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Music festival aims to bring Colorado piano students together, foster learning and growth

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Music festival aims to bring Colorado piano students together, foster learning and growth


Inside a Denver-area home, students of all ages are perfecting their musical craft on the grand piano.

“I love being able to like express feelings and emotions and like really move people,” said Courtney Merrill, a senior in high school. “I like people saying that they got goosebumps after hearing me play because like yes, that’s exactly what I was going for.”

Both Merrill and her younger brother Trey have been playing the piano for most of their young lives.

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Courtney Merrill and her younger brother Trey

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“Just developing a hobby, and developing a skill that works, that takes hard work to develop,” said Trey.

“It’s not like doing a team sport. You’re not around a whole bunch of other kids when you’re working on it, you’re just kind of all by yourself,” said Cheryl Reeder, an Adams County piano teacher. “When you get together with a bunch of kids that are your age and you’re doing this too, it’s kind of encouraging to see that.”

It’s seeing that encouraging sight that, in part, encouraged Reeder to convert her house into the home of what has become the Adams County Music Festival.

Back in 2022, she and another piano teacher started raising money for a festival for piano players 6 to 18 years old after she says funding kept impacting an existing festival run by the Thornton Arts Council.

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“There are opportunities if you like go down to Denver but then that’s a bigger pool of talent right and it’s a little more difficult for the kids to do well and things like that,” said Reeder. “We thought it was going to only be a one-year thing and then we would have this other competition would come back and it just didn’t.”

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Adams County piano teacher Cheryl Reeder

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However, the demand among students and their families to keep this competition running was undeniable.

“It’s helped me become a better public speaker because it helps me handle the nervousness of being in front of people and it also helps me feel really confident in my ability to play,” said Courtney.

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Giving Adams County kids a platform to compete amongst peers does come at a cost, however.

“We do have to pay our judges and we want them to be good judges,” said Reeder. “We also like to give the kids both trophies and some prize money. Because when they get that prize money it makes them feel like more like working towards it.”

As Reeder crowdfunds to continue the two-night festival, her students remain focused on honing down their pieces.

“Just to show what I’ve developed over the last couple years,” said Trey.

The festival runs from April 10 to April 11. Information about it can be found here.

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Colorado mother says Lakewood crash killed son, left 2 of her children critically injured as driver is arrested

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Colorado mother says Lakewood crash killed son, left 2 of her children critically injured as driver is arrested


A mother is grieving after a crash in the Denver metro area last weekend left her son brain-dead and two of her other children fighting for their lives.

Lakewood police say 22-year-old Andrew Logan Miller has been arrested in connection with the crash, which happened Dec. 6 around 7:30 p.m. near Kipling Parkway and West 6th Avenue.

Police say Miller was driving an SUV southbound on Kipling Parkway at a high rate of speed when it collided with a bus carrying a wrestling team from Central High School, which is located in Grand Junction in Mesa County.

Sixteen people were taken to hospitals.

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Among the injured were three siblings who were riding inside the SUV.

On Friday, their mother, Suleyma Gonzalez, identified them as Julio Gonzalez, 18, Analelly Gonzalez, 17, and Christopher Gonzalez, 14.

Analelly and Christopher remain in critical condition. Julio will never wake up.

“I didn’t want to believe it, until they had to do the second testing where they didn’t find blood going through his brain,” she said. “My other two are in comas.”

Gonzalez said doctors ultimately declared Julio brain-dead.

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She describes her children as disciplined students and ROTC members with plans for the future.

“Two of my kids were going to graduate this year,” she said. “No drugs. No alcohol. They were good kids.”

CBS Colorado’s Tori Mason, right, interviews Suleyma Gonzalez.

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Gonzalez confirmed that Miller, who was driving the SUV at the time of the crash, was her daughter’s boyfriend.

“I know he loved my daughter,” she said. “I don’t think he did this on purpose or intentionally. It was an accident.”

Police say the investigation is ongoing, but believe speed played a major role in the crash.

Miller was arrested Wednesday night and is facing multiple charges, including:

• Vehicular assault (7 counts)
• Speeding 40 mph or more over the limit
• Reckless driving
• Child abuse (2 counts)
• Reckless endangerment

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“My kids know when you get in somebody’s car, there’s always a risk. Always,” she said.

Julio’s organs will be donated. He’s on life support, while the hospital searches for matches.

“He wanted to give to the world,” she said. “Now that I can’t get him back, we want to give life to somebody else.”

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Suleyma Gonzalez with her family  

Suleyma Gonzalez

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Miller is currently being held in the Denver County Jail and is awaiting transfer to the Jefferson County Jail. His bond and court appearance have not yet been announced.

Lakewood police say the investigation remains active.

Gonzalez, a single mother of five, says her focus now is on her surviving children and getting clarity.

“I just want answers.”

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DOJ sues Colorado Secretary of State for failure to release state voter information

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DOJ sues Colorado Secretary of State for failure to release state voter information


DENVER, Colo. (KKTV) – The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced Thursday a lawsuit against the Colorado Secretary of State for failure to produce state voter information.

Secretary of State Jena Griswold claims the DOJ sent a “broad” request for the voter registration rolls on May 12.

Griswold says her office complied with the request and “shared the publicly available data consistent with applicable law.” However, the lawsuit against Griswold says that her office did not respond to the letter.

Griswold sent a letter in November signed by several Secretaries of State to the DOJ and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting clarification on how the data would be used, but she claims neither replied to the questions in the letter.

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The lawsuit goes on to allege that DOJ attorney Eric Neff followed up by emailing Secretary Griswold on Dec. 1, requesting Colorado’s Statewide Voter Registration list.

Griswold said this request asked the office to share unredacted voter data, including a voter’s full name, date of birth, residential address, and complete state driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.

Griswold responded by email on Dec. 3, stating, “We received your request. We will not be producing unredacted voter files or signing the MOU,” the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit cites the Civil Rights Act, which gives the United States Attorney General the power to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of the statewide voter registration lists.

The DOJ is requesting a judge to declare that Griswold violated the Civil Rights Act and to order her to provide the current electronic copy of Colorado’s statewide voter registration list.

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Griswold’s office released the following statement:

The DOJ released the following statement regarding the lawsuit:



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Toyota Game Recap: 12/11/2025 | Colorado Avalanche

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Toyota Game Recap: 12/11/2025 | Colorado Avalanche


ColoradoAvalanche.com is the official Web site of the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado Avalanche and ColoradoAvalanche.com are trademarks of Colorado Avalanche, LLC. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2025 Colorado Avalanche Hockey Team, Inc. and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved. NHL Stadium Series name and logo are trademarks of the National Hockey League.



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