The Catch Up: Feb. 10-14, 2025
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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Greeley and partners suggest a city campus plan
The City of Greeley, Weld County, and Greeley-Evans School District 6 are developing a plan to further enhance downtown Greeley as a central employment hub. Chris Wood with BizWest told KUNC that the area's population is growing rapidly, creating new demands.
“The county will get two new judges this year, with a total of five new judges over the next five to seven years,” he said. “At the same time, the city and the school district are contemplating major rehabs after a number of buildings flooded last year, including City Hall.”
County staff are expected to decide on a proposal for a new justice center next Tuesday, Feb. 18. Meanwhile, the Greeley Downtown Development Authority has allocated $1 million for a new parking garage.
Colorado bill would protect immigrants from arrest in certain places
Colorado’s two U.S. senators are backing a measure that would bar immigration officers from arresting people in schools, hospitals and places of worship. On Monday, Democrats John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet said they support the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act. They say it would reestablish a longstanding precedent that the Trump administration has recently reversed. Nineteen other senators back the bill. Hickenlooper and Bennet say they were motivated by reports ICE agents had blocked school buses in Denver from picking up children during raids last week.
National parks hiring freeze concerns Colorado delegation
Concerns are growing in Washington about the impacts of a hiring freeze on seasonal workers at national parks. Colorado’s John Hickenlooper and twenty other Senators are asking the Trump administration to not reduce staffing. They warn a lack of seasonal employees could mean campground closures, filthy bathrooms, longer emergency response times and economic impacts to gateway communities, like Estes Park. A spokesperson for the Park Service says Trump’s hiring freeze order allows for exemptions, and the agency is “assessing our most critical staffing needs for park operations and working to hire key positions.”
Colorado lawmakers debate reproductive health
Democrats in Colorado's general assembly want to protect emergency reproductive healthcare. A nearly 40-year-old law requires hospitals to provide emergency medical treatment. That includes abortion and miscarriage care, regardless of ability to pay. But after Roe v. Wade was overturned, hospitals and doctors around the U.S. have faced ambiguity about the care they're allowed to provide. A bill introduced this week requires hospital emergency departments to provide abortion and miscarriage care without exception, including when a patient needs to be stabilized to save their life.
Road closures around DIA
February will be a busy month for construction on Peña Boulevard. The main drag to Denver International Airport is seeing closures and detours as crews redesign outbound ramps and widen bridges. Ramp closures are expected into May. This is just one phase of a $51 million makeover that’s expected to take years. Improvements to Peña Boulevard are part of ongoing work in and around DIA to support record passenger traffic.
Passenger traffic isn’t the only thing going up at Denver International Airport
A new public artwork just got the green light from Denver City Council this week for DIA. “The Stars and the Cottonwood” is a giant tree sculpture that will tower 60 feet at the south end of the airport’s Great Hall. The city approved a $3.6 million contract for the artwork. It could take up to three years for the piece to be built and installed. Artist Donald Lipski says he will drape the tree’s canopy with 30,000 crystals to cast rainbow prisms of light in the terminal.
