdowns above timberline, rafts flipping in whitewater rapids dumping him and all his gear, bears bulling into his camp, sudden storms plunging temperatures below freezing — all became challenges for the father of three to overcome by using brainpower, avoiding panic, and summoning st...

Why Colorado microbreweries are launching macro-style lagers to compete with big guys like Coors

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

For decades, craft brewers carved out their niche by separating themselves from the likes of Coors and Anheuser-Busch with bigger, bolder and more experimental recipes that pushed the boundaries of beer. But over the years, competition has continually increased while sales have largely flattened, leading several Colorado beverage makers to embrace the motto, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ‘em.”In the last year and a half, Knotted Root Brewing Co., Tivoli Brewing Co. and Stem Ciders launched macro-style lagers to both compete for market share with the big brewers and offer drinkers something craft-made at a lower price point than $16 four-packs. Not only that, but they’ve also set up separate brands around their products in hopes of making them more approachable to beer drinkers who don’t currently shop in the craft aisle.This strategy, beverage makers say, aims to grow their customer bases and boost their bottom lines during a time when some breweries in Colorado are foldi...

“Holly,” the conversational AI platform, may take your next burger order

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

Fast-food restaurants wrestling with finding workers are turning to a helper named Holly, who is being deployed by a Denver technology company. Her specialty is taking drive-thru orders and she sounds just human enough to do it smoothly while signaling that customers are talking to a robot.Valyant AI’s conversational artificial intelligence platform, “Holly,” is taking orders at some Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Colorado and four other states. Four of the fast-food restaurants in Colorado are using the technology and 19 more are under contract to add Holly, Valyant AI CEO Rob Carpenter said.The company struck a deal to provide CKE Restaurant Holdings, the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., with its AI platform. CKE is working with two other companies to automate its drive-thru orders.The agreement reached last week allows Valyant AI to start selling to CKE’s franchisees, Carpenter said. “So it’s 3,000 potential locations ac...

Do you have the right lawn for where you live in Colorado?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

Trends in fashion, design and pop culture come and go. Some circle back after a few decades.One garden trend that is getting a lot of attention lately is replacing water-thirsty lawns with a more water-thrifty landscape. More people are paying attention to their outdoor water use and seeking ways to be better stewards of our natural resources.This trend is a keeper.Water-aware landscapes are becoming a preferred practice for homeowners, municipalities and homeowner associations as respect for conscientious water consumption continues to take root in the entire Rocky Mountain region.Popular replacement alternatives include installing native grass turf or other types that require less water. Another option is to reduce the lawn area for a different use like a patio or vegetable garden. A style that is also gaining popularity is to replace lawns and add plants with a focus on native, prairie or adapted plants that require less water along with the bonus of attracting plant pollinators ...

Aurora sent police to Denver during 2020 protests. Which city should pay for officers’ alleged misconduct?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

Aurora is asking a judge to force Denver to pay the full cost of lawsuits that include the city and the police officers it lent to its larger neighbor during the massive 2020 racial justice protests.Attorneys for Aurora filed a lawsuit against Denver on Friday, alleging that city’s officials have not said whether they’ll meet their obligation under Colorado law to pay for legal costs, settlements and jury awards against Aurora officers who worked in Denver during the 2020 protests.“Aurora has repeatedly asked Denver to confirm that it will indemnify Aurora or otherwise assume responsibility for these claims as required by state law and the parties’ longstanding practice and agreement,” the lawsuit states. “Denver has refused, and so Aurora now seeks a declaration establishing that Denver does, in fact, have that obligation.”The legal fight between two of Colorado’s largest cities comes three years after thousands of people marched in downtow...

Colorado’s last horse track says tax policy could close it

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

The only horse racing track in Colorado said it could close in the near future if a Centennial judge does not stop a state agency from reinterpreting its tax policy.“It will be the death knell for horse racing in Colorado,” Arapahoe Park in Aurora said.The track and the Department of Revenue have been at loggerheads since August 2021 over how much money the track is supposed to pay in taxes for wagers that are placed on Arapahoe Park races from out-of-state betting locations. The track said it receives only 3 percent of revenue from those bets, yet the state is trying to tax the track as if it received 100 percent of the revenue.In May 2022, a temporary agreement was reached between DOR, Arapahoe Park and the Colorado Horse Racing Association, a trade group. That agreement allowed Arapahoe Park to pay taxes on only a small percentage of out-of-state bets, as it has for decades. With a signed agreement in place, the 2022 horse racing season went on as planned in Aurora.The question n...

Jupiter will vanish Wednesday — but then reappear within minutes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:41 GMT

If you want to see the largest planet in the solar system disappear and then reappear less than an hour later, grab your binoculars, set them next to your alarm clock and wake up early on Wednesday morning.Between 5 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., an “occultation” of the planet Jupiter by the moon will take place, meaning the path of the moon will cross in front of Jupiter. At first, Jupiter will appear to the left of the moon. After the occultation, Jupiter will appear to the right.It could be difficult to see, because it will happen low in the eastern sky near sunrise, and also because the moon will be just a thin crescent. That’s why you may need the binoculars to find the moon and to locate Jupiter, because the planet will appear as a bright object near it. Related ArticlesOutdoors | First solar eclipse in six years tops list of the best celestial events you can see in Colorado in 2023 Jupiter is usually the second-brightest planet in the sky. Only Venus is...