The Catch-Up: October 28 - November 1
Each week, KUNC collects and curates some of the more important stories of the week that have aired on our daily newscast. We know how busy life can be, and that it's not always possible to get your news on our airwaves (or from streaming us right here on our website). Fill in the gaps and catch up right here. No one enjoys the feeling of missing out!
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Despite posting passwords online, CO officials say the election is secure
The Colorado Secretary of State鈥檚 office accidentally posted a spreadsheet on its website this week that included voting system passwords. The department says it took immediate action to remedy the situation. Officials say the breach does not pose a major security threat to Colorado鈥檚 elections. The passwords are one part of a multi-step security process. There are two unique passwords for each piece of election equipment. They are each held by separate parties in separate places and can only be used with physical, in-person access to the equipment. Governor Jared Polis took executive action Thursday to send cybersecurity resources to counties that may have been impacted. By this morning, the state reported that all passwords had been updated.
Front Range passenger rail gets $66M from federal government
Colorado's plans for passenger rail on the Front Range got a big infusion of federal funding this week. Governor Jared Polis and other state leaders gathered in Westminster to celebrate $66,000,000 going toward safety improvements on the existing rail network. The funding will be used to improve rail crossings in Berthoud, Longmont, and Boulder County. It's also paying for new control features to the track system to prevent collisions and overspeeding. The federal funding is getting a $28,000,000 match from the state.
Future Legends ordered to pay $600K to contractor
A Weld District Judge has ordered the owner of the beleaguered Future Legends sports complex to pay a contractor $600,000. The judge ordered damages this month to Brightview Landscape after the contractor sued in February for unpaid work on Windsor鈥檚 Future Legends sports complex. Future Legends responded to the lawsuit last month, disputing the bill and saying the contractor's work was defective. The judge argued Future Legends didn't show it had sufficient funds to cover costs after issuing a $200,000 check to the contractor that didn't clear the bank. The Windsor sports complex recently filed for bankruptcy. Its operations were transferred to a receivership in September. Multiple lawsuits against Future Legends are claiming over $56,000,000 in debts.
City of Loveland has three new top officials
Loveland has named a new city manager, city attorney and municipal judge after the positions sat vacant for months. City council unanimously approved the appointments this week. James Thompson will replace former City Manager Steve Adams, Vincent Junglas will step into former City Attorney Moses Garcia鈥檚 role and Jennifer Edgley will take over for former Municipal Judge Geri Joneson. reports council members negotiated severance agreements with Adams and Garcia earlier this year. Their departures came after developer McWhinney sued the city for breach of contract on the Centerra South project. The city said Joneson鈥檚 resignation was for personal reasons.
Case against Fort Collins鈥� demonstrators concludes
Three Fort Collins women pleaded no contest this week after facing charges for gluing their hands to a wall during a city council meeting in March. A no-contest plea carries the same consequences as a guilty plea but means they did not admit guilt. The women will split a one-hundred-fifty-dollar fine to cover the costs of repairing the wall. They were also charged with trespassing and petty crime. Their demonstration at the council meeting was intended to spur the city to pass a ceasefire resolution for the Israel-Hamas war and conflict in Gaza. The incident caused the meeting to end early and eventually led to the city making changes to its public comment process.聽
Colorado immigration court faces massive case backlog
Nearly 78,000 immigration cases are pending in the state鈥檚 courts. The pending cases are for immigrants who have filed for asylum or who are fighting deportation efforts. Almost a third of them are for Venezuelans who have arrived in Denver over the last few years. Case numbers have more than quadrupled since 2021. The U.S. Department of Justice has assigned nine judges to the immigration court in Denver to serve the entire state. Three judges are assigned to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Aurora. reports that 85% of immigrants in Colorado go to court without an attorney鈥搕he worst rate in the country.
Horsetooth visitors can now Text2Park
Larimer County has a new pilot system that lets visitors pay to park at Horsetooth Reservoir using their phones. The system launched last week. Visitors at Horsetooth鈥檚 Satanka Bay, Skyline, Sunrise, and Rotary parking lots can scan a QR code to pay for day-use parking. Text2Park will not replace the current self-serve payment machines that accept debit and credit cards. The county plans to expand the phone-based system to another 25 parks and open spaces in the coming year. They鈥檙e working on installing more mobile hotspots to help with connectivity.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard performs with CSO in 2025
Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard announced six shows with local orchestras in 2025, including a date with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Their performance in Colorado will be at the Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs on August 8th. The psych rockers will also host the 鈥淔ield Of Vision鈥� camping and music festival in Buena Vista from August 15th through 17th.
Denver Voice reopens
A Denver newspaper focused on homelessness that shut down in September because of financial struggles has new life. The Denver Voice is back up and running again after receiving enough donations to sustain operations through the rest of the year. The paper shut down last month because it couldn鈥檛 afford to pay its vendors or cover other expenses. reports individual donors, the Denver Foundation and the Cranaleith Foundation all made donations to keep the paper alive. The Denver Voice has hired about 4,000 unhoused individuals as vendors since the mid-1990s.
