Photos Of The Year: Here’s What 2019 Looked Like In Colorado

By Hart Van Denburg
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Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
Air Force Academy cadets throw their hats into the air during their May gtraduation ceremony, at the exact moment ther Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying team flies overhead. President Donald Trump delivered the commencement address this year.

Here are the moments that stood out visually for us in 2019.

January

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Outgoing Gov. John Hickenlooper in early January, as he takes his exit. This photo was taken in the pool hall at Wynkoop Brewing in Denver, which he co-founded before getting elected mayor of Denver and then governor of Colorado. He waged a campaign for president before switching gears and seeking to run for the Senate.
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Jared Polis, accompanied by his husband Marlon Reis, takes the oath of office for governor administered by Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan B. Coats on Jan. 8. Polis is the country’s first openly gay man to be elected as any state’s top executive.
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Democratic state Rep. Brianna Titone made Colorado history in January as the state’s first transgender lawmaker. She’s one of only four trans state lawmakers in the country.
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The Rev. Leon Kelly keeps marchers organized as the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Marade made its way down Colfax Avenue. Among those in the front line, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Gov. Jared Polis, former Mayor Wellington Webb and state Rep. Leslie Herod.
Nathaniel Minor/ CPR News
Blanca Forestry Products, a saw mill in southern Colorado’s Costilla County. Hedge fund billionaire and conservationist Louis Bacon built the mill to process overgrown timber from his nearby 172,000-acre Trinchera Ranch. The state pitched in more than $1 million in grants and loans for improvements to a nearby county road in order to entice the rural development.
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In Aurora, Kenton Elementary fifth grade teacher Gracie Binder talks with Husanara Makbulhussin about her daughter Siti’s academic progress at a parent teacher conference. When it comes to participation in their children’s education, refugee families like Husanara's often face overwhelming barriers. But Husanara is getting help through RISE Colorado.
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Colorado Ballet corps de ballet member Nicolas Pelletier keeps his eyes on the iron in rehearsal for “The Wizard of Oz”. A ballet adaption of the iconic movie is something choreographer Septime Webre dreamed about for a long time. The production had a two-weekend run at Denver's Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
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Heading to the National Western Stock Show? Make sure to bring your reliable old cowboy hat. Rick Bishop, whose hand is pictured here adjusting a customer's hat, will be happy to clean and re-shape it for you. He travels from stock show to stock show, selling and steaming hats. He's been in the business for 45 years, and a regular at the Denver stock show for 39.
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Strasburg sheep farmer Bob Schroth runs shearing demonstrations at the National Western Stock Show. How do the sheep feel about that? "I think really enjoy the vibration," he said. "The clippers, a lot of times when you run the shears down their back bone, they’ll start kicking their back legs like a dog does when it feels good when you’re scratching them."
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Denver teachers and their supporters protested outside school district headquarters, ahead of a loud and contentious board meeting addressing a potential strike by the teachers union. The strike would end up affecting 5,353 educators and 71,000 students across 147 schools.

February

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As booming nearby Summit County makes it increasingly difficult for blue collar workers to afford homes, some are moving over Hoosier Pass and down into the South Park area -- and in turn helping push up property values there to such an extent that longtime residents are being forced out. One resident brought chain saws in to sell at the local thrift shop.
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Esmé​ Patterson has performed her own music in our studio numerous times. The singer-songwriter and Colorado native returned to play three songs from Prince's 1987 classic "Sign o' the Times" and chat with host Alisha Sweeney.
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For the first time in a quarter century, Denver's public school teachers went on strike. Hundreds bundled up in red against the chilly, sunny weather on Feb. 11, gathered in front of schools and later on the steps of the state Capitol.
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Harper Wagner, a kindergartner at Slavins Elementary School in Denver concentrates on her laptop as her father, Corey, listens to contract negotiations between Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association continued Feb. 13.
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Of all the teachers that clapped, chanted and snapped their fingers through hours of negotiations between Denver Public Schools and the union and then the strike, one stood out. This math teacher from Emily Griffith High School is unique because it was her third strike in 50 years: Seventy-two-year-old Kathleen Braun took part in the 1969 and 1994 Denver teacher strikes.
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Meanwhile in South Park: A pair of bison quietly graze on hay at the Badger Basin State Wildlife Area west of Hartsel.

March

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From left, Wambdi Clairmont, Kiva Trujillo, Omani Denny Clairmont and Tanksi Clairmont wait backstage at the Denver Travel and Adventure Show at the Colorado Convention Center in February ahead of a performance at the Denver March Pow Wow.
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Leadville ran its 71st skijoring competition in March, with skiers navigating a slalom and jumps wile being pulled down the town's snow-covered main street behind galloping horses urged on by cowboys -- like this one walking down to the start line.
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The state was just about shut down when a bomb cyclone barreled through and headed to the Midwest. This was the scene along Potomac Street in Aurora as passersby worked to help a stranded motorist.
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Those without homes struggled to stay warm and dry during the March bomb cyclone. The Denver Sheriff loaned buses to shelters and drop in centers to help more folks to safer locations.
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Nathaniel Raitliff and the Night Sweats provided the music in Denver's Civic Center Park for former Gov. John Hickenlooper as he kicked off his short-lived presidential campaign.
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A motorcycle escort leads off the funeral procession for Colorado State Patrol Cpl. Dan Groves on Hwy 66 in Longmont. He was killed during the bomb cyclone blizzard, helping a driver who had slid off I-76 in Weld County when he was struck by another driver who lost control of their vehicle.
RED FLAG GUN BILL SIGNED INTO LAW
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Gov. Jared Polis signed HB 1177 in March, making Colorado the 15th state in the country to have a so-called "red flag" gun law. During the ceremony he was surrounded by family and fiends of those killed by firearms.

April

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It’s been 20 years, but former President Bill Clinton still remembers the moment he learned that two students killed 12 of their classmates and a teacher at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. We spoke with Clinton in New York as part of our "Since Columbine" coverage.
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Mark Barnes pauses for a moment at the Columbine Memorial on Saturday April 20 2019. Barnes, who lives near the school, was friends with Dave Sanders, the teacher and basketball coach who was killed during the school shooting. Barnes's son Greg hanged himself a year after the attack.
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Women's National Team member Mallory Pugh of Highlands Ranch meets the press at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on April 2. She opted to skip college and turn pro in 2017.The team played a warm-up against Australia at Dick’s, which in turn was a warm-up match for this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
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What's it like to drive a semi-trailer truck down from the mountains? After a runaway big rig caused a deadly Jefferson County pile-up in April we wanted to find out. We rode along with Jesus Torres, who, before you’ve rolled out of bed, has probably driven Loveland Pass twice.
Denver Justice High School Principal Stephen Parce hands the phone off to Dean Yakini Ceteways while answering a question from Asst. Principal Tyler Bauer. The school is for students whose lives didn’t mesh well with traditional schedules and graduation timetables.
Mark Kennedy CU Denver
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Mark Kennedy gestures while addressing audience questions Thursday April 25 at the University of Colorado, Denver campus. Kennedy was seeking to become the next CU president ad toured the system's campuses. The board of regents confirmed him for the position.
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Erin Martinez, left, and her 11-year-old daughter Jaelynn, hold one of the pens used by Gov. Jared Polis to sign Senate Bill 181 into law. The law calls for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to elevate public health and safety in its regulations. Martinez's brother, Joey Irwin, and husband, Mark Martinez, were killed in a gas line explosion in Firestone two years ago.
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Jerry Burton at the camp where he lived for a time on Arapahoe and 27th in Denver. Burton and others supported the “Right to Survive” Initiative 300 ballot measure that went before Denver voters this year. It would have codified a person’s right to live in public spaces, but voters rejected the measure.

May

A vigil at Highlands Ranch High School, May 8, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Students at the STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting vigil at Highlands Ranch High School in early May. The event turned tumultuous as students rebelled against a program that they believed gave too much time to politics and not enough to the students of STEM School Highlands Ranch who wanted to share their thoughts and to remember Kendrick Castillo, their 18-year-old classmate who was killed in the attack.

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U.S. Air Force Academy cadets embrace and celebrate at their graduation ceremony in May. President Donald Trump delivered the commencement address.
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Red Rocks Amphitheatre hosted Interpol for the first time in the New York band's two-decade career. The concert had a stacked lineup, with indie rock bands Car Seat Headrest, Japanese Breakfast and Sunflower Bean filling out the bill.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Youth Hunter Outreach Program pairs experienced hunters with young beginners, which this time ranged in age from 11 to 15. The idea is to get them a hunting mentor and an experience their parents may not be able to provide. Brayden Martinez, 14, contemplates the turkey he killed at this year's event near Craig.
Rancher and farmer Terry Swanson seen in the muddy rearview mirror in his pickup truck as he shows journalists around his land in Baca County. He raises dryland crops and cattle on his 20,000 acres in this normally dusty corner of the state.
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Up on a Colorado mountainside, Rob Trotter at PotZero grows marijuana with a goal of producing as little waste as possible. It’s not easy. Cannabis cultivation tends to be a wasteful industry with a fairly large carbon footprint.
Denver School of the Arts jazz musicians run through their program after they were chosen to compete at the Essentially Ellington Competition in New York City. Fifteen groups were chosen from a pool of over 100 high school bands from across the U.S. to play in front of modern day jazz legends.
Hart Van Denburg
Scott Long, at left, Dan Lundahl, and Dan's dog Ruger head for a morning of fly fishing on the South Platter River in Littleton. We spoke to them about whether they'd eat the fish they caught along that stretch of the river.

June

Who is filling all the housing in Denver, one of the state’s expensive, hyper-competitive markets? Some Colorado transplants come from relatively low-cost housing states like Texas or Florida. Others come from high-cost markets, like California or D.C and “they’re coming with the ability to buy cash,” said Justin Knoll, a longtime real estate agent in Denver.
DIA Denver International Airport Passengers Construction
Hart Van Denburg
Passengers and visitors to Denver International Airport find themselves navigating a lot of detours as they check in or pick up baggage, thanks to a massive overhaul project. They also find themselves standing in unusual places while they check their phones.
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The state’s $1.2 billion project to expand and sink Interstate 70 has started to take shape in Globeville Elyria-Swansea. Denver's planned massive redevelopment along Interstate 70 includes a rebuild of the National Western Complex, Brighton Boulevard and several new light rail stations will also change the character of the neighborhood, and that has residents worried.
Dinger Bones Ar Denver Museum Of Nature And Science
Hart Van Denburg
Is Dinger, the Rockies dino-inspired mascot, based on anything other than a marketing idea? That's what Jeremy Schnieder of Denver asked Colorado Wonders. The answer can be found deep in the bowels of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science's paleontology department. (No, this is not Dinger staring at Schneider.)
Jamie Giellis lost her bid to oust incumbent Denver Mayor Michael Hancock in a June runoff election. She greeted supporters and conceded the race to Hancock at Ophelia's in downtown Denver, accompanied by her husband Chris and her 8-year-old stepson Jackson.
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The High Line Canal, once an important irrigation system for Colorado's Front Range, is better known now as a recreation trail. These flowers were blooming along its bike path in Green Valley Ranch.
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When CPR's OpenAir transformed into Indie 102.3, the on-air hosts needed new head shots. This is morning host Jeremy Petersen, photographed in his favorite sunglasses in CPR's performance Studio.

July

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Uncle Sam on a Big Wheel during the annual Fourth of July parade through Denver's Park Hill neighborhood.
Vintage Base Ball
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The Denver Blue Stockings took on the Colorado Territory nine on Independence Day in Broomfield. The teams from Colorado's Vintage Base Ball Association play ball with rules from the year 1864, in uniforms to match.
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Chicano Batman at the 2019 Underground Music Showcase in Denver.
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Hoop dancer Christina Sachi at Denver's Underground Music Showcase.
Central City Opera Rehearses Billy Budd
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Cast members of the Central City Opera rehearse Benjamin Britten's "Billy Budd" in Central City. Kevin Burdette, plays John Claggart.
Prison Podcast
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A select group of state prison system inmates are producing a podcast called With(In) through a program with the University of Denver. They interviewed Dean Williams, executive director of the Department of Corrections, on Tuesday July 9 2019. Co-host Sarah Berry wipes away a tear during the interview.
Hwy 36 Embankment Failure HV
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A massive section of embankment that carries the Boulder Turnpike, Hwy 36, over railroad tracks near Church Ranch Boulevard, collapsed. Colorado Department of Transportation officials say the collapse was likely caused by water getting underneath the roadway.
Rafting Safety
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Whitewater rafting on Colorado's rivers is popular and the outfitters work to make a day on the the river safe. At Echo Canyon rafting in Canon City, clients wear flotation jackets and helmets, and hear guides go through saefy drills before they get in a boat. Guides loaded a raft onto a trailer to be towed to the put-in.
Deer Trail Rodeo 150 Anniversary
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The annual Deer Trail Rodeo marked 150 years when it got underway Friday evening July 5. Deer Trail, about an hour east of Denver on the Plains, claims to be the first site of a rodeo anywhere in the United States.
Growing Cannabis
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Cultivating cannabis at the Colorado Harvest Co. facility in Englewood.
Smells Like Colorado
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So, what does Colorado smell like? Perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz worked that out. She uses a pipette to prepare a delicate mix of scents in a new perfume she is developing at her Boulder work space.
Women Flyfishing Scholarship
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Cascade, Colorado, flyfishing guide Kaitlin Boyer introduces Lauren McKenzie of Colorado Springs to flyfishing at South Cascade Reservoir behind Pikes Peak on Thursday, July 18, 2019. McKenzie enrolled in a special scholarship that Boyer helped found.
Bluegrass legend Del McCoury, right, and his son Ronnie and band play Red Rocks. Sign language interpreters worked the concert.
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Diver Anthony Provost poses at the top of the cliff before diving into Casa Bonita's pool. Provost, a gymnast, said diving is fun, but meeting the onlooking kids afterward and receiving high fives is even better.

August

As Cookie Lockhart sat in a park in Steamboat Springs and reminisced about her more than 50 years as a groundbreaking female auctioneer, she stopped mid-sentence to reply to a friendly “Hi, Cookie!” from a guy walking down the bike path. “Hi!” she hollered back and she cracked a huge smile, waved and shrugged. “No idea who that was.” Everyone knows Cookie.
190822 BANDALOOP
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The artists of Oakland-based BANDALOOP perform on the stage, in the air and along the sides of Breckenridge’s Riverwalk Center. BANDALOOP is known for its vertical dances on the sides of skyscrapers and mountains, as well as from famous sites such as Seattle’s Space Needle.
190807 Western Slope
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You can never know the glory of advancing to the women’s finals of Olathe Sweet Corn Festival corn-eating contest if you don’t first pick up an ear (or four).
Nikki Haley With Cory Gardner
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Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, posing with a supporter, made a campaign appearance at the AMG National Trust Bank in Greenwood Village. Former Ambassador to the United Nations and North Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also spoke.
Blackpackers
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Sometimes, driving from one assignment to another, you have to stop and smell -- and photograph -- the flowers. In this case, along Hwy 24 near Florissant.
Guns, hate and mental health: Where do they intersect? How should we move forward? Colorado Matters convened a panel to address those questions after the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch George Brauchler the Republican district attorney who prosecuted the Aurora theater shooter, was a participant and paused here before answering a question.
De'von Bailey Police Shooting Memorial Mourners Colorado Springs
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Nicole Lempereur, in black, and Michele Sidie, both of Colorado Springs, visit the street memorial to De'von Bailey on Aug. 15 on Preuss Road where city police shot Bailey Aug. 3. Bailey later died. Both women were close friends of Bailey.
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Defending the overall race leader's yellow jersey, American Chloe Dygert-Owen claimed four top spots at the Colorado Classic bicycle race's second stage in Avon: the stage winner, overall race leader, sprint winner and queen of the mountain.
Blackpackers
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Blackpackers, an organization that aims to encopurage people of color to experience the Colorado outdoors, held its inaugural camp out Aug. 17-18 at Eleven Mile State Park west of Manitou Springs. Carrie Austin, of Aurora, helped set up a tent at the group's camp site.
Stephanie Wolf/CPR News
Aerial artist Terry Crane on a cyr wheel during a tech rehearsal for the Aerial Dance Festival at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder on July 30, 2019.
HAATS High Altitude Aviation Training Site Eagle Army National Guard
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The Army National Guard's High Altitude Aviation Training Site in Eagle schools helicopter crews from all U.S. service branches in the high-risk skill of managing their aircraft in the thin air over mountainous terrain. A HAATS Black Hawk approaches Pyramid Peak, left, and the Maroon Bells outside of Aspen.
THOMPSON DIVIDE CORE ACT
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Brook Le Van is the owner of Sustainable Settings outside of Carbondale, and is a board member of the Thompson Divide Coalition. The Divide, a 220,000-acre patchwork of forest, meadows and mountains within the White River and Gunnison national forests, has long been prime territory for ranchers, farmers, hunters, hikers, mountain bikers and other recreationists. The coalition works with federal lawmakers on ways to preserve the area.
THOMPSON DIVIDE CORE ACT
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Clear fresh water pours into a trough on Judy Fox-Perry's Thompson Divide Ranch.
190807 Lumineers At The Mission Ballroom
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The Lumineers don't start their world tour until 2020, but the Denver band headlined the grand opening of Mission Ballroom in Denver, playing old and new tunes to a sold out house. Their third album, "III," is out in September.

September

190909 BERNIE SANDERS DENVER HV
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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied supporters for his presidential campaign in Denver's Civic Center Park.
1908730 USAFA CHAPEL
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The Cadet Chapel at the United States Air Force Academy, touted as the most-visited building in Colorado, is now closed for at least four years of extensive renovation. Shortcuts in the original construction have plagued the building since it was completed in 1963.
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Colorado Poet Laureate Bobby LeFebre, the state’s first poet laureate of color, and its youngest ever sits under the kiosk at La Raza (Columbus) Park in north Denver. “I am really interested in using poetry as a tool and a foot in the door to discuss bigger issues and to connect with communities about what they’re going through and what matters to them,” he said.
STEM SCHOOL ROBOTOCS TEAM RETURNS
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Kendrick Castillo's father, John, takes photos of his late son's robot at the STEM School Highlands Ranch robotics lab. Kendrick was killed at the school in a shooting earlier this year. Students there huddled Monday Sept. 10 2019 before beginning work on updates to Kendrick's robot, which they are entering in a competition.
The Burroughs in the CPR performance studio
Hart Van Denburg/CPR
The Burroughs in the CPR performance studio for Indie 102.3
Abby Jones was the poster child for getting kids to give up their smartphones. Her TedX Talk about breaking up with social media went viral and she appeared on the Today Show to offer advice on ditching the phone. We profiled her as part of our Teens Under Stress project.
190910 PRISON CUCKOO NEST
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Douglas L. Micco as Chief Bromden in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," produced by the DU Prison Arts Initiative and inmates at the Sterling Correctional Facility, performed at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility.
190906 POLIS RECALL PETITIONS FALL SHORT
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Sheena Kadi of One Colorado shouts a question at Karen Kataline, a spokeswoman for Dismiss Polis, the group behind a failed recall effort of the governor, on the steps of the state Capitol.
190920 Climate Strike Denver
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Members of Danza Azteca ColorAztlan danced and led prayers at Union Station. Thousands marched up the 16th Street Mall to the Colorado state Capitol in support of an international youth-organized strike aimed at combating climate change.
Beto O'Roarke in Aurora
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Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a rally at the Aurora Municipal Center. He has since dropped out of the race.
190920 Climate Strike Denver
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Denver police made at least three arrests Monday evening as a small band of Extinction Rebellion protesters marched and chanted along Speer Boulevard and Broadway in Denver, at times disrupting traffic.

October

Stephanie Wolf/CPR News
The 32-foot-tall fiberglass “Mustang” towers over Colleen Donohue, Alex Renteria, Adam Horst and Michael Gunstanson at the Denver International Airport. A Colorado Wonders reader wanted to know more about the inspiration that led New Mexico artist Luis Jiménez to create the stallion and “what exactly happened with the artist and the ultimate demise of him.” We checked it out.
191015 FORT CARSON HOMECOMING
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Members of the 183rd Support Maintenance Company, 4th Infantry Division returned to Fort Carson after a nine-month deployment at various locations in the Middle East.
Kendelyn Ouellette for CPR News
Curator Angelica Daneo discusses how dozens of the Monet paintings arrived at the Denver Art Museum.
Denver woke up to several inches of early-season snow on Oct. 28, making for a cold and slippery commute. Here an RTD bus picks up a passenger on 23rd Avenue.
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Residents pack a fire station to hear an update on the Decker Fire near Salida. More than 700 firefighters worked the blaze, including nine elite Type-1 teams.
Delta Library Vote
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Anya Ullmann reads in the children’s section of the Hotchkiss Public Library. Delta County Libraries, like many library systems across Colorado, have been hit hard by state tax law that has dramatically cut their revenue. Ballot measures asked voters to approve a tax increase to help restore the services, hours and staff that have been lost. The results? A mixed bag.
Donald Trump Jr. Charlie Kirk Turning Point USA CSU
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Donald Trump Jr. at a "Culture War" event, sponsored by conservative student organization Turning Point USA. Turning Point is a nationwide conservative student organization founded by Kirk. As what appeared to be a mostly student-aged crowd cheered, clapped and laughed along, Tuesday's event at times felt like a pep rally for President Donald Trump.
Charlie Kirk Donald Trump Jr. CSU Turning Point USA
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Protesters outside Colorado State University's Student Arts Center in Fort Collins, ahead of a "Culture War" event staged by conservative student group Turning Point USA.
191009 HANDBALL DENVER
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Daily when the weather's good, Latino families gather at the handball court in the Whittier neighborhood to watch and play after work. “There are times when we bring players all the way from Mexico and you can easily get 50 people here to watch the game,” said Cayetano Guereca, who is known as one of the best players in the neighborhood.
THUNBERG DENVER CLIMATE STRIKE
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At Denver protest against climate change in Civic Center Park on Friday Oct. 11, 2019. Swedish environmental activist Greta teenager Thunberg headlined the event. She was in the West for a visit to Standing Rock, the reservation in South Dakota that was the scene of vivid protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016.
191009 NATURALIZATION HISTORY COLORADO
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Fifty United States citizanship candidates took the Oath of Allegiance at History Colorado in Denver.

November

CHARLES BURRELL
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Charles Burrell in the CPR Classical studios Nov. 1. Burrell began his orchestral career with the Denver Symphony in 1949, becoming the first African-American to sign a permanent contract with a major U.S. orchestra. He turned 99 years old on October 4.
Glenn Miles leads an auction recently at Backcountry Good Trading in Hotchkiss, selling off everything from rifles and saddles to Christmas ornaments and decorative sweaters.
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Air Force Veteran Ken Morrow relies on his service dog Toby to help him deal with conditions ranging from vertigo to anger issues. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will help veterans obtain and care for service dogs to help with certain physical conditions but the agency has stopped short of providing significant resources for service dogs.
The downtown Denver Public Library is reflected in glass sheathing a new wing of the Denver Art Museum, parts of which will reopen in June.
191126 DENVER SNOWSTORM
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On Nordic skis, Matt Rembaum glides across York Street at 22nd into City Park, Denver, as Colorado was inundated by a November snowstorm.
191125 DIA SNOWSTORM
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Denver International Airport was bracing for both record-setting November snow and the traditional Thanksgiving week crowds. Two airport visitors stood still watching the departure board while a crowd swirled around them
Chris Neal/Shooter Imaging
A student at Mountain Middle School, a public charter school in Durango, puts her phone away before entering the building for the school day. The school banned cell phones seven years ago and says students are better off as a result.
Teens Jose Garza Shawn Mashall
Jenny Brundin/CPR News
Teens spend, on average, more than seven hours a day using screens and 60 percent of teens themselves say spending too much time online is a “major” problem. We checked in with two teenagers, Jose and Shawn, about how they use their phones and what they think about it.
191109 INDIE BRENT COWLES ALISHA SWEENEY DIME
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Brent Cowles live in Dime Denver's Studio 101 with Indie 102.3's Alisha Sweeney.
191109 NEVADAVILLE MINER
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Nevadaville prospector Wes Williams. We met Wes on a reporting trip for another assignment. He invited us into his workshop, where this photo was taken.
191109 CENTRAL CITY AMERISTAR
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Central City and the Ameristar casino Nov. 9.
Thanksgiving Turkey Zolo Grill Boulder
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A different take on Brussels sprout sat Zolo Grill in Boulder. Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner made a visit to Zolo, a Boulder restaurant that specializes in southwestern cuisine, to sample chile-spiked Thanksgiving dishes with chef Kyle Mendenhall.

December

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You know what this is right? Rocky Mountain Oysters. Is this the most Colorado food? That's what we'e asking on our end of year bracket.
Teens George Washington High School Meditation Class
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Students at Denver's George Washington High School at their weekly meditation class. We spent time with the class as part of our Teens Under Stress project.
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U.S. presidential candidate and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and her Deputy National Press Secretary C.J. Warnke, laugh with voters following a town hall in Denver.
3rd Law Dance Boulder
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Boulder-based 3rd Law Dance/Theater’s “Elision Project Volume 3”.
191212 VOTER VOICES HUNSON PEPPER POD
Herman Utecht, center, is among a group of friends, all military veterans, who gather at the Pepper Pod in Hudson every Thursday morning. They spoke about what they want to hear politicians address and what journalists to report as the 2020 election approaches.
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Christie Marcotte, of Longmont, tries EnChroma glasses for people who are colorblind for the first time at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver on Dec. 10, 2019. MCA Denver is the first Colorado museum to partner with the California-based company.  Museum director Nora Burnett Abrams said this will make their facility more inclusive and accessible.
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Colorado Ballet dancer Fernanda Oliveira performs the role of the Dew Drop Fairy during a student matinee of “The Nutcracker." It’s Nutcracker season and Colorado Ballet dancers are worried about wearing out their costumes. The wardrobe manager is doing repairs all the time, from small tasks like snaps and tears to splotches of age-old grime. Thirty years of dancers have worn out these threads.
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Inmates of the Denver Women's Correctional Facility perform 'A Christmas Carol' on Dec. 12 in front of a full house at the University of Denver’s Newman Center. It’s a professional venue, and their three performances sold out 1,000 tickets in just five days.
Manitou Incline Record Greg Cummings 2019
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His first lap of the day behind him Friday Nov. 29 2019, 63-year-old Greg Cummings uses a combination of altimeter and mileage readings as well as selfies to log two record-breaking attempts on the Manitou Incline: The most ascents of of the Incline, and the most vertical feet traveled on foot in 365 consecutive days.
PREPPER DREW MILLER FORTITUDE RANCH
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Self-described prepper Drew Miller, his AR-15 rifle in hand, leads CPR reporter Dan Boyce through the snow for a tour of a remote Rocky Mountain ranch. Watch for that story in the coming weeks.

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