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Schools crack down on cell phones, sparking debate on safety and tech use

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

(The Hill) -- Schools are finding creative ways to stop students from using their cell phones during the day, fueling debates about the effectiveness and wisdom of such bans. Some schools have partnered with companies to implement the use of pouches that students are required to put their phones into at the beginning of the day and that don’t unlock until the final bell rings, while others are threatening punishments including suspension if a student is caught with their phone, even at lunchtime.Educators appear ecstatic about getting students off their phones during class, but there are lingering concerns from both parents and children about being phoneless in emergency situations and whether this is the best way to address the problem.Renesha Parks, chief wellness officer at Richmond Public Schools in Virginia, told The Hill of a pilot policy they are implementing in six schools at the beginning of 2024 to stop cell phone usage, partnering with Yondr, which creates magnetic pouche...

Round Rock ISD trustees called to return donations from embattled PAC

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) – Two Round Rock Independent School District board members are facing calls to return thousands of campaign dollars they received from a political group, following news of the former president of the group meeting with a widely known white supremacist, antisemitic podcaster.The group under fire for the meeting – Defend Texas Liberty PAC – donated $13,000 to RRISD Trustee Mary Bone and $18,000 to trustee Danielle Weston in December 2021, according to Texas Ethics Commission records. Those were the largest donations they received. Neither were up for reelection at the time.The contributions attracted little attention until early October, when the Texas Tribune revealed Defend Texas Liberty’s former president Jonathan Stickland met for hours at his office with Nick Fuentes, a prominent activist who has denied the holocaust and praised Adolf Hitler. The October confab sparked powerful conservative leaders to renounce the meeting and redirect donations from the g...

Heavy police presence for East St. Louis shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - Several police crews are investigating a shooting in East St. Louis early Monday morning. Our Nissan Rogue Runner reporter, Nic Lopez, captured footage of the scene located on the 1100 block of North 13th Street, where East St. Louis, Fairmont City, and Illinois State Police are cruising around the area searching for further information. Another death reported at St. Louis City Justice Center So far, the victim has been identified and is suffering from non-fatal injuries. The suspect has not yet been found. FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

$45K Creve Coeur ATM burglar in custody

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

CREVE, COEUR, Mo - A man who police say managed to steal more than $45,000 from an ATM in Creve Coeur last week is in custody Monday morning.Police explained that Mylek Murphy Freeman used a truck to break into the ATM at Enterprise Bank and Trust on Olive Boulevard on Thursday. He allegedly left that truck on the scene and got into another car. Mizzou selected for Cotton Bowl against Ohio State The getaway car was rented in Houston two weeks ago and had a GPS tracker. That led officers to Freeman in St. Louis City. While watching Freeman, police said that they saw him and another person drive the car to an alley and leave it there, then get into an Uber.When officers pulled over the Uber, they say Freeman took off running. He was quickly caught. Left behind in the Uber was a suitcase carrying more than $12,000

Police investigating south St. Louis beauty store break-in

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Someone broke into a beauty store in south St. Louis early Monday morning.Police were called to 'Nu Fashion Beauty' on South Broadway in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood around 2:00 a.m. Our Nissan Rogue Runner reporter, Nic Lopez, captured footage of the scene as police searched for evidence and spoke with the store's owner. Another death reported at St. Louis City Justice Center No word on if anything was taken. FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

3 hospitalized in overnight Aurora shooting on Colfax

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

Three people were hospitalized in Aurora Monday after an early-morning shooting on East Colfax Avenue, according to the Aurora Police Department.Around 12:15 a.m. Monday, Aurora officers responded to reports of a shooting in the 9500 block of East Colfax Avenue, near Clinton Street, according to a post on social media from the police department.When officers arrived on scene, they found two people suffering from gunshot wounds and a third person who had been physically assaulted, the department stated online.All three victims were transported to a local hospital by paramedics, and one of the gunshot victims was in critical condition, according to the Aurora Police Department.. As of 6 a.m. Monday, the unidentified victim was in stable condition.A large perimeter was set up after the shooting as police searched for the suspects involved.Around 1:30 a.m., police said online that the suspects were last seen running near East 13th Avenue and Dayton Street. In a 6 a.m. update, they annou...

Photography center’s latest home makes for a pretty picture

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

The Colorado Photographic Arts Center has changed locations with considerable frequency over its 60-year history, and no one knows that better than its current executive director, Samantha Johnston. During her tenure — just eight years now — CPAC has had four different headquarters in various parts of Denver.Each move was more than packing and unpacking. It also required adjusting to new gallery spaces, setting up classrooms for its students, transporting the organization’s substantial in-house holdings and launching a fresh campaign to tell the public exactly where they could find CPAC’s popular exhibitions of work by photographers from Colorado and beyond.Is it real or staged? Jason McKinsey’s archival pigment print “The Commuter.” (Provided by the Colorado Photographic Arts Center)But CPAC’s latest change of place, to the first floor of a high-rise at 1200 Lincoln St., might serve it for the long haul. Everything feels right about it, particularly its physical l...

How modern-day skiers and Native American spirituality can connect on the slopes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

For big-mountain skier Connor Ryan, skiing is a deeply spiritual experience. As a Hunkpapa Lakota Native American, he believes the mountains themselves are alive with spirits, along with the spirits of Indigenous Utes who inhabited them for centuries before miners came to Colorado in the 18th century.When Ryan climbs and skis big peaks blanketed in backcountry powder, he sings prayers in his Native language while hoping non-Native skiers and snowboarders understand the need to respect the mountains even as they use them for recreation.“The ski industry, and the outdoor industry, they need to reconcile with the fact that this whole industry happens on Native land,” Ryan said in a ski film he made in 2022 called Spirit of the Peaks. “They are places that have been deeply related to Indigenous people for so long, and there’s not blame in that statement, but there is responsibility that’s needed on the other side.”Ryan’s film was produced in conjunction wit...

Here’s how Colorado Ballet’s “Nutcracker” ticket prices have changed since 2000

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

“The Nutcracker” is back, baby.It was a surreal, unprecedented moment when Colorado Ballet canceled its entire 2020-21 season, given the COVID shutdowns and complications. But when the refreshed production debuted during the 2021 holiday season — it typically runs for a month, or about 25 performances — a Denver tradition was reborn.This year’s 63rd installment is, as in the past, a boon for the state’s marquee ballet, as sales made up more than half of its annual revenue, which totaled $15.5 million last year. That’s one of the main reasons the pandemic was so devastating to arts nonprofits, and why “Nutcracker” and other holiday performances are so vital to nonprofit arts companies.But with ticket prices rising for all kinds of entertainment options, how are they faring for this Christmas tradition?The Denver Post took a look at tickets for the Colorado Ballet’s “Nutcracker” going back to 2000, and what we fou...

Camping will cost 25% more at Colorado national park in 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

Federal officials said last week that camping and boating fees will rise in two popular Colorado parks: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area.“Campground fees have remained unchanged since before 2016, while boat launch fees have not changed since at least 2003,” according to a statement from the National Park Service. Fee  money is used to pay for new projects and ongoing maintenance of park facilities; recent projects included trail rehabilitation, marina improvements and an amphitheater upgrade.“The new pricing structure will bring the parks into closer alignment with nearby and comparable campground and boating services. The increased fees will provide additional revenue to fund operations and deferred maintenance projects,” the agency added.Related ArticlesOutdoors | As REI’s arrival nears in a southwestern Colorado mountain town, some local outdoor rec stores worry Outdoors | D...