Trump Approves Colorado Disaster Aid

President Trump approved federal Public Assistance for Colorado communities recovering from the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain fires, Gov. Jared Polis announced Friday.

The aid covers debris removal and repairs to roads, water systems, and electric grids in Pueblo, Custer, Dolores, and Ouray counties. Polis said clearing debris from destroyed homes can now start at no cost to homeowners, as it did after the 2021 Marshall Fire.

The Aspen Acres Fire destroyed 324 homes and burned more than 102,000 acres, making it the state’s most destructive wildfire by homes lost since Marshall. The Gold Mountain Fire burned 39,744 acres northeast of Ouray.

Colorado’s separate request for Individual Assistance, covering temporary housing and home repairs for families, is still pending. A bipartisan group of 173 Coloradans, including elected officials, first responders, and disaster survivors, backed the request.

Trump denied a similar request for the 2025 Lee and Elk fires.

Three Banks Robbed in Minutes

Colorado Springs police are investigating three bank robberies reported within about 20 minutes Thursday afternoon.

The first call came at 12:04 p.m. in the 1100 block of N. Circle Drive. Officers had barely arrived when a second robbery hit the 500 block of the same street, followed 10 minutes later by a third in the 400 block of N. Tejon Street downtown.

The downtown target was a Chase branch. A woman whose mother works at one of the robbed locations said that a man walked in with a gun and left with a single cash register.

The department’s Robbery Unit, additional Metro Division investigators, and the FBI are working the cases together. Police have not said whether the three are connected or released suspect descriptions.

Yukon Jack Was Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks took the stage at Denver’s Grizzly Rose on Thursday night as “Yukon Jack,” ending days of speculation about the mystery act booked at the north Denver honky-tonk.

Brooks opened with Rodeo just before 9 p.m. Fans had waited outside for hours in 90-plus-degree heat, and Adams County Fire Rescue said medics treated 15 to 20 people for heat-related illness, with no one taken to a hospital.

The alias was the tell. Brooks is from Yukon, Oklahoma, and used the same name for a surprise 1993 show at a bar in Clovis, New Mexico, days before he sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl.

KYGO program director Shawn Patrick pieced it together after noticing the Grizzly Rose had booked a Thursday show, which it almost never does. Brooks name-checks the venue in his 1995 song The Old Stuff.

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➤ Telluride: Two people died when a single-engine Cessna crashed on the north side of Dolores Peak, about 15 miles southwest of town, Thursday afternoon. The plane had refueled in Grand Junction and was flying survey and mapping work. (See Details)

➤ Loveland: Amazon held a grand opening Friday for its 823,000-square-foot fulfillment center at I-25 and East 71st Street. The five-story robotics facility, first announced in 2022, employs 1,100 people and is still hiring. (More)

➤ Pitkin County: An aerial search Thursday found an overdue climber dead in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said. Notes in the climber’s rental vehicle pointed to a Maroon Bells route. (See Details)

➤ Denver: Students from more than 200 Colorado high schools walked out Friday over federal immigration enforcement, gathering at La Alma-Lincoln Park at noon. The Denver, Boulder Valley, and Cherry Creek districts said they support students’ First Amendment rights. (More)

➤ Gilpin County: The U.S. Army airlifted a heavily damaged MH-60 Black Hawk off Thorodin Mountain on Thursday, nine days after it went down during a training flight. Four special operations soldiers were aboard during the Aug. 25 mishap, and none were hurt. (See Video)

➤ Monument: The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department issued permits for a 129,000-square-foot, $22.3 million Target on the east side of I-25 near Baptist Road and Jackson Creek Parkway. A Chick-fil-A is going up in the same development. (More)

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➤ Colorado State football hosts Wyoming today in the Border War, opening the Jim Mora era with a heavily rebuilt roster and revamped offense. (More)

➤ Air Force will kick off its season today against Duquesne, as the Falcons look to rebound from consecutive losing seasons. (More)

➤ Colorado School of Mines moved today’s game at Washburn to 9 a.m. local time because forecast heat in Topeka is expected to exceed league safety limits. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: US Open | MLB | NCAAF | Soccer

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➤ The Colorado State Fair debuts the Great Colorado Pork Green Chile Showdown today from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Pepsi Stage in Pueblo. Five cooks, from professional chefs to home cooks with inherited recipes, will compete using Colorado pork and Pueblo chiles. (See Details)

➤ The National Western Center broke ground Thursday on the Betty Knoebel Arena, part of a planned equestrian center on its Denver campus. Construction on the larger center is expected to begin in early 2027. The arena honors philanthropists Fritz and Betty Knoebel. (More)

➤ P.J. Anderson spent two years tracking down hundreds of maps of Colorado drawn before statehood, including a 1777 Spanish map he calls the earliest made from firsthand observation. His new book, The Mapping of Colorado, comes from Colorado Springs’ Rhyolite Press. (Read Story)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes, straight from the heart of the country. 

➤ A simple blood test is rewriting how early Alzheimer’s can be caught and treated. (Listen Now)

➤ Social Security overpaid a retiree $35,000 and gave her just 30 days to pay it back. (Hear Details)

➤ AAA predicts drivers will face the highest Labor Day gas prices on record this holiday weekend. (Podcast Available)

When it comes to green chile, where do you stand?

1. Pueblo
2. Hatch
3. Both
4. I’ll pass

Yesterday’s Results:

How will you be celebrating Labor Day?

1. Relaxing at home: 41%
2. Time with family: 16%
3. BBQ/cookout: 11%
4. Getting outdoors: 10%
5. Travel: 8%
6. Local event(s): 7%
7. Other: 7%

What Colorado county is named for a Ute chief who negotiated with the federal government?

Show me the answer