Denver, CO
Denver to get rapid DNA processors to identify the dead
DENVER (KDVR) — New know-how is coming to Colorado that may assist establish victims in mass causality incidents faster.
Denver’s Workplace of the Medical Examiner obtained a federal grant to pay for fast DNA processors. Solely a handful of coroner’s places of work within the nation have the cutting-edge know-how and shortly Denver might be certainly one of them.
The machines considerably pace up the method of figuring out those that have handed away, giving households closure faster.
Three fast DNA processors will quickly be within the Denver lab because of a $386,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Administration Company and the Division of Homeland Safety.
Ian Harwick, the decedent affairs coordinator at Denver’s workplace, was a author for the grant and mentioned the machines are wanted in Colorado for emergency preparedness.
“That is actually a game-changer when it comes to how rapidly we’ll be capable of get outcomes,” Harwick mentioned. “If one thing had been to occur within the area tomorrow, we must name in exterior sources to come back in and supply their know-how or we’d be working with an already backlogged Denver Police Division’s crime lab.”
Speedy DNA know-how provides leads to below 2 hours
The fast know-how makes use of the DNA of a sufferer and attainable relations to establish who the deceased particular person is. The machines produce leads to fewer than two hours in comparison with months at an outdoor facility.
The fast DNA processors minimize down on the lag time throughout tragedy. They’re usually utilized in mass casualty incidents, like final yr’s condominium collapse in Florida that killed 98 individuals and the 2018 Camp Fireplace in California that killed 85 individuals.
“It’s not only a mass taking pictures,” Harwick mentioned. “It may very well be the fireplace hazard that lots of the foothills at the moment are dwelling in.”
Colorado noticed each in current historical past with the mass taking pictures at King Soopers in Boulder and the Marshall Fireplace final yr. Harwick mentioned it may additionally assist in flooding, aircraft crashes and extra. He added that their hope is to make use of the know-how to establish those that have died and are nonetheless unidentified.
“I hope that we’re actually capable of give some individuals some closure,” Harwick mentioned. It’s actually necessary to me to have the ability to do that. I see how many individuals lose contact with their households and it simply makes me unhappy.”
In response to the workplace, there are 17 individuals who stay unidentified in Denver. There are nonetheless a couple of steps the workplace must take, however they’re hoping to have these machines up and operating by the top of the yr or early subsequent yr.
Denver, CO
Colorado weather: Colder temperatures still to come, snow returns Sunday to Denver
The Front Range and Eastern Plains saw freezing, below-zero temperatures in the double digits overnight, but the worst of the arctic blast is yet to come.
Park County, southwest of metro Denver, experienced some of the coldest temperatures overnight Saturday, National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Koopmeiners said.
Temperatures fell to minus 33 degrees at Lake George, about 40 miles west of Colorado Springs, and to minus 37 at the nearby Elevenmile Canyon Reservoir, Koopmeiners said. Some areas out east on the plains, including Berthoud, saw overnight lows near minus 19.
Everything you need to know about the polar vortex bringing extreme cold to Colorado
Koopmeiners said temperatures bottomed out around 11 degrees below zero in Denver, but the wind chill made it feel closer to minus 29.
More snow is expected to fall Sunday across the Front Range and Eastern Plains, which Koopmeiners said will keep the worst of the cold at bay.
“The clouds help insulate the area when it snows, so it won’t get as cold and we won’t see some of those negative temperatures,” Koopmeiners said.
Chances for snow will start in Denver around sunset, but snowfall will be more likely to start between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Koopmeiners said. The city can expect an inch or two of new accumulation before the snow stops around noon Monday.
“It will be a light, dry snow that doesn’t hold a lot of moisture,” Koopmeiners said. “The kind where you shut your car door and all the snow falls off the windows.”
The coldest temperatures of the 4-day arctic blast will come Monday night into Tuesday morning, he said. Wind chill temperatures will hit minus 25 over the Eastern Plains and up to minus 50 in the mountains and mountain valleys.
Denver, alongside most of the Front Range, is under a Cold Weather Advisory until 9 a.m. Tuesday.
“Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 25 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes,” forecasters said in the advisory.
Metro Denver is forecast to see Monday night temperature lows near minus 9, with wind chills of 25 degrees below zero.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
Originally Published:
Denver, CO
Denver Animal Shelter anticipates increase in calls as frigid temps put pets at risk
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Denver, CO
Broncos’ Full Slate of 2025 NFL Draft Picks Revealed
The Denver Broncos overachieved in 2024. They were the sleeper that no one saw coming.
It’s safe to say that NFL opponents won’t be overlooking the Broncos in 2025. This team needs to get better and stronger with a successful offseason haul in both free agency and the NFL draft.
The Broncos have a full complement of draft picks this year. Keep in mind, Denver traded its fifth-round pick this year to the Miami Dolphins as part of the Bradley Chubb deal.
However, the Broncos have three sixth-rounders this year because they swapped their seventh-round pick for a sixth in the Albert Okwuegbunam trade with the Philadelphia Eagles and picked up another sixth in the Baron Browning deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
Denver upgraded its original seventh-rounder for a sixth by parting with Okwuegbunam and added another by trading a player from a position in which the team had a log jam. The Browning trade worked out because it opened the door for Nik Bonitto to turn in an All-Pro season with 13.5 sacks and gave the Broncos another sixth-round draft pick.
On the heels of the NFL solidifying No. 20 as the Broncos’ draft slot this coming spring, here’s a look at the team’s selections, with a little help from prosportstransactions.com and nflmockdraftdatabase.com. Please note, however, that the specific slots of the late-round picks are projections as the compensatory picks have yet to be announced by the NFL.
What happens next on the Broncos beat? Don’t miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!
What will the Broncos do in the first round? The team’s biggest needs are arguably on the offensive side of the ball, including running back, tight end, and wide receiver, as well as some holes on the defensive line, inside linebacker, and the secondary.
With a projected $48 million in salary-cap space, too, it’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Free agency will take place first, which should allow the Broncos to fill the most immediate roster holes, freeing them up to cultivate a best-player-available philosophy when the draft rolls around.
Keep in mind, the placement of the Broncos’ late-round picks are projected for now. But we at least know that Denver has three sixth-rounders this year, one of which is its original pick, with the other two arriving via trade.
Follow Denver Broncos On SI/Mile High Huddle on Instagram, X, and Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
-
Science1 week ago
Metro will offer free rides in L.A. through Sunday due to fires
-
Technology1 week ago
Amazon Prime will shut down its clothing try-on program
-
News1 week ago
Mapping the Damage From the Palisades Fire
-
Technology1 week ago
L’Oréal’s new skincare gadget told me I should try retinol
-
Technology4 days ago
Super Bowl LIX will stream for free on Tubi
-
Business5 days ago
Why TikTok Users Are Downloading ‘Red Note,’ the Chinese App
-
Technology2 days ago
Nintendo omits original Donkey Kong Country Returns team from the remaster’s credits
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump to be sentenced in New York criminal trial