Did ICE actually arrest any gang members?

Good morning, Sunriser readers! I’m about halfway through “There’s Always This Year,” the latest book by poet and culture critic Hanif Abdurraqib. It’s about basketball — ostensibly. It’s about the local ball players he was raised around in Columbus, Ohio; the ones who made it big and the ones who fell short. It’s largely about LeBron James.

Hanif’s LeBron is the one up the road from Akron, Ohio, who grew up then outgrew his hometown. My LeBron is the LeBron of the Lakers, but that’s only because I grew up watching the Lakers build, trade, win, lose, stumble, triumph. I understand what it means to connect to a place first through its sports teams and then through everything else; I get why Hanif’s love letter to LeBron is actually a complex and rich love letter to Ohio.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, there will be a lot of talk about love. We want to know what you love about Colorado. Is it a place? A person? A sports team? An athlete? We’ve got Jokic for goodness’ sake, so I’ll just leave that there. Send us a message with what you love about our state, and we’ll share some of our favorite reader responses. Tell us here!

SWAK ????,

Parker Yamasaki

Reporter

THE NEWS

IMMIGRATION

ICE hasn’t revealed how many people were detained during raids of Denver, Aurora apartment complexes

Two days after SWAT vehicles swarmed over east Denver and Aurora, going door-to-door looking for members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, ICE has not revealed who was booked or if any of them were actually criminals. Jennifer Brown has more.

READ MORE

• Feds not pursuing charges in Adams County warehouse raid. None of the 49 people detained in a raid on a makeshift nightclub in Adams County days before the recent ICE raids are facing criminal charges, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Division.
  — The Denver Post
• Fact check: No proof of media leaks or claims of arrests in Aurora, Denver immigrant raids. Without evidence, border patrol officials claimed on Fox News that unnamed Colorado media tipped off immigration activists about the raids, endangering federal agents.
  — Sentinel Colorado

HEALTH

A new AI tool at Denver Health means your doctor will see you now (and not their screen)

There’s a reason hospital TV shows use patient paperwork as a gag so regularly: There’s a ton of it. John Ingold takes a spin with Nabla, the medical-grade AI stenographer that has doctors excited to be able to spend more face time with patients.

READ MORE

EDUCATION

New funding formula that promises $500M for Colorado schools hits another legislative roadblock

The new formula to fund schools in Colorado contains a number of triggers that could halt its implementation, all designed to help keep the budget balanced during an economic downturn. But what happens when correcting a miscalculation trips that trigger? Erica Breunlin digs into the latest bump in the road to new school funding.

READ MORE

OUTDOORS

An Idaho rancher lost zero cattle to wolves in a decade. Can he help Colorado ranchers do the same?

For nearly 20 years, Glenn Elzinga has been living with cattle and wolves. And after a decade or so of experimenting with different cattle management techniques, he’s sharing what he has learned with the Colorado ranchers who are frantically adjusting to the new predators in their areas. Tracy Ross has more.

READ MORE

MORE NEWS

• Lower Arkansas Valley growers organize protests against city water transfers. Colorado farmers helped create the American Agriculture Movement nearly 50 years ago, and the same families are now organizing to stop Colorado Springs from completing large water annexations that could harm farms.
• King Soopers hired temp workers to keep stores open during strike; pharmacies will close Sundays. The two-week labor stoppage has begun in Denver-area stores, with Pueblo stores joining this morning. See the list of impacted stores and pharmacies.
• Fact Brief ☀️ Is Colorado one of the slimmest states in the U.S.? Yes. Colorado consistently ranks among the states with the lowest obesity rate, most recently coming in at No. 2.

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Children’s Colorado halts gender-affirming treatments for minors, citing Trump order. Because Children’s Hospital Colorado is a safety net hospital with “nearly half” of its young patients covered by Medicaid, hospital leaders say Trump’s executive order could threaten its ability to receive federal health care funds. New gender-diverse patients will no longer be given puberty blockers or other gender-affirming medical treatment.
  — Sentinel Colorado
• The “Steamboat Surprise” and the founding of OpenSnow. If you’ve hit the slopes any time in the past decade, chances are you’ve at least glanced at OpenSnow. But did you know that it was the peculiar meteorology of Steamboat Springs that got Joel Gratz, the founder of OpenSnow, into the prediction game to begin with?
  — Steamboat Pilot & Today
• Shen Yun promotes dance performances in Colorado after being sued for child labor violations. Shen Yun Performing Arts, the traveling dance troupe behind elaborate performances that show “China before Communism,” has been sued by a former dancer, is being investigated over its allegedly abusive child labor practices and is now reported to be under investigation for visa fraud.
  
  — Colorado Times Recorder
• One of L.A.’s top restaurants is closing, but will reopen in Denver. Bar Chelou — in the shadow of the Eaton fire that devastated Altadena and one of Eater’s Best New U.S. Restaurants in 2023 — will close in Pasadena next weekend, but chef Doug Rankin has said he plans to follow other high profile chefs like Ludo Lefebvre to reopen in the Mile High City.
  — Westword

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Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

CARTOONS

In “What’d I Miss?” Myra wonders why the recent efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants seems focused on one particular type.

CARTOON

Drew Litton isn’t exactly jumping for joy after the five-season-plus absence of Nuggets and Avs games on Comcast ended this week.

CARTOON

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

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Podcast Playlist

CONVERSATION

Each weekday The Daily Sun-Up podcast brings you a thoughtful conversation and headlines of the day. We keep it tight so you can listen on the go, or stack up a few and tune in at your leisure. Download the Sun-Up for free on your favorite podcasting app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or RSS to plug into your app. Check out this week’s lineup from The Sun team:

• Taking on mental health in Colorado mountain towns. This topic is deeply personal to us. Outdoors reporter Jason Blevins toured a new center in Eagle that will help folks around the high country who are struggling with their mental health.
  LISTEN
• Grocery store run. Business reporter Tamara Chuang gets us caught up on the King Soopers strike and the continued concerns around egg production and prices.
  LISTEN
• Lend me your ear. Colorado author Diane Byington chats with SunLit editor Kevin Simpson about her award-winning historical fiction novel “Louis and Vincent.” Who was the woman who spent time with the famed artist in his final days?
  LISTEN
• What does wolf reintroduction mean for Colorado? The reintroduction has been a long road, shaped by decades of advocacy, science and controversy. Rural reporter Tracy Ross unpacks the journey with two proponents of the program.
  LISTEN
• Insight into Colorado governor’s insights. Colorado’s legislative session is entering its second month, which means bills are starting to advance through the Capitol. We revisit our conversation last month with Gov. Jared Polis previewing the lawmaking term.
  LISTEN

????️ Remember, you can ask Siri, Alexa or Google to “play the Daily Sun-Up podcast” and we’ll play right on your smart speaker. As always we appreciate your feedback and comments at podcast@coloradosun.com.

Section by David Krause | Editor

Don’t forget to send us your Colorado Valentine at the link here. I can’t wait to read about what you love.

— Parker & the whole staff of The Sun

The Colorado Sun is part of The Trust Project. Read our policies.

Corrections & Clarifications

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.