Denver, CO
Innovative small businesses receive boost from CU Denver's Smart Futures Lab
DENVER — Ten up and coming companies have graduated from CU Denver’s Smart Futures Lab, an incubator that helps get small, tech-minded businesses off the ground.
“We want the best companies to come here to Colorado, and we try to bring them into our ecosystem to introduce to our faculty, to our staff, and then also to our cities, and bringing those solutions here,” said Dan Griner, director of the Smart Futures Lab. “We’re really continually amazed by the imagination and the variety of the people that are applying to our program.”
Denver7’s Ethan Carlson
The goal of the program is to improve Denver through Smart City implementation, where new technologies are being developed to improve infrastructure and benefit the people who live in Denver. Griner said that funding for Smart Cities is lacking in the United States.
“We are under-resourced in terms of investment in that space,” Griner said. “All those technologies are popping up in a lot of different places, and while we’re a tech leader in many ways, our implementation of those things is not matching that.”
One of the companies going through Smart Labs graduation today is Addazu, and its CEO Kelly Pickering. Addazu is a modular home company that specializes in creating homes made of flat-packed, steel pieces that are unpacked on site and put together to create houses.
Denver7’s Ethan Carlson
“There’s got to be a better way of doing this,” said Pickering, who has become frustrated with the housing industry. “To make us more efficient with our resources, to allow us to be more efficient with our labor constraints that we have with the skilled labor force that’s decreasing, and also to bring a more affordable product to the masses.”
Pickering wants to lower home prices and speed up the build times for new constructions, while also giving architectural variety to the modular home industry.
“If you think about traditional modular homes, which most of us are familiar with, you have your box that’s constrained by certain dimensions, right?” Pickering said. “We are able to break those dimensions because you’re not constrained by what you can ship down the road. We are able to flat pack everything, deliver it on site, and then get some of those more interesting architectural dimensions that help us live in a community that doesn’t feel as rigid and repeated.”
Addazu is currently seeking investments for construction along the Front Range, hoping to expand out of Colorado once they have their footing.
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Denver, CO
Denver weather: Nearing record highs again
DENVER (KDVR) – Denver and the Plains will see extra clouds Thursday with isolated storm out east and warm highs along the Front Range.
Weather today: Partly cloudy and warm
Clouds kept temperatures mild this morning and pockets of sunshine through the afternoon help us warm to the middle 80s.
We will be very close to tying a daily record high, but a light northerly breeze should stop us from hitting 87. The Eastern Plains can also see some isolated storms in the afternoon. There are also some Red Flag Warnings in the state, winds will be at 10-20 mph with gusts to 40 mph, avoid any burning or open flames in these areas.
Weather tonight: Lingering clouds
Partly cloudy skies through the day will stick with us tonight. Overnight lows will dip into the low 50s with a lighter wind.
Looking ahead: Cooler weekend with shower chances
Friday rounds out the workweek with partly to mainly sunny skies and comfy highs in the lower 80s. Saturday looks comfy as well with partly cloudy skies, highs in the upper 70s and afternoon storm chances. Sundayis still mild as highs hit the middle 70s, but clouds increase through the day with showers and storms in the evening hours. That rain can linger overnight and into Monday.
Monday has showers through the day and maybe a few flakes in the high country. Highs on Monday will be in the lower 60s with a breeze and cloudy skies. Shower chances linger into Tuesday with below average highs in the lower 60s with cloudy skies. Wednesday has smaller storm chances and a bit more sunshine as seasonal highs make it to the lower 70s.
Denver, CO
Two Denver police vehicles hit by separate drivers during traffic stop
DENVER (KDVR) — Two Denver police vehicles were hit by separate drivers during a traffic stop last week, according to a social media post from the Denver Police Department.
On May 7, officers responded to a crash on northbound Interstate 25 near the exit for Alameda Avenue.
The officers were parked with their emergency lights on to direct the traffic away from the scene of the crash. Despite the lights being on, two separate vehicles crashed into the officers’ vehicles.
One driver caused minor damage to a Denver police vehicle and was cited for careless driving. The second driver caused extensive damage to a police vehicle and was cited for careless driving, as well as arrested for allegedly driving under the influence during the crash.
Officers were in their vehicles during the incident, with one uninjured and the other taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
“Traffic safety is a shared responsibility! If you come upon flashing lights, emergency vehicles, tow trucks, or disabled vehicles while driving, move over at least one lane or slow down if it’s not safe to move over. And don’t drive under the influence,” said the department in the post.
Denver, CO
Denver testing outdoor sirens, emergency alert system this week
Denver’s outdoor warning sirens will sound for three minutes on Wednesday morning as officials test the city’s emergency systems.
All 86 outdoor sirens are scheduled to go off at 11 a.m., and at the same time the wireless emergency alert system will send a test text message to all mobile phones in Denver.
People in neighboring counties may also receive the emergency alert message, the Denver Office of Emergency Management said in a statement.
“Speed and clarity are critical in an emergency,” Executive Director Matthew Mueller said in a statement. “This test helps ensure Denver can deliver alerts across multiple platforms, so people know what to do right away.”
Denver officials have mistakenly sent emergency alerts about isolated police activity to the entire city twice in recent months — once in January when a person was barricaded near the University of Denver and once in April when two armed robbery suspects ran into a nearby home in Ruby Hill.
Denver emergency response officials may start using the outdoor sirens more often, including for destructive thunderstorms or flash flooding, instead of just for tornado warnings, city leaders said in a news release.
While Denverites don’t need to take any action during the test on Wednesday, the sirens are usually a sign to seek shelter indoors immediately and check for updates from the city and local news outlets, according to Denver officials.
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