News Briefs

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Hope Pass at Mile 45 of the Leadville 100

Winners of the Leadville Trail 100 Run Announced

Neither Adrian MacDonald nor Annie Hughes had ever competed in a 100-mile race before, let alone one as challenging as the Leadville Trail 100 Run. But that didn’t stop them from dominating the world-renowned centennial race. Macdonald, a Fort Collins local, finished first in the men’s division in 16 hours and 18 minutes (40 minutes ahead of second place). Hughes, a Leadville local and HOKA sponsored athlete, won the women’s division in 21 hours and six minutes (a full hour ahead of second place). 

“It hasn’t really sunk in,” Macdonald says. “I’m still absorbing it.”

“It feels pretty incredible to have won,” Hughes says. “It just meant a lot to me since I live in Leadville and know so much about the races.” 

Sand Creek Massacre Proclamations rescinded by governor

When Rick Williams, a tribal leader for the Oglala Lakota and Northern Cheyenne Tribes, discovered two Colorado proclamations inciting the mass murder of at least 230 Native people during the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, he was shocked and appalled. Not just because the proclamations specifically targeted Native Americans and authorized their murder, but because the legislation had never been officially rescinded by the State. 

“Why are there no Indian reservations on the Front Range of Colorado or around the Eastern Plains?” Williams asked the Pagosa Daily Post. “It’s because one word: genocide.”

The first of these proclamations directed “friendly Indians” to gather at specific locations, threatening violence against those who refused. The second authorized citizens to kill and steal property from Native Americans whom colonizers deemed “hostile.”

“Because we wouldn’t give up our land, they decided they were going to kill us however they needed to do it,” Williams said. 

On Aug. 24, after 157 years, Gov. Jared Polis finally rescinded these proclamations.  

Weld County’s “Operation Reset” allows those with low-level warrants to avoid arrest  

As of July 31, there had been 6,594 active warrants issued during the pandemic in Weld County — a staggering 4,299 of which were for failing to appear in court following a misdemeanor, most of which are traffic violations. Still, deputies are starting to actively pursue and arrest these people, though many have no prior criminal record.

Weld County recently initiated “Operation Reset,” intended to allow residents with low-level warrants to pay outstanding fees without being taken into custody. 

​​“It’s not worth missing work, potentially losing your job or having your kids placed with child protective services over a misdemeanor or traffic court warrant,” Sean Standridge, sergeant of the Weld County Sheriff’s Office Strike Team, said in a press release. “In a lot of these cases we can get people into the jail, processed and on with their lives in just a couple of hours.”

Active warrants can be checked online at: apps1.weldgov.com