Monday, May 18, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 2003, Travis Hunter, a former University of Colorado Buffaloes star football player and now a wide receiver and cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, was born in West Palm Beach, Florida.

What would you do if you found a black bear in your yard? An uptick in bear sightings has Front Range neighborhoods on alert, and wildlife officials say conflicts could increase in the coming months. Find out more in today’s Top Stories.

Today’s sponsor, Fisher Investments, is helping you plan your ideal retirement with a free guide designed to align your goals, timeline, and investment strategy for lasting financial confidence.

Take The Flyover with you. Busy day? Listen to our daily 15-minute podcast while commuting, cooking, or walking the dog—your Flyover fix, anywhere.

County GOP Chair Arrested in Sting

Hunter Rivera, 24, of Windsor, chairman of the Weld County Republican Party, resigned over the weekend following his Thursday arrest in a child-predator sting operation.

Larimer County Sheriff’s Office investigators posing as minors arrested Rivera and Ismaaeel Abdur-Rahmaan, 22, during an undercover operation. The two allegedly believed they would be meeting minors they’d contacted online.

The party, along with state Senate and House Republicans, condemned Rivera, calling for his immediate resignation and calling the felony charges against him “beyond reprehensible.”

The county GOP accepted his resignation Saturday.

Colorado No. 3 for Senior Scams

A new report assessing the prevalence of scams targeting senior citizens by state identifies Colorado as third worst in the nation.

According to the report, which tallies per-capita fraud reports involving residents over 60, Colorado has 6.8 such reports per 1,000 residents, trailing only Delaware (6.9) and Arizona (7.0). See the list here.

Business-impostor scams rank as the top scam type in Colorado and most of the twenty states on the list.

To see the full study, click here.

Bear Sightings Rise, CPW Warns

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is warning the public of a potential increase in human-bear conflicts as the effects of a dry winter push hungry black bears into suburban neighborhoods.

As of late April, CPW received 98 bear reports across 22 counties, compared with 127 reports in the same counties for all of last year, the agency said.

A bear was spotted roaming the Anthem Ranch neighborhood in Broomfield last Tuesday. On Saturday, a bear could be seen walking along a home’s fence line in Wheat Ridge. See a video here.

Drought can reduce the natural food available to bears, forcing them to scavenge from human food sources like bird feeders and trash.

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➤ Campo: Mandatory evacuations were ordered after the fast-moving Sharpe Fire crossed into Colorado from Oklahoma, burning more than 13,000 acres amid dangerous fire conditions. (More)

➤ Douglas County: Gov. Jared Polis granted clemency to Brandin Kreuzer, who has served more than 15 years of a 50-year sentence for shooting and severely injuring a sheriff’s deputy in 2008. He is now eligible for parole June 1. (More)

➤ Statewide: Polis signaled he may veto a bill passed by the legislature that would require social media companies to comply with search warrants within 24 hours. Sponsors say the bill is a response to the Evergreen High School shooting. (More)

➤ Aspen: Claudine Longet, a French singer and actor once at the center of a highly publicized manslaughter trial after she was charged with the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, an Olympic skier, has died at age 84. (More)

➤ Evergreen: A class of 207 seniors graduated from Evergreen High School at Red Rocks on Thursday. The 90-minute celebration focused on community and resilience in the wake of the Sept. 10 shooting. (More)

➤ Denver: The suspect in a massive fire that destroyed an under-construction apartment building in January has been found incompetent to stand trial. (More)

➤ Aurora: Police in Florida arrested the fugitive accused of stealing a local airman’s dog and car, then abandoning the vehicle, where the dog was later found dead. (More)

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➤ The Colorado Rockies placed right-hander Chase Dollander on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain after he exited Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh. (More)

➤ Broncos rookie running back Jonah Coleman appeared in Denver gear for the first time at the league’s Rookie Premiere event over the weekend. (See Photos)

➤ Colorado State men’s track and field captured the Mountain West Conference championship on Saturday in its last meet as a member of the conference, while the women’s team finished runner-up. (More)

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➤ The Colorado Water Trust, a nonprofit, is offering to buy water from ranchers and other water-rights holders to boost stream flows and help fish survive Colorado’s ongoing drought. (More)

➤ Whitewater rafting outfitters say the season looks promising despite widespread drought conditions and lower river flows statewide. (More)

➤ Surging tomato prices, which some business owners say have “quadrupled,” are creating challenges for restaurants across southern Colorado. (More)

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➤ This list of must-visit Palisade-area wineries features everything from rustic settings and award-winning wines to chef-hosted dinners and one of the highest-elevation vineyards in the world. (See List)

➤ Boulder High School commemorated its 150th anniversary with a celebration that doubled as a reunion, welcoming back alumni, former teachers, and community members. (More)

➤ A local runner has competed in every single Denver Colfax Marathon, which turned 20 years old over the weekend. (Watch)

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