Author: Noah Festenstein

Douglas County crime numbers are trending down this year, according to officials from the 23rd Judicial District and the sheriff’s office. Douglas County is on pace for 11,648 crimes in 2025, compared to 12,908 in 2024. In 2023, there were 11,810 crimes. The officials noted that many of those arrested in the county are not from the…

A wildfire sparked by lighting in northwest Colorado has, so far, destroyed three buildings, including two homes, while growing to more than 3,000 acres overnight into Monday. Additionally, two other fires in the Meeker area continue to grow, according to the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado. As of Monday around noon, the blaze destroyed…

Following stakeholder backlash over wildfire concerns, Douglas County commissioners dropped an idea to allow “minimalist camping” at Sandstone Ranch in Larkspur. Commissioners, however, have expressed interest in allowing camping elsewhere in a county that is 51% open space. “Following community feedback and further fire risk analysis, (commissioners) decided not to pursue camping at Sandstone Ranch…

A Littleton group has collected enough signatures to force a vote on the city’s proposal to allow multiplexes, duplexes and similar housing options in communities zoned for single-family homes. Critics of the push for housing “density” argue that it would change the character of single-family home neighborhoods, diminish property values and undercut what homebuyers thought…

Mike Polhemus and his team at The Rock Church in Castle Rock say all they seek in return for providing shelter is to witness those they help achieve a healthier, more sustainable life beyond homelessness. After a recent settlement with Castle Rock over land use laws, the church, also known as The Rock, is continuing its temporary…

Authorities have lifted an evacuation order for residents in Louviers, a small unincorporated town in Douglas County south of Chatfield Reservoir, after firefighters gained control of two brush fires burned nearby Sunday afternoon. As of 8:45 p.m., the fire is 90% contained after burning 130 acres, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. The fire,…

In 2015, roughly 44,000 people moved to metro Denver. A decade later, that number has dropped to about 13,000. The nearly 70% decrease in net migration between 2015 and 2025 holds ramifications for the region’s economy and offers a worrying insight into its ability to compete with peers elsewhere in the country, according to the…

Back home for summer break, former STEM School Highlands Ranch student Ellie Wyse first saw the new street signs along the renamed Kendrick Castillo Way, a reminder of what she described as a tedious mental health recovery process after the tragic 2019 school shooting. The roadway signs, Wyse said, is “just a constant reminder that…