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Babi Yar Park: How former President Jimmy Carter made one Denver memorial possible

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Babi Yar Park: How former President Jimmy Carter made one Denver memorial possible


DENVER — The nation is remembering the life and legacy of former President Jimmy Carter following his death on Sunday. He was 100 years old.

Carter was known as a humanitarian and visited Colorado in 2013 with Habitat for Humanity to help build and repair homes. However, he has another connection to the Centennial State, dating back to the early 1980s.

“Where do we begin?” asked Helen Ginsburg, with her toy poodle, Tucker, sitting on her lap. Ginsburg, 90, was born and raised in Denver.

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In 1941, Nazi soldiers killed thousands of people at Babi Yar, a ravine in Ukraine.

“They call it the Holocaust by Bullet,” said Ginsburg, who is Jewish. “The people were rounded up — men in one line, women in another, and even the children. They were forced to walk through the town, strip naked and stand there while they shot them all down, hoping they’d fall into the ravine and they wouldn’t have a sloppy mess to have to clear up. And that’s where it all began.”

Ginsburg knew she wanted a memorial in Denver to call attention to what happened at Babi Yar but did not know where she could acquire the funding to do so.

“I wasn’t able to get enough money raised for the park, and it was: do it or it’s going to die,” she explained.

At the time, Ginsburg was the founding president of the Babi Yar Park Foundation but board members were dropping like flies.

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“There were about 30 on the board, but four men stayed with me,” Ginsburg recalled. “I came to one of our meetings, and I said, ‘I know where we’re going to get the money.’ ‘Where is that?’ I said, ‘I’ve got to go to Washington [D.C.] to speak to President Carter.’ And they looked at me like I was out of my mind… One of them did have connections in Washington that he thought could find out about getting me in for an interview. And it all worked. And off I went.”

Ginsburg was hopeful when she entered the White House, ready to meet with then-President Jimmy Carter. She was the only woman inside the meeting and made her presentation to the president first.

“I got up and I gave my talk, and hoped I was remembering most everything. But when I finished, I pulled out this long, thick envelope I had brought with me that had every detail you could think of so he could read up if he needed to get more information. And he said, ‘I won’t need that. I am going to give you what you need for this park,’” Ginsburg said. “He explained that the $178,000 we’d be receiving — isn’t that an amazing number? — that was what was left over from the Big Thompson Flood years before no one had claimed it for any other purpose.”

Helen Ginsburg meeting with Jimmy Carter

Jaimie Williams-Dawson

A photograph of the meeting where Helen Ginsburg explained her need for the funding of Babi Yar Park.

Ginsburg was thrilled and could only think about her dreams of a Babi Yar memorial becoming a reality during the rest of the meeting. As the group prepared to exit the room, Carter asked Ginsburg to stay back for a moment.

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“He said, ‘I think there ought to be a Holocaust Museum here in the United States.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s a wonderful idea,’” said Ginsburg.

Ginsburg told Carter the museum should be located in Washington, D.C.

“I’m sure I wasn’t the only person that told him that, but it was thrilling that he asked me with such deep sincerity,” Ginsburg said. “I went to Washington for over a year, flown out on their dollar, to be a consultant with the huge committee that was formed to plan and build a museum — everything — because he felt that Babi Yar Park here in Denver was sort of a trial run and that I would encounter the kinds of problems they might encounter and what were they. And I sure was able to tell them. And it was a wonderful time in my life.”

What Ginsburg remembers most about Carter is the way he treated her and her ideas.

“Very warm, caring, really human, human being. And I think our country needs a lot of that right now,” said Ginsburg.

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She wrote to Carter, inviting him to the dedication of Babi Yar Park. While he was not able to attend, Carter replied to her letter and said he would be there in spirit.

Jimmy Carter letter

Jaimie Williams-Dawson

A letter written from former President Jimmy Carter to Helen Ginsburg.

“I think that says a lot not only about the man but about Colorado and the importance of the message of Babi Yar Park,” said Ginsburg.

Today, Babi Yar Park Memorial is a 27-acre park located in Denver’s Hampden neighborhood.

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Things To Do In And Around Denver This Weekend – 12/17-12/21 – 303 Magazine

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Things To Do In And Around Denver This Weekend – 12/17-12/21 – 303 Magazine


When: Dec 7, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where: Fight Club – 1959 16th St Mall Denver
Cost: Price varies
The Lowdown: 

Guests have the option of $39 bottomless flatbreads, which includes the price of their oche reservation for Social Darts®. The bottomless flatbread menu features Smoked Salmon Flatbread, Four Cheese Flatbread, Breakfast Flatbread, or Garden Vegetable Flatbread. Guests can also order off the á la carte menu, which includes a fresh-cut fruit plate, breakfast sliders,, avocado toast, and Flight Club’s famous churros.





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Denver airport delays, crashes, broken windows, downed power lines: What to know about Colorado’s windy Wednesday

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Denver airport delays, crashes, broken windows, downed power lines: What to know about Colorado’s windy Wednesday


Hurricane-force winds in Colorado on Wednesday had a major impact across the Denver metro area, Front Range, and foothills. It’s a First Alert Weather Day because of the dangerous conditions.

Gusts of over 100 mph — equivalent to a category 2 hurricane — were reported in some parts of the Front Range, and over 100,000 people were without power as of 7 p.m. On Berthoud Pass, between Empire and Winter Park, wind gusts reached at least 102 mph. They reached 97 mph at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge in Boulder County, 96 mph in Marshall, and 93 mph in West Arvada. 

Several highways were closed, Denver International Airport saw dozens of delays, power lines and other property damage were reported, schools were closed, Denver’s holiday events were canceled, and thousands of homes and businesses were without power after Xcel’s Public Safety Power Shutoff and unplanned outages.

Power shutoff

Xcel Energy was implementing what it calls a Public Safety Shutoff, for only the second time ever in Colorado. An estimated 50,000 people across the Front Range were impacted, mostly in Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld counties.

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Restoration for some areas was expected to start around 6 p.m. Wednesday, but many customers told CBS News Colorado that Xcel told them it could be up to three days before their power is restored.

Downed power lines are seen as a result of powerful winds near Golden, Colorado, on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

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As a result, the Colorado Division of Emergency Management opened charging centers, shelters, and resource centers in the impacted areas.

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Xcel said it shut off the power in these areas because of the combination of wind speeds and dry conditions that increase the chance of wildfires.

Once conditions improve, Xcel Energy Colorado President Robert Kenney said crews will begin inspecting lines to determine when power can be restored.

“Once the wind event stops, that does not mean your power will be immediately restored,” he said. “We have several hundred crew members that are already being pre-positioned, that are on standby, so that when the wind event does end, they will be able to immediately begin inspecting the lines. They have to visually inspect the lines for damage before restoring the power.”

Delayed flights

The Federal Aviation Administration called for a ground delay at Denver International Airport from 5 through 8 p.m., although that’s subject to change, based on evolving weather conditions.

As of about 6:30 p.m., 66 flights were delayed, and one was canceled.

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Wind gusts were recorded at around 40 mph at the airport around 5 p.m.

School closures

Several school districts — including Jefferson County, Colorado’s second-largest — closed schools, and many also canceled after-school activities.

The University of Colorado cancelled classes, but the Buffs’ basketball game against Portland State is continuing, although fans are not allowed to attend.

Highway closures

Several highways in the foothills near Boulder, as well as in Northern Colorado up to the Wyoming state line, were closed. At least one crash also closed the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 on the Eastern Plains.

Those planned closures included:

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  • Highway 93 between Boulder and Arvada
  • Highway 36 between Boulder and Lyons
  • Highway 128 from Superior to Highway 93 
  • Highway 287 between Ted’s Place and the Wyoming border closed this afternoon, but has since reopened

Damage and other closures

Power lines were reported as having fallen across the Denver metro area, adding to the number of customers without power.

A number of local businesses were also forced to close — some out of caution, others due to a lack of power.

Car and structure windows were also broken by flying debris, like this car in Boulder, whose windows were shattered by small, flying rocks.

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A car window in Boulder, Colorado, was shattered by flying rocks on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.

CBS


Despite losing power around 10 a.m., Ace Hardware in Golden remained open and kept busy, selling generators, flashlights, batteries, and tools and materials to prevent or fix damage.

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Some business owners raised concerns about what a days-long outage could mean for their companies, products, and customers.

“We could lose everything,” DeAnn Wieber, owner of the Windy Saddle Cafe in Golden, said. “We could lose all our food, the time that it took to prepare everything, and we just don’t know. And there’s are a lot of businesses going through the same thing.”

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Canceled due to high winds: Wednesday’s drone show, holiday tree, Christkindlmarket

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Canceled due to high winds: Wednesday’s drone show, holiday tree, Christkindlmarket


Downtown’s Mile High Drone Show, the Denver Christkindlmarket and access to the Mile High Tree have been canceled for Wednesday, Dec. 17, due to high winds, said producers at Visit Denver.



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