Denver man gets 24 years to life for sex trafficking a minor
A Denver man has been sentenced to 24 years to life in prison for sex trafficking of a minor.
Twenty-four-year-old Matthew Weatherspoon was sentenced Monday.
An Arapahoe County jury convicted him in May of trafficking a minor for sexual servitude, pimping of a child and related charges.
District Attorney George Brauchler said in a Tuesday statement it was the first conviction under state human trafficking laws that were updated in 2014.
Weatherspoon came under investigation after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped a regional FBI task force about an underage female advertising herself online.
Agents tracked the ads to a hotel where a 15-year-old girl – a runaway – was living with Weatherspoon. They were living off money the girl made through prostitution.
Suddenly, Colorado has a private school choice program │ Vince Bzdek
Vince Bzdek
vince.bzdek@gazette.com
Updated 14 hours ago
By Vince Bzdek When I was a kid going to St. John’s Catholic grade school in Denver, I remember asking my mom if she and dad minded paying taxes for public schools since all her kids attended Catholic ones. We...
Tyson’s beef plant closure in Nebraska to impact town, ranchers nationwide | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
NEBRASKA Beef plant’s closure could ripple OMAHA — Tyson Foods’ decision to close a beef plant that employs nearly one third of residents of Lexington, Nebraska, could devastate the small city and undermine the profits of ranchers nationwide. Closing a...
Calendar Dec. 15-21
Rachael Wright
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances,...
Denver Mayor Peña makes unexpected announcement | A LOOK BACK
Rachael Wright
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
Thirty-Five Years Ago This Week: Denver Mayor Federico Peña announced personal news that caught many of his supporters and Denver residents who paid close attention to politics off guard. Just two weeks prior on Nov. 16, 1990, The Colorado Statesman...
Julie Gonzales’s long but not impossible odds | SONDERMANN
Eric Sondermann
eric-sondermann@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
Allow me to start with a flashback. It was Thanksgiving 2024, just over 12 months back. For the first time, our son Clarke hosted the family Thanksgiving near New York City. It is a sign of our aging when the...
Performers announced for 14th Klezfest | NONPROFIT REGISTER
Thelma Grimes
thelma.grimes@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
MIZEL MUSEUM JCC DENVER Denver News: Klezfest 2025, which takes place Dec. 20, will feature performances by a host of popular Jewish entertainers: Rabbi Joe Black and Steve Brodsky; Hal Aqua & The Lost Tribe; Mishmish and Gora Gora Orkestar. Rabbi Black is a pioneer of contemporary Jewish music and has...
Colorado commission makes new access-to-justice recommendations after renewed listening tour
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
Adding judges to handle caseloads. Expanding authority for paraprofessionals in civil cases. Allowing self-represented litigants to file electronically. Making the judiciary’s website user-friendly. Those were among the recommendations advanced by the Colorado Access to Justice Commission in a report released Friday,...
Trump targets Colorado AI law with executive order, setting stage for legal fight
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
Colorado’s 2024 effort to regulate artificial intelligence is facing a direct challenge from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to block states from enforcing their own AI laws. Trump also announced the creation of...
Colorado residents face high energy bills after regulators turn away from natural gas, experts say
Mark Samuelson Special to The Denver Gazette
mark.samuelson@denvergazette.com
Updated 2 days ago
Colorado residents could be paying a lot more for home energy, following the state’s decision last week to turn away from natural gas as a home cooking and heating fuel, experts said. Some 1.9 million Colorado households warm their homes...
Colorado’s government spending has outpaced inflation, analysis finds
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
Colorado’s per-person spending has increased by 31% over the last two decades despite slowed population growth, according to a new analysis by the Common Sense Institute. The annual report compares state spending by department over the last 20 years, tracking...
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