Colorado Matters

For generations, the Denver Star chronicled the lives of African Americans in the Mountain West. But for years, there were gaps in efforts to preserve that history. Now, one woman’s donation has changed that. Then, a high school student’s mission to foster motivated learners. And, a Denver photographer turns the camera on his family’s migration story.

A backcountry skier shares his harrowing story of surviving an avalanche and reflects on choices. Then, the Pikes Peak poet laureate uses poetry as a catalyst for connection and to foster change. Later, as Black History Month comes to an end, we share the story of Shirley Smith, whose book is "Mama Bear: One Black Mother's Fight for her Child's Life and her Own."

Increasingly, members of Congress are worried TikTok may pose a national security risk, including Colorado's Ken Buck and Michael Bennet. Then, Denver7 Chief Meteorologist Mike Nelson on the weather extremes this winter and how climate change factors in. Later, 'Terra Firma' explores our relationship with nature. And ice carving is back in Cripple Creek.

For decades, the name William Richardson meant something special to kids growing up in Denver. He provided hope by giving them opportunity at the local YMCA. But this was actually the second part of his extraordinary life. We share the never-before-told story of a Denver man who made sports history, Black history and American history.

One of the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope shows what appear to be huge, never-before-seen galaxies. The findings could upend current theories of how the universe formed. Then, the story behind Denver’s Yuan Wonton food truck. Its chef is a James Beard Award semifinalist. And, get jazzed about a new play set in Denver's Five Points.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Americans with autism experience substantial unemployment and underemployment. It’s what drives Danny Combs, the founder and CEO of the Englewood-based TACT, which helps students on the spectrum gain skills to work in fields like the automotive industry, carpentry and welding. Combs' son Dylan is on the autism spectrum.

In cities and on farms, westerners use more Colorado River water than the river can provide. We talk with U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, who's pressing his colleagues downstream to devise a solution, before one's forced onto them. Then, the uncertain future of Denver's oldest commercial block, Larimer Square. Also, questions after the autopsy is released for a man who died in ICE custody in Aurora. Later, a state aroma?

From the founding of Colorado to modern mass shootings, there have been many changes to state gun laws over the years. CPR News public affairs reporters Bente Birkeland and Andrew Kenney explore how the past informs the present in the latest episode of Purplish. Then, Andy's continued investigation into how the state's red flag law affected a family in Denver.

Should people convicted of certain kinds of stalking, like when it happens online, be sent to prison?  Or does that violate free speech rights? The U.S. Supreme Court will consider this Colorado case. Then, the Postal Service's historic ups and downs with CU-Denver historian Cameron Blevins, author of "Paper Trails: The U.S. Post and the making of the American West."

Last week’s earthquake in Turkey brings back powerful memories for Turkish native Beyhan Maybach, of Lakewood. In 1999, Maybach was in Istanbul, when another earthquake toppled a nearby city and she joined the relief efforts. Then, an organization born out of the pandemic called “Lasagna Love.”