Thursday, March 20, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1969, Mexican-American students at Denver's West High School staged one of the largest student protests in Colorado history.

Today is the first day of spring, otherwise known as the vernal equinox. Perhaps more importantly, it's Free Cone Day at participating Dairy Queen locations, where you can get a small vanilla cone on the house to celebrate the end of winter.

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Over Half of DPS Schools Close for Protests

Out of the 207 schools in the Denver Public Schools (DPS) district, 122 are closed today due to teacher absences.

More than 1,000 teachers called out of work to attend the No More Cuts rally, a demonstration organized by Colorado's teachers' union to protest cuts to education funding.

DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero released an operational plan listing the 85 schools that will remain open. Many will use guest teachers and central office employees to cover staff shortages. Marrero said that while the district supports "fully funded education," he wishes the demonstrations "didn't have a direct impact on students' education" by causing them to miss school.

Adams 12 Five Star Schools, as well as Boulder Valley School District, will also be closed today due to staff shortages.

Storm Causes Closures, Outages

Blowing snow and high winds caused several road closures and power outages throughout the state on Tuesday.

On Interstate 25, "visibility of a quarter mile or less" and 1-3 inches of snow led to multiple semi-truck crashes, forcing the highway's closure from E-470 to the Kansas border.

Part of Loveland Pass closed due to spun-out vehicles, while I-70—where two rollover crashes occurred minutes apart—was closed near Limon over safety concerns.

Late Tuesday evening, more than 3,000 CORE Electric Cooperative members in Douglas and Elbert counties experienced power outages. According to the cooperative, the outages were caused by damage from high winds.

Colorado Surgery Centers Among Best

Sixteen Colorado facilities have earned a spot on the U.S. News & World Report's Second Annual Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers Ratings.

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are same-day surgical care centers that perform procedures such as hip and knee replacements, cataract and glaucoma surgeries, and colonoscopies.

For its survey, U.S. News evaluated 4,357 surgery centers, selecting 740 based on an array of criteria. Of those 740, 16 were in Colorado and 11 were in the Denver area.

Chelsey Wen, U.S. News' senior health data analyst, says the ratings give consumers the confidence to "make informed, data-driven decisions" when selecting an ASC.

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➤ Frederick: Police on Friday arrested a suspect in Nebraska in connection with the 2007 murder of Jessica Bejarano, potentially bringing a close to the nearly 18-year-old cold case. (See Details)

➤ Statewide: A new law that makes it easier for illegal migrants to obtain driver's licenses will go into effect March 31. (See Details)

➤ Pueblo: Someone in the city purchased a winning $1 million Colorado Lottery Powerball ticket on St. Patrick's Day. (More)

➤ Lyons: The Board of Trustees on Monday voted to oppose the planned Rocky Mountain Greenway Trail over "environmental, health, and safety concerns." (More)

➤ Weld County: Police are searching for leads in a 2023 case where multiple bomb threats made to a wedding venue resulted in the same wedding being canceled twice. (More)

➤ Colorado Springs: Peterson Space Force Base will deploy an additional 385 service members to the southern U.S. border, bringing the total number of troops deployed or approved to deploy to the border to more than 10,000 people. (More)

➤ Montrose County: Remains discovered in Black Canyon Park on Tuesday are believed to be those of Jordan Marsters, a Denver man who was last seen in the national park on Feb. 13. (More)

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➤ Deion Sanders is looking to play an opposing team for this year's spring game, which is usually held in an intra-squad format. (More)

➤ Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson will miss multiple weeks due to an upper-body injury. (More)

➤ Colorado Rockies top pitching prospect Chase Dollander continued to impress Rockies coaches with another strong start on Tuesday, striking out seven opposing hitters while allowing no runs. Dollander has yet to be awarded a spot in the team's starting rotation. (More)

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➤ Denver-based Frontier Airlines is offering free checked bags on select flights between May 28 and Aug. 18. Flights must be booked before next Monday to qualify. (See Details)

➤ Copper Mountain is planning an expansion that would add up to 500 acres of skiable terrain and six new lifts, one of which could become the highest chairlift in North America. (See Details)

➤ Douglas County is partnering with the Sterling Ranch Development Company to build Zebulon, a mega sports complex that includes three ice rinks, three basketball courts, a baseball complex, and a soccer complex. (See Details)

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➤ A saxophone-playing sasquatch—known professionally as Saxsquatch—will be performing in three Colorado cities this April. (See Photos)

➤ Three camping destinations in Colorado earned recognition in Campspot's 2025 Campspot Awards, ranking among the top spots for RV camping, unique campgrounds, and tent camping. (Read the List)

➤ The Tour of Colorado, a new five-stage elite road cycling race organized by Infinity Events Group, will bring professional cycling back to the state in September 2026 for the first time in over six years. (See Details)

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