What storytelling can do
What a crazy time to be alive. One of the reasons I love journalism is its ability to help to understand what it’s like to be in the shoes of another person.
To help you realize someone with different life experience or set of values might be more like you than you realize.
Journalism can help us all better understand what it’s like to be human, to be better people and be better to each other.
Here’s a mix of my professional work and personal projects close to my heart over the last 26 years. Please reach out if you have a story that needs to be told.
SPECIAL REPORT
United Flight 629 bombing:
A push to build a permanent memorial
There has never been a memorial or marker built to honor the victims, their families and the community of first responders and citizen heroes who responded to the beet fields where 44 people were killed.
To help change that, we are launching a Denver7 Gives campaign to help support the Flight 629 Memorial Committee in its efforts to build a permanent memorial as time marches toward the 70th commemoration of the tragedy on November 1, 2025.
Standing for Columbine
Denver7 Gives, on the occasion of the marking of 25 years since the Columbine tragedy, asked our community to help ensure the light and peace will be felt at the memorial for many years to come.
The memorial — which stands as a permanent memorial to the 13 killed — was in need of important upgrades, including a new lighting system.
We were able to directly raise $17,000 through these stories with over $60,000 generated following the reports.
A few years ago, I gave up my vehicle for a life on two wheels.
What started as a way to save a few bucks became a reconnection to the best parts of my childhood and a way in adulthood to improve my mental and physical health.
As a journalist, I’m aware that transportation stories have traditionally been covered from the driver’s perspective.
Through ‘On Two Wheels’, I’m on a mission to bring more diverse voices into our coverage by listening to those who daily walk or bike their way to work or to run errands.
SPECIAL REPORT
Biking dangers in Denver:
Close call stories ‘On Two Wheels’
Denver cyclists share close call stories, ways to get around safer with vehicles and other bikers in this Denver7 special 'On Two Wheels' video report. You can share your own experience by calling (303) 832-0207 or emailing us at on2wheels@denver7.com.
‘BEST DAY EVER’
Denver kids get new bikes
Thanks to Denver7 Gives
DENVER — Among the cheers of kids on the playground working out the end-of-school day energy were the sounds of several very happy Brown International Academy students who were having one of the best days of their lives.
One by one, they heard their name called. First, they stepped up to grab a helmet and then turned to catch a first glimpse of their very own bike.
For many of these kids, it was their first set of wheels, made possible by our Denver7 community.It’s a precious gift, not just in the form of two wheels, but in the joy that comes with being included with the other kids.
My son died by suicide after serving in the Army.
Here's how I want things to change
David McDaniel is a father from Colorado whose son, Connor R. McDaniel, died by suicide last year after years in the Army. He hopes to break the stigma of Post-Traumatic Stress within the military so the Armed Forces can better help those who serve their country.
The magnificent history of Trail Ridge Road
Trail Ridge Road is an impressive feat of engineering and Colorado history, soaring more than 12,000 feet in elevation through Rocky Mountain National Park. Here's a video look at the complex history and long road that led to this Colorado favorite place.
After the Club Q tragedy, How LGBTQ+ Coloradans find hope through constant assaults on mental health.
In the year since the mass shooting at Club Q, a slew of attacks have impacted the mental health of LGBTQ+ Coloradans, including youth. But many have found hope through connections in these programs.
ACROSS NEWS WEBSITES
Edgewater Pride Parade this weekend ‘feels like a family’
Leading off the parade will be Deja Moore, an advocate for transgender youth and the community fighting for LGBTQ+ rights.
Denver to close migrant shelters in effort to save $60 million amid budget deficit
Facing a multi-million-dollar budget deficit, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced the closure of four migrant shelters he says will save the city around $60 million in costs in the 2024 budget.
Colorado traffic deaths dropped, while "alarming" pedestrian, bicyclist fatalities reported in 2023
CDOT reported 133 pedestrians killed in Colorado in 2023, which was a 16 percent increase from 2022. 20 bicyclists were killed in 2023, which was a 33 percent increase from 2022. An in-depth look.
Denver bicyclists, what needs to improve? The city seeks your input to make your ride safer
Denver is urging bicyclists to share their experiences on metro roads, bikeways and trails to help inform where new bikeways are added and existing infrastructure is improved over the next year.
The night Vail Mountain was set ablaze in a historic act of ecoterrorism, 25 years later
It was 25 years ago on this day that Coloradans awoke to the big news unfolding atop Vail Mountain in what would become the "worst act of eco-terrorism ever in the United States."
Frustrated over gun violence, what these East High School parents, students want to change
Before hundreds of students and parents from East High School flooded the hallways of the Colorado State Capitol to demand gun reform on Thursday, some spoke to Denver7 to share their opinion on what change they want to happen after Wednesday’s school shooting.
Shooting at East High School further angers parents, students who have been demanding action on gun violence
Frustrated parents gathered outside the shooting scene at East High School in Denver on Wednesday angry and once again demanding change.
It's a familiar and heightened sentiment for a school body that in recent months has taken to the streets and marched to the Colorado State Capitol to protest gun violence in schools.
“We as a society are not doing enough. We don’t have any police in the school. There’s no metal detectors,” said one grandparent to Denver7 who didn’t share her name. “I’m tired of hearing there’s no money for that. Don’t tell me that we don’t have money for that."
What's behind the dramatic rise in Colorado traffic deaths? The stats, trends and what needs to change
DENVER — Statewide traffic fatality data released by the Colorado Department of Transportation on Monday showed a troubling trend on Colorado roadways.
Stats reveal there were 745 fatalities in 2022, which is the most roadway deaths since 1981.
In fact, total yearly traffic fatalities are on the rise over the past 10 years, up 57 percent. This is a reversal from the previous 30 years which showed deaths were on the decline, according to CDOT.
Impaired driving deaths also rose dramatically seeing a 60 percent increase since 2019.
In this Denver7 360 In-Depth Report, we’ll break down what’s changed and show you where the most fatalities happened in Colorado last year.
Colorado Public Radio’s “Back from Broken” highlights stories of addiction, struggle and recovery
“Back from Broken” is hosted by award-winning longtime journalist and CPR News host Vic Vela, who is himself in recovery from cocaine addiction, and over 10 episodes, aims to give hope to people who are themselves or who know someone experiencing addiction or going through recovery.
The man credited with saving lives during the 1976 Big Thompson Canyon flood
On July 31, 1976, an estimated 2,500 – 3,500 people were inside homes, cars or enjoying the outdoors in Big Thompson Canyon in Larimer County when the skies opened up that evening, dropping large volumes of water down the slopes and the canyon floor.
Bone appétit: The story of Alferd Packer, Colorado’s most infamous, yet beloved, cannibal
As the first fingers of spring started to peel back winter’s hold in 1874, a man staggered out of the mountains and into Lake City, ready to spill a story — or two, or three — that few would believe. On the eve of a Halloween unlike any other, meet Alferd Packer, the Colorado Cannibal.
It’s a tale as puzzling as it is horrific, and somehow, from the safe distance of about 150 years, humor has wiggled its way in. His name was Alferd Packer.
Article by Stephanie Butzer
A former Oath Keeper on the growing dangers of extremism
After being on the inside as spokesperson for Oath Keepers, Jason Van Tatenhove, of Colorado, is on a mission to expose extremism and wants you to know he’s not a racist and wants to face misconceptions about him head on.