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MorningMagazine_2025-03-17 Gabrielle Mendoza
Private Investigation In Trussell Death
The mother of Megan Trussell – the eighteen-year-old CU student who was found dead in Boulder Canyon last month – is moving forward with her own investigation to find out how her daughter died.
Vanessa Diaz – Trussell’s mom – re-opened her late daughter’s GoFundMe memorial campaign last Thursday. According to the page, she’ll put all the funds raised this time around toward a private investigator and legal costs. The fundraiser page also says the family is concerned about how the case has been handled by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
Megan Trussell’s body was found on February 15th, in what has been described as “hard-to-reach” terrain off of Boulder Canyon Drive, near the 40-mile marker. She was last seen alive on February 9th. The sheriff’s office has said that foul play is not suspected in Trussell’s death, according to news releases and The Daily Camera.
The GoFundMe campaign is also advertising a one thousand dollar reward to anyone who finds Megan Trussell’s missing shoe or phone. Anyone who finds those missing items is asked to contact the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and reference case number 25-00778.
As of Saturday, the campaign had reached its goal of sixty thousand dollars.
Boulder Federal Worker Rehirings
Some of the federal workers who were fired by the Trump administration are eligible to be reinstated to their jobs, after a ruling by a federal judge in San Francisco.
That includes dozens of workers in Colorado.
That’s because a federal judge has ordered six agencies to permanently rehire probationary employees who were fired in mass terminations ordered by Trump last month.
The ruling affects dozens of National Park employees in Colorado, as well as Boulder workers from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Agriculture.
At the same time, a second federal judge has temporarily reinstated workers from a dozen other agencies, while legal action over their terminations is considered. That ruling covers probationary employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), among several others.
The firings last month came from the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM. Both judges ruled the firings were illegal, because the office lacks the authority to fire employees from other agencies. OPM cited “poor performance” as the justification for the firings, but many outlets including Boulder Reporting Lab documented multiple cases of terminated employees with only positive reviews.
The Trump administration is planning further federal workforce reductions that could affect up to 700,000 workers. That’s all according to Boulder Reporting Lab.
Bernie Sanders In Denver
Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders is bringing what he calls his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to Denver this week.
The Vermont Senator is scheduled to appear this Friday, March 21, along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democrat Representative from New York.
Senator Sanders has been touring the country, speaking out against the Trump administration and Elon Musk. He said in a statement that Americans are “profoundly disgusted with what is going on … in Washington,” according to The Denver Post.
Sanders and AOC will be in Civic Center Park. The rally is set to begin at 4pm, with speakers starting at five. Anyone interested in attending is asked to submit an online RSVP on the Senator’s website.
The following day, Saturday, Congressman Joe Neguse plans to host a town hall at Monarch High School in Louisville. It’s set to begin at 3:30. Neguse, who represents Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, said in an email to constituents that he’ll provide an update to his work in Washington, and take questions from attendees. An RSVP is encouraged for this event, too.
You can find RSVP links to the Bernie Sanders and Joe Neguse events on KGNU.org.
Boulder Cops Use-of-Force Dashboard
After years of community calls for transparency, Boulder officials have launched a public dashboard that tracks when and how officers use force.
By definition of the city, use-of-force refers to any “physical strike, physical contact with an object or tool, or any significant contact that restricts the movement of a person.” This includes the display of a firearm or Taser, as well as the use of pepper spray.
According to data collected since 2021, Boulder police have used force in about 6% to 9% of arrests, most of which involved displaying a taser or firearm, or using physical force.
In 2024, police drew their guns at least 239 times – an increase from 2020, when the city implemented a new policy geared towards de-escalation.
City officers did not shoot anyone last year according to public records, but did shoot and kill two individuals in 2023.
Police Chief Steven Redfearn said releasing the data is part of the department’s Reimagining Policing Plan, which – in a post on social media – he said focuses on increasing transparency.
The dashboard, which is already available online to the public, leaves out the names of officers involved in use-of-force incidents.
The dashboard shows, among other things, that arrests have risen over the past three years, even as reports of crimes have fluctuated.
The city’s Police Oversight Panel is scheduled to meet with police department officials on April 7 to discuss the data.
Xcel At Boulder City Council
Boulder City Council members are urging Xcel Energy to improve its communication with the public when the company shuts off electricity in emergency situations.
Officials from Xcel met with City Council last week, nearly a year after the company cut power to thousands of customers during a period of high winds, in order to keep power lines from touching off a wildfire. The action drew wide criticism because there was so little notice given to the public.
Boulder Reporting Lab says city council members told Xcel that in the future, they should try to restore power more quickly.
They also told Xcel that they should speed up their transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy.
Boulder has set a goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2035.
Colorado Canada Friendship Day
This past Saturday was “Colorado Canada Friendship Day.”
Governor Jared Polis made that designation late last week, to “honor and celebrate the important relationship between Colorado and Canada,” according to a statement from the governor.
That statement noted that Canada is Colorado’s largest trading partner. Governor Polis said Colorado stands against tariffs, and that the state is made stronger by its connection to international partners like Canada.
The statement also said that in 2023, Colorado exported $1.8 billion in Colorado goods and produce to Canada.
The governor is also planning a Colorado-Mexico Friendship day according to his office, although details have not yet been announced.
St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations
Today (MON) is St. Patrick’s Day, and around the region celebrations and parades took place over the weekend to celebrate the holiday.
In Boulder (Colorado), one of the shortest parades took place along the length of one city block.
For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, Maeve Conran has more.
The event featured step dancers, Irish wolfhounds, pipers and culminated with the Paddy O’Furniture Lawn Chair Drill Team. Julie Corson was one of the performers.
”It is a lot of fun with lawn chairs. We do drills. We are basically a troupe, and we sing songs and we dance and we make people feel happy on St. Patrick’s Day.”
Other parades took place in Denver and Salt Lake City.
