Weld County

Weld County commissioners ready to secede from U.S., create 51st state?

How unhappy is Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway about the political direction in which Colorado is heading? So unhappy that he and several of his colleagues are gathering support among officials in other nearby counties to form what he calls the "51st Star Committee." Its mission: to secede fr ... More >>

Nuggets post-playoffs disaster: Who's worth spending the money to keep?

Denver blog posts feel your pain. Denver Stiffs' Nate Timmons on those Nuggets who are free agents -- and when decisions about them must be made. Colorado Peak Politics wonders if Hick is to blame for the state slipping on a business-friendliness list. Big Media's Jason Salzman notes that the Wel ... More >>

Gun laws unenforceable, but El Paso sheriff says he'll still try to enforce them

During recent months, numerous sheriffs, including Larimer County's Justin Smith and Weld County's John Cooke, have ripped proposed gun-control measures before the Colorado legislature. El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa has been critical of such efforts, too. But his office is upset at local medi ... More >>

Kenneth Faried and Nuggets beat the Bucks in the usual unusual way

Denver blog posts can identify with pretty much anything. Denver Stiffs' Nate Timmons was initially puzzled about how to explain the Nuggets' come-from-behind win over the Bucks last night -- until he realized this kinda thing has been happening a lot lately. The Colorado Independent's John Tomasi ... More >>

Ages of armed robbers in Brighton crime spree? Sixteen and twelve

A stolen vehicle. Two armed robbery attempts, one of them successful. And a police chase prior to an arrest. That's a full day for anyone -- but especially for a twelve year old, busted yesterday along with a wizened cohort, age sixteen. What happened? Here's how the cops describe it.

Rahim Moore may be a Broncos goat, but he doesn't deserve to be slaughtered

Denver blog posts has a lot less interest in this weekend's NFL playoffs than expected. Mile High Report fan poster McGeorge argues against throwing the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to Rahim Moore, who gave up the TD that eventually crushed the Broncos' season. The Colorado Independen ... More >>

Man who allegedly killed three in Weld County was released from jail hours before

Update, 10:30 a.m.: The man who allegedly killed three others in a Longmont home yesterday and then shot himself had been released from jail a few hours before the shooting, according to the Weld County Sheriff's Office. Daniel Sanchez, 31, reportedly showed up to the home where his ex-girlfriend wa ... More >>

Dacono MMJ shops ask courts for injunction on citywide ban

Up in Weld County, owners of the three dispensaries in Dacono have filed a complaint to stop a citywide ban on medical marijuana businesses that's scheduled to take effect January 1. Dacono Meds, Maryjane's Medicinal and Green Medicals filed their request for an injunction last Friday, hoping to sta ... More >>

Consuelo Zavala extradicted in eight-gunshot kill of onion-field worker

Had 35-year-old Consuela Zavala crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in the fifteen years since he was accused of brutally gunning down a man in a Weld County onion field? No one's saying right now. But his attempt to enter Arizona last month triggered a Colorado arrest warrant that led to Zavala's arrest ... More >>

Update: Comment period extended for controversial Chatfield Reservoir project

Update: In response to requests from some groups to extend the public comment period for the proposal to increase water storage at Chatfield Reservoir -- a project that's raised several environmental concerns, as detailed in the original story below -- the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has just annou ... More >>

Nehemiah Chavez, gang member caught due to Playboy bunny tattoo: 128 years, more to come?

Facial tattoos aren't exactly the kind of ink that's easy to cover with a piece of clothing -- not if you want to see where you're going, anyhow. And this proved to be a problem for Nehemiah Chavez, whose Playboy bunny tat -- designating his alleged membership in a Greeley gang called the Playboyz - ... More >>

Weld County campaign to educate immigrants about preventing, reporting crime

Weld County is launching a campaign to educate immigrants about the importance of reporting crimes to the police. "We want everyone to report crime, every time," Ken Buck, the Weld County district attorney, said today at a press conference in Greeley. That includes undocumented immigrants and refu ... More >>

Top five Colorado-animals-behaving-badly stories

Yes, animals are adorable. But they can also be destructive, as witnessed by the havoc wreaked by a certain squirrel this week -- more on that below. The chaos-loving rodent inspired us to round up five recent stories about critters gone wild, in a manner of speaking. Count down our favorites below ... More >>

Operation Sweet Leaf: Jordan Buehrer accused ringleader in 25 grow metro-area megabust

Update: A just-released indictment related to Operation Sweet Leaf, in which 25 metro-area marijuana grows were raided, names 22-year-old Jordan Buehrer as the alleged ringleader of the scheme -- although Buehrer's LinkedIn profile suggests another name. The bare-bones page lists him as the owner o ... More >>

ACLU objects to Ken Buck's comments after $295K Operations Numbers Game settlement

Ken Buck.​In 2008, the Weld County Sheriff's Office raided Amalia's Translation and Tax Service in Greeley as part of Operations Numbers Game, an effort to bust identity thieves who were also undocumented immigrants. The ACLU filed suit over the action -- and this week, Weld District Attorney/ ... More >>

Rosendo "Sir Kong" Santa Cruz, nicknamed crew indicted in Weld County gang roundup

Big pics below.​The Colorado Organized Crime Control Act (COCCA) hadn't been used in Weld County for a gang-related case until last week, when five men were indicted by a grand jury on a multitude of charges, including assault, witness intimidation and racketeering. As a bonus, all of them, a ... More >>

Oil companies love horizontal drilling in Weld County: Simpsons' Mr. Burns would approve

​Weld County is undergoing an explosion in the number of oil and gas companies using a technique called "horizontal drilling" to get at deposits deep in the Denver Basin, according to the Greeley Tribune. Which puts us in mind of a certain Simpsons episode.

Sam Brownlee: Read report on Weld County deputy's death, how it could've been prevented

Sam Brownlee.​Last November, Sam Brownlee became the first Weld County deputy to die in the line of duty since 1940 when he was shot and killed by Reuben Reyes, twenty, following a high-speed chase. Now, an uncommonly frank review of the incident has been released, and the three-person panel b ... More >>

Ever Eleazar Murrieta-Nieblas: 276 pounds of marijuana in car = 8 to 48 year sentence

Large pic below.​Don't know if Arizona's Ever Eleazar Murrieta-Nieblas tried to convince authorities that the marijuana in his possession was for medical purposes -- but it would have been a tough argument, since there was 276 pounds of it. The sheer heft likely helped convince a jury to convi ... More >>

Sam Brownlee, first Weld County deputy killed in line of duty since 1940: Tributes pour in

Large photo below.​The last Weld County deputy to die while doing his job was Earl Bucher way back in 1940 -- until yesterday, that is. Deputy Sam Brownlee was allegedly slain by Reuben Reyes, twenty, following a chase that reached speeds topping 100 miles per hour. Afterward, Reyes himself wa ... More >>

Christopher Hanson: Greeley gang member guilty of kidnapping, sex assault, hiring hit man

Larger photo below.​In June, we told you about Christopher Hanson, a Greeley gang member suspected of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman -- and then trying to hire someone to kill her. Last night, a Weld County jury found him guilty on six counts for crimes dating back to December of ... More >>

Ken Buck's refusal to prosecute alleged rape an effort to make him seem insensitive to women

Ken Buck.​Late last month, Colorado GOP boss Dick Wadhams said Democrats' decision to attack Ken Buck with ads on issues like abortion shows that they're "intellectually bankrupt," since the voting public is clearly more interested in "the economy and taxes and spending." But Buck opponents a ... More >>

Ken Buck would be easier to beat than Jane Norton, says Colorado Dem's Pat Waak

Ken Buck.​Proof that Ken Buck, once thought to be an also-ran in the U.S. Senate race, is now perceived as a serious threat: He's the target of attacks from fellow Republican senate hopeful Jane Norton as well as Pat Waak, head of the Colorado Democratic Party. Waak believes current frontrunn ... More >>

Robert Laurencio Montoya wears orange prison jumpsuit on day of Kayleah Wilson memorial

Robert Laurencio Montoya in new duds, as seen in Channel 4 coverage.​At this writing, a memorial service for Kayleah Wilson, who was twelve at the time of her death, is taking place in Greeley. But earlier today, the focus was on a person whose involvement in the case was little known by the g ... More >>

Bad-ass cow terrorizes community, kicks the crap out of police car

"That heifer is my hero!"​Cows are generally thought to be relatively docile creatures: lumbering, slow moving grass munchers that aren't terribly difficult to round up. But not a heifer in Evans, which, during almost 24 hours on the loose, repeatedly evaded capture. And it wasn't subdued unt ... More >>

Betsy Markey and Mike Coffman get bipartisan bad news in new wage figures

Weld County's falling wages didn't put this smile on Betsy Markey's face.​In just-released county and employment figures from the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, two Colorado counties get significant spotlight time -- and not in a way calculated to please representatives Bets ... More >>

Sexting taken to a super-creepy extreme by Geovany Alarcon

"You want me to do WHAT?"​Sexting: the latest teenage pastime designed to make adults lose their shit. But before you write off the response to the phenomenon as more middlebrow hysteria, grok the particulars of Geovany Alarcon, twenty, who earned a four-year prison jolt in Weld County Court t ... More >>

Cheba Hut is a hit with Greeley judge

​Cheba Hut raised a toasty toast this week when a Weld County District Court judge overturned a ruling that had denied a liquor license to the sub shop's Greeley location. In April, Robert Frick, who rules on Greeley liquor licenses, turned down the company's request, citing Cheba Hut's pot-r ... More >>

Fairy-Tale Ending

Run for your own Happily Ever After in Greeley.

The Rifleman revisited -- with horses in the sites

"C'mere, Trigger."​Zoning disputes: Not an inherently fascinating subject for folks not involved with them -- and often not even then. But the interest level perks up when wholesale horse assassination is thrown into the mix. According to the Weld County Sheriff's Office, Trenton Parker recen ... More >>

Drive safely this weekend -- or else an army of cops will bust your ass

This weekend, law enforcement agencies across the state will be out in force to make sure you don't do anything stupid behind the wheel over the Memorial Day weekend. This link on the Colorado Department of Transportation website details the specific plans of 85 separate organizations. For instanc ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: The week ahead, November 24-30

It's the economy, stupid. While chairmen of the Big Three auto-makers jetted by private plane to Washington, D.C., looking for a handout last week, hundreds of out-of-work Coloradans lined up before each prospective employer at job fairs across the state last Thursday. And on Saturday, 40,000 peopl ... More >>

Disenfranchisement of Spanish speakers in Weld County?

Rocky Mountain News substitutes one tragic headline for another

A little abstinence to liven up your drive

Web Weirdness 2.0: Burglars and Bad Breakups Brought Directly to You!

Greeley Estates

Wednesday, February 7, Black Sheep, Colorado Springs, 1-866-468-7621.

DC10

Encountering turbulence, but still flying.

Pet Peeve

If one schnauzer is nice, what's wrong with 150?

Pranks for the Memories

What they did on your summer vacation.

Best Beef Museum

Kenneth Monfort's Boyhood Home
Centennial Village Museum

The Stanleytones

Half a Dozen Heartaches

Innocence Found

Historical photographs featured at the Booklover's Ball

Turning Water Into Whine

When Gary Antonoff set up his own private government, the town of Lochbuie got soaked.

Strange but True

A Little Soused on the Prairie

Six decades after Prohibition failed, a Colorado town known for living it up considers going dry

Spaced Out

Colorado residents take the initiative in slowing growth.

STRANGE BUT TRUE

DRIBBLES AND BITS AND BITS AND BITS.

TROUBLE BREWING

THE TUCKER FAMILY SAYS HAY GROWN BY ANHEUSER-BUSCH GAVE ITS DAIRY COWS A ROYAL HANGOVER.

Ridden Into Town On A Rail

Despite government aid, a Weld County company goes to bankruptcy court.