Denver, CO

Lauren Boebert faces new GOP contenders in Fort Lupton debate

Published

2 years ago

January 26, 2024

Lauren Boebert faces new GOP contenders in Fort Lupton debate

FORT LUPTON — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert got into the mix with eight fellow Republican contenders in a 4th Congressional District debate Thursday night in this Weld County city, less than a month after she announced she was moving to the eastern side of Colorado — and a new district — to run for Congress again.

Although there were a few barbs lobbed her way from competitors for her sudden move from the 3rd Congressional District to the 4th, the debate was largely civil with few personal insults thrown.

Three Republican candidates from the 8th Congressional District, Colorado’s newest district north of Denver, also debated Thursday night at the Fort Lupton Recreation Center. They reserved most of their criticism for Democrat Yadira Caraveo, the Thornton pediatrician who’s a little more than halfway through her first term in Congress.

Joe Andujo, an Air Force veteran who immigrated from Mexico when he was young, said he would be happy to compare Latino credentials with Caraveo, who is Colorado’s first Latina in Congress.

“I can even debate her in Spanish if she so desires,” he said.

He is running against Weld County Commissioner Scott James and state Rep. Gabe Evans in the 8th District.

But the bigger stage Thursday was made up of nine of the GOP candidates running for Colorado’s 4th District, the state’s most solid Republican stronghold in Congress. State Rep. Mike Lynch, until this week the minority leader in the House, made a direct dig at Boebert for her district switch.

“Can you give the definition of ‘carpetbagger’ to me?” he asked to several muted gasps in the audience of more than 100 party faithful.

Boebert responded that her sons “needed a fresh start” from the family turmoil she has gone through with her recent divorce and the arrest of her ex-husband in Silt this month.

“My boys need some freedom from what has been going on,” Boebert said. “The crops may be different in Colorado’s 4th District (than the 3rd), but the values aren’t.”

The second-term congresswoman’s new home is in Windsor.

In a straw poll taken after the debate, which was put on by the Republican Women of Weld, Lynch came in second with 20 votes while Boebert landed fifth with 12. Former state lawmaker and Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg was the top vote-getter, with 22.

Not surprisingly, immigration took center stage Thursday, with all of the candidates in both debates saying the large inflows of migrants over the southern border was one of the biggest — if not the chief — issue facing the country.

“It is time to put Americans first,” said Peter Yu, who has run unsuccessfully for the 2nd Congressional District and the U.S. Senate.

Candidate and state Rep. Richard Holtorf, who owns a ranch near Akron, was more blunt.

“Narco-terrorists are destroying our country,” he said.

Several of the candidates, when asked, questioned the legitimacy of President Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, and nearly all of them were in favor of term limits. There was a split on the stage on support for U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who ran into trouble with some Republicans this month for working with Democrats to keep the government funded.

Six of the nine candidates in the 4th District raised their hands — to laughs and applause from the audience — when asked if anyone had been arrested.

“We’re all sinners,” said Sonnenberg, who said he once spent a night in jail for speeding.

Lynch’s DUI arrest in 2022 came to light last week and led to his demotion from his post as House minority leader on Wednesday, as some of his Republican colleagues said they had lost confidence in his leadership.

“We need people who understand people, who are human and make mistakes,” Lynch said of his personal foibles.

Boebert still represents the Western Slope-centered 3rd Congressional District but faced daunting prospects for reelection there, as personal scandals ensnared her and energized Democratic opposition mounted. She made huge headlines in the waning days of 2023, when she suddenly announced she would be running for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep Ken Buck at the end of this year.

Her name once again went wide just hours before Thursday’s debate, after Garfield County prosecutors announced they filed formal criminal charges against her ex-husband, Jayson Boebert, after two separate alleged confrontations with family members this month.

Other candidates on the stage during the 4th District debate included Ted Harvey, who served in both chambers of Colorado’s legislature; Deborah Flora; Trent Leisy; and Chris Phelen.

In the 8th Congressional District debate, James said he could work across the aisle and had won the last seven elections he had been in.

“They do not have a voice in Washington, D.C. — they have been forgotten,” he said of the residents of eastern Colorado. “I’ll be that voice of calmness.”

Gabe Evans, a former Arvada police officer who is serving his first term in the state House representing Adams and Weld counties, lambasted Democrats and their track record in Congress.

“Watching what the left is doing to my state is why I’m in politics right now,” he said.

Evans overwhelmingly won the straw poll Thursday night, with 69 votes. James received 33, and Andujo garnered 13.

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Denver, CO

Cheapest gas prices in Denver hit less than $2 Sunday ahead of Thanksgiving weekend

Published

12 hours ago

November 24, 2025

Press Room

Cheapest gas prices in Denver hit less than Sunday ahead of Thanksgiving weekend

Where to find the cheapest gas prices in Denver

DENVER (KDVR) — Gas prices in Denver are trending down just in time for the busy Thanksgiving travel weekend, with one station in the city even hitting less than $2 on Sunday, according to GasBuddy.

Just in the last week, gas prices in Denver have fallen 14.5 cents per gallon, hitting a $2.47 per gallon average Monday morning, Gadbuddy reported. That number is lower than the national average of $3.03 per gallon, and it is even nearly 30 cents lower than Denver’s average prices a year ago.

This is the lowest average gas price for this day, Nov. 24, in Denver since 2020, according to GasBuddy, and omitting the 2020 dip caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the last time Denver saw this or a lower average price on Nov. 24 was in 2017.

Monday’s $2.47 average price per gallon is also the lowest average so far this year.

Here’s where the cheapest gas prices were in Denver on Sunday and Monday:

Shell, 7273 E. Evans Ave. – $1.94
Sinclair, 2101 S. Holly St. – $2.03
QuikTrip, 6477 E. Evans Ave. – $2.03
Murphy Express, 4990 E. Evans Ave. – $2.03
Conoco/7-Eleven, 7080 Tower Rd. – $2.05

The Shell station on Evans Avenue was also the lowest gas price in the state at the time, GasBuddy reported. the most expensive gas price in the city at the time was $1.35 higher at $3.29 per gallon.

Neighboring areas and the state as a whole are also seeing lower average gas prices.

Fort Collins’s average was $2.59 per gallon, down 7.3 cents from the week before; Colorado Springs had a 14.7-cent drop to an average of $2.49 per gallon; and Colorado as a whole had a 12.8-cent drop to $2.71 per gallon.

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Denver, CO

Denver Public Schools swears in new board members, delays officer elections amid questions of transparency

Published

1 day ago

November 23, 2025

Press Room

Denver Public Schools swears in new board members, delays officer elections amid questions of transparency

Denver Public Schools officially has a new school board, but not a new board president or vice president, despite attempts to vote on leadership on Friday.

Four newly elected board members took the oath of office: DJ Torres, Monica Hunter, Amy Klein Molk, who won the at-large seat, and returning member Xóchitl Gaytán. The ceremony met the state’s 10-day requirement following election certification.

Newly elected Denver Public School Board members (left to right) DJ Torres, Monica Hunter, and Amy Klein Molk, took the oath of office at a swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.

CBS

“We have a lot of staff gone for the holidays, and we also have board members traveling,” Gaytan said. “We were able to bring our new incoming colleagues together for this ceremony.”

But for some community members, the concern wasn’t the swearing-in; it was the plan to elect new officers. Under state law, school boards have 15 days after certification to select officers, which aligns with the already scheduled Dec. 2 meeting.

“There’s a lack of transparency from the top down in our world right now,” said Rosemary Rodriguez with EDUCATE Denver, a civic coalition for DPS students. “It’s really important that our trusted institutions, like our school system, be as transparent as possible.”

EDUCATE Denver Co-Chair Rosemary Rodriguez called for more transparency surrounding the election of Denver Public Schools leaders on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.

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Torres said his focus is on rebuilding trust.

“Given the community feedback, and given that some of us are new to the role, if people feel we’re not being transparent enough, I felt confident saying: let’s pause,” he said.

A few board members were unable to attend because of the holiday. The board ultimately decided to hold the officer elections on Dec. 2, allowing the full board and community members to participate.

The district says this is one of the most diverse school boards in DPS history.

It includes leaders from Black, Latine, LGBTQ+, immigrant, and multilingual communities, reflecting the lived experiences of the students and families the district serves, the district said in a press release.

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Denver, CO

Rodney Rogers, the ‘Durham Bull’ who was drafted by the Denver Nuggets, dies at 54

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

Rodney Rogers, the ‘Durham Bull’ who was drafted by the Denver Nuggets, dies at 54

By AARON BEARD

Former Wake Forest star and 12-year NBA player Rodney Rogers has died. He was 54.

The school announced Saturday that Rogers had died on Friday. Rogers — the No. 9 overall NBA draft pick in 1993 — had been paralyzed from the shoulders down since a dirt bike accident in November 2008. Rogers died of natural causes linked to his spinal cord injury, according to a statement from the National Basketball Players Association on behalf of Rogers’ family.

“The last 17 years have been both challenging and profoundly blessed,” the NBPA statement said. “Through every moment, Rodney remained a light — positive, motivated, and full of the quiet strength that inspired everyone around him.”

Rogers was the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year in 1991 and player of the year in 1993 whose No. 54 jersey was retired by the Demon Deacons. The burly 6-foot-7 forward with powerful athleticism earned the “Durham Bull” nickname during his prep career, then went on to score nearly 9,500 points in the NBA while being named league sixth man of the year in 2000.

Rogers’ injury led to the establishment of a foundation bearing his name, with Rogers encouraging people with spinal cord injuries while promoting resilience and personal growth in the face of those challenges. The school honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022 along with an honorary degree.

“Rodney is the strongest person I have ever met — physically and mentally — and his resilience was evident in the fight he showed every single day,” program great and former teammate Randolph Childress said in a statement released by the school. “I’ve said this before and I still mean it today: he was the best athlete ever to walk onto Wake Forest’s campus. He meant so much to so many people, and I feel profoundly blessed to have been with him yesterday.”

Rogers played three years at Wake Forest, averaging 21.2 points in the 1992-93 season that saw Wake Forest reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, before entering the NBA draft as a junior. He started his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets and went on to play with the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers.

“It’s easy to focus on his extraordinary talent, but what stood out to everyone who knew him was that he was every bit as remarkable as a human being,” said Dave Odom, Rogers’ coach at Wake Forest. “He loved his teammates, he loved his family, he loved Wake Forest and he loved the game of basketball. He loved playing for Wake Forest.

“Every time we visited him, I walked away reminding myself never to complain — because he never did. He faced life exactly as it came and made the very best of every moment. He was a joy to watch as a basketball player, but he was an even greater man. He shared his strength, his spirit and his life with everyone around him.”

According to the NBPA statement, Rogers is survived by wife, Faye; daughters Roddreka and Rydiah; sons Rodney II and Devonte; his mother, Estelle Spencer; and Eric Hipilito, embraced as a son by Rogers.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

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