US Rep Gardner To Visit District Monday

US Representative Cory Gardner will be in Northeast Colorado on Monday for a series of town hall meetings. Congressman Gardner says Monday will mark his fourth town hall meeting tour since he was elected in 2010....






TAG: Gardner says the town hall meetings are important because as he says the solutions to our nation's greatest problems must come from the citizens in Colorado and across the US rather than politicians on Capitol Hill.

Fort Morgan City Offices Close Early Today

Don't forget, most City of Fort Morgan facilities and offices will close early on this afternoon so City employees can attend an All-City Meeting. The Library and Museum will reopen at 9:00 am tomorrow, but most other City offices and facilities will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 8:00 am. City offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 16, for Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

City Facilities to Close Early on Friday, Jan. 13

Most City of Fort Morgan facilities and offices will close early on Friday afternoon, Jan. 13, so City employees can attend an All-City Meeting.

The Fort Morgan Public Library, the Fort Morgan Museum, and the Utility Billing Dept. will close at 2:30 pm on Friday, Jan. 13. Many other offices will close by 3 pm.

The Recreation Center (Armory/528 State St.) will remain open for its regular hours (until 6:00 pm).

The Library and Museum will reopen at 9:00 am on Saturday, Jan. 14. Most other City offices and facilities will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 8:00 am, because City offices and facilities will be closed on Monday, Jan. 16, for Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Hickenlooper: State Needs "Right Partners" To Work

(Denver, CO) -- Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper wants the state Legislature to work together in hopes of getting things done.






Speaking during the State of the State address yesterday, the governor said legislators need to be the right partners with each other to make the government work. Deep disagreements are expected between Democrats and Republicans on the 2012 budget.

Local Chapters Help with state Conference

Members of the Fort Morgan and Southeast Weld County chapters of the Colorado Young Farmers will help to present this year's Colorado Young Farmers Educational Association Institute. It will be on February 3 and 4 at the Red Lion Hotel Denver Central in Denver. The two chapters will host some of the events within the event.

Denver Area Has Tie To Super Bowl Commercials

(Denver, CO) -- Three local guys are finalists in a Super Bowl challenge. Doritos is sponsoring its "Crash the Super Bowl" contest to see who can come up with the best commercial to air during the game. Denver residents Brad Scott and Nate Watkin have produced a spot called "Hot Wild Girls" while Justin Folk of Littleton's spot is titled "Sling Baby."

Colorado Foreclosures Down

(Undated) -- The good news is foreclosures in Colorado are down, but the bad news is the state is still among the ten highest in the country. RealtyTrac Incorporated reports there was a drop of almost 29-percent in 2011 compared with 2010. There were 38-thousand-557 filings last year. That's one in 56 housing units around Colorado.

Katy Perry's Parents Say Tebow Is Katy's Man

(Undated) -- Tim Tebow already has his hands full with New England's defense tomorrow, but now someone else is going for a "quarterback sack." The parents of pop star Katy Perry say they want Tebow to date their daughter. Sources tell "OK!" magazine Perry's parents think Katy and Tebow would be an excellent couple because he's "handsome, intelligent, and above all, a good Christian. Perry recently split from her soon-to-be ex-husband, Russell Brand.

Boston Mayor Blasts Colorado Beer

(Denver, CO) -- It started as a typical friendly wager, but now the mayors of Denver and Boston are taking jabs at each other through social media. Boston Mayor Tom Menino ripped Colorado's beer, saying it's "yuck." Denver Mayor Michael Hancock answered back with, quote, "when Sam Adams sells more beer than Coors, come talk to me." As for the bet, if the Broncos win, Menino will put a Tim Tebow jersey on Boston's statue of Paul Revere. If the Pats win, Hancock will wear a New England jersey to a public event. The Broncos are at New England tomorrow in an NFL playoff game.

Colorado Scores "C" In National Report Card

(Denver, CO) -- Colorado is a little below average when it comes to its educational system. That's according to a new report by "Education Weekly." Colorado has the 35th-best overall report card in the nation with a score of 75. The ranking is considered a low C and is one-point below the national average. No state was given an A. Maryland scored the highest with a score of 88. The report card is based on six areas of educational policies and performance.

4 commended for quick thinking after fatal crash

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) — The Colorado State Patrol has honored four men credited with helping prevent an environmental catastrophe south of Durango after a fatal crash in September.

On Sept. 16, a truck transporting 4,000 gallons of gasoline crashed on U.S. 550, killing the driver. The crash also damaged the truck's cargo tank, releasing gasoline that threatened to contaminate the nearby Animas River.

The State Patrol says four employees of the oil and gas field services company Crossfire LLC saw the crash and quickly constructed a retaining wall around a nearby storm drain using tools from their vehicle.

Troopers say Travis Andrews, Jeremy Lattin, Andy Morris and Rany Zufell recovered about 1,500 gallons of gasoline immediately after the crash. They received certificates of commendation Thursday in Durango.

Murkowski: End partisan seating at address

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Sen. Lisa Murkowski is urging a permanent end to the partisan seating arrangement at the State of the Union address.

The Alaska Republican is joining Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall in asking congressional leaders to institute bipartisan seating.

The two led the push for bipartisan seating in 2011, after the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Murkowski was to sit with Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski but missed the address when her son had appendicitis.

Udall and Murkowski, in a letter to congressional leaders, said there's an obligation to show there's a place for civility in Congress and that civility can lead to problem solving.

Murkowski says party lines are not brick walls. She says she and Udall see bipartisan seating as a step toward better communication among congressional members.

Colorado man dies after fall at Grand Teton park

A Arvada man who was the plant manager for a Fort Morgan housing assembly company died after a fall on Monday. The National Park Service said yesterday that 33-year-old Bryon Peck fell about 15 feet as he installed a second-floor door on a new housing unit near Grand Teton National Park. He died Wednesday at a hospital in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

1994 SLAYING ARREST

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Prosecutors have filed a first-degree murder charge against a Summit County resident accused in the 1994 shooting death of a man who was the city of Boulder's director of information services.

The Daily Camera reports that prosecutors formally filed the charge Thursday against Michael Clark, who is being held without bond in Boulder County in the death of Marty Grisham.

Clark had pleaded guilty to stealing and forging checks from Grisham, who had reported the theft around the time he died. Clark denied involvement in Grisham's death, but he was arrested this month after investigators reopened the case.

A bond hearing for Clark is scheduled for Jan. 19. A preliminary hearing at which prosecutors must show they have enough evidence to justify going to trial is set for April 5.

Man pleads guilty in crash that killed woman, baby

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — A Thornton man has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide for a crash west of Fort Lupton that killed a woman and her newborn.

The Greeley Tribune reports that 24-year-old Steven Ryan pleaded guilty Thursday on the eve of a planned trial in which he faced eight charges stemming from the crash on Nov. 1, 2010.

Authorities say Ryan was passing cars near an intersection when he collided head on with a car driven by 23-year-old Tanya Guevara. She died at the scene, and her baby, Adrian, died two hours later at a hospital. Another child, Alexiah Guevara, survived.

A sentencing hearing is set March 12.

The plea bargain was struck after defense attorney Brandon Marinoff found two experts who determined Ryan hadn't been driving outside the speed limit.