Denver, CO
Work to repair and replace items from Denver’s Martin Luther King Jr. monument to begin right away
Work will start right away to repair and replace the items stolen from Denver’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” monument in Denver’s City Park.
Artist Ed Dwight is looking at the extensive damage to pieces ripped away from it by thieves and planning repairs.
Police say the thieves hit the MLK Monument as well as the Thatcher Fountain nearby on Feb. 21.
“We have to replicate that all the way down,” said Dwight about welding and duplicating the damaged areas of a large panel that was cut into four pieces. “And then we’ll work on the next one and the next one and the next one.”
Denver Police Department’s Bias-motivated Crime Unit has been involved in the case but indicated that there is no indication it was a bias-motivated crime.
“Certainly I think it’s a reasonable suspicion that there was some racial motivation to that. It does appear it was not the motivation. But we can’t be sure of that just yet,” explained Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas, saying they will need to question the suspects in the case.
“There is a lot of historical and cultural significance to that particular monument. And really shame on them for not understanding that recognizing that and deciding to steal a piece of it,” said Thomas.
There are two still on the loose. 67-year-old Herman Duran and a yet-to-be-identified man police say is pictured in images from a security camera.
“All of these trends should stop. And we who care about America and about American heroes and about progress of our city and our state and our nation should not have these kinds of acts going on now,” said former Denver First Lady and State Rep. Wilma Webb.
It was during her husband’s administration that Wilma Webb was the driving force behind the creation of the monument, which was commissioned to Ed Dwight, a renowned sculptor of African American history whose past includes years in NASA’s astronaut training program in the 1960s.
Dwight believed it was stolen for the value of its bronze early on in the investigation.
Sculptor Ed Dwight among honorees at MLK Jr. business awards in Denver
On Wednesday he said what is currently most important is not motive, but getting it put back together which could take two months or more.
“The fact of the matter is, it doesn’t make any difference. Whether it was racially motivated or for the value. Whatever is done is done… if we can prove that it was done for racial reasons, then we can raise hell and raise more consciousness,” said Dwight.
Items stolen from Martin Luther King Jr. monument in Denver have been recovered, police say
For the time being he is focusing on how to accomplish repairs. The largest plate, showing early representations of African American history, including slavery and service in America’s conflicts, has to be secured better when it is replaced he says. It will take careful welding and planning to get the job done.
There is an online fundraising campaign to raise money to help in the work and to add security around the monument.
About $10,000 has been raised so far, but former mayor Wellington Webb pointed out that adding cameras is likely to cost more.
Denverites looking for a stellar cup of Joe don’t need to travel far to savor the flavor of excellent coffee.
That’s according to The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops, a website that rates global hospitality establishments where coffee lovers can find better brew. The website recently announced its 2026 list of the best coffee shops in North America, Central America and the Caribbean and two local companies made the list.
Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters came in at No. 43, while Queen City Collective Coffee ranked No. 61. Not bad for a list that includes must-hit destinations in places like Guatemala and Costa Rica, which are known for their exports of coffee beans.
The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops decided the ranking through a mix of nominations and voting by both the public and experts. Places were evaluated based on the quality of coffee served, barista expertise, ambiance, sustainability practices, and innovation among other criteria, according to the website.
Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters, which came on the scene in 2013, helped usher the so-called fourth wave of coffee locally, which focuses on honoring the beans’ agricultural roots and using techniques like pour-over to extract more flavor from each brew. The company started with a wholesale roastery and retail shop in Lakewood before expanding to Arvada through a merger with another company called Two Rivers, and later to Westminster. In 2022, Food and Wine magazine named Sweet Bloom’s Westminster locale the best coffee shop in Colorado.
Queen City Collective has certainly earned the popular vote among Mile High City coffee drinkers if the company’s expansion is an indication. Since opening its first retail location in 2018, in a spot shared with Novel Strand Brewing Co., Queen City has expanded to seven locations between Denver and surrounding suburbs, including Wheat Ridge and Aurora.
To see the full list of must-hit coffee shops across the globe, visit theworlds100bestcoffeeshops.com. For additional recommendations, check out our list of Colorado’s best coffee shops with picturesque patios and views.
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DENVER (KDVR) — With the mild winter and warm start to spring, beekeepers are seeing swarms earlier in the year and expect the season to be longer than usual.
Gregg McMahan is a dispatcher for the Colorado Swarm Hotline. It’s usually his job to send a beekeeper to collect a swarm when someone calls, but on Sunday afternoon, he decided to handle one himself.
“Nice little swarm,” McMahan said. “It’s tricky, though, because it’s hanging on a fence.”
A warm winter and spring mean swarm season has begun four weeks early.
“Never seen it like this ever,” McMahan said.
This call is to a house on Denver’s east side. When McMahan arrived, he saw a swarm had taken up residence on the fence.
“Absolutely typical, it is on the small side,” McMahan said.
He got to work, first luring them into a box when he spotted a good sign.
“See all these girls, they got their butts up, they’re fanning their wings. That’s telling us the queens in here,” McMahan said.
With the queen in hand, the rest began to follow her into the box.
McMahan said two years ago, he had 400 calls like this. Last year, only 100, the Swarm Hotline was as unpredictable as the weather, which has caused bee activity earlier in the year than ever.
“It makes it hard on the bees, you know? Two days ago, I’m collecting swarms in the snow,” McMahan said.
Rescuing them is integral to Colorado’s ecosystem. McMahan hopes people give a beekeeper a call instead of spraying them or harming them in any other way.
“They do a phenomenal amount of pollination within this state. Not only our native flowers but all the other flowers that people bring in,” McMahan said.
Slowly but surely, the swarm left the fence and moved into the box. McMahan loaded them into his truck to deliver them to their new home.
“Westminster to the Stanley Lake Wildlife Refuge, so these girls will have lakefront property tonight,” he said.
As he wrapped up, McMahan’s phone was buzzing more than the bees. Just another call to start a swarm season, he thinks, could be a long one.
“This year I’m already 20 swarms deep, so I’m expecting way more than 100 this year,” McMahan said.
To have a bee swarm removed for free from your property anywhere statewide, the Swarm Hotline number is 1-844-SPY-BEES.
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