Latest news with #CBSColorado
CBS News
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
CBS Colorado speaks to U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot ahead of Cheyenne Frontier Days performance
After taking a one year break due to airport maintenance, the United States Air Force Thunderbirds are returning to Cheyenne Frontier Days Saturday. The iconic team, known to have some of the most talented pilots in the world, will perform a show in Cheyenne as part of the CFD festivities. Ahead of the performance over F.E. Warren Air Base, the Thunderbirds invited CBS Colorado to watch their arrival and practice over Cheyenne. Then, pilot Ian Lee spoke in front of his F-16 aircraft, numbered three, on the tarmac. "Being a Thunderbird is great," said Lee, a Lt. Colonel. With the call sign of "Bear," Lee said his team often flies at more than 400 miles per hour while completing maneuvers. "The closest we get is about 18 inches apart," Lee said. "That is definitely where we have to have trust in our teammates." While the Thunderbirds do more than 60 shows a year, Cheyenne Frontier Days holds a special place in the history of the team. "This is something we have been doing for an extremely long time.," Lee said. "This was actually the Thunderbirds' first civilian air demonstration we did back in 1953. So it is very exciting to be here, and it is nice to keep that tradition going." Since then, the Thunderbirds have performed at nearly every CFD experience since. In 2024, the team had to skip the tradition due to ongoing runway construction at Cheyenne's airport, which the military shares. Lee said he also, coincidentally, happened to take 2024 off from being with the Thunderbirds. However, like the team, he is back with them in Cheyenne now. Lee said, with the show being July 26, the team plans to spend some of their time in Cheyenne attending the iconic Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. "I think the first rodeo I had ever been to was here back in 2021. It is a lot of fun," Lee said. "It was a lot more fun than I was expecting. So I am a fan." The Thunderbirds have two types of shows they regularly perform, known as high and low altitude shows. In order to perform the show with the most loops, or the high altitude show, clouds must be clear due to safety. If the weather holds out as they hope, the team expects to perform the high altitude show in Cheyenne. However in 2023, they had the same plan. But cloud coverage forced them to change to a low altitude show at the last minute. Lee said, no matter what, the crowd will be given a visually and audibly fun experience. "Especially after we light the afterburners, you can definitely feel that from the ground -- the power of the jets -- which is really great," Lee said.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Colorado golfer Davis Bryant takes his game worldwide on the DP World Tour
Winning the Inspirato Colorado Open last year was a dream come true for Davis Bryant and the $100,000 winner's check wasn't bad either. It gave the former Colorado State University golfer the financial flexibility to try to take his game to a much bigger level. "I played a bunch of mini-tour events last year and got some experience," said Bryant, who lives in Aurora. "I was fortunate to have some good success towards the end of the summer and then just wanted to give myself a chance to play at a higher level." So Bryant bolted to Europe where he fired a final round 62 in qualifying school, finishing third overall and earning his tour card on the DP World Tour. "The 62 with no bogeys, 9 birdies, it was flawless," Bryant recalled. "I still kind of get the chills and smile when I think about that round of golf. It was remarkable." And so began Bryant's worldwide golfing tour. It has taken the 25-year old to Mauritius, South Africa, Qatar, Kenya, India, the UAE, China, Turkey, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. CBS Colorado's Eric Christensen asked Bryant what his favorite country on the tour has been. "Turkey was pretty sweet," Bryant said. "What's the strangest food you've eaten?" Christensen asked. "Anything in China unfortunately was questionable," he replied. "Can you say 'birdie' in any other language?" Christensen asked. "I've learned zero words in any other languages," Bryant said. Christensen caught up with Davis on one of his recent visits back home. He love being back home and does admit to feeling homesick at times. But that doesn't mean he doesn't like life overseas. "I love it over there," Bryant exclaimed. "I love to travel. I loved to travel before I started doing this and every new stamp I get in my passport is fascinating." Understandably, Bryant struggled at first on the DP World Tour but has recently hit his stride. Back-to-back top 10 finishes have him in position to earn his tour card again next year. "Ideally I'd love to do this for the next 2, 3, 4 years and if I have the opportunity and get my game to where I know I can get it to and have the chance to come back and play on the PGA Tour, that would be awesome," said Bryant. "To be able to spend a week in a place and get a glimpse of what life is like with the food and the culture and the people and the language but also compete for a lot of money each week? It's a great opportunity and something I'm grateful for." But for now, Davis is determined to make the most of his time on the DP World Tour. And this week? He'll be defending his Inspirato Colorado Open title. The tournament takes place from July 24-27 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston reflects on homelessness, budget shortfall and future plans
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston sat down with CBS Colorado on Thursday to reflect on his first two years in office and discuss what he would still like to accomplish in the next two years of his first term. Johnston touted his work on homelessness: "There are no encampments in Denver. There are no tents downtown," he said. "We've gotten 5,000 people off the streets. We became the largest American city to end street homelessness for veterans. Those for us are major milestones." At the same time, the mayor acknowledged there is still work to do. "Yes, we still have a couple hundred folks who are left on the streets. They are mostly our highest acuity individuals. They have the most significant mental illness, the most significant addiction. They're not living in communities. They're not living in encampments. They're just wandering around and using, and sometimes passing out. The next phase of the work is really about those individuals and how we help connect them to services to get clean, to get mental health supports and then to get clean and get back up." Johnston is staring down a budget shortfall of $50 million for the rest of 2025 and a $200 million shortfall for 2026. City employees have begun taking furloughs, and city workers are preparing for the potential of layoffs beginning in August. "Our goal is always to avoid any impact on core public services," said Johnston when asked what Denverites can expect with the city facing such a big deficit. "We're going to keep officers on the street. We're going to keep trash getting picked up. We're going to keep our parks and rec centers clean and open." "Do you think it's possible to balance the budget and keep all of those things?" asked CBS Colorado. "We are never going to keep everything, but what we've done with each department is said, 'What are the core public services we have to deliver? And what are the core things we need to deliver city-wide? And what are the things that might have been nice to have 10-15 years ago that might not be so essential to have right now, and how do we find a way to pare those back?'" The mayor also hinted that an announcement regarding the Broncos and potential plans for a new stadium would be coming soon. "I'm hoping in the next few weeks," he said. The Broncos' current contract at Empower Field at Mile High expires following the 2030 season. "Over my dead body will the Broncos leave Denver. I would fire myself." When asked what the next two years look like and what a successful first term would entail Johnston said that housing affordability and cost of living would continue to be a concern, "We want to still keep fighting to make sure that everyone who works in the city can afford to live in the city, so that we don't have school teachers that are saying, 'I'd love to stay in Denver, but I have to move back home to Kansas or Oklahoma because I can afford to live there.' Those are the ones we want to keep fighting for."
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
New text scam in Colorado pretends to be DMV employee, alleges unpaid tickets
A new type of scam text message looks like it's coming from the Colorado DMV. But the goal of all scammers is the same -- separating you from your money. Lakewood resident Lauren Perrin almost got hit with it before asking her father to take a look at the message. It saved her from potentially clicking a bad link or sending money somewhere. "I had to ask two people, and the verbiage was very formal," Perrin told CBS Colorado. "It definitely fit the way that it would be sent if someone here said this." The texts have ended up everywhere, even in our CBS Colorado newsroom, where many of our coworkers have received the scam. The DMV says the texts have started to become more prevalent lately. When a person receives the text, it says they have overdue tickets to be paid, and, if they do not do so soon, there may be more penalties. "I think my text said I had one day to get all the tickets I never paid," Perrin joked. "But it came from a random number. It wasn't like 1-800. I actually asked my Dad and he said forget about it" In a statement to CBS Colorado, the DMV suggests not clicking any links to a suspicious text, not sharing any personal information or replying to the message at all. Those that responded to our question on the CBS Colorado Facebook page said they largely received and deleted them. If you have been affected by a scam text, the DMV suggests changing your passwords, contacting your bank or financial institution, consider a fraud alert and staying generally vigilant. Perrin now has a trained eye as well as a unique strategy for sussing out scammers going forward. "They're probably using ChatGPT or AI to make these texts, so I would run it through there to see if it was," Perrin said. "And just ask your friends."
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Man killed in shooting in Denver's Golden Triangle neighborhood, police looking for information
Denver police are asking the public for help finding a suspect in a homicide early Saturday morning. According to authorities, two people were injured in a shooting in the 1000 block of N. Lincoln Street around 3:20 a.m. Saturday. One person had a minor injury. However, the second victim, later identified as Antonio Vargas, was seriously wounded. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died. Police are working to develop suspect information and are asking anyone with information on the shooting to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers. The shooting occurred near CBS Colorado, and some activity was captured from a nearby surveillance camera. Footage shows people running around in the area beginning around 1 a.m., lasting for around 50 minutes. A Black SUV's lights came on around 20 minutes later before it did a loop in the parking lot and left heading south on Lincoln. Police are seen arriving at the scene at 4:40 a.m.
