Colorado Matters

Schools in Denver don't usually provide pillows and warm clothes for their homeless students -- basic items that make it way easier for them to learn. So, the district has found a way to send text messages to people in Colorado, asking them to go straight to Amazon and buy those things for the kids. Then, Charlie Fowler and Christine Boskoff went missing in China 11 years ago. Now, two peaks in Colorado may be named for them.

The federal deficit would disappear if Americans who are supposed to pay taxes paid in full. That's according to a political economist at CU Boulder, who also talked with us about his research that shows how differently voters would manage taxes and spending than politicians do. Later, acclaimed Denver cornetist Ron Miles, whose new album was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.

With the Russian team banned from the Olympics in South Korea, we talk with the head of the sports governance center at the University of Colorado about whether the Games' governing body is finally getting serious about doping. Then, a major Colorado employer says it's nearly cracked the gender pay gap. And, RTD tries to explain delays with its commuter rail lines.

Tax proposals in the U.S. House and Senate would touch everything from benefits for homeowners to how many people have health insurance. A look at how Coloradans could be impacted. Then, the Colorado-based Native American Rights Fund represents tribes suing to block President Trump’s order to shrink Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. And, at 98, Aspen’s Klaus Obermeyer still runs the skiwear company he started in 1947.

Denver schools are mostly segregated along economic lines. Now, DPS is conducting an experiment to make schools more economically diverse. And, Stan Parker, of Colorado Springs, received two purple hearts in Vietnam. He was there in 1968 -- the bloodiest time for U.S. troops. Years later, he returned to Vietnam, where he met a man he'd come close to killing.

There's a place -- in the heart of Denver -- where injection drug users pick up clean needles and drop off dirty ones. It's blocks away from the state Capitol, where lawmakers will continue to wrestle with Colorado's drug epidemic. At this center, people also learn how to avoid overdosing -- and keep their veins healthy. And, Ian Thompson lives in Colorado, but when Prince William married Kate Middleton in England seven years ago, he was right on the altar as a verger. Thompson explains his role and discusses the next royal wedding, occurring next spring.

The founder of a Colorado non-profit established to help Syrian refugees is now charged with theft and fraud. A Denver Post investigation revealed what happened to Boulder’s “Humanwire.” Then, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear the Colorado case of a baker who refused to customize a wedding cake for a gay couple. We’ll hear mock arguments. Plus, hunting for hallucinogenic honey.

The most vulnerable people in Denver's jails should be treated better, says the civilian who oversees city law enforcement. This follows some high-profile deaths in custody, but the independent monitor says it's not all on deputies. Then, the race to preserve open space on the Western Slope leads to a new alliance. And, a musician records his new album in the wilds of Utah. Plus, holiday fun that's off the beaten path.

A Denver teacher says his future is at stake in a possible Congressional showdown over immigration next week. Then, award-winning Colorado author Connie Willis says science fiction Christmas stories go back all the way to Dickens. She's written a new collection. And, taxidermists are busy fashioning hunting trophies for the holidays. Plus, there’s something new afloat at Denver’s holiday Parade of Lights.

We invited two Coloradans to the state Capitol to give Gov. John Hickenlooper their views on oil and gas drilling. One family says their quality of life will be compromised because of an oil well about 1,000 feet away from their new home. And a man whose family has depended on oil and gas royalties for generations is frustrated about efforts to restrict drilling.