This April marks the 25th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, a watershed moment in American history that has become emblematic of a harrowing chapter in our national narrative on gun violence and mass shootings. The tragedy of Columbine, where two students embarked on a meticulously planned attack, leaving 13 dead and 24 injured, was not just a moment of national mourning but a turning point that shifted the American psyche. We are criminologists who study gun violence. This January, we surveyed 10,000 Americans about their experience with and exposure to mass sh ..read more

Christian Nationalism threatens our freedoms and democracy Re: “Coloradan on trial for Jan. 6 wanted to bring God to the Capitol,” April 7 commentary I have to admire Krista Kafer’s comments on what she perceives as religious nationalism. Certainly, the trends that she shows of this alarming tendency in other countries are certainly rearing their ugly heads here. I never thought that the religious freedom guaranteed in the Bill of Rights would be under threat by a tiny, vocal minority, but yet it is. Should those of us who do not agree with the beliefs promulgated by Christian Nationalists fea ..read more

Over the next few weeks, Nikola Jokic will win his third MVP award for the Nuggets. There will be no Hart-break for the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon. And the Broncos, drum roll please, will draft a cornerback. Wait, what? Didn’t they fire Vic Fangio? Upon seeing Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest ESPN mock draft, I wondered if he was mocking Broncos Country. At No. 12, the Broncos select Quinyon Mitchell. Holy Toledo. Mitchell is faster than fiber optics — a 4.33-second time in the 40-yard dash — and he broke up everything but Hollywood marriages with 46 career PBUs. By all measurables, he is a worthy fir ..read more

High winds, fire danger: Could Xcel do more to prevent power outages? Re: “Extreme winds fuel fire, outages,” April 7 news story and “Xcel’s preemptive shutdown criticized,” April 9 news story In response to complaints about Xcel proactively cutting off electricity to 55,000 Front Range customers during our windy weekend, would you rather take your chances with a devastating fire? Those who say that Xcel has done this to avoid lawsuits are only seeing half the issue – lawsuits would follow loss from wildfire. Is having electricity every minute of every day more important than whether wind-driv ..read more

Denver’s new plan to care for migrants and refugees has real merit and is worth the risks. The Denver Asylum Seeker Program launched on Wednesday is perhaps the most creative and ambitious plan developed by Mayor Mike Johnston, to date, and that’s saying something. We are proud that our city — once defiantly proclaiming “Immigrants Welcome” during the Trump administration — has stepped up to care for the approximately 40,000 people who were bussed here from the southern border. But that care has cost $68 million since December of 2022. Johnston’s plan will provide more services to fewer refuge ..read more

Let’s play a game, the climate-change game that every living thing on Earth has no choice but to play, starting … now. The game is called Adapt/Move/Die, and the rules are simple. The object of the game is not to die. And the winners, well, the winners get to keep playing the game. You may say wait, what about Solve? Isn’t solving the climate crisis an option? Yes, of course, and a worthy goal. But even if humanity somehow musters the now-lacking resolve to rapidly phase out fossil fuels, greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in hundreds of thousands of years ..read more

Last week a D.C. jury deliberated the case of 71-year-old Rebecca Lavrenz, one of 16 Coloradans arrested for participation in the January 6, 2020 attack on the U.S. Capitol. She was found guilty of four misdemeanor charges, including “disorderly conduct inside a restricted building with the intent to disrupt government proceedings.” In her own words, Lavrenz followed the mob inside to bring God’s “presence into the Capitol building … to reconfirm the covenant which was set forth in the year 1620 by our pilgrim forefathers, that this country was established ‘…for the glory of God and the advanc ..read more

Sean Keeler: Are the Nuggets and Avalanche good … or just good enough to break your heart? When things go south in April, I always try to remind myself that the ’22 Stanley Cup champs only won four of their last 10 regular-season games and that the ’23 NBA champs went 5-5 in the 10 games immediately preceding the greatest postseason run in Nuggets history. Unfortunately, both the Nuggs and Avs this month are in a “chasing” position with a week or two to go until the postseason cranks up. And because of that, they’ve battled health problems — Jamal Murray on the hoops front, Mikko Rantanen on t ..read more

Mark McIntosh is dying. “And I have never felt more alive,” he says as we walk through his Denver-area home with jazz music humming in the background. McIntosh, 65, needs a kidney transplant. Forever healthy and active, his life turned upside down in 2022. He lacked energy, wasn’t sleeping and lost weight. McIntosh visited the doctor and was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare disorder caused by an abnormality of plasma cells in the bone marrow. Last April, McIntosh began dialysis and chemotherapy. “I am in remission,” he says with a smile. “It has opened the door for a transplant.” We know Mar ..read more

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it is probably Bo Nix. The mock drafts continue to mock us, pinning any number of quarterbacks to the Broncos’ mane. But the most prevalent remains Oregon’s Nix. There are a number of reasons why Nix could fit as the 12th overall pick, most notably his athleticism, toughness and experience. I think he replaced Dan Fouts at Oregon, but need to double check this. My issues with Nix are two-fold: value and projection. He is not a top-12 player in this draft even when pretzling logic because of the importance of the position. Wat ..read more