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Let’s make Colorado a leader for life | PODIUM

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Let’s make Colorado a leader for life | PODIUM







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Catherine J. Wheeler



This past Friday, thousands of pro-life advocates descended on the state Capitol in Denver for the first-ever Colorado March for Life. Their joyful smiles, voices and witness filled me with hope Colorado is taking the necessary steps toward transforming from being a leader for abortion, to a leader for life.  

Pro-abortion advocates view Colorado as the “leader of abortion” with good reason. In 2022, Colorado codified the “right” to abortion at any stage of pregnancy. More recently, Colorado’s partisan state leaders officially designated Jan. 22 as “Roe v. Wade” day. As if that weren’t enough, the state also passed a law attempting to limit the advertising of pro-life organizations, which daily save lives and successfully help women overcome homelessness, addiction, abuse and so much more.

At the very least, Colorado law still prohibits public funding for abortions. Tragically, however, radical pro-abortion advocates are seeking to enshrine Initiative 89 in the Colorado constitution. If passed, the amendment would allow the public funding of abortions by cementing an absolute “right” to abortion in the constitution. This would allow abortions at any point in pregnancy without limits or safety measures to protect women, without oversight, regulation or even the credentialing of provider, and without any protections for parental rights — all egregious measures no other country in the world permits.

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As a board-certified OB/GYN and former abortionist, I am disturbed by these efforts to exploit women and children for profit.  

As part of my OB-GYN residency, I was trained in abortion procedures. Yet a traumatic experience performing an abortion opened my eyes to the reality abortion painfully takes a human life — in violation of the Hippocratic Oath I’d taken to do no harm. Moreover, in all the years I’ve spent working in medicine, I have never had a patient who didn’t regret her abortion. Indeed, many experience intense grief and trauma (My experience corroborates studies showing more than 60% of post-abortive women reported high levels of pressure or coercion into unwanted abortions).

Sadly, Colorado’s current abortion law and attacks on pregnancy resource centers, including women’s right to choose safe, bioidentical progesterone to reverse chemical abortions, obscures the reality of what abortion entails, how it harms women and, ultimately, how pregnancy resource centers can help. But Coloradans can take a step to right our course by learning the details of this proposed initiative and by taking a stand against turning our state into an abortion destination that then abandons women to their home states to deal with complications or follow-up care. 

Thankfully, the American Association of Pro-Life (AAPLOG) OB-GYNs, of which I am a board member, is working to bring more light to life-affirming policies and support for Colorado women. Just after the state March for Life, we launched the first-ever state AAPLOG chapter here in Colorado. We will be a resource for legislators and medical professionals, while offering encouragement and support to all medical professionals seeking to respect their Hippocratic Oath, protect life and honor women.  

This is the type of advocacy Colorado’s women and children deserve — not the deadly lies of the abortion industry.  

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Just a few days ago,thousands of pro-life advocates thronged Denver’s streets to testify to this truth. Their cheerful witness and advocacy offered a source of hope and light to a state sadly taken over by abortion extremism. 

They also served as a consoling reminder to Colorado’s post-abortive moms, and any mom struggling with a difficult decision, that the pro-life movement is ready to walk with them and love them every step of the way. 

Catherine J. Wheeler, M.D., is a board-certified OB/GYN who practiced for 24 years in Utah and now resides in Colorado.



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Colorado

Colorado weather: Two waves of snow headed for mountains, metro Denver

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Colorado weather: Two waves of snow headed for mountains, metro Denver


Two waves of snow will blow through Colorado this week, according to the National Weather Service.

The first wave is forecast to start Thursday afternoon in Colorado’s mountains and continue overnight, spreading into the Front Range, Eastern Plains and metro area. A second wave of mountain snow will begin Friday afternoon, forecasters said.

Multiple Winter Weather Advisories will be in effect from 3 p.m. Thursday to 11 p.m. Friday, according to NWS forecasters. The advisories cover Rocky Mountain National Park, the Medicine Bow Mountain Range, the Mosquito Range, the Indian Peaks and the mountains of Summit County.

As of Thursday morning, snow forecasts include:

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  • Up to 1 inch of snow in Denver and at Denver International Airport
  • Between 2 and 8 inches of snow in Winter Park, Vail and Nederland
  • Between 2 and 7 inches of snow on U.S. 40’s Rabbit Ears Pass
  • Between 3 and 7 inches of snow on Interstate 70 at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel
  • Between 2 and 6 inches of snow in Estes Park, Evergreen, Fairplay and Frisco
  • Up to 2 inches of snow on the northeast corner of the Eastern Plains

If snow does hit the metro area, NWS forecasters said it will start as rain around 4 p.m. Thursday and turn to snow after 11 p.m., continuing through Friday morning.

Rain and snow are forecast to start at about 2 p.m. Thursday in the mountains and continue through 8 a.m. Friday, forecasters said. Snow will then restart Friday afternoon and last through 11 p.m.

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Colorado bill would make financial literacy course a requirement for high school graduation across state

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Colorado bill would make financial literacy course a requirement for high school graduation across state


Some Colorado lawmakers want financial literacy to be a requirement for high school graduation. Only about 25% of Colorado school districts require a personal finance course to graduate, according to the Colorado Department of Education. Denver Public Schools is one of the districts.

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West High School in Denver is one of the schools that has offered the course for the past five years, in English and Spanish. At Denver West High School, more than 80% of students identify as Latinx.

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House Bill 25-1192, which has bipartisan support from state lawmakers including Reps. Don Wilson, Lorena Garcia, and Sens. James Coleman and Barbara Kirkmeyer, would make financial literacy a graduation requirement statewide.

Statewide, only 13% of students are guaranteed access to a high school personal finance course before graduation.

Alejandro Palma is a senior at West High School who is taking a financial literacy course as an elective.

“You learn a lot from it, you learn about investments,” said Palma.

As a second generation Latinx student, he feels the pressure to build on generational wealth.

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“You learn how to make a resume and how to keep a job,” said Palma.

It may seem like basic life skills, but they are necessary to learn.

The course teaches students to manage finances, understand credit and invest while tailoring to the needs of bilingual students.

Chris Velasquez, a teacher at Denver West, teaches the course in Spanish.

“A lot of kids that we have here because it is a huge immigrant population, start growing businesses, whether its concrete and painting, and they ask us ‘How can I network?’” said Velasquez.

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For the past five years, Velasquez says the course has been extremely helpful for many students and is the first school in the district to offer the course in Spanish.

“They get to understand what a co-signer is, what does credit mean, especially since some of our populations, they don’t even use credit — they grew up thinking credit was the devil,” said Velasquez.

Meanwhile, inside Daniel Walter’s classroom students are learning how to manage their finances using apps.

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“When I talk to other people about what I do and what I teach every time their jaws hit the floor and say ‘I wish I would have taken that class,’” said Walter.

He says regardless of one’s race or socioeconomic status, the lessons learned in this class can be used for life.

“There’s just a great need to learn the tools of our system and to be financially stable,” said Walter.

The organization Ednium is in support of a bill at the Colorado State Capitol. It would make this course a requirement statewide. In 2021, the organization helped make the course a requirement in Denver Public Schools. Now the 2024-2025 year the course would be required for graduation.

Elijah Huff with the Ednium says the push for this course would be extremely beneficial to educating young people to save money.

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“I think its also a huge culture boost for certain communities as well to learn how to manage money and how to work with money when we know there has been a huge gap in some of our communities in Denver,” said Huff.

The bill would also make it a requirement for students to apply for state aid.

Although the state board strongly encourages local school districts to require personal finance education, most do not. Colorado ranks 46th in FAFSA completion nationwide, and it’s estimated that students in the state leave more than $30 million in federal aid on the table annually.

“Across time I just think it’s the community that has been really big on trying to tear down the barriers and being vocal about it,” said Huff.

As for Palma, he plans to join the military, but first he’ll use what he learned in class to land his first job.

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The hearing for the bill, which has bipartisan support, is scheduled for March 6.



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One year later, remains of missing Indiana man found in Colorado national park

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One year later, remains of missing Indiana man found in Colorado national park


A little over a year after he went missing, Colorado officials have confirmed they have located the remains of an Indianapolis man. Thomas Irwin, 73, went missing in January 2024 at the Mesa Verde National Park.

Irwin’s remains were found on Feb. 28, 2025.

“We are glad this provides some closure for his family,” Mesa Verde Superintendent Kayci Cook said. “We sincerely appreciate and recognize the dedication of the Mesa Verde Resource and Visitor Protection Team and other park staff who continued the search for Mr. Irwin.”

He was last seen on the Petroglyph Point Trail on the afternoon of Jan. 15, 2024. Law enforcement found his vehicle and it was shared that he had cognitive impairment, which may cause him to be easily confused. He also required medications that he may have been without when he went missing.

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On Jan. 16, 2024 his family contacted the park, and a search and rescue operation began. After an extensive, initial 10-day effort, Irwin wasn’t found.

Using a human remains detection canine, Irwin was found within the original search area during an off-trail grid search.

A cause of death was not immediately provided by officials in a news release.

Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON. 



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