Latest news with #SloansLake
CBS News
8 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Colorado Dragon Boat Festival may need new home as Sloan's Lake health deteriorates
The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival may be looking for a new home, but not by choice. The last couple of years at Sloan's Lake have brought small challenges, from fish kills to upticks in blue-green algae in the heat of the summer. Now, the Denver Parks & Recreation Department has closed off the lake for public use between July and August, forcing the Festival to move to September. If things get much worse, it may mean one of the area's most popular weekends may be no more. "Within my move, I came out here and was really looking and searching for the Asian community, and the way I found that was through the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival," said Sara Moore, the executive director of the festival. She, like many, was once a Colorado transplant but found a circle of community through the Festival. Now, she runs the entire operation and is hoping that the city and county take the lake's health seriously. "I do think there's obviously been a decrease of activity on the league just due to the health deteriorating," she said. On average, the Colorado Dragon Boat festival sees roughly 200,000 people flock to the Edgewater area over the course of the weekend. Not wanting to leave Sloan's Lake behind, Moore has gotten together with other advocates, like Kurt Weaver of the Sloan's Lake Foundation, to see what can be done. "It's not going to be next year that the lake is no longer here, but certainly it is in the next several years that we're going to see real bad impacts on the lake," Weaver said. Earlier in the year, a proposal to clean and dredge the lake was brought to the city as part of the Vibrant Denver Bond proposal package. The proposed $40 million would include habitat restoration, full dredging of the lake, filtration of storm drains as well as general improvements to make Sloan's a destination again. That $40 million is now just $5 million in the current iteration of the bond package, which still has to go to a city council vote and, if it passes, be approved by voters in November. "The five million dollars that is tagged for environmental and aquatic improvements are some of the pre-hab things we need to do before we dredge the lake," Weaver explained. Some of that work includes fixing shorelines and adding filters to the 23 area storm drains and two run-off ditches. Much of the sediment that pollutes the lake comes from those areas as Sloan's maintains its water levels via runoff and rainwater. Moore, preparing for another festival in September, knows the significance of the lake and those who use it. What she's hoping for is that the move of the festival dates will raise awareness for the community to rally around the lake and show that it's worth saving. "Especially for the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, we don't want to leave the city and county of Denver, and we don't want to leave Sloan's Lake," she said. The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival will be happening on September 6th and 7th.
CBS News
25-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
House fire in Denver's Sloan's Lake neighborhood spreads to nearby home
Fire at a home under construction in Denver's Sloan's Lake neighborhood spread to a neighboring house. The fire started just before 6 a.m. at Congo's Place and Lowell Street. House under renovation catches fire in Denver. Denver Fire Department Crews on the scene reported heavy smoke coming from the roof. Firefighters believe the home was being remodeled at the time. Firefighters are looking into what caused the fire. They say the radiant heat from the fire helped the fire spread to a neighboring house. Firefighter checks out a roof on Conejos Place in Denver Denver Fire Department No one was hurt in the fire.
CBS News
19-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Residents in Denver's Sloan's Lake neighborhood hoping for funding for lake cleanup
Residents near Sloan's Lake in Denver are worried about the lake's condition, and they're hoping voters can help. This November, voters will decide whether or not the City of Denver will get access to an $800 million Vibrant Denver Bond, money that would go towards a variety of projects. Officials said the bond would improve the city without raising taxes and would go towards public facilities like parks, rec centers, libraries, roads, bridges, police stations and cultural venues. Right now, there are over 220 projects across the city that want a part of that financing. In Sloan's Lake, a particularly ambitious proposal is already starting to gain traction among its residents. Former mayoral candidate and State Director of GreenLatinos Colorado, Ean Tafoya, used to visit the lake as a child, but the lake he remembers is very different from what it is now. "The lake becomes sick and is dying from the algae blooms and the dead fish," he explained. Just down the lake at the basketball courts another resident, Dominic Cordova, said he would also like to see the lake cleaned up. "People come from all over to see it, tourists and locals alike. It's real important that we keep the integrity of it," he said. He's seen the effects firsthand on the water. "I paddleboard in there as well. So, you can definitely tell. I don't know if there's algae, but there's definitely stuff in there sometimes," Cordova said. The City of Denver said the Parks and Recreation Lake Management Team is monitoring the lake for blue-green algae. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the organisms can "bloom" into dense concentrations, which produce toxins. The lake receives a large amount of stormwater runoff from across the watershed, said the city. They explained that the lake needs environmental improvements. The extent of this project would include dredging and deepening the lake, cleanup of the pipe infrastructure and pollutant control. Tafoya said the water is a vital resource. "We have to make that investment to protect the water, and it's super important. Coloradans and Denverites, they know how important water is in the west, and so, we have to do what we can to protect it." There are still many hurdles to go before it gets to a point where the various projects can try to secure some of the Vibrant Denver Bond. First and foremost is making sure that the money is even available via a vote this coming year.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Community searching for Denver woman missing for nearly a month
DENVER (KDVR) — The search continues for a missing Denver woman who hasn't been seen or heard from in nearly a month. Friends, family and even strangers to 34-year-old Jax Gratton searched Sloan's Lake on Saturday, passing out flyers, searching hard-to-reach areas with park rangers to look for any clues on her disappearance. 'We had some sort of documentation to know when her last interaction was at home, but we're not quite sure where she's gone since then,' said searcher Brother Ken Unity Keeper. 'We're just looking in the general areas that we think she may have been visiting, where she hung out or congregated and I think right now this is our most centralized location we want to start at and then we will continue to branch out if we aren't able to get some more information.' Gratton was last seen on April 15 around 10 p.m. in the 4200 block of East Iliff Avenue and was officially reported missing to police on April 24. Gratton's mother told FOX31 that her daughter is heavily involved in the community and owns her own hair salon, Jax Gratton Studio, which is based out of a suite on North Broadway. Garden guide: Earliest and latest dates to plant flowers, fruits and vegetables in Colorado 'Her family and her friends have been tirelessly searching almost every option we could possibly think of or find. We are just trying to get out here as much as we can with as many people as we can to support and help find Jax,' said searcher Cyrus LaRosche. 'It is really amazing to see how many complete strangers one person has brought together.' Police told FOX31 that they are investigating 'in accordance with normal protocol and have been in communication with Gratton's family.' She's described as a white female with red hair (naturally blonde hair) and blue eyes. She's about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds. 'If you are with somebody and they are keeping you, keep fighting. If you have left us on this earth, we're still trying to find you,' said Brother Ken Unity Keeper. 'I have hope, and this is what is going to drive this fight to find her… is hope. There is not anything at this point that would clearly give us a reason to not believe so. That is where we continue to keep our heart and our mind is the hope that we find her.' Anyone with information is asked to call the Denver Police Department immediately at 720-913-2000. The case number for her disappearance is 25-5001497. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
