The Home Front: Colorado’s new ‘fake news’ researchers

“Chances are you’ve seen fake news pass through your social media feeds, but are you good at spotting it? Two Colorado State University-Pueblo seniors set out to find out last spring,” reports ColoradoPolitics. “Now, they are taking their research on fake news on the road and around the globe to present at two conferences. Chianna Schoenthaler and Michele Bedard, both mass communications students, sought to determine whether ‘there is a correlation between a media consumer’s understanding of the difference between satirical news versus fake news and varying socio-demographic factors’ as part of a research class. In other words, the students said they wanted to know who was more likely to believe actual fake news — not satire that’s created for entertainment, or clickbait, but news that’s made up to achieve a goal, most often politically.”

“One child has been hospitalized among the 10 confirmed cases of salmonella after an outbreak at the restaurant Burrito Delight, officials announced Thursday in a news conference,” reports The Greeley Tribune. “Five cases originated from two events Burrito Delight catered for Aims Community College’s Greeley campus on Feb. 9 and Feb. 13. Two were traced back to another business event the restaurant catered, and three originated from Burrito Delight’s Fort Lupton location. Both Burrito Delight locations — the other one is in Dacono — are closed.”

“A panel of health care experts discussed the difficulties in having enough doctors for Mesa County patients and providing quality health care at a discussion Thursday evening,” reports The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “In the 90-minute session, organized by Western Colorado Days of Action, panelists answered questions about what is working well, what is most frustrating and how to improve access to health care.”

“It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours for Michael Dougherty. On Wednesday afternoon, he learned he’ll succeed Stan Garnett as Boulder County’s district attorney, reports The Longmont Times-Call. “By Thursday morning, he was standing next to Garnett at the Boulder County Justice Center addressing Garnett’s — and soon his own — staff. “To now be the district attorney of this community in which we live… It’s an honor beyond words,” Dougherty said. Dougherty, who most recently worked as an assistant district attorney in the First Judicial District, was appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper to replace Garnett, who is stepping down next week to take a position at his old law firm.”

“For the first time in several years, a race is shaping up for the Colorado House District 57 seat held by three-term incumbent Republican Bob Rankin of Carbondale,” reports The Glenwood Springs Post-Independent. “On Thursday, Glenwood Springs attorney Colin Wilhelm announced that he will run as a Democrat for the House district that includes Garfield, Rio Blanco and Moffat counties, and said he hopes to be a new voice for northwestern Colorado. ‘I believe in serving and giving back to my community,’ Wilhelm said in a press release. ‘I think it is time to bring new a voice to the Colorado State House. I would like to make a difference for the 57th and across Colorado.'”

“Dominic Sandoval was 8 years old when he first discovered the Boys & Girls Club, which he described as a safe and enriching place where he learned to thrive,” reports The Loveland Reporter-Herald. “The Mountain View High School senior, now 17, has been named youth of the year for Loveland by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County and was honored at a Thursday breakfast.”

“Steamboat Ski Area is now part of an emerging powerhouse in the ski industry, and with that, comes some perks,” reports The Steamboat Pilot. “Alterra Mountain Company on Thursday announced its new $899 Ikon Pass will give skiers unlimited access to Steamboat and 11 other destinations owned by Alterra, as well as limited access to 13 other destinations. “We’re very excited to be a part of the Ikon Pass,” Steamboat Ski Area spokeswoman Loryn Kasten said. “It is truly transforming the industry.” The price represents a significant drop in the $1,149 skiers spent for a Steamboat pass for the 2017-18 season, but the deal comes with some caveats, and skiers will have some decisions to make before hanging up their gear for the season.”

“Authorities say they found a large cache of explosives — believed to have been stolen from a submarine base — at a Pueblo West residence where a former Marine who was stationed at the base lives,” reports The Pueblo Chieftain.

“Eighty-three-year-old Anne Crane sits in her Frisco home with her cat, Winnie,” reports Summit Daily. “She was found in a Winnebago, so I named her Winnie,” Crane says while scratching the 3-year-old feline behind the ear. Winnie is Crane’s only regular company at home now that her husband Ed, who is 94, had to move down to Arvada for long-term care. Anne and Ed Crane have devoted countless hours to helping Summit’s senior community. In 1977, the Cranes were among the original 17 Summit residents to found Summit County Senior Citizens, Inc. The nonprofit group has now grown to 2,000 members, and through its partnership with Summit County government provides resources and services for seniors. In 2015, Summit County passed a resolution honoring and recognizing Anne “for her contribution to the betterment of Summit County.” The Cranes were also a driving force behind the funding and opening of the Summit County Community and Senior Center in Frisco back in 2002, and Anne still spends a lot of time volunteering there.”

“As local trails become more popular, officials are looking at ways to enforce current restrictions and eyeing ideas for future restrictions in too-popular areas,” reports Vail Daily. “Perhaps the most troubling violation of current restriction is people venturing onto trails that have been closed to protect wildlife. Forest Service officials last year put cameras along the North Trail, which runs through Vail as well as Forest Service land. At the time, the trail was closed. Those cameras spotted more than 200 people on the trails in just 10 days.”

“Aaron P. Million is a man with a lot of big ideas, including a way to repurpose Hughes Stadium,” reports The Coloradoan. “The Fort Collins entrepreneur has proposed converting the venerable stadium into a pump storage hydroelectric plant. Water would come down to the plant from Horsetooth Reservoir, which is directly to the west and 222 feet above the stadium, and run through a turbine to generate electricity. It would operate during times of high demand for energy when the price is high. The power would flow to an electrical substation at Overland Trail and Drake Road for distribution to the grid.”

“The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a homicide after the body of John Allen Alderman, 57, was found Tuesday in Penrose,” reports The Cañon City Daily Record. “Alderman, a Fremont County artist, was confirmed dead by responding authorities, who called Fremont County Investigations to look into the case, a news release said. Sgt. Megan Richards said no other information is available at this time. Alderman, also a resident of Fremont County, was responsible for the conceptual design behind the 20-foot sculpture of John C. Fremont in Pathfinder Park. In a 2013 Daily Record story about the sculpture’s dedication, Alderman said he did research with the Fremont County Heritage Commission so the rendering would be historically accurate.”

“While the latest school shooting is reigniting the debate over arming teachers, the interim superintendent of the Boulder Valley School District doesn’t see more guns in schools as a solution,” reports The Boulder Daily Camera. “Trump said during a listening session Wednesday with parents and survivors of school shootings that a teacher adept at firearms “could very well end the attack very quickly.” He followed that up with a tweet Thursday that “highly trained teachers would act as a deterrent to the cowards that do this” and later suggested they receive bonuses for the added responsibility. But in Colorado, Democratic state lawmakers on Wednesday rejected a Republican bill that would have allowed people with concealed-carry permits to take firearms onto school grounds. Colorado schools are gun-free zones, with only school resource officers and, in limited instances, campus security guards, allowed to carry guns.”

“An ex-Fort Carson soldier serving life in prison for a 2014 murder in Security-Widefield won a new trial after his attorneys successfully argued that he was coerced by interrogators into making incriminating statements,” reports The Gazette in Colorado Springs. “When Brian Keith Springsted, 35, goes before a new jury on Aug. 13, prosecutors will be barred from introducing a key part of their case – a series of alleged admissions in which authorities say Springsted acknowledged putting two rounds in the chest of Daniel “Chopps” Baird with a .45-caliber handgun moments after a different man had shot him in the head.”

“Metro Denver’s runaway population growth and rising home prices are putting the squeeze on local airports, which are warning that roads and neighborhoods creeping ever closer to runways and under flight paths could threaten the safety and quality of life for those on the ground and in the air,” reports The Denver Post. “This intensifying push-and-pull is playing out this week in Lone Tree, which has heard concerns from the Federal Aviation Administration about plans to effectively double the size of the city by placing up to 12,000 homes on 2,200 acres just south of Centennial Airport. At the center of the FAA’s concerns about the RidgeGate development is the prospect of thousands of new residents and up to 9 million square feet of commercial space going up in an area that sits directly under the path of about 500 corporate jets and smaller planes taking off and landing every day from the south side of the airport.”

“Denver has a plan to help renters afford apartments around the city. In the six months since it was announced, the new LIVE program has been hailed as an innovation and criticized as a handout to luxury apartment owners,” reports Denverite. “It’s become a focus point of local debate and won a full feature in The Wall Street Journal — and that’s before it even gets started. Now, one of its key planners is resigning from city government and the program faces an internal review, though city staff say that it’s still on track for potential approval next month.”

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