Despite what multiple feet of snow on the ground might suggest to many Coloradans, the state’s long-term drought remains persistent. And water forecasters are worried that even if the state receives decent spring moisture, Colorado and the greater American Southwest will need lots more to emerge from this drought. The record-breaking storms that buried Front […]

Lucy Haggard
Lucy Haggard was a TRENDS Reporting Fellow from August 2020 to May 2021 with The Colorado Sun.
Email: lucy@coloradosun.com Twitter: @lucy_haggard
Thousands of coronavirus vaccine appointments rescheduled because of Colorado snowstorm
Health care providers across Colorado are postponing thousands of vaccine appointments ahead of a heavy snowstorm that’s expected to bury much of the state. Snowfall is forecast to start as early as Friday for western parts of Colorado and continue into Monday morning for the Front Range and Eastern Plains. Forecasters say the high country […]
Recent snowstorms are barely scratching the surface of Colorado’s ongoing drought
Colorado is no longer technically 100% in drought. And conditions in some areas of the state have slightly improved as recent spring snows have left deeper-than-forecast drifts. But don’t get too excited just yet. Last week’s snowstorms across the Front Range were enough to downgrade some areas from “extreme” drought to “severe,” according to the […]
Colorado’s “last responders” are exhausted after a year of coronavirus goodbyes
Maria McLain Cox deals in uncertainty. The longtime hospital chaplain has been with patients through chemotherapy and new diagnoses. She comforts couples who have lost infants, the families of stroke victims and people who were rushed to the emergency room and didn’t survive. There are no words McLain Cox can say to ward off difficulty, […]
The coronavirus’ toll in Colorado: A year of bottomless grief and relentless division
He walked to the microphone in a dark suit and tie, a nervous purpose in his stride. One year ago this week, Gov. Jared Polis stood in a conference room at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s headquarters and looked into the hot glare of television lights. He had come to announce the […]
Aurora Police Department to get independent monitor following Elijah McClain’s death
Aurora city leaders will create an independent police monitor in the wake of a scathing independent report released Monday on the Aurora Police Department’s actions before and after Elijah McClain’s death. City Manager Jim Twombly announced the effort in a news conference Tuesday. He called the department’s handling of McClain’s death “the failure of a […]
Independent review faults Aurora police for stop preceding Elijah McClain’s death, subsequent investigation
Aurora police officers were too quick in their decision-making when they stopped Elijah McClain in 2019 in an encounter that preceded his death, according to an independent review of the fatality. And then investigators did a poor job of documenting the incident, the report solicited by the city says. “The post-event investigation was flawed and […]
Why are Colorado’s rural counties vaccinating people faster than urban ones?
Across much of the Front Range and Colorado’s other biggest counties, securing a coronavirus vaccine remains an arduous endeavor. Overloaded websites. Lengthy wait lists. Hair-pulling frustration. But, in southwest Colorado, the state’s smallest county has a different problem: It’s run out of people to vaccinate, at least for now. Barely two months after shots started […]
Seventh Colorado man faces federal charges in connection with deadly U.S. Capitol riot
A seventh Coloradan is facing federal charges in connection with the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Glenn Wes Lee Croy, of Colorado Springs, was arrested and released on a $5,000 bond Wednesday, according to an affidavit filed in Colorado’s federal court. He has been charged with unlawful entry to restricted property, and […]
Governor says Colorado is “bruised, battered and shaken,” but will be built back better than before
Gov. Jared Polis delivered his third State of the State address on Wednesday, promising to build back Colorado better than it was before the coronavirus crisis, while also warning that the pandemic isn’t over yet. The Democrat, who is gearing up for reelection next year, promised more work on criminal justice reform and on reducing […]