Shannon Young

Land acknowledgements in the form of short statements linking physical territories to displaced Indigenous people have become increasingly common in the last decade or so. Public figures routinely start off their speeches with land acknowledgements while others tack them onto email signatures. For many descendants of those displaced, the gesture can be seen as performative, and they're calling for more.

The Colorado state legislature passed a measure this session to prohibit state and local governments within Colorado from participating in the immigrant detention industry as a business partner or subcontractor. While this new law may provide a measure of relief to undocumented or temporarily authorized immigrants residing in Colorado, lawmakers in other states are challenging hard-won gains. That includes Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) whose future is being considered by a federal court in Texas.

Cancer is a diagnosis no one wants to be on the receiving end of, however, sharing the experience with others going through the same life and death fight can make the journey a bit easier. Colorado author Juliet Wittman draws on her own experiences with cancer for her new novel, Again & Again.

Pollinators play a key role in ecosystems around the world, but are under stress due to a number of factors. One of the nation’s leading research centers into pollinators, and invertebrates, is located just outside of Denver.

Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission held a series of meetings last week to discuss air quality plans for the near future. This comes as the Environmental Protection Agency has signaled that air quality across much of the Front Range is not in compliance with standards set forth in the Clean Air Act.

With Republicans set to take control of the House in January, Democrats are racing to introduce immigration legislation that would protect the so-called Dreamers, people enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Immigrant rights activists and DACA recipients, including many from Colorado, gathered in DC this week to call on lawmakers to prioritize immigration reform.

America Recycles Week runs through November 18. This year's week of awareness comes on the heels of electoral wins for a nationwide smattering of ballot initiatives on recycling. One of those successful initiatives was Denver's Ordinance 306, also known as The Waste No More Measure. It will expand curbside recycling and composting in Denver, from single family residences to multi-family housing, apartment buildings, and to businesses that produce food.

Holiday celebrations can produce a lot of trash. Think gift wrapping on Christmas or those plastic Easter eggs or balloons on Valentines Day. The aftermath of the next annual celebration heading to a landfill near you is Halloween. From plastic candy wrappers to styrofoam decorations, not much is recyclable. But some organizations launched efforts this year to at least reuse key elements of the holiday.

Ballots are arriving in Colorado mailboxes and the language within can vary depending on jurisdictional lines. Keeping up with what’s on local ballots can get confusing, especially in areas where municipalities and counties are right up against each other. A new tool from The Colorado Health Foundation could help with that.

A public memorial and reflection takes place Sunday, October 9, in Boulder to explore the truth of Boulder’s role in The Sand Creek Massacre. The event comes days after the announcement of a significant expansion of the national historic site that commemorates the massacre.