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Missouri Chamber: Crime, childcare shortage affecting businesses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Chamber of Commerce says crime and a lack of daycare are affecting the state's workforce.It's a top concern for Missouri businesses; workforce, and a major hurdle is the lack of childcare providers or the cost of having someone watch your child. Add in the state having the fourth-highest rate of gun deaths in the country, and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce says the business industry is hurting."If you could have told me three to five years ago that public safety and childcare would be priorities of the business community, I could have been surprised, but it's real," Missouri Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dan Mehan said.A big issue affecting the state's economy and impacting businesses staying and coming to Missouri. What is causing the mysterious St. Louis County hum? "When I was told that on the fourth floor of a company in downtown St. Louis, we're talking fire on our fourth floor when it's being described, it's a problem," Mehan said...

U.S. Attorney optimistic about partnership with St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Eight federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri are being loaned to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office to help clear a backlog of cases involving violent crimes.U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming said each prosecutor will continue to maintain their federal caseloads while handling homicide cases pending in the St. Louis Circuit Court.“They will be handling their existing federal case loads and also prosecuting homicide cases in the Circuit Court,” she said. “They have decades of prosecutorial experience but also significant experience in the Circuit Court.” What is causing the mysterious St. Louis County hum? Fleming said St. Louis has a history of violent crime, and it requires local, state, and federal authorities to band together to solve the problem.“What we need to do know, and what I see happening, I'm very optimistic about this,” she said. “We need to come up with a comprehensive, strategy plan for addressing violent...

Investigative reports allege 'inhumane' treatment at Thomson Prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

New reports from the Marshall Project/NPR and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs reveal more shocking allegations at the federal prison in Thomson, Ill.The Marshall Project/NPR report alleges "rampant racism and unnecessary restraint"-in the Special Management Unit (SMU), which is a high-security section of the prison. The SMU was originally housed at Lewisburg Penitentiary in Pennsylvania, and even then it had a history of high rates of violence among prisoners and shackling by staff, the report says. The SMU in Thomson was closed in February 2023 and about 350 prisoners wee moved to facilities nationwide.According to the Marshall Project/NPR report, abuse allegations at the prison in Thomson include:Prisoners being beaten by officers while in shacklesA “dangerous dearth of mental health care”A system that makes it difficult if not impossible to file complaints against staff, such as denying access to forms or throwing away documentsInmates forced ...

Avalanche development camp 2023: Calum Ritchie’s injury, Taylor Makar’s growth and Colorado’s replenished prospect pool

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

The puck slammed harmlessly off the glass behind the net, but the sequence preceding it was more important anyway.With a burst of speed that didn’t exist a year ago, Taylor Makar powered through the middle of the ice, through defenders and into the offensive zone for a self-created breakaway. The 22-year-old forward with the familiar name just happened to miss the shot.But that had been common enough throughout the week as Avalanche prospects converged in Centennial for 2023 development camp. Glass had shattered multiple times already due to off-target shots. It was Makar’s skating improvement that mattered.“Certainly learning a lot more how to use my body as a big guy,” he said after a four-on-four scrimmage marked the end of camp Wednesday night.The brother of Colorado’s Norris Trophy winner was one of the more experienced faces at development camp this year, as an influx of new organizational depth skated at the three-day event. The Avs have been rep...

Gas leak in Broomfield evacuates 12 homes, closes roadway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

North Metro Fire Rescue on Thursday afternoon evacuated 12 homes in Broomfield while responding to reports of a gas leak.Originally, officials evacuated four homes in the area near Westlake Drive and Grove Way as a precaution, but by 3:30 p.m. 12 homes in the vicinity of the leak had been evacuated, North Metro public information officer Sara Farris said.Xcel Energy responded to the scene to shut down the line, investigate and do any necessary repairs, according to a tweet from North Metro.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Jefferson County West Metro task force seizes more than $5M in narcotics in historic drug bust Crime and Public Safety | Twitter limits that snarled NWS July Fourth storm-tracking raise public safety concerns Crime and Public Safety | Colorado Republicans call for special session to address court’s ruling that murder suspects can’t be held without bail Crime and Public Safety | Aurora p...

Jefferson County West Metro task force seizes more than $5M in narcotics in historic drug bust

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

During a 9-month investigation, officials from the West Metro Drug Task Force seized more than $5 million in drugs across Colorado, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday.The operation began as an investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine and counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl throughout the state, according to a Thursday news release from the sheriff’s office.Since August 2022, the task force has seized more than 400 pounds of meth; 325,000 pills containing fentanyl; 3 kilograms of cocaine; 1 pound of heroin and 1.5 pounds of fentanyl powder, which could equate to more than 350,000 lethal fentanyl doses, the news release stated.Along with the drugs, the task force said they also seized 17 firearms, many of which were reported stolen.West Metro Drug Task Force investigation leads to one of the largest busts in task force history. 16 indictments, 116 felony charges, over 400 lbs of meth, 325k fentanyl pills, 3 kilos of cocaine...

Wimbledon finally finished the first round 2 days later than planned. Murray-Tsitsipas halted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

By HOWARD FENDRICH (AP Tennis Writer)WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Let the record reflect that the rain-logged first round of Wimbledon 2023 finally concluded at 3:23 p.m. local time on Thursday, Day 4 of the tournament, 48 hours later than originally planned, when Alexander Zverev finished off his 6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) victory over Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer.Zverev was supposed to start and, naturally, finish, on Tuesday. Instead, he didn’t take the court to play his first point of the fortnight until about 17 1/2 hours after Novak Djokovic already had made his way into the third round.“Took me three days,” Zverev joked, “but I’m here.”For once this week, the sun was out at the All England Club, and the showers were nowhere to be found.Instead, there was plenty of play, plenty of results — 56 in all — and plenty of drama, perhaps none more than in one much-hyped showdown that did not conclude: Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murr...

How Grant Golden — Nuggets’ “poor, poor, poor, poor man’s Nikola” — can help Denver in Summer League

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

Let’s get one thing clear from the top: There’s no Nikola Jokic playing in Las Vegas during the NBA’s Summer League.Grant Golden of the Denver Nuggets during Denver Nuggets media day at Ball Arena on Monday, September 26, 2022. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)Sure, San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama, the league’s next European unicorn, might someday breathe the same rarified air, but the only place to find Jokic’s level of basketball wizardry this month is whatever random court he’s playing pick-up hoops on in Serbia.Why even bring it up? When the Nuggets open Summer League play Friday against Milwaukee, they’ll do so with G League big man Grant Golden doing things that in ways might look somewhat similar to the NBA Finals MVP.“He’s like a poor, poor, poor, poor man’s Nikola,” Nuggets assistant and summer league head coach John Beckett said Thursday before breaking into a laugh. “Obviously, we know how good Nikola is, but (Golden) does have some characteristics of him. T...

Another day, more storms: Landspout possible in Aurora, Centennial, Lone Tree

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

4:20 p.m.: According to a special weather statement from the National Weather Service, a landspout is possible in parts of Adams and Arapahoe counties including Aurora, Bennet, Centennial, Lone Tree, Strasburg and Watkins until 4:45 p.m. No hail is expected.A special weather statement has been issued for Aurora CO, Centennial CO and Lone Tree CO until 4:45 PM MDT #COwx pic.twitter.com/QGUNhdfYm2— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) July 6, 2023A special weather statement has been issued for Strasburg CO, Bennett CO and Watkins CO until 4:45 PM MDT #COwx pic.twitter.com/RRTqbx0IfX— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) July 6, 2023Metro Denver and Colorado’s Eastern Plains face the potential of “very large, damaging hail” as another round of storms looks likely to hit Thursday afternoon and evening, the National Weather Service says.The NWS issued a severe thunderstorm watch until 10 p.m. for all counties in metro Denver, northern Colorado and northeastern communities inclu...

Authorities arrest man accused of setting couple on fire in Johnson Valley

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:46 GMT

Authorities have made an arrest in connection with a brutal attack in Johnson Valley last month.On Thursday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced that Joshua Kaiser, a 32-year-old resident of Johnson Valley, was arrested for allegedly lighting a man and woman on fire, leaving them both with serious injuries.The attack happened around 1 a.m. on June 19, on the 52000 block of Cholla Road in Johnson Valley. Sheriff's deputies from the Morongo Basin Station responded to the scene and spoke to the unidentified female victim, a 30-year-old resident of Yucca Valley. She told detectives that she and another person, a 29-year-old man also from Yucca Valley, were set on fire by the suspect, later identified as Kaiser.Both victims were hospitalized, with the man being transported to an advanced trauma center for life-threatening injuries. Warrants were served at the scene of the crime, which led to the discovery of evidence that identified Kaiser as the suspect in the attac...