Podcasts about Denver Public Schools

#190A few weeks back I posted on LinkIn and Andrea Caulfield left a comment. Andrea is the World Language Curriculum Specialist in Denver Public Schools.  She commented that she uses podcast episodes as a way of bringing professional development and coaching to the 100+ teachers in her district. I was intrigued to learn more about how she managed this logistically and wanted you to hear it as well in case you are interested in doing something similar. Andrea explains how she chooses and recommends episodes, works with teachers to engage with the topics and, of course, the logistics.Topics in this Episode:why Andrea started using podcast episodes as professional development in her language departmenthow she structure discussions and activities around podcast episodes to ensure meaningful professional growth for teachersspecific benefits Andrea has seen in her department since incorporating podcasts into her PD modelchoosing which podcast episodes to useadvice for language department leaders who want to implement podcast-based professional development but aren't sure where to startAndrea's podcast episode database.Andrea's reflection questions:What confirmed or challenged your beliefs in the episode(s) you listened to?What were your biggest takeaways?What is one change you are committed to making in your own practice based on your learning, and what steps do you need to take to make that change?What barriers to successful implementation do you foresee? How might you avoid them?How will you measure success for the change you plan to implement?What questions are you left with?Connect with Andrea Caulfield:Bluesky: @AndreaCaulfield.bsky.socialemail: andrea_caulfield@dpsk12.netConnect with Joshua and the World Language Classroom Community: wlclassrom.comX (aka Twitter):  @wlclassroomThreads: @wlclassroomInstagram:  @wlclassroomFacebook:  /wlclassroomWLClassroom Facebook Group__________________________Interested in having Joshua work directly with your department, school or district?  Look at options for collaborating in person or remotely.______________________________Sign up for Talking Points to get  tips, tools and resources for your language teaching.______________________________Join Joshua as a guest on the podcast.______________________________Join Joshua for a Leveling Up Coaching Episode  on the podcast.  Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

In the first episode of AASA Radio for 2025, school leaders from across the United States discuss the challenge of leading school districts during divisive times. Hosted by the President of the American Association of School Administrators, the panel shares insights, staying focused on student outcomes, leveraging technology like AI in education, and navigating the current political and social challenges of the moment. They also discuss strategies for balancing competing perspectives and staying resilient in the face of uncertainty. Twitter: @Supt_Balderas | @m_salazarzamora | @DrAlexMarrero | @larawadem | @Jonharper70bd | @BAMRadioNetwork Dr. Gustavo Balderas is President of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents and President of AASA.Balderas has been and is involved in numerous state, regional, and national organizations and committees, including having served on the Oregon State Board of Education as a superintendent liaison, the AASA Executive Committee, Chiefs for Change Board, is a co-founder and inaugural president of the Oregon Association of Latino Administrators. Dr. Balderas is also a volunteer consulting superintendent for the Educational Research and Development Institute, Suburban School Superintendents, and the Institute for Educational Innovation national organizations. Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora has served as an educator in Texas for over 37 years and as the Superintendent of Schools in Tomball ISD since 2017. She is a trailblazer and is the first female Superintendent of TISD and the first Hispanic Superintendent of Tomball ISD. Zamora was recognized as the 2023 Texas Superintendent of the Year, representing Region 4, as well as a 2024 AASA National Superintendent of the Year Finalist. Dr. Salazar-Zamora not only leads a fast-growth district but one of the highest academic achieving districts in the State of Texas, all while maintaining strong financial management practices. Dr. Alex Marrero has served as the Superintendent of Denver Public Schools since Spring 2021. He oversees Colorado's largest school district, which includes nearly 85,000 students and 14,000 staff across over 200 schools, and has a budget of $1.45 billion. As the son of a Cuban refugee and a Dominican immigrant, Dr. Marrero understands firsthand and advocates for the diverse needs of his students. Under his leadership, the district has achieved its highest-ever graduation rates and seen the implementation of its first-ever equity-based strategic plan. David Law is the superintendent of Minnetonka Public Schools, one of the top school districts in Minnesota. Law earned a BA from Hamline University with a major in mathematics and a minor in education. His teaching career includes experiences in California and Minnesota at the middle school and high school levels. In 1998, he began his administrative career. Over the following 12 years, he worked in Mounds View, Anoka-Hennepin, and White Bear Lake school districts as a middle school administrator. Law completed his k-12 principal and superintendent license at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and earned his Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 2010, he was named assistant superintendent for White Bear Lake Area Schools. He spent eight years as superintendent for the Anoka-Hennepin School District, the largest school district in Minnesota.

When President Trump began his second term, the Department of Homeland Security lifted restrictions on immigration arrests at schools, hospitals and places of worship. Late Friday, a federal judge denied a request by Denver Public Schools to pause the new policy. We hear from educators and a student, and John Yang speaks with Kica Matos of the National Immigration Law Center for more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

When President Trump began his second term, the Department of Homeland Security lifted restrictions on immigration arrests at schools, hospitals and places of worship. Late Friday, a federal judge denied a request by Denver Public Schools to pause the new policy. We hear from educators and a student, and John Yang speaks with Kica Matos of the National Immigration Law Center for more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Jimmy Sengenberger, The Denver Gazette joins Dan to tell the tale of a conservative judge stepping in to rule on Denver Public Schools policies designated to protect illegal aliens from ICE deportations.The 'Dumb Friends League' dumbs down its name to a forgettable, boiler plate 'Humane Colorado.'

Now that Donald Trump has been sworn back in as president, Denverites are bracing for change, especially on the issue of immigration. The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that the president is getting to work on his mass deportation plan, with ICE raids potentially happening in Denver as soon as this week. So host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are talking about how the mayor, Denver Public Schools, and the conservative suburbs are responding. Plus, we have been getting tons of great questions and comments, so we're responding to a few of our favorites on crime downtown, the appeal of the suburbs, and “Class Traitor Joe's.” Bree talked about Casa de Paz. Paul recommends this explainer for the rights you should know when it comes to possible ICE raids and deportations, as well as some of the Denver Post reporting on Mayor Johnston and Douglas County, Superintendent Marrero's letter to DPS principals, and our friends at City Cast Chicago's take on the immigration situation. He also mentioned this breakdown of Trader Joe's legal actions against the NLRB. Get your tickets to HEYDAY now! We're putting on an indoor fair with urban flair, like a classic county fair but with a very cool Denver twist. Join us on March 8 for classic carnival games, vintage arcade games, Denver-themed balloon art, and a full day of grandstand entertainment, featuring some of your favorite guests from the podcast. It's family friendly, too, if you wanna bring your kids. Get those tickets now at www.heydaydenver.com. For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬ Learn more about the sponsors of this January 22nd episode: Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Citing declining enrollment, demographic shifts, and building under-use as primary factors, Denver Public Schools superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero announced his proposal to close or consolidate a number of schools. On school that is proposed for consolidation is the Denver Center for International Studies at Baker, where we met. It is a school that we feel profound affection for and belief in. In this emergency episode, we speak with DCIS students Sophia and Camila, who are helping to organize their peers and families to protest the re-structuring of their school. Very frequently, students are the last to know about decisions and policies that directly impact them. Oftentimes, across American public education, "student voice" is trivialized, downplayed, dismissed, and disrespected. If you go back to our emergency episode with students in the opening months of the COVID-19 pandemic, you will see that students were not included in that discussion either. This is, unfortunately, not a problem unique to this district, it is everywhere. Student voice matters. Yesterday, today, and always.

After growing up with severe anxiety and firsthand experiencing the lack of mental health resources in schools, Tessa (she/her) founded Upstream Education to ensure teachers have the tools to help their students manage anxiety and foster well-being. She received a B.S. in Social Entrepreneurship from the Watson Institute at Lynn University. Tessa also holds a 200 hour yoga teacher certificate from Strala Yoga. In 2016, Tessa won the Denver Public Schools Imaginarium Innovation Lab's Design Challenge for her idea to create a program of bite-sized, Tier 1 Mental Health tools for high school students. The following year, her first book, I Am Tessa, was published by One Idea Press. She often speaks on the topics of adolescent mental health, social entrepreneurship, and teacher professional development for organizations including Teach For America, Denver Public Schools, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, and the University of Notre Dame. In 2021, Tessa delivered her first TEDx talk called “The Power of 5 Minutes for Youth Mental Health.” Tessa is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and 2024 HopeLab Young Innovator in Behavioral Health awardee. In her spare time, Tessa loves to explore Colorado with her husband. She lives in Boulder.About Upstream equips students with the ability to "name and tame" their stress. We start with the science of stress, specifically how our brains and bodies are biologically predisposed to respond to stress through the fight, flight, or freeze response. After students can "name" their stress, Upstream gives them a variety of concrete tools to "tame" that stress. Our tools are rooted in the practices of mindfulness, positive psychology, and positive self-talk.Links:https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/su/su7304a6.htmhttps://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2024/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-alters-brain-activity-in-children-with-anxietyhttps://ccf.georgetown.edu/2022/03/24/research-update-childrens-anxiety-and-depression-on-the-rise/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9894765/https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/features/anxiety-depression-children.htmlhttps://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKB7GZ0KAwohttps://www.coursehero.com/file/194915685/RA-Final-Rough-Draft/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textPlease Support Our Show❤️https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=88DP4YMVETHFQAdvertise with us:https://theliteracyview.com/contact/Join our Facebook Group✅https://www.facebook.com/share/g/msdoTSwSiQvbtUW9/?mibextid=qtnXGeEmail us: FaithandJudy@gmail.comFaith's Book Links-https://a.co/d/5bv8AdEhttps://a.co/d/50d2qWZThe One About…Teachers Need Support to Teach Reading in Grades 3-8: RAND RESEARCH REPORT What's Missing from Teachers' Toolkits to Support Student Reading in Grades 3-8?Findings from the RAND American Teacher Panelhttps://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA3300/RRA3358-1/RAND_RRA3358-1.pdf Anna Shapiro is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation with a focus on early childhood education and special education. Her research interests include strengthening early care and education systems, increasing access to high-quality public early learning opportunities, improving the educational experiences of children receiving special education services and children with developmental differences, and evaluations of programs and policies impacting children in PK-20. Rebecca SutherlandAssociate Director of Research at AERDFRebecca Sutherland is an experienced qualitative and quantitative researcher who's built a career working in public education at both the state (Massachusetts) and local district (Denver Public Schools) levels, along with some stints at national ed non-profits that partner directly with districts and schools. As Director of Assessment at Reading Partners from 2014-2017 Rebecca led the measurement of student learning needs and growth.https://aerdf.org/team/rebecca-sutherland/Here are the two assessments that are validated for use with older readers through high school:ROAR (Rapid Online Assessment of Reading): modular administration, free to schools and districtsCapti Assess: explicitly designed to test reading comprehension and foundational skills of students in grades 3-12  Support the showThe Literacy View is an engaging and inclusive platform encouraging respectful discussion and debate about current issues in education.

On this week's Education Gadfly Show podcast, Parker Baxter, Director of the Center for Education Policy Analysis at the University of Colorado, joins Mike and David to discuss his new report on the impact of Denver's education reforms. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a RAND survey on teachers' experiences with school violence and lockdown drills.Recommended content: Parker Baxter, Anna Nicotera, David Stuit, Margot Plotz, Todd Ely, and Paul Tesk, Systemwide and Intervention-Specific Effects of Denver Public Schools' Portfolio District Strategy on Individual Student Achievement, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (September 2024)“Denver doesn't spell doom for portfolio-style reform” —Paul T. Hill“With student enrollment plummeting, which schools should be considered candidates for closure?” —Amber M. Northern and Michael J. PetrilliPauline Moore, Melissa Kay Diliberti, Brian A. Jackson, Teachers' Experiences with School Violence and Lockdown Drills, RAND (2024)Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

Judge Richard P. Matsch (1930-2019) served as a United States District Judge for the District of Colorado from 1974 to 2019. He is best known for his service as the trial judge in charge of the criminal trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who were convicted in 1997 for their roles in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Before Matsch's service as a federal judge, he worked as a lawyer in private practice in Denver, a federal prosecutor, and a bankruptcy referee and bankruptcy judge in Colorado. Matsch grew up in Burlington, Iowa, worked in his father's grocery store there, and attended a junior college and then the University of Michigan for college and law school. After law school, he served in the U.S. Army from 1953-55 around the end of the Korean War doing counterintelligence work in South Korea. In describing his career as a public servant, Judge Matsch quoted George Bernard Shaw:I'm of the opinion that my life belongs to the community. And as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die. For the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no brief candle for me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I've got hold of for a moment and want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.The full oral history interview of Judge Matsch in 2018 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Campbell (retired), from which these podcasts are excerpted, is available at the Historical Society's website at:  https://www.10thcircuithistory.org/oral-historiesFirst podcast episode:In the first podcast episode, Judge Matsch discussed his work on the Keyes v. School District No. 1 case from 1973 to 1995, implementing the U.S. Supreme Court's direction in 1973 to have a federal judge oversee desegregation “root and branch” of the Denver Public Schools through busing of students. Ultimately in 1995, Judge Matsch held that the vestiges of past discrimination by the school district had been eliminated to the extent practicable, and ended the mandatory busing of students in Denver Public Schools.Matsch also discussed in this episode several other cases that involved constitutional issues including free speech and the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.In Judge Matsch's 1977 ruling that called for girls to be able participate in a Colorado high school soccer program comparable to boys soccer, he noted:Any notion that young women are so inherently weak, delicate or physically inadequate that the State must protect them from the folly of participation in vigorous athletics is a cultural anachronism unrelated to reality. The Constitution does not permit the use of governmental power to control or limit cultural changes or to prescribe masculine and feminine roles.Hoover v. Meiklejohn, 430 F.Supp. 164 (D. Colo. 1977).

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet talks to Kate and Mark about how being superintendent of Denver Public Schools stoked his interest in food rights, what inspires him and why we should feel hopeful, his newfound interest in cooking, and why cast iron reigns supreme.Interested in finding out more about Regent Seven Seas' new savings opportunity? Book any voyage and get 5% off all subsequent voyages that are part of Regent's Voyage Collection Debut. Head here: https://www.rssc.com/2026-2027-voyage-collectionSubscribe to Food with Mark Bittman on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and please help us grow by leaving us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts.Follow Mark on Twitter at @bittman, and on Facebook and Instagram at @markbittman. Want more food content? Subscribe to The Bittman Project at www.bittmanproject.com.Questions or comments? Email food@markbittman.com. And if you have a minute, we'd love it if you'd take a short survey about our show! Head here: http://bit.ly/foodwithmarkbittman-survey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're joned today by Monica Schultz, Senior Manager for Navigator Services with Denver Public Schools, and Nazli José, a student at Montebello Career and Technical School. They enthusiastically share the many benefits of the School Passport Administrator digital internship offered through GG4L. The program provides both High School and college credit for students while giving them real-world tech skills and providing the full flexibility of a digital certification.   Resources: Inquire about the Certified School Passport Administrator (CSPA)digital internship program HERE. The CSPA program offers high school students a 60-hour internship with a mix of academic and hands-on experiences, with certification and college credit included.  Access program overview & syllabus HERE   GG4L's School Passport® is a data exchange platform that exchanges any data with any EdTech product, eliminates the need to share student PII and is easy to implement for schools and vendors. It empowers schools to centrally: Govern the exchange of student, staff, and parent PII data with SaaS vendors Approve and publish apps to a district or school branded on-demand AppStore Delegate to school staff and teachers the ability to activate apps within their managed groups on-demand School Passport® is used by over 25,000 schools in the US and abroad.      Micro Professional Learning ExPLorations - fun and free, 1-hour digital Professional Learning for teachers from all content areas and grades levels EdCuration's Blog: Learning in Action

After receiving praise from President Biden for working to address the indoor air quality crisis in Denver Public Schools, Attune deployed its IAQ monitoring systems in 45 school districts and 369 school buildings across the state of Colorado. This CDC- funded initiative aims to improve IAQ environments in Colorado school districts for students, teachers and administrators. Today we will talk with the Co-Founder and CEO of Attune, Dr. Serene Al-Momen, about her company's technology and the results they expect to achieve with this groundbreaking partnership between school districts in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the University of Colorado Boulder.

In this episode of TAB Storytellers, Jen and Abi are joined by Abigail Harkey, the Visual Arts, Instruction and Curriculum Specialist for Denver Public Schools. Abigail flipped the tables in this episode and asked Jen and Abi questions. We discussed learning objectives, rigor and assessment, and teacher evaluations among other things.  For more information about TAB, please visit the TAB website: www.teachingfor artisticbehavior.org. Also, you are invited to join us on Mighty Networks (https://teaching-for-artistic-behavior.mn.com/), an online platform dedicated to everything TAB! Here is a link to the unedited transcript of this episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gNm3I1XU2wA7VVevjjdwMJJ2ary4MZ8ENz9HPY6zyIk/edit?usp=sharing  We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at storytellers@teachingforartisticbehavior.org

New Education Excellence host Michael Levin-Epstein chats with LeeAnn Kittle, Executive Director of Sustainability for Denver Public Schools. Together, they discuss LeeAnn's path to her current role, how she is driving innovation in sustainability at DPS, contributors—and barriers—to success in climate action in the district, how other districts can go about forging their own paths toward sustainability success, and much more.   Music by Ruwin from Pixabay

In the latest episode of New Teacher Talk, presented in partnership with the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE), host Tim Neubert sits down with Jeremy Eddie, a Diversity Talent HR Professional from Denver Public Schools, to discuss strategies for recruiting and intentionally retaining teachers after the hiring process. As the demand for qualified educators, particularly teachers of color, continues to rise, school districts are faced with the challenge of not only attracting top talent but also ensuring that they remain engaged and committed to their roles. Join Tim and Jeremy as they delve into the innovative approaches and best practices employed by Denver Public Schools to recruit, support, and retain educators. From targeted recruitment efforts to personalized professional development opportunities, this episode offers valuable insights and actionable tips for school administrators, hiring managers, and educators alike. Tune in to discover how you can create a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters teacher satisfaction, growth, and longevity. SPECIAL NOTE: This is the second of a four-part series to be offered during the month of March. We are pleased to announce the new partnership between AAEE and New Teacher Talk.  Be sure to get your copy of the 2024 Job Search Handbook for Educators.

After receiving praise from President Biden for working to address the indoor air quality crisis in Denver Public Schools, Attune deployed its IAQ monitoring systems in 45 school districts and 369 school buildings across the state of Colorado. This CDC- funded initiative aims to improve IAQ environments in Colorado school districts for students, teachers and administrators. Today we will talk with the Co-Founder and CEO of Attune, Dr. Serene Al-Momen, about her company's technology and the results they expect to achieve with this groundbreaking partnership between school districts in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the University of Colorado Boulder.

After receiving praise from President Biden for working to address the indoor air quality crisis in Denver Public Schools, Attune deployed its IAQ monitoring systems in 45 school districts and 369 school buildings across the state of Colorado. This CDC- funded initiative aims to improve IAQ environments in Colorado school districts for students, teachers and administrators. Today we will talk with the Co-Founder and CEO of Attune, Dr. Serene Al-Momen, about her company's technology and the results they expect to achieve with this groundbreaking partnership between school districts in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the University of Colorado Boulder.

Under a major bus driver shortage, Chicago Public Schools isn't providing busing to general education students for the rest of the school year. The district is in early talks with a ride-share service that provides students transportation in other districts across the nation, like Denver Public Schools in Colorado. Reset talks with Jewél Jackson, investigative education reporter for the Illinois Answers Project, and Ismael El-Amin, a parent of two Chicago Public Schools students, on the best way to bridge the gap.

Across the country, public schools are seeing big declines in enrollment, with more than one million fewer students enrolled in public schools over just the past four years and the steepest drops in the highest-need districts. With declining birth rates, increasing alternative school options, and the looming cut-off of federal relief funds all creating a perfect storm for public schools, districts are faced with a choice: stay the course, or adapt to the new reality? In today's episode, Jill and Ross dig into this topic with two leading experts: John Papay and Brian Eschbacher. Professor John Papay, Director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, has conducted extensive research on the trends leading to declining enrollment and where students are going. Brian Eschbacher, currently an enrollment consultant for school districts across the country, oversaw enrollment for Denver Public Schools during a period of record growth. John and Brian discuss what's driving this issue and how school districts can pivot in the face of declining enrollment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Week of 1/15/24--Education topics discussed in this episode include: A California Judge ruled that two Teachers who were fired over their school's transgender policies must be reinstated while the case continues: https://thenewamerican.com/us/judge-orders-california-school-district-to-reinstate-teachers-who-sued-over-its-trans-policy/ , https://washingtonstand.com/news/christian-teachers-reinstated-as-lawsuit-over-transgender-policy-continues Denver Public Schools sent a memo to staff that said we're all racist, but that “whiteness” causes deep harm: https://defendinged.org/incidents/denver-public-schools-sent-black-excellence-pledge-to-staff-promoting-black-lives-matter-movement-claims-that-whiteness-brings-deep-harm-to-students/ A Christian school in Iowa will begin arming its teachers this month: https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-school-to-arm-train-staffers-after-deadly-iowa-school.html

Across the country, public schools are seeing big declines in enrollment, with more than one million fewer students enrolled in public schools over just the past four years and the steepest drops in the highest-need districts. With declining birth rates, increasing alternative school options, and the looming cut-off of federal relief funds all creating a perfect storm for public schools, districts are faced with a choice: stay the course, or adapt to the new reality? In today's episode, Jill and Ross dig into this topic with two leading experts: John Papay and Brian Eschbacher. Professor John Papay, Director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, has conducted extensive research on the trends leading to declining enrollment and where students are going. Brian Eschbacher, currently an enrollment consultant for school districts across the country, oversaw enrollment for Denver Public Schools during a period of record growth. John and Brian discuss what's driving this issue and how school districts can pivot in the face of declining enrollment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After receiving praise from President Biden for working to address the indoor air quality crisis in Denver Public Schools, Attune deployed its IAQ monitoring systems in 45 school districts and 369 school buildings across the state of Colorado. This CDC- funded initiative aims to improve IAQ environments in Colorado school districts for students, teachers and administrators. Today we will talk with the Co-Founder and CEO of Attune, Dr. Serene Al-Momen, about her company's technology and the results they expect to achieve with this groundbreaking partnership between school districts in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the University of Colorado Boulder.

After receiving praise from President Biden for working to address the indoor air quality crisis in Denver Public Schools, Attune deployed its IAQ monitoring systems in 45 school districts and 369 school buildings across the state of Colorado. This CDC- funded initiative aims to improve IAQ environments in Colorado school districts for students, teachers and administrators. Today we will talk with the Co-Founder and CEO of Attune, Dr. Serene Al-Momen, about her company's technology and the results they expect to achieve with this groundbreaking partnership between school districts in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the University of Colorado Boulder.

After receiving praise from President Biden for working to address the indoor air quality crisis in Denver Public Schools, Attune deployed its IAQ monitoring systems in 45 school districts and 369 school buildings across the state of Colorado. This CDC- funded initiative aims to improve IAQ environments in Colorado school districts for students, teachers and administrators. Today we will talk with the Co-Founder and CEO of Attune, Dr. Serene Al-Momen, about her company's technology and the results they expect to achieve with this groundbreaking partnership between school districts in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the University of Colorado Boulder.

After receiving praise from President Biden for working to address the indoor air quality crisis in Denver Public Schools, Attune deployed its IAQ monitoring systems in 45 school districts and 369 school buildings across the state of Colorado. This CDC- funded initiative aims to improve IAQ environments in Colorado school districts for students, teachers and administrators. Today we will talk with the Co-Founder and CEO of Attune, Dr. Serene Al-Momen, about her company's technology and the results they expect to achieve with this groundbreaking partnership between school districts in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the University of Colorado Boulder.

After receiving praise from President Biden for working to address the indoor air quality crisis in Denver Public Schools, Attune deployed its IAQ monitoring systems in 45 school districts and 369 school buildings across the state of Colorado. This CDC- funded initiative aims to improve IAQ environments in Colorado school districts for students, teachers and administrators. Today we will talk with the Co-Founder and CEO of Attune, Dr. Serene Al-Momen, about her company's technology and the results they expect to achieve with this groundbreaking partnership between school districts in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the University of Colorado Boulder.

Voter turnout was unsurprisingly low for yesterday's off-year election, but we still have plenty of results to dissect from all the hottest statewide and Denver races! Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi break down the initial returns from Tuesday evening, including the fate of Prop HH and the new era for Denver Public Schools. Then, we check in with one of Denver's new city council members, Shontel Lewis, who tells us that the new-look council's “honeymoon period is ending.” We talk about their latest battles over Denver's 2024 budget, her leadership on housing and homelessness, and how she convinced Mayor Mike Johnston to cancel a planned sweep in her District 8.  What do you think about the election results? We are going to be dissecting the results later this week, and we want to hear what you think! Leave us a voicemail or send us a text with your thoughts or questions, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418. Paul mentioned the time Colorado's senior senator Michael Bennet recited his favorite tofu recipe to Bree on our show earlier this year.  Councilwoman Lewis would like you to know about an upcoming event her office is hosting, because she needs volunteers! The 2023 Hiawatha Davis Jr. Luncheon is coming up on December 8. It's a free event to celebrate elders in District 8 and connect them with resources. Sign up here to volunteer! For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬ Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: The Ednium Podcast has interviews with all the candidates running for the DPS Board The Arvada Center's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella  Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Season 5, Episode 9, of “Stories from the Field: The Superintendent Podcast,” Doug Roberts, the CEO & Founder of Institute for Education Innovation visits Dr. Alex Marrero, Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, to discuss tough decisions and how community connections enhance the coming-together of Denver for addressing the Whole Child and Social Emotional Learning.

In Season 5, Episode 7, of “Stories from the Field: The Superintendent Podcast,” Doug Roberts, the CEO & Founder of Institute for Education Innovation, visits Dr. Alex Marrero, Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, to discuss how safety and security are paramount in today's school communities. Doug and Dr. Marrero review how difficult conversations must be had to invoke change while always considering equity.

In Season 5, Episode 8, of “Stories from the Field: The Superintendent Podcast,” Doug Roberts, the CEO & Founder of Institute for Education Innovation visits Dr. Alex Marrero, Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, to have tough conversations about being a strong district leader looking out for his students and the Denver community, while maintaining equity and considering safety.

A HUGE Colorado GOP meeting and a shocking discovery about the hiring rubric for the Denver Public Schools on tap this hour.  George welcomes investigative journalist Sherrie Peif of Complete Colorado.  Sherrie talks about the meeting and some of the chaos involved in trying to opt out of the state primary process.  Then she and George talk about a discovery that Denver Public Schools uses a very liberal hiring rubric to ensure they get liberal teachers in the classroom, It's shocking but also not that shocking.   https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2023/09/14/report-denver-public-schools-left-wing-political-litmus-test-teachers/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Accused murderers in Denver Public Schools, a 2,000-foot fall down a mountain, and was Lauren Bobert set up?  all these subjects and more this hour.  George starts with local news, including the revelation the DPS superintendent does not see a problem with students accused of violent crimes being allowed in classrooms.  Next, it's You Chose the News that includes a mountaineer falling 2K feet down the side of a mountain and lived.  Then George discusses the new theory that Rep. Bobert was set up at the Beetlejuice paly.  He also discusses if you knew everything you do at those plays is being recorded.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KWAME SPEARMAN IS ON TODAY TO TALK ABOUT DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS As he is running for the At-Large seat being vacated by Tay Tay Anderson. The former of CEO and a former candidate for Denver Mayor, Kwame is an interesting guy. He's is to the left of me and most of you, but he's a pragmatic guy who wants to solve problems. He says he wants to take the politics and grandstanding out of DPS. Find his website here and he's on at 1.

When the University of Colorado hired NFL Hall of Fame superstar Deion “Prime Time” Sanders to be their next head football coach, Boulder went bananas. But it's time to see what the new-look Buffs can do on the field, and the off-field stakes are just as high. Producer Paul Karolyi is talking through the implications for Boulder and the whole CU system with 5280 Magazine's Editor Lindsey King and Editorial Director Geoff Van Dyke. And as always, we wrap up the Friday show with a round of wins and fails of the week.  We talked about Ed Sheeran, John Fielder, Office-to-Residential Building Conversions, Proposed LGBTQ Book Bans, RVs for Hawaii, and (the lack of) air conditioning at Denver Public Schools. Also, here's the 5280 Magazine interview with John Fielder from 2009 that Lindsey and Geoff talked about and Robert Sanchez's terrific article on the Deion Sanders moment at CU Boulder.  Paul is pretty sure this is the same fleece John Fielder donated to History Colorado. He's got some pretty good leads on identifying Fielder's boots, too.  Do you know who offers the best photography class in town? Paul wants to follow in John Fielder's footsteps, and he needs your help. Have you taken a class you love? Or know someone who did? Leave us a voicemail or text at 720-500-5418 or email us at denver@citycast.fm, and you might hear your rec on the show (or see it in Hey Denver) soon! For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Learn more about the sponsor of this episode: Girl Scouts of Colorado Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brooke Goudy has not always lived as a fierce, confident, independent woman. A school nurse, trying to figure out her own life, she decided to partake in Michelle's YOU Revolution course offered through her employer, Denver Public Schools. This was the catalyst that led Brooke on a trail blazing journey, gaining independence, and finding freedom along the way. This conversation will leave you feeling energized and eager to saddle up and blaze your trail.Connect with Brooke:IG: @brookegoudyConnect with us:betterbeings.netIG: @be.a.better.beingMichelle: @betterbeingsusSasha: @sasha.patriciaYouTube: Michelle Zellner - Be A Better Being Podcast playlist

In the wake of the March 23 shooting at East High School, thousands of students walked out of class in protest, and the school board started what became an emotionally charged, highly controversial, three-month debate on the possible return of police to Denver Public Schools. They ultimately voted, 4-3, that police should be a “persistent presence” in our schools, but not everyone is happy with that outcome. So today on the show, host Bree Davies speaks with the board's vice president, Aoun'tai Anderson, about how the debate played out and why he thinks his fellow board members reversed their position since police were removed from schools in 2020. Bree mentioned Bike to Work Day and DPD's new anti-theft bike registration system, as well as the official designation of La Raza Park as a historic cultural district. For a deep dive into the last three months of debate on the role of police in schools, Melanie Asmar has been covering all the twists and turns for Chalkbeat.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866 Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenver Or instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬ Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Switching schools for both of our kiddos has been an emotional rollercoaster, but one that ultimately led to discovering Owen's gifted and talented abilities. In today's episode, I open up about our family's journey in finding the right educational fit for our children, and the tough decisions that came with it. We dive into Denver Public Schools' unique choice system, and how we found a school with more robust gifted and talented programming to better cater to Owen's needs. But life updates don't stop there! I also share my recent health journey, including shedding 20 pounds with the help of my GLP one medication, and the importance of maintaining balanced blood sugar levels. Plus, let's catch up on some exciting family milestones, like celebrating 11 years of marriage and the purchase of our tiny new condo in Keystone, Colorado. So grab a cup of coffee and join us as we navigate the challenges and joys of life together! In this episode, you will hear: Why we decided to switch schools Owen's behavior problem ADHD is genetic. How to switch schools within a public school system  Updates on my health Blood sugar hacks to keep blood sugar stable My book deal and new condo update! Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: oliveyouwhole.com/nutrisense (affiliate) Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Magic Mushrooms are legal in Colorado! Here's what you need to know | $1.7MM Biden Administration grant will support expansion of in-home behavioral therapy across Colorado | Auon'tai Anderson and 4 other Democrats are running for Rep. Leslie Herod's CO House seat in District 8 | Rebirth Brass Band is playing 5 Colorado shows in the next 5 daysSong playsIntro by hostWelcome to High Country - politics in the American West. My name is Sean Diller; regular listeners might know me from Heartland Pod's Talking Politics, every Monday.Support this show and all the work in the Heartland POD universe by going to heartlandpod.com and clicking the link for Patreon, or go to Patreon.com/HeartlandPod to sign up. Membership starts at $1/month, with even more extra shows and special access at the higher levels. No matter the level you choose, your membership helps us create these independent shows as we work together to change the conversation.Alright! Let's get into it: COLORADO SUN:Colorado decriminalized psilocybin. Here's your guided trip through what happens next.What's the timeline? Is natural medicine right for you? Should you microdose? We answer these questions and more.Chryss Cada4:28 AM MDT on Jun 18, 2023Four moms gather around a Saturday morning breakfast table exchanging the obsessive anxieties that come from raising teenagers in today's society.  They share the usual concerns: Does their daughter have enough friends? Is their son being bullied at school? Are their child's frequent dark moods typical teenage emotions, or does their angst cross over into depression? As they talk, it becomes clear that the constant stress of worry for their teens is spiraling them down into anxiety and depressive disorders of their own. Right down to steaming mugs of coffee and plates of avocado toast, the scene is quintessential suburban life in the early 2020s. But this meeting of the moms will likely produce more answers, more insight and more empathy than most. Because the night before these moms consumed some natural medicine known for helping to see things in a new light, bringing clarity to stubborn, problematic patterns. These women, along with thousands of others across Colorado, have found psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) useful in bringing relief from the anxiety and depression so prevalent in today's society. Now, after Colorado voters approved Proposition 122 in November, they no longer have to risk state criminal penalties for their use of this indigenous medicine.The dramatic efficiency of mushrooms to ease mental health disorders that haven't been helped by traditional medicines and therapies isn't just anecdotal. Recent studies from respected institutions like Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have shown psilocybin is helpful in treating everything from alcohol dependence to major depressive disorder. However, those experienced with this medicine suggest that it be approached with intention, reverence and most importantly understanding.Under Proposition 122, The Natural Medicine Health Act, Coloradans 21 and older are allowed to possess and use psilocybin, the psychedelic fungi commonly known as “magic mushrooms.” In addition it proposes the eventual decriminalization of the substances dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, ibogaine and mescaline (excluding peyote). The law allows the state to immediately begin the process of the “medicalization” of psilocybin mushrooms by creating a framework for state-regulated “healing centers,” where people can receive medically guided psilocybin treatments. Although decriminalized in Colorado, psilocybin and the other medicines named in the Health Act remain illegal under federal law. “The measure is therapeutically oriented, so recreational and retail sales are not allowed,” explained Kevin Matthews, one of the authors of Proposition 122. “You can share these medicines with family and friends or in religious uses, but we didn't want this to become a for-profit industry.”A veteran, Matthews found relief from depression during a single psilocybin journey in 2011 and has since worked for increased access to psychedelics for the treatment of trauma. While at a legalization rally he saw a T-shirt slogan that summed up the idea behind The Natural Medicine Health Act in three words: “Healers, Not Dealers.”“We were very careful in the writing of the proposition to put forth a healing model,” he said. “We know that people will still use these medicines recreationally, as they were before this passed. It's not always a clear distinction: for some people taking mushrooms with friends and going to see a show at Red Rocks is therapeutic.”The proposition laid out the problem it was hoping to alleviate, reading in part:COLORADANS ARE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMATIC MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SUICIDALITY, ADDICTION, DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY. COLORADO'S CURRENT APPROACH TO MENTAL HEALTH HAS FAILED TO FULFILL ITS PROMISE. COLORADANS DESERVE MORE TOOLS TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, INCLUDING APPROACHES SUCH AS NATURAL MEDICINES THAT ARE GROUNDED IN TREATMENT, RECOVERY, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS RATHER THAN CRIMINALIZATION, STIGMA, SUFFERING, AND PUNISHMENT.  In November, 53% of Colorado voters agreed with that wording.  Denver attorney Sean McCallister's phone started ringing as soon as the votes were counted and hasn't really stopped since. Primarily working with those in the cannabis industry since the sale and recreational use of weed was legalized in 2012 in Colorado, McAllister is now a pioneer in the emerging field of psychedelics law. One of the most frequent questions he is asked by those outside the psychedelic community is, “When will mushrooms become legal?” His answer: They already have. “No, you don't have to wait for decriminalization provisions,” he said. “People can cultivate, possess and give away mushrooms, as well as share them and be paid for bonafide harm-reduction therapy and support services.” In an interesting twist, those without licensure will be the first to be able to legally offer natural medicine to clients. “Right now those who don't have a therapy license are able to work with these medicines because they are not bound by the rules of a regulatory agency,” McCallister said. “We are about two years away from the regulations being in place for doctors and therapists to be able to offer this medicine to their patients.” In the meantime, a movement of mushroom guides who have worked underground for years or even decades is starting to push into the daylight.In the first three months following passage of Proposition 122, McCallister wrote up more than a hundred disclaimers for guides to use with their clients. Alexandra Jenkins believes so deeply in the medicine's powers to process and release trauma that she was willing to put herself at risk of prosecution to guide medicine ceremonies underground for the past eight years. Now before the ceremonies she holds with one or two other facilitators she passes out a waiver that spells out what can happen when “sitting with the medicine.” The waiver explains that the effects of psilocybin mushrooms include altered perception of time and space and intense changes in mood and feeling. Other possible effects of psilocybin include everything from euphoria and peacefulness to confusion and frightening hallucinations. The effects of psilocybin vary from person to person, based on the user's mental state, personality and immediate environment. Those who have spent time with the medicine will tell you it's all these emotions and so many more, a roller coaster of a voyage through time and space that can fit what feels like a lifetime into four to six hours.“When this (Prop 122) passed I felt a release of stress I wasn't even aware I had been holding,” Jenkins said. “It feels like an open door to give more people access to this medicine.” She has seen the medicine ground previously malfunctioning nervous systems, help people connect to their higher selves, and in doing so feel more compassion toward themselves and others and tap into creativity and the interconnectedness of life. “There is this plant that grows in the ground, is free and helps us see ourselves and others differently,” Jenkins said. “It's cool to be able to believe in miracles.”The timelineIn addition to decriminalizing the four natural medicines, for mushrooms the new law is retroactive. McCallister had several pending cases that were dismissed as soon as Proposition 122 passed. Among them was the case of Ben Gorelick, a Denver rabbi who was facing prosecution after integrating psychedelic use as part of spiritual practice.When this (Prop 122) passed I felt a release of stress I wasn't even aware I had been holding.— Alexandra Jenkins, a guide“The dismissal of that case was especially meaningful because it highlighted the ways this medicine is used,” McCallister said. A representative of traditional and indigenous use and religious use of natural medicine was one of 15 appointees to the Natural Medicine Advisory Board announced earlier this year. The board, which will advise the Department of Regulatory Agencies on the implementation of the regulated natural medicine access program, also includes representatives from law enforcement, veterans, criminal justice reform, mycology, emergency medical services, health care policy, natural medicine and mental health providers.Colorado Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, is drafting a bill that would clarify who would be implementing Proposition 122. He is considering adding Department of Revenue or Department of Public Health and Environment involvement in the rollout of the program.   Proposition 122 says the state must issue rules for things like drug testing standards, license requirements, and health and safety warnings by Jan. 1, 2024, and the state must begin accepting applications for licensed facilities to administer psilocybin by Sept. 30, 2024.The law stipulates that decisions be made on all licensing applications within 60 days of receiving them.After June 1, 2026, the TNMHA board can decide on the medicalization of the additional substances, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline. This may include “healing centers,” like the ones being established for psilocybin, or some similar system with medical oversight for the use of these three substances.Is natural medicine right for you?For years, psychiatrist Craig Heacock has had patients come through his office he knew could benefit from psilocybin, but he was unable to recommend it because it was illegal.Heacock has been able to provide therapy utilizing ketamine, which works in the brain in ways similar to psilocybin. That said, different psychedelics seem to work better for different conditions. “Ketamine is best for endogenous conditions, such as bi-polar depression that has been present throughout the family history,” he said. These are conditions that are caused by factors inside the person's system.“I'm most excited about the use of psilocybin in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder,” he said. “There's been cases of people having remission from OCD for weeks or even months following a single dose of psilocybin.”OCD is one of many anxiety disorders that can develop in response to trauma. It is a coping mechanism your mind develops to try to control the possibility of something traumatic happening to you again. The amount of research on psilocybin has been limited by its legal status, leaving practitioners like Heacock eager to explore its possibilities.   “Psilocybin has a rich and broad palette,” he said. “It connects us with self in a way that can alleviate anxiety, depression and a lack of love.”His podcast, “Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories,” has been a pioneering voice in the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy. He and his guests often share their hopes that the healing power of psilocybin can help with society's big issues, such as the communal depression lingering from the COVID-19 pandemic. “With the pandemic we have a whole group of people who are left demoralized and spiritually wounded,” he said. “Psilocybin can help with the big things, like alleviating existential despair.”Although there isn't a strict definition, those in the natural medicine community consider a transformative dose  — one in which emotional breakthroughs are likely to occur — of mushrooms to be 3 grams or more.By disconnecting parts of the brain that form what we call our ego, psilocybin allows you to step back and look at your patterns from a different perspective. It puts you in the audience to watch your life play out on the stage and then whispers in your ear that you could do things a different way.  It allows you to not only rethink who you are, but also who you want to be. Jenkins has seen people shed deep-seated trauma through use of the medicine. “People might have something they've been holding for so long they may not even know it's there,” she said. “The medicine shows them that pain and then helps them process it so they can begin to let it go. There is a lot of strength, strength to change, that comes with the love and self-acceptance of this medicine.”Where do I start?Hearing of possible relief from anxiety, depression and even existential despair has Coloradans (and people from around the world) wondering how to get their hands on some mushrooms — and they don't want to wait.“We were prepared for an increase in interest in psilocybin if the proposition passed,” said Daniel McQueen of Boulder's Center for Medicinal Mindfulness. “But the sheer size of the wave of interest actually took me by surprise.”Although he doesn't want to be specific, given the amount of competition cropping up, McQueen said calls to the center from people interested in trying psilocybin-therapy have “at least doubled” since passage of the law. The center, one of the first legal psychedelic therapy clinics in North America, has led thousands of people through cannabis-assisted and ketamine-assisted psychedelic therapy sessions since its founding in 2014, as well as providing training for psychedelic “sitters,” (guides and psychedelic therapists). The training is done by a team of 15, including a medical doctor, nurse and nurse practitioner, four licensed psychotherapists, four pre-licensed psychotherapists, two ministers and two traditional psychedelic guides. People lay down on mats in a circle. A woman sits crossed legged at the top of the group with candles and a laptop with music.The Center for Medicinal Mindfulness & Psychedelic Sitters School. (Britt Nemeth, Contributed)“Because people are in a very vulnerable state while on a psychedelic journey it is very important that they work with a guide who is well-trained,” McQueen said. “A guide should have professional boundaries, the ability to handle a mental health or medical crisis and work in an environment with oversight and accountability.”Accountability is one of the reasons Heacock is looking forward to having mushroom guiding moving out of the dark and into the light.“On the black market it has been ‘buyer beware,'” he said. “There were no checks and balances, it's not like if someone had a bad experience with a guide they could post a bad review on Yelp.”In Heacock's view another advantage of legalization will be testing of the potency of the medicine. “Even if you take the same amount as you had previously, the strength of the medicine could be substantially different,” he said. “With legalization you will know what you are getting every time.”Jenkins, who classifies her work with psilocybin as “harm-reduction services,” stresses the importance of finding a guide who is experienced with the medicine.“I've always had the energy to be a holder of liminal space,” she said. “Being able to create a safe container for someone to have a psychedelic journey is crucial.”Jenkins has spent extensive time in that psychedelic space, including journeys with ayahuasca, referred to as the “grandmother” of all psychedelics. “You have to know what they will be experiencing by having experienced it yourself, it's not something you can learn from a book,” she said.Jenkins is also trained in a spectrum of holistic healing from yoga to breathwork to somatic experiencing. “All the things I trained in up to the point in my life led naturally to holding medicine space,” she said.Despite helping outline the suggested credentials for mushroom guides, Matthews, the Proposition 122 co-author, still puts the most weight in personal recommendations. “Ask people you know, love and respect if they know someone who would be a good match to guide you,” he said. “It's also important to get a facilitator who can relate to your personal experiences.“If you struggle with depression, find a facilitator who has also experienced depression and can have compassion for what you are going through.” An altar with the sculpture of a woman and child, crystals and a variety of other objects.A primary part of guidance at the Center for Medicinal Mindfulness is helping individuals explore their spirituality, said Daniel McQueen, founder of the Center. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)Plunging in The “come up” of a psilocybin trip takes about 15 minutes, slowly clicking you up that first big hill of a roller coaster. When the cable lets you go, the plunge down is a little different for everybody. Some people hold on for dear life, regretting their choice to get on the ride in the first place. Others put their hands up in the air and enjoy the ride. Some people alternate between the two.  Either way, there is usually a lot of noise when the medicine “kicks in.” In order to “hold the container,” and keep individuals in their own experience, guides will often request quiet in a group setting.Sometimes people find it impossible to not let out a squeal, a moan, a cry, a retching, a giggle or a choice expletive.  “This is an intense experience, sometimes someone gets too loud and there's the risk that they will compromise everyone in the group's experience,” Jenkins said. “An experienced guide can maintain the container through this by going to that person and helping them through.”  While one facilitator tends to the individual who is struggling by taking him or her to another room, the other facilitator sings to the remainder of the group, her voice soaring above the chaos. Trippers have a choice to go on the wings of the medicine to a peaceful supportive place and have their own experience. “Rather than saying it was a bad trip, I would say there are moments in every journey that are challenging,” said Matthews, who has found psychedelics helpful in processing trauma from earlier in his life. “Unresolved trauma comes to the surface, and you can witness with clarity how something that has been buried deeply is influencing the way you are in the world.”Psychiatrist Heacock agrees.“We don't learn when things are going well,” Heacock said of difficult ketamine sessions. “It's the hard sessions, when you feel like you can't stand another second, that can be the real game changers.”Single doseLicensed clinical social worker Michelle Landon, like many in healing professions, has faced her own struggles with mental health. She often tries healing modalities out herself before prescribing them to her clients.“A couple years ago I began hearing a lot about the science of psychedelics and how they can help people heal,” she said. “I wanted to help others with their trauma and disordered thinking patterns, but first I knew I needed to help myself.”People might have something they've been holding for so long they may not even know it's there. The medicine shows them that pain and then helps them process it so they can begin to let it go.— Alexandra Jenkins, a guideLandon, who has been a therapist in northern Colorado since 2004, found psychedelics helpful in coming to terms with the death of her father in 2021.“The last two weeks of my dad's life he started telling my sister he was going on a trip and wanted to say goodbye to everyone,” she said. “I was with him, watching him go in and out of this world.”Psychedelics lightened the impact and pain of the moment. “I mean sure it sucked, but it wasn't traumatic,” she said of her father's final days and the grief that followed his death. “There were moments of beauty and connection. I saw him through the lens of the medicine and he didn't look like he was suffering. He was ready to go.” Through ketamine-assisted therapy, Landon has brought similar relief to clients dealing with a range of mental health challenges from persistent depression to acute post-traumatic stress disorder.“Some people processing trauma find it so hard to shift things and let go with traditional therapy and prescriptions,” she said. “With psychedelics some people have direct access to knowing they are loved and are able to finally let go of their past trauma.”MicrodoseWhile a single-dose psilocybin journey can have profound, lasting effects, many people are beginning to take mushrooms as a daily medication — and a lot of those people, at least anecdotally, are moms. “People are discovering microdosing to be a good alternative to the pharmaceutical approach that is so prevalent in our culture,” Jenkins said. “It gives your serotonin a bit of a boost and puts you more in tune with yourself.  It can really help people with anxiety without a lot of side effects.” Microdosing mushrooms involves taking such small amounts of the medicine (roughly 0.05 to 0.25 grams) that a person doesn't feel the effects outright. People can take a microdose every day or work in days off to integrate the insights gained on days they do take the medicine.“When I've had a microdose I feel so much more confident in the choices I'm making for my family,” said one mom over post-trip avocado toast. “It's like the mushrooms are a little cheerleader in my head telling me I'm doing a great job.” Another mom had been on prescription antidepressants for a little more than a decade before recently switching to microdosing psilocybin to rein in the ruminating, spiraling, obsessive thoughts she has contended without throughout her life.  She wanted to find a more natural way to access what her brain needs.“It was rough going off them (antidepressants),” she recalls. “I was dizzy, nauseous, felt trapped and was really, really, really depressed. Then I started microdosing and it was like my whole brain lit up again.” Those who work with psychedelics caution that they aren't an instant cure, but rather one resource that has been helpful to many in their healing. “It (psilocybin) is a reminder that we hold the answers inside of ourselves,” Landon said.  “It gets the BS out of the way so you can see your true self and your true potential for happiness.”COLORADO NEWSLINE:A new family therapy program in Colorado will meet you wherever you are — even if that's Costco An in-home mental health program for kids that began in January has served 200 people in 20 Colorado counties and has plans to expandJennifer Brown4:00 AM MDT on Jun 15, 2023A 15-year-old boy is sitting cross-legged on his couch in red flannel pajama pants, his hair looking like he just rolled out of bed. Because he did just get out of bed, about three minutes ago. Now, he's sitting across from his therapist, who had to knock on the door for several minutes before the teenager's mom answered via Ring doorbell from the grocery store. “It's open,” she told Bobby Tyman, a family therapist and clinical program coordinator with Paragon Behavioral Health Connections. It's not the first time Tyman has had to rouse the boy from sleep for his 10 a.m. therapy appointment.This is what in-home mental health treatment for adolescents looks like. The teenager, who recently stole and crashed his mother's car and has been using drugs to cope with depression, is groggy and shy, but tells Tyman that he applied for three summer jobs and is choosing a new high school for the fall. The new in-home therapy program, which has served 200 kids and their parents since it began in January, is an extension of the Colorado Boys Ranch. The ranch opened in 1959 as an orphanage in La Junta, then closed its residential program about a decade ago. But its foundation — Colorado Boys Ranch Youth Connect — has continued, pouring its resources into behavioral health care for kids in their homes. The evolution of the program is a reflection of what's changed in the child welfare system in the past decade — Colorado is sending fewer kids to institutions in favor of homes, and has increased efforts to provide in-home mental health care to cut down on the number of children removed from their homes and placed in foster care in the first place. Several youth treatment centers, including Tennyson Center for Children in Denver, have shifted in recent years from residential care to day treatment and in-home therapy.Some of the children are referred by the juvenile justice system as part of pretrial rehabilitation programs, and by the Medicaid program. Parents can also call for help directly, without a referral from a government program. A staff of 40 works in 20 counties, including the entire Denver metro area and throughout the entire state. Camille Harding, Paragon's CEO says “The point is to help kids and teens get better on their terms, as well as to provide a step-down program for adolescents who have visited a hospital emergency room in crisis or been admitted on a mental health hold. The program aims to schedule the first appointment within 24 hours of receiving a call for help.”Kids who are “trying to have their own personality and a say in who they are” can accomplish that better at home, not in an unfamiliar office with a therapist staring at them.“Having it on their own terms is so much more empowering. You get to decide what we do. We can go for a walk. We can go to the park down the street. Developmentally, it just makes more sense.” Some kids in the program have such intense needs that someone from Paragon is in their home 10 hours a week. A therapist helps work on their mental health. A care manager can help enroll in school, sign up for a GED program, or help the family find housing or food assistance. A specialist can teach interventions specifically for kids who have intellectual disabilities along with behavioral health issues. The team approach means kids get better help and staff are less likely to burn out. The program's technology is unique, too. Paragon is installing geo locations on its staff, many of whom are social workers or case managers with bachelor's degrees, and can send reinforcements quickly. That means that if a teenager is threatening suicide or having a violent outburst, a more experienced counselor can assist in person or virtually.A $1.7 million grant, part of Colorado's federal pandemic relief aid, is helping the program build the technology and hire a psychiatrist. Therapy beside someone's bed or in a Costco aisleTyman prefers standing on a client's doorstep to sitting in an office waiting for a client who doesn't show up. He's done therapy on the floor next to someone's bed because the person was too depressed to get up. And one mom is so overwhelmed by her life that the only time she finds for therapy with Tyman is when she's at the park with her kids or walking through Costco. Tyman tells her she can say he's a neighbor or a friend if they run into someone she knows. “It's OK if we start 15 minutes late because you had to get up and make coffee and put on clothes, or whatever it is you had to do to deal,” he said. “If your mental capacity isn't super high, and you're not functioning well, and you're not getting out of bed on time, and you're not able to manage your appointments, you're never going to make it to therapy.COLORADO NEWSLINE:Auon'tai Anderson, vice president of the Denver Public Schools board of education, announced he will end his run for reelection to instead go for a seat in the Colorado Legislature. Anderson, a Democrat who has been vocal against police in schools, announced his campaign to replace Democratic Rep. Leslie Herod in House District 8. As of Monday, five candidates have filed with the secretary of state's office looking to take the District 8 seat, including Anderson, Victor Bencomo, Christi Devoe, Lindsay Gilchrist and Sharron Pettiford. All candidates so far are Democrats. Gilchrist filed her candidacy the same day as Anderson. Anderson told Colorado Newsline his decision was influenced by the recent shootings at East High School in Denver, when a student asked Anderson what he was going to do about gun reform.“We need Democrats that are going to be Democrats 24/7, not Democrats when it's convenient,” Anderson said. “I feel like we've had some very convenient Democrats in the Legislature when it comes to these heavy issues like rent control, or our assault weapons ban that was killed by Dems. So, for me, this was an opportunity to stand up and say ‘I'm going to run.'” As he wraps up his time on the Denver school board, Anderson touted newly enacted board policies that make dyslexia screenings accessible for DPS students, as well as a 90% reduction in tickets and citations for students in the district, during his time on the board.Anderson said “We can't regress into an era where we're going back to criminalizing Black and brown children” If elected to the Colorado House, Anderson said he would prioritize four areas in his first legislative session: banning assault weapons, enshrining access to reproductive health care in the state Constitution, expanding protections for LGBTQ students, and increasing the state minimum wage. And your unsolicited concert pick of the week, Rebirth Brass Band! A New Orleans Institution since 1983 - Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers says “UNBELIEVABLE. HARD AS HELL, FREE AS A RAY OF LIGHT, THERE IS NOT A BAND ON EARTH THAT IS BETTER. STUNNING."Stunning and hardworking too, with Colorado shows tonight and the following 4 nights- Cleland Park in Delta, Ophelia's Electric Soapbox in Denver, Stoke in Salida, Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins, and finally the Durant Street VIP Tent in Aspen. Welp, that's it for me! From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Original reporting for the stories in today's show comes from Colorado Sun and Colorado Newsline.Thank you for listening! See you next time.

Magic Mushrooms are legal in Colorado! Here's what you need to know | $1.7MM Biden Administration grant will support expansion of in-home behavioral therapy across Colorado | Auon'tai Anderson and 4 other Democrats are running for Rep. Leslie Herod's CO House seat in District 8 | Rebirth Brass Band is playing 5 Colorado shows in the next 5 daysSong playsIntro by hostWelcome to High Country - politics in the American West. My name is Sean Diller; regular listeners might know me from Heartland Pod's Talking Politics, every Monday.Support this show and all the work in the Heartland POD universe by going to heartlandpod.com and clicking the link for Patreon, or go to Patreon.com/HeartlandPod to sign up. Membership starts at $1/month, with even more extra shows and special access at the higher levels. No matter the level you choose, your membership helps us create these independent shows as we work together to change the conversation.Alright! Let's get into it: COLORADO SUN:Colorado decriminalized psilocybin. Here's your guided trip through what happens next.What's the timeline? Is natural medicine right for you? Should you microdose? We answer these questions and more.Chryss Cada4:28 AM MDT on Jun 18, 2023Four moms gather around a Saturday morning breakfast table exchanging the obsessive anxieties that come from raising teenagers in today's society.  They share the usual concerns: Does their daughter have enough friends? Is their son being bullied at school? Are their child's frequent dark moods typical teenage emotions, or does their angst cross over into depression? As they talk, it becomes clear that the constant stress of worry for their teens is spiraling them down into anxiety and depressive disorders of their own. Right down to steaming mugs of coffee and plates of avocado toast, the scene is quintessential suburban life in the early 2020s. But this meeting of the moms will likely produce more answers, more insight and more empathy than most. Because the night before these moms consumed some natural medicine known for helping to see things in a new light, bringing clarity to stubborn, problematic patterns. These women, along with thousands of others across Colorado, have found psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) useful in bringing relief from the anxiety and depression so prevalent in today's society. Now, after Colorado voters approved Proposition 122 in November, they no longer have to risk state criminal penalties for their use of this indigenous medicine.The dramatic efficiency of mushrooms to ease mental health disorders that haven't been helped by traditional medicines and therapies isn't just anecdotal. Recent studies from respected institutions like Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have shown psilocybin is helpful in treating everything from alcohol dependence to major depressive disorder. However, those experienced with this medicine suggest that it be approached with intention, reverence and most importantly understanding.Under Proposition 122, The Natural Medicine Health Act, Coloradans 21 and older are allowed to possess and use psilocybin, the psychedelic fungi commonly known as “magic mushrooms.” In addition it proposes the eventual decriminalization of the substances dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, ibogaine and mescaline (excluding peyote). The law allows the state to immediately begin the process of the “medicalization” of psilocybin mushrooms by creating a framework for state-regulated “healing centers,” where people can receive medically guided psilocybin treatments. Although decriminalized in Colorado, psilocybin and the other medicines named in the Health Act remain illegal under federal law. “The measure is therapeutically oriented, so recreational and retail sales are not allowed,” explained Kevin Matthews, one of the authors of Proposition 122. “You can share these medicines with family and friends or in religious uses, but we didn't want this to become a for-profit industry.”A veteran, Matthews found relief from depression during a single psilocybin journey in 2011 and has since worked for increased access to psychedelics for the treatment of trauma. While at a legalization rally he saw a T-shirt slogan that summed up the idea behind The Natural Medicine Health Act in three words: “Healers, Not Dealers.”“We were very careful in the writing of the proposition to put forth a healing model,” he said. “We know that people will still use these medicines recreationally, as they were before this passed. It's not always a clear distinction: for some people taking mushrooms with friends and going to see a show at Red Rocks is therapeutic.”The proposition laid out the problem it was hoping to alleviate, reading in part:COLORADANS ARE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMATIC MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SUICIDALITY, ADDICTION, DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY. COLORADO'S CURRENT APPROACH TO MENTAL HEALTH HAS FAILED TO FULFILL ITS PROMISE. COLORADANS DESERVE MORE TOOLS TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, INCLUDING APPROACHES SUCH AS NATURAL MEDICINES THAT ARE GROUNDED IN TREATMENT, RECOVERY, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS RATHER THAN CRIMINALIZATION, STIGMA, SUFFERING, AND PUNISHMENT.  In November, 53% of Colorado voters agreed with that wording.  Denver attorney Sean McCallister's phone started ringing as soon as the votes were counted and hasn't really stopped since. Primarily working with those in the cannabis industry since the sale and recreational use of weed was legalized in 2012 in Colorado, McAllister is now a pioneer in the emerging field of psychedelics law. One of the most frequent questions he is asked by those outside the psychedelic community is, “When will mushrooms become legal?” His answer: They already have. “No, you don't have to wait for decriminalization provisions,” he said. “People can cultivate, possess and give away mushrooms, as well as share them and be paid for bonafide harm-reduction therapy and support services.” In an interesting twist, those without licensure will be the first to be able to legally offer natural medicine to clients. “Right now those who don't have a therapy license are able to work with these medicines because they are not bound by the rules of a regulatory agency,” McCallister said. “We are about two years away from the regulations being in place for doctors and therapists to be able to offer this medicine to their patients.” In the meantime, a movement of mushroom guides who have worked underground for years or even decades is starting to push into the daylight.In the first three months following passage of Proposition 122, McCallister wrote up more than a hundred disclaimers for guides to use with their clients. Alexandra Jenkins believes so deeply in the medicine's powers to process and release trauma that she was willing to put herself at risk of prosecution to guide medicine ceremonies underground for the past eight years. Now before the ceremonies she holds with one or two other facilitators she passes out a waiver that spells out what can happen when “sitting with the medicine.” The waiver explains that the effects of psilocybin mushrooms include altered perception of time and space and intense changes in mood and feeling. Other possible effects of psilocybin include everything from euphoria and peacefulness to confusion and frightening hallucinations. The effects of psilocybin vary from person to person, based on the user's mental state, personality and immediate environment. Those who have spent time with the medicine will tell you it's all these emotions and so many more, a roller coaster of a voyage through time and space that can fit what feels like a lifetime into four to six hours.“When this (Prop 122) passed I felt a release of stress I wasn't even aware I had been holding,” Jenkins said. “It feels like an open door to give more people access to this medicine.” She has seen the medicine ground previously malfunctioning nervous systems, help people connect to their higher selves, and in doing so feel more compassion toward themselves and others and tap into creativity and the interconnectedness of life. “There is this plant that grows in the ground, is free and helps us see ourselves and others differently,” Jenkins said. “It's cool to be able to believe in miracles.”The timelineIn addition to decriminalizing the four natural medicines, for mushrooms the new law is retroactive. McCallister had several pending cases that were dismissed as soon as Proposition 122 passed. Among them was the case of Ben Gorelick, a Denver rabbi who was facing prosecution after integrating psychedelic use as part of spiritual practice.When this (Prop 122) passed I felt a release of stress I wasn't even aware I had been holding.— Alexandra Jenkins, a guide“The dismissal of that case was especially meaningful because it highlighted the ways this medicine is used,” McCallister said. A representative of traditional and indigenous use and religious use of natural medicine was one of 15 appointees to the Natural Medicine Advisory Board announced earlier this year. The board, which will advise the Department of Regulatory Agencies on the implementation of the regulated natural medicine access program, also includes representatives from law enforcement, veterans, criminal justice reform, mycology, emergency medical services, health care policy, natural medicine and mental health providers.Colorado Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, is drafting a bill that would clarify who would be implementing Proposition 122. He is considering adding Department of Revenue or Department of Public Health and Environment involvement in the rollout of the program.   Proposition 122 says the state must issue rules for things like drug testing standards, license requirements, and health and safety warnings by Jan. 1, 2024, and the state must begin accepting applications for licensed facilities to administer psilocybin by Sept. 30, 2024.The law stipulates that decisions be made on all licensing applications within 60 days of receiving them.After June 1, 2026, the TNMHA board can decide on the medicalization of the additional substances, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline. This may include “healing centers,” like the ones being established for psilocybin, or some similar system with medical oversight for the use of these three substances.Is natural medicine right for you?For years, psychiatrist Craig Heacock has had patients come through his office he knew could benefit from psilocybin, but he was unable to recommend it because it was illegal.Heacock has been able to provide therapy utilizing ketamine, which works in the brain in ways similar to psilocybin. That said, different psychedelics seem to work better for different conditions. “Ketamine is best for endogenous conditions, such as bi-polar depression that has been present throughout the family history,” he said. These are conditions that are caused by factors inside the person's system.“I'm most excited about the use of psilocybin in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder,” he said. “There's been cases of people having remission from OCD for weeks or even months following a single dose of psilocybin.”OCD is one of many anxiety disorders that can develop in response to trauma. It is a coping mechanism your mind develops to try to control the possibility of something traumatic happening to you again. The amount of research on psilocybin has been limited by its legal status, leaving practitioners like Heacock eager to explore its possibilities.   “Psilocybin has a rich and broad palette,” he said. “It connects us with self in a way that can alleviate anxiety, depression and a lack of love.”His podcast, “Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories,” has been a pioneering voice in the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy. He and his guests often share their hopes that the healing power of psilocybin can help with society's big issues, such as the communal depression lingering from the COVID-19 pandemic. “With the pandemic we have a whole group of people who are left demoralized and spiritually wounded,” he said. “Psilocybin can help with the big things, like alleviating existential despair.”Although there isn't a strict definition, those in the natural medicine community consider a transformative dose  — one in which emotional breakthroughs are likely to occur — of mushrooms to be 3 grams or more.By disconnecting parts of the brain that form what we call our ego, psilocybin allows you to step back and look at your patterns from a different perspective. It puts you in the audience to watch your life play out on the stage and then whispers in your ear that you could do things a different way.  It allows you to not only rethink who you are, but also who you want to be. Jenkins has seen people shed deep-seated trauma through use of the medicine. “People might have something they've been holding for so long they may not even know it's there,” she said. “The medicine shows them that pain and then helps them process it so they can begin to let it go. There is a lot of strength, strength to change, that comes with the love and self-acceptance of this medicine.”Where do I start?Hearing of possible relief from anxiety, depression and even existential despair has Coloradans (and people from around the world) wondering how to get their hands on some mushrooms — and they don't want to wait.“We were prepared for an increase in interest in psilocybin if the proposition passed,” said Daniel McQueen of Boulder's Center for Medicinal Mindfulness. “But the sheer size of the wave of interest actually took me by surprise.”Although he doesn't want to be specific, given the amount of competition cropping up, McQueen said calls to the center from people interested in trying psilocybin-therapy have “at least doubled” since passage of the law. The center, one of the first legal psychedelic therapy clinics in North America, has led thousands of people through cannabis-assisted and ketamine-assisted psychedelic therapy sessions since its founding in 2014, as well as providing training for psychedelic “sitters,” (guides and psychedelic therapists). The training is done by a team of 15, including a medical doctor, nurse and nurse practitioner, four licensed psychotherapists, four pre-licensed psychotherapists, two ministers and two traditional psychedelic guides. People lay down on mats in a circle. A woman sits crossed legged at the top of the group with candles and a laptop with music.The Center for Medicinal Mindfulness & Psychedelic Sitters School. (Britt Nemeth, Contributed)“Because people are in a very vulnerable state while on a psychedelic journey it is very important that they work with a guide who is well-trained,” McQueen said. “A guide should have professional boundaries, the ability to handle a mental health or medical crisis and work in an environment with oversight and accountability.”Accountability is one of the reasons Heacock is looking forward to having mushroom guiding moving out of the dark and into the light.“On the black market it has been ‘buyer beware,'” he said. “There were no checks and balances, it's not like if someone had a bad experience with a guide they could post a bad review on Yelp.”In Heacock's view another advantage of legalization will be testing of the potency of the medicine. “Even if you take the same amount as you had previously, the strength of the medicine could be substantially different,” he said. “With legalization you will know what you are getting every time.”Jenkins, who classifies her work with psilocybin as “harm-reduction services,” stresses the importance of finding a guide who is experienced with the medicine.“I've always had the energy to be a holder of liminal space,” she said. “Being able to create a safe container for someone to have a psychedelic journey is crucial.”Jenkins has spent extensive time in that psychedelic space, including journeys with ayahuasca, referred to as the “grandmother” of all psychedelics. “You have to know what they will be experiencing by having experienced it yourself, it's not something you can learn from a book,” she said.Jenkins is also trained in a spectrum of holistic healing from yoga to breathwork to somatic experiencing. “All the things I trained in up to the point in my life led naturally to holding medicine space,” she said.Despite helping outline the suggested credentials for mushroom guides, Matthews, the Proposition 122 co-author, still puts the most weight in personal recommendations. “Ask people you know, love and respect if they know someone who would be a good match to guide you,” he said. “It's also important to get a facilitator who can relate to your personal experiences.“If you struggle with depression, find a facilitator who has also experienced depression and can have compassion for what you are going through.” An altar with the sculpture of a woman and child, crystals and a variety of other objects.A primary part of guidance at the Center for Medicinal Mindfulness is helping individuals explore their spirituality, said Daniel McQueen, founder of the Center. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)Plunging in The “come up” of a psilocybin trip takes about 15 minutes, slowly clicking you up that first big hill of a roller coaster. When the cable lets you go, the plunge down is a little different for everybody. Some people hold on for dear life, regretting their choice to get on the ride in the first place. Others put their hands up in the air and enjoy the ride. Some people alternate between the two.  Either way, there is usually a lot of noise when the medicine “kicks in.” In order to “hold the container,” and keep individuals in their own experience, guides will often request quiet in a group setting.Sometimes people find it impossible to not let out a squeal, a moan, a cry, a retching, a giggle or a choice expletive.  “This is an intense experience, sometimes someone gets too loud and there's the risk that they will compromise everyone in the group's experience,” Jenkins said. “An experienced guide can maintain the container through this by going to that person and helping them through.”  While one facilitator tends to the individual who is struggling by taking him or her to another room, the other facilitator sings to the remainder of the group, her voice soaring above the chaos. Trippers have a choice to go on the wings of the medicine to a peaceful supportive place and have their own experience. “Rather than saying it was a bad trip, I would say there are moments in every journey that are challenging,” said Matthews, who has found psychedelics helpful in processing trauma from earlier in his life. “Unresolved trauma comes to the surface, and you can witness with clarity how something that has been buried deeply is influencing the way you are in the world.”Psychiatrist Heacock agrees.“We don't learn when things are going well,” Heacock said of difficult ketamine sessions. “It's the hard sessions, when you feel like you can't stand another second, that can be the real game changers.”Single doseLicensed clinical social worker Michelle Landon, like many in healing professions, has faced her own struggles with mental health. She often tries healing modalities out herself before prescribing them to her clients.“A couple years ago I began hearing a lot about the science of psychedelics and how they can help people heal,” she said. “I wanted to help others with their trauma and disordered thinking patterns, but first I knew I needed to help myself.”People might have something they've been holding for so long they may not even know it's there. The medicine shows them that pain and then helps them process it so they can begin to let it go.— Alexandra Jenkins, a guideLandon, who has been a therapist in northern Colorado since 2004, found psychedelics helpful in coming to terms with the death of her father in 2021.“The last two weeks of my dad's life he started telling my sister he was going on a trip and wanted to say goodbye to everyone,” she said. “I was with him, watching him go in and out of this world.”Psychedelics lightened the impact and pain of the moment. “I mean sure it sucked, but it wasn't traumatic,” she said of her father's final days and the grief that followed his death. “There were moments of beauty and connection. I saw him through the lens of the medicine and he didn't look like he was suffering. He was ready to go.” Through ketamine-assisted therapy, Landon has brought similar relief to clients dealing with a range of mental health challenges from persistent depression to acute post-traumatic stress disorder.“Some people processing trauma find it so hard to shift things and let go with traditional therapy and prescriptions,” she said. “With psychedelics some people have direct access to knowing they are loved and are able to finally let go of their past trauma.”MicrodoseWhile a single-dose psilocybin journey can have profound, lasting effects, many people are beginning to take mushrooms as a daily medication — and a lot of those people, at least anecdotally, are moms. “People are discovering microdosing to be a good alternative to the pharmaceutical approach that is so prevalent in our culture,” Jenkins said. “It gives your serotonin a bit of a boost and puts you more in tune with yourself.  It can really help people with anxiety without a lot of side effects.” Microdosing mushrooms involves taking such small amounts of the medicine (roughly 0.05 to 0.25 grams) that a person doesn't feel the effects outright. People can take a microdose every day or work in days off to integrate the insights gained on days they do take the medicine.“When I've had a microdose I feel so much more confident in the choices I'm making for my family,” said one mom over post-trip avocado toast. “It's like the mushrooms are a little cheerleader in my head telling me I'm doing a great job.” Another mom had been on prescription antidepressants for a little more than a decade before recently switching to microdosing psilocybin to rein in the ruminating, spiraling, obsessive thoughts she has contended without throughout her life.  She wanted to find a more natural way to access what her brain needs.“It was rough going off them (antidepressants),” she recalls. “I was dizzy, nauseous, felt trapped and was really, really, really depressed. Then I started microdosing and it was like my whole brain lit up again.” Those who work with psychedelics caution that they aren't an instant cure, but rather one resource that has been helpful to many in their healing. “It (psilocybin) is a reminder that we hold the answers inside of ourselves,” Landon said.  “It gets the BS out of the way so you can see your true self and your true potential for happiness.”COLORADO NEWSLINE:A new family therapy program in Colorado will meet you wherever you are — even if that's Costco An in-home mental health program for kids that began in January has served 200 people in 20 Colorado counties and has plans to expandJennifer Brown4:00 AM MDT on Jun 15, 2023A 15-year-old boy is sitting cross-legged on his couch in red flannel pajama pants, his hair looking like he just rolled out of bed. Because he did just get out of bed, about three minutes ago. Now, he's sitting across from his therapist, who had to knock on the door for several minutes before the teenager's mom answered via Ring doorbell from the grocery store. “It's open,” she told Bobby Tyman, a family therapist and clinical program coordinator with Paragon Behavioral Health Connections. It's not the first time Tyman has had to rouse the boy from sleep for his 10 a.m. therapy appointment.This is what in-home mental health treatment for adolescents looks like. The teenager, who recently stole and crashed his mother's car and has been using drugs to cope with depression, is groggy and shy, but tells Tyman that he applied for three summer jobs and is choosing a new high school for the fall. The new in-home therapy program, which has served 200 kids and their parents since it began in January, is an extension of the Colorado Boys Ranch. The ranch opened in 1959 as an orphanage in La Junta, then closed its residential program about a decade ago. But its foundation — Colorado Boys Ranch Youth Connect — has continued, pouring its resources into behavioral health care for kids in their homes. The evolution of the program is a reflection of what's changed in the child welfare system in the past decade — Colorado is sending fewer kids to institutions in favor of homes, and has increased efforts to provide in-home mental health care to cut down on the number of children removed from their homes and placed in foster care in the first place. Several youth treatment centers, including Tennyson Center for Children in Denver, have shifted in recent years from residential care to day treatment and in-home therapy.Some of the children are referred by the juvenile justice system as part of pretrial rehabilitation programs, and by the Medicaid program. Parents can also call for help directly, without a referral from a government program. A staff of 40 works in 20 counties, including the entire Denver metro area and throughout the entire state. Camille Harding, Paragon's CEO says “The point is to help kids and teens get better on their terms, as well as to provide a step-down program for adolescents who have visited a hospital emergency room in crisis or been admitted on a mental health hold. The program aims to schedule the first appointment within 24 hours of receiving a call for help.”Kids who are “trying to have their own personality and a say in who they are” can accomplish that better at home, not in an unfamiliar office with a therapist staring at them.“Having it on their own terms is so much more empowering. You get to decide what we do. We can go for a walk. We can go to the park down the street. Developmentally, it just makes more sense.” Some kids in the program have such intense needs that someone from Paragon is in their home 10 hours a week. A therapist helps work on their mental health. A care manager can help enroll in school, sign up for a GED program, or help the family find housing or food assistance. A specialist can teach interventions specifically for kids who have intellectual disabilities along with behavioral health issues. The team approach means kids get better help and staff are less likely to burn out. The program's technology is unique, too. Paragon is installing geo locations on its staff, many of whom are social workers or case managers with bachelor's degrees, and can send reinforcements quickly. That means that if a teenager is threatening suicide or having a violent outburst, a more experienced counselor can assist in person or virtually.A $1.7 million grant, part of Colorado's federal pandemic relief aid, is helping the program build the technology and hire a psychiatrist. Therapy beside someone's bed or in a Costco aisleTyman prefers standing on a client's doorstep to sitting in an office waiting for a client who doesn't show up. He's done therapy on the floor next to someone's bed because the person was too depressed to get up. And one mom is so overwhelmed by her life that the only time she finds for therapy with Tyman is when she's at the park with her kids or walking through Costco. Tyman tells her she can say he's a neighbor or a friend if they run into someone she knows. “It's OK if we start 15 minutes late because you had to get up and make coffee and put on clothes, or whatever it is you had to do to deal,” he said. “If your mental capacity isn't super high, and you're not functioning well, and you're not getting out of bed on time, and you're not able to manage your appointments, you're never going to make it to therapy.COLORADO NEWSLINE:Auon'tai Anderson, vice president of the Denver Public Schools board of education, announced he will end his run for reelection to instead go for a seat in the Colorado Legislature. Anderson, a Democrat who has been vocal against police in schools, announced his campaign to replace Democratic Rep. Leslie Herod in House District 8. As of Monday, five candidates have filed with the secretary of state's office looking to take the District 8 seat, including Anderson, Victor Bencomo, Christi Devoe, Lindsay Gilchrist and Sharron Pettiford. All candidates so far are Democrats. Gilchrist filed her candidacy the same day as Anderson. Anderson told Colorado Newsline his decision was influenced by the recent shootings at East High School in Denver, when a student asked Anderson what he was going to do about gun reform.“We need Democrats that are going to be Democrats 24/7, not Democrats when it's convenient,” Anderson said. “I feel like we've had some very convenient Democrats in the Legislature when it comes to these heavy issues like rent control, or our assault weapons ban that was killed by Dems. So, for me, this was an opportunity to stand up and say ‘I'm going to run.'” As he wraps up his time on the Denver school board, Anderson touted newly enacted board policies that make dyslexia screenings accessible for DPS students, as well as a 90% reduction in tickets and citations for students in the district, during his time on the board.Anderson said “We can't regress into an era where we're going back to criminalizing Black and brown children” If elected to the Colorado House, Anderson said he would prioritize four areas in his first legislative session: banning assault weapons, enshrining access to reproductive health care in the state Constitution, expanding protections for LGBTQ students, and increasing the state minimum wage. And your unsolicited concert pick of the week, Rebirth Brass Band! A New Orleans Institution since 1983 - Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers says “UNBELIEVABLE. HARD AS HELL, FREE AS A RAY OF LIGHT, THERE IS NOT A BAND ON EARTH THAT IS BETTER. STUNNING."Stunning and hardworking too, with Colorado shows tonight and the following 4 nights- Cleland Park in Delta, Ophelia's Electric Soapbox in Denver, Stoke in Salida, Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins, and finally the Durant Street VIP Tent in Aspen. Welp, that's it for me! From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Original reporting for the stories in today's show comes from Colorado Sun and Colorado Newsline.Thank you for listening! See you next time.

PACs supporting Mike Johnston spend big in final sprint of Denver mayoral election | Susana Cordova will be Colorado's next Education Commissioner | New Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams is off to a rocky start | Kari Lake is running for Senate in Arizona | Ringo Starr on tour in Western U.S.  Song playsIntro by hostWelcome to High Country - politics in the American West. My name is Sean Diller; regular listeners might know me from Heartland Pod's Talking Politics, every Monday.Support this show and all the work in the Heartland POD universe by going to heartlandpod.com and clicking the link for Patreon, or go to Patreon.com/HeartlandPod to sign up.  Membership starts at $1/month, with even more extra shows and special access at the higher levels.  No matter the level you choose, your membership helps us create these independent shows as we work together to change the conversation.Alright! Let's get into it:  COLORADO NEWSLINE: Denver mayoral candidates Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough sprint to the finish lineBY: CHASE WOODRUFF - MAY 30, 2023 4:00 AM       Left: Denver mayor candidate Kelly Brough receives the endorsement of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance at an event on May 12, 2023. Right: Brough's runoff opponent, former state Sen. Mike Johnston, receives the endorsement of progressive former mayoral candidates and Democratic state lawmakers in Civic Center Park on May 10, 2023. (Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)A half-million dollar contribution from former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg was part of a flood of large donations that has helped former state Sen. Mike Johnston open up a 2-to-1 fundraising lead over opponent Kelly Brough as the Denver mayor's race enters its final week.Advancing Denver, an independent expenditure committee supporting Johnston's run, raised more than $4 million through May 22.  The pro-Johnston super PAC has relied on many of the same out-of-state billionaire donors who boosted Johnston's gubernatorial bid in 2018, including Bloomberg, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and hedge fund managers Steve Mandel and John Arnold. Kent Thiry, the former CEO of Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita, is the group's largest local donor, while venture capitalist Art Reimers and private equity CEO Eric Resnick have also chipped in with six-figure contributions.About three-quarters of Advancing Denver's haul has been spent on TV advertising in support of Johnston, with the remainder spent on digital ads and mail.Johnston and Brough had raised roughly equal amounts in direct contributions through the end of April, reporting total receipts of $932,060 and $895,612, for their campaign committees, respectively.  A Better Denver, the independent expenditure committee supporting Brough, has struggled to raise large sums since the April 4 first-round election, adding just $211,650 to the $1 million it had previously raised in February and March.To date, the group's top donor during the runoff is Pete Coors, former Republican nominee for U.S. Senate and prolific donor to conservative causes. Coors gave $50,000 to A Better Denver on April 24. Other top donors to the pro-Brough PAC have included real estate interests like the National Association of Realtors, Colorado Construction Industry Coalition and developer Lloyd Fulenwider.The Apartment Association of Metro Denver, a landlord group, has made contributions to both candidates. After giving $25,000 to Brough in February, the group followed up with another $10,000 contribution to Brough in late April, and a $10,000 contribution to Johnston a week later.Ballots for the city's runoff election were mailed earlier this month. Voters can return their ballot to a 24-hour drop box or vote in person until 7 p.m. on June 6.COLORADO SUN:Susana Cordova, former superintendent of Denver schools, will be Colorado's next education commissionerErica Breunlin and Jesse Paul9:13 AM MDT on May 30, 2023Denver Public Schools superintendent Susana Cordova at DPS headquarters on April 3, 2020. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post via The Associated Press)The state's Board of Education on Monday named Susana Cordova as the sole finalist among 23 applicants after a unanimous vote. Her appointment is expected to be formalized when the board next meets.State Board Chairwoman Rebecca McClellan told The Colorado Sun “We really appreciated her sharp focus on results for students and outcomes for students with an eye toward equity,”  “She's not only talked the talk, she's proven that she's capable of achieving gains for students.”Cordova will take over the position from Katy Anthes, who is stepping down from the role in July after serving as commissioner since December 2016.Cordova began her career as a bilingual language arts teacher and has since worked in education for more than 30 years, including as a teacher, principal, district leader and currently as a superintendent in residence for Transcend, a national nonprofit focused on helping schools make classrooms more equitable for all students.Cordova was also previously a deputy superintendent for the Dallas TX Independent School District.Cordova has also taught as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver's School of Education and now serves on the university's board of trustees.  Cordova will begin steering the state education department at a particularly consequential time for Colorado schools, as districts continue to help students recover from lost time and learning during the pandemic and as many communities struggle to recruit and retain educators and manage declining student enrollment.Susana Cordova, then superintendent of Denver Public Schools, looks on as students work on laptops in a classroom in Newlon Elementary School early Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. The school was one of 55 Discovery Link sites set up by Denver Public Schools where students could participate in remote learning during the pandemic. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Special to The Colorado Sun)Cordova will begin her tenure just as a state task force is considering changes to how Colorado evaluates its schools, which could potentially affect how much funding schools receive.Gov. Jared Polis celebrated Cordova's selection in a written statement Tuesday, saying   “Her prior work boosting academic progress and improving access to high-quality education for learners of all backgrounds as superintendent of Denver Public Schools is sure to benefit students across the state as she brings this passion and experience to this new role,” said Polis, a Democrat. “I look forward to working with Susana as a member of my cabinet as we continue to carry forward our bold education priorities.”   COLORADO SUN:Colorado GOP paid no staff in April while fundraising lags under new Chairman Dave WilliamsSandra Fish4:20 AM MDT on May 24, 2023Dave Williams speaks during a Republican state central meeting on March 11, 2023, in Loveland where elections for a chairman, vice chairman and secretary of the Colorado GOP were conducted. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)If the Colorado Republican Party had employees in April, they didn't get paid.  It's the first time in at least 20 years the party didn't pay any employees.And the party's bank accounts have less money than the $120,540 a recent filing said the party had on hand, the GOP acknowledged in an addendum filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission.  The Colorado GOP raised only about $58,000 in the first four months of the year, including less than $15,000 in April. The party spent more than $15,000 last month, with $9,100 going to health and dental benefits. It's unclear if anyone is working for the party; no staff is listed on its website.The lack of a payroll for a state party in Colorado is unusual.“There have been other cycles where the party pays only one or two salaries in the off year,” said Kristi Burton Brown, who chaired the party during the last election cycle. “If they want to run it all-volunteer, they certainly can.”The party raised only a little more than $18,000 in the first two months of the year, before Williams was elected chairman.  From January through April, Colorado's GOP spent more than $263,000. That compares with $539,000 spent in the first four months of 2021, another nonelection year when five people were paid for their work in April. Of this year's spending, $73,000 went to Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck for legal services.  “Anybody who gets elected state chair should probably prioritize raising money,” said Dick Wadhams, who ran the state party from 2007 to 2011 and has been critical of Williams. “You can't run an operation without money.”The state Democratic Party raised nearly $92,000 in April, and spent nearly $211,000, including about $26,000 on payroll for a half-dozen employees. That left the party with nearly $196,000 in cash at the end of April.The Democratic Party raised more than $419,000 in the first four months of the year, while spending about $454,000. The party's state-level account had nearly $32,000 at the end of March.And the Colorado GOP has trailed Democrats in political spending in the state in recent years.Campaign accounts or PACS for several of the state's top elected Democrats have donated to the federal party account this year including U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper; U.S. Reps. Diana Degette, of Denver, Yadira Caraveo, of Thornton, Jason Crow, of Centennial, and Joe Neguse, of Lafayette; Gov. Jared Polis; Treasurer Dave Young; and others. Hickenlooper also sent two emails recently asking people to donate to the state party.The Colorado GOP received $12,500 from the terminated 8th Congressional District campaign of state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, of Brighton, in early March. It's the only money the party has received from Republican officeholders or candidates this year.Tagged:Colorado Democratic Party, Colorado Republican Party, Dave WilliamsABC NEWS:Arizona set for unpredictable Senate raceByTal AxelrodMay 23, 2023, 3:06 AM Democrats and Republicans can at least agree on one thing: They have no idea what's going to happen in next year's Arizona Senate race.The election is shaping up to be an unpredictable three-way contest in one of the nation's premier battlegrounds featuring an incumbent who left her party (Sen. Kyrsten Sinema), a polarizing conservative who remains a rock star with her base (Kari Lake), and a Democratic nominee-in-waiting who would represent a shift to the left for the historically moderate-minded state (Rep. Ruben Gallego).Sen. Sinema first set the stage when she switched from being a Democrat to an independent late last year. While she called that choice a "reflection of who [she's] always been," the switch also prevented a primary fight with Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego -- and paved the way for something more unusual.State data shows just under 35% of Arizona voters are registered Republicans and 30% are registered Democrats, while 35% aren't registered with either party.If Sinema retires, the race to succeed her could feature Gallego, a Marine Corps vet and former House colleague of Sinema's who has become vocally critical of her, and Republican Kari Lake, a former TV anchor, election denier and 2022 Arizona gubernatorial candidate.Both Gallego and Lake are more associated with their parties' ideological flanks than the centrists who have historically won statewide.state GOP strategist Lorna Romero said "It's gonna be like nothing we've ever seen before in Arizona. I think what's going to make it nasty is obviously Ruben and Kyrsten don't get along personally. And depending on who the Republican is, if you get a firebrand like a Kari Lake again, we've seen how she's operated before, that's going to take it to another level."Nineteen operatives from both parties who spoke with ABC News for this story mostly thought that Sinema would run again, pointing to her ongoing fundraising and continued involvement in high-profile legislative pushes like on immigration.Senator Kyrsten Sinema questions witnesses during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in the wake of recent of bank failures, on Capitol Hill, May 18, 2023. Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersSinema, who previously served in the House for three terms, quickly thrust herself into the heart of several of the chamber's most significant and successful legislative efforts, including on infrastructure, same-sex marriage, guns and more.Her style of legislating has generated mixed reviews, with supporters pointing to her scorecard and liberal detractors saying she has been overly eager to water down Democratic priorities, including raising the minimum wage, supporting prescription drug pricing reform and scrapping the Senate filibuster as a way to codify abortion rights.Cesar Chavez, a former Democratic state lawmaker said "Overall, I think the state of Arizona is content with the work that Sen. Sinema done. The issues that Sen. Sinema has advocated for will definitely result in a positive tick in her numbers."Steve Slugocki, a senior adviser to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a former chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party had the opposite view. He said, "I cannot stress enough how deeply unpopular she is. I traveled the state everywhere last year. The first question was always, 'What are we going to do about Sinema? How can we replace her?'"Sen. Kyrsten Sinema arrives at the Capitol, May 9, 2023. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego speaks at a CHC event. Getty ImagesAll of this will play out in the larger context of the battle for the Senate, with the Democratic caucus holding a slim 51-49 majority, but defending 23 seats in 2024, making operatives eager to avoid a spoiler candidate, but without any agreement on who that would be.A former aide to Sen. Sinema said "She has shown she knows what it takes to win in Arizona. I look at these other candidates, and I do not see proven winners. "So yeah, as a Democrat, I'm nervous because I want to keep Kari Lake out of the Senate.""If she's in the race as an independent, Ruben's already at a disadvantage as a Democrat just because of the lower registration numbers that we have," said one former state lawmaker who is supporting Gallego. "So, it comes down to how many votes is Sen. Sinema going to take? Even if it is a very small percentage, any small percentage at all could tip this."To be sure, Democrats aren't the only ones wringing their hands.Republican strategists told ABC News that a three-way race with a Democrat and an independent with a Democratic background would normally be a boon to the GOP candidate. But failed 2022 candidate Kari Lake is looming in the wings and is coming off a narrow loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs, which many observers attributed to her embrace of baseless claims of 2020 election fraud.A source familiar with Lake's thinking told ABC News they're confident she'll run for the Senate, likely launching a campaign in the fall. This person also confirmed that Lake recently met with several senators, including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines of Montana, and that with her broad name recognition and support from conservative voters, she would enter the race as the overwhelming primary favorite.GOP strategist Lorna Romero said "[T]he Sinema breakup from the Democratic Party looks good for Republicans on paper, theoretically. But I think that the big heartburn is what's going to happen out of a Republican primary, and are we just going to do the same ridiculous mistakes over and over again, and Democrats are just going to continue to win in the state,"Still, virtually every person who spoke to ABC News added the caveat that their analyses could end up being off given the unpredictable nature of a potential race with the incumbent running as the third-party candidate."We've never seen anything like that in Arizona," one Democratic strategist said. "I just think trying to predict anything right now, you might as well shake a Magic 8 Ball and see what it tells you." CONCERT PICK OF THE WEEK: Sir Richard Starkey MBE, otherwise known as Ringo Starr!! Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band are on a Western U.S. tour with shows this week in San Diego, Eugene and Bend OR, and next week playing Denver's Bellco Theatre and the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs. Tickets and information at ringostarr.comWelp, that's it for me! From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Original reporting for the stories in today's show comes from Colorado Newsline, Colorado Sun, ABC News, Arizona Mirror, and Denver's Westword.Thank you for listening! See you next time.  

PACs supporting Mike Johnston spend big in final sprint of Denver mayoral election | Susana Cordova will be Colorado's next Education Commissioner | New Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams is off to a rocky start | Kari Lake is running for Senate in Arizona | Ringo Starr on tour in Western U.S.  Song playsIntro by hostWelcome to High Country - politics in the American West. My name is Sean Diller; regular listeners might know me from Heartland Pod's Talking Politics, every Monday.Support this show and all the work in the Heartland POD universe by going to heartlandpod.com and clicking the link for Patreon, or go to Patreon.com/HeartlandPod to sign up.  Membership starts at $1/month, with even more extra shows and special access at the higher levels.  No matter the level you choose, your membership helps us create these independent shows as we work together to change the conversation.Alright! Let's get into it:  COLORADO NEWSLINE: Denver mayoral candidates Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough sprint to the finish lineBY: CHASE WOODRUFF - MAY 30, 2023 4:00 AM       Left: Denver mayor candidate Kelly Brough receives the endorsement of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance at an event on May 12, 2023. Right: Brough's runoff opponent, former state Sen. Mike Johnston, receives the endorsement of progressive former mayoral candidates and Democratic state lawmakers in Civic Center Park on May 10, 2023. (Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)A half-million dollar contribution from former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg was part of a flood of large donations that has helped former state Sen. Mike Johnston open up a 2-to-1 fundraising lead over opponent Kelly Brough as the Denver mayor's race enters its final week.Advancing Denver, an independent expenditure committee supporting Johnston's run, raised more than $4 million through May 22.  The pro-Johnston super PAC has relied on many of the same out-of-state billionaire donors who boosted Johnston's gubernatorial bid in 2018, including Bloomberg, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and hedge fund managers Steve Mandel and John Arnold. Kent Thiry, the former CEO of Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita, is the group's largest local donor, while venture capitalist Art Reimers and private equity CEO Eric Resnick have also chipped in with six-figure contributions.About three-quarters of Advancing Denver's haul has been spent on TV advertising in support of Johnston, with the remainder spent on digital ads and mail.Johnston and Brough had raised roughly equal amounts in direct contributions through the end of April, reporting total receipts of $932,060 and $895,612, for their campaign committees, respectively.  A Better Denver, the independent expenditure committee supporting Brough, has struggled to raise large sums since the April 4 first-round election, adding just $211,650 to the $1 million it had previously raised in February and March.To date, the group's top donor during the runoff is Pete Coors, former Republican nominee for U.S. Senate and prolific donor to conservative causes. Coors gave $50,000 to A Better Denver on April 24. Other top donors to the pro-Brough PAC have included real estate interests like the National Association of Realtors, Colorado Construction Industry Coalition and developer Lloyd Fulenwider.The Apartment Association of Metro Denver, a landlord group, has made contributions to both candidates. After giving $25,000 to Brough in February, the group followed up with another $10,000 contribution to Brough in late April, and a $10,000 contribution to Johnston a week later.Ballots for the city's runoff election were mailed earlier this month. Voters can return their ballot to a 24-hour drop box or vote in person until 7 p.m. on June 6.COLORADO SUN:Susana Cordova, former superintendent of Denver schools, will be Colorado's next education commissionerErica Breunlin and Jesse Paul9:13 AM MDT on May 30, 2023Denver Public Schools superintendent Susana Cordova at DPS headquarters on April 3, 2020. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post via The Associated Press)The state's Board of Education on Monday named Susana Cordova as the sole finalist among 23 applicants after a unanimous vote. Her appointment is expected to be formalized when the board next meets.State Board Chairwoman Rebecca McClellan told The Colorado Sun “We really appreciated her sharp focus on results for students and outcomes for students with an eye toward equity,”  “She's not only talked the talk, she's proven that she's capable of achieving gains for students.”Cordova will take over the position from Katy Anthes, who is stepping down from the role in July after serving as commissioner since December 2016.Cordova began her career as a bilingual language arts teacher and has since worked in education for more than 30 years, including as a teacher, principal, district leader and currently as a superintendent in residence for Transcend, a national nonprofit focused on helping schools make classrooms more equitable for all students.Cordova was also previously a deputy superintendent for the Dallas TX Independent School District.Cordova has also taught as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Denver's School of Education and now serves on the university's board of trustees.  Cordova will begin steering the state education department at a particularly consequential time for Colorado schools, as districts continue to help students recover from lost time and learning during the pandemic and as many communities struggle to recruit and retain educators and manage declining student enrollment.Susana Cordova, then superintendent of Denver Public Schools, looks on as students work on laptops in a classroom in Newlon Elementary School early Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. The school was one of 55 Discovery Link sites set up by Denver Public Schools where students could participate in remote learning during the pandemic. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Special to The Colorado Sun)Cordova will begin her tenure just as a state task force is considering changes to how Colorado evaluates its schools, which could potentially affect how much funding schools receive.Gov. Jared Polis celebrated Cordova's selection in a written statement Tuesday, saying   “Her prior work boosting academic progress and improving access to high-quality education for learners of all backgrounds as superintendent of Denver Public Schools is sure to benefit students across the state as she brings this passion and experience to this new role,” said Polis, a Democrat. “I look forward to working with Susana as a member of my cabinet as we continue to carry forward our bold education priorities.”   COLORADO SUN:Colorado GOP paid no staff in April while fundraising lags under new Chairman Dave WilliamsSandra Fish4:20 AM MDT on May 24, 2023Dave Williams speaks during a Republican state central meeting on March 11, 2023, in Loveland where elections for a chairman, vice chairman and secretary of the Colorado GOP were conducted. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)If the Colorado Republican Party had employees in April, they didn't get paid.  It's the first time in at least 20 years the party didn't pay any employees.And the party's bank accounts have less money than the $120,540 a recent filing said the party had on hand, the GOP acknowledged in an addendum filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission.  The Colorado GOP raised only about $58,000 in the first four months of the year, including less than $15,000 in April. The party spent more than $15,000 last month, with $9,100 going to health and dental benefits. It's unclear if anyone is working for the party; no staff is listed on its website.The lack of a payroll for a state party in Colorado is unusual.“There have been other cycles where the party pays only one or two salaries in the off year,” said Kristi Burton Brown, who chaired the party during the last election cycle. “If they want to run it all-volunteer, they certainly can.”The party raised only a little more than $18,000 in the first two months of the year, before Williams was elected chairman.  From January through April, Colorado's GOP spent more than $263,000. That compares with $539,000 spent in the first four months of 2021, another nonelection year when five people were paid for their work in April. Of this year's spending, $73,000 went to Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck for legal services.  “Anybody who gets elected state chair should probably prioritize raising money,” said Dick Wadhams, who ran the state party from 2007 to 2011 and has been critical of Williams. “You can't run an operation without money.”The state Democratic Party raised nearly $92,000 in April, and spent nearly $211,000, including about $26,000 on payroll for a half-dozen employees. That left the party with nearly $196,000 in cash at the end of April.The Democratic Party raised more than $419,000 in the first four months of the year, while spending about $454,000. The party's state-level account had nearly $32,000 at the end of March.And the Colorado GOP has trailed Democrats in political spending in the state in recent years.Campaign accounts or PACS for several of the state's top elected Democrats have donated to the federal party account this year including U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper; U.S. Reps. Diana Degette, of Denver, Yadira Caraveo, of Thornton, Jason Crow, of Centennial, and Joe Neguse, of Lafayette; Gov. Jared Polis; Treasurer Dave Young; and others. Hickenlooper also sent two emails recently asking people to donate to the state party.The Colorado GOP received $12,500 from the terminated 8th Congressional District campaign of state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, of Brighton, in early March. It's the only money the party has received from Republican officeholders or candidates this year.Tagged:Colorado Democratic Party, Colorado Republican Party, Dave WilliamsABC NEWS:Arizona set for unpredictable Senate raceByTal AxelrodMay 23, 2023, 3:06 AM Democrats and Republicans can at least agree on one thing: They have no idea what's going to happen in next year's Arizona Senate race.The election is shaping up to be an unpredictable three-way contest in one of the nation's premier battlegrounds featuring an incumbent who left her party (Sen. Kyrsten Sinema), a polarizing conservative who remains a rock star with her base (Kari Lake), and a Democratic nominee-in-waiting who would represent a shift to the left for the historically moderate-minded state (Rep. Ruben Gallego).Sen. Sinema first set the stage when she switched from being a Democrat to an independent late last year. While she called that choice a "reflection of who [she's] always been," the switch also prevented a primary fight with Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego -- and paved the way for something more unusual.State data shows just under 35% of Arizona voters are registered Republicans and 30% are registered Democrats, while 35% aren't registered with either party.If Sinema retires, the race to succeed her could feature Gallego, a Marine Corps vet and former House colleague of Sinema's who has become vocally critical of her, and Republican Kari Lake, a former TV anchor, election denier and 2022 Arizona gubernatorial candidate.Both Gallego and Lake are more associated with their parties' ideological flanks than the centrists who have historically won statewide.state GOP strategist Lorna Romero said "It's gonna be like nothing we've ever seen before in Arizona. I think what's going to make it nasty is obviously Ruben and Kyrsten don't get along personally. And depending on who the Republican is, if you get a firebrand like a Kari Lake again, we've seen how she's operated before, that's going to take it to another level."Nineteen operatives from both parties who spoke with ABC News for this story mostly thought that Sinema would run again, pointing to her ongoing fundraising and continued involvement in high-profile legislative pushes like on immigration.Senator Kyrsten Sinema questions witnesses during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in the wake of recent of bank failures, on Capitol Hill, May 18, 2023. Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersSinema, who previously served in the House for three terms, quickly thrust herself into the heart of several of the chamber's most significant and successful legislative efforts, including on infrastructure, same-sex marriage, guns and more.Her style of legislating has generated mixed reviews, with supporters pointing to her scorecard and liberal detractors saying she has been overly eager to water down Democratic priorities, including raising the minimum wage, supporting prescription drug pricing reform and scrapping the Senate filibuster as a way to codify abortion rights.Cesar Chavez, a former Democratic state lawmaker said "Overall, I think the state of Arizona is content with the work that Sen. Sinema done. The issues that Sen. Sinema has advocated for will definitely result in a positive tick in her numbers."Steve Slugocki, a senior adviser to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a former chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party had the opposite view. He said, "I cannot stress enough how deeply unpopular she is. I traveled the state everywhere last year. The first question was always, 'What are we going to do about Sinema? How can we replace her?'"Sen. Kyrsten Sinema arrives at the Capitol, May 9, 2023. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego speaks at a CHC event. Getty ImagesAll of this will play out in the larger context of the battle for the Senate, with the Democratic caucus holding a slim 51-49 majority, but defending 23 seats in 2024, making operatives eager to avoid a spoiler candidate, but without any agreement on who that would be.A former aide to Sen. Sinema said "She has shown she knows what it takes to win in Arizona. I look at these other candidates, and I do not see proven winners. "So yeah, as a Democrat, I'm nervous because I want to keep Kari Lake out of the Senate.""If she's in the race as an independent, Ruben's already at a disadvantage as a Democrat just because of the lower registration numbers that we have," said one former state lawmaker who is supporting Gallego. "So, it comes down to how many votes is Sen. Sinema going to take? Even if it is a very small percentage, any small percentage at all could tip this."To be sure, Democrats aren't the only ones wringing their hands.Republican strategists told ABC News that a three-way race with a Democrat and an independent with a Democratic background would normally be a boon to the GOP candidate. But failed 2022 candidate Kari Lake is looming in the wings and is coming off a narrow loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs, which many observers attributed to her embrace of baseless claims of 2020 election fraud.A source familiar with Lake's thinking told ABC News they're confident she'll run for the Senate, likely launching a campaign in the fall. This person also confirmed that Lake recently met with several senators, including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines of Montana, and that with her broad name recognition and support from conservative voters, she would enter the race as the overwhelming primary favorite.GOP strategist Lorna Romero said "[T]he Sinema breakup from the Democratic Party looks good for Republicans on paper, theoretically. But I think that the big heartburn is what's going to happen out of a Republican primary, and are we just going to do the same ridiculous mistakes over and over again, and Democrats are just going to continue to win in the state,"Still, virtually every person who spoke to ABC News added the caveat that their analyses could end up being off given the unpredictable nature of a potential race with the incumbent running as the third-party candidate."We've never seen anything like that in Arizona," one Democratic strategist said. "I just think trying to predict anything right now, you might as well shake a Magic 8 Ball and see what it tells you." CONCERT PICK OF THE WEEK: Sir Richard Starkey MBE, otherwise known as Ringo Starr!! Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band are on a Western U.S. tour with shows this week in San Diego, Eugene and Bend OR, and next week playing Denver's Bellco Theatre and the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs. Tickets and information at ringostarr.comWelp, that's it for me! From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Original reporting for the stories in today's show comes from Colorado Newsline, Colorado Sun, ABC News, Arizona Mirror, and Denver's Westword.Thank you for listening! See you next time.  

Mother's Day is just around the corner — have you made plans with your mother yet?! This holiday often centers on going out for a nice brunch but in this town, getting reservations can feel nearly impossible. You still have a few days to plan that big bash for mom this Sunday, and the City Cast Denver crew is here to help. We've rounded up some of our most favorite brunch spots across the city, from old favorites to innovative ideas for redefining your typical weekend meal spot.  This conversation originally aired on December 11, 2022. Make a day out of it and take your mom to one of our favorite local garden shops! Bree mentioned the Denver Public Schools board's consultant costs.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866 Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenver Or instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬ Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: The North Face Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet talks to Kate and Mark about how being superintendent of Denver Public Schools stoked his interest in food rights, what inspires him and why we should feel hopeful, his newfound interest in cooking, and why cast iron reigns supreme.View this episode's recipe and show notes here: https://www.bittmanproject.com/p/food-with-mark-bittman-senator-michael-bennetSubscribe to Food with Mark Bittman on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and please help us grow by leaving us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts.Follow Mark on Twitter at @bittman, and on Facebook and Instagram at @markbittman. Subscribe to Mark's newsletter The Bittman Project at www.bittmanproject.com.Questions or comments about the show? Email food@markbittman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MAYOR MICHAEL HANCOCK JOINS ME AT 1 And we're going to do two things. First, we're going to get the bottom of the Denver Public Schools kerfuffle where it seems the Superintendent, who couldn't be bothered to show up at a meeting with the City Council yesterday, said that the Mayor's office threatened to issue an Executive Order about School Resource Officers. The Mayor says that didn't happen. Then we're going to do a retrospective of the Mayor's time in office. It's going to be a good one!

It's Tuesday and we're talking about the big stories around Denver this week, especially what's happening with Denver Public Schools. On Wednesday, a high school student was forcibly removed from the House gallery in the Capitol, which comes on the heels of the protests and concerns about gun violence in schools in light of the recent shootings. Meanwhile, more drama for the DPS school board: Former Tattered Cover CEO and mayoral candidate Kwame Spearman announced a possible November bid for the at-large seat on the board — a seat that's currently held by Auon'tai Anderson, who is himself potentially facing another censure. Farther afield, mountain pie slinger Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs turns 50 and will be transitioning to an employee ownership model. Host Bree Davies and producer Erin O'Toole are here to break all of this down, plus talk about the latest Casa Bonita news, including this trip down memory lane.  Check out the Denver Post article we mentioned, which dives into the expulsion rates at DPS and how that fits into the school safety conversation. Listen to our interview with Melanie Asmar last year, where she walked us through the school board drama. And in case you missed it, here's our 2021 interview with new Casa Bonita chef Dana Rodriguez. If you're interested in running the Colfax Marathon in May, you can register here (prices go up Thursday). Want to volunteer and get one of those limited-edition Casa Bonita shirts? You can find out more about volunteering and sign up here. It's not too late to get tickets for Mortified Live on April 13! Find out more and grab your ticket here. For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866 Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenver Or Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬ Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two administrators were shot at a school while patting down a student b/c Denver Public Schools defunded their SRO program.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the wake of Brown v. Board of Education, Denver Public Schools created a de facto segregation that was so bad, a group of Park Hill parents sued and their case went all the way to the Supreme Court. That landmark decision in 1973 led to decades of busing, white flight, and now “school choice,” prompting many parents and activists to ask, has DPS become de facto segregated again? To mark the 50th anniversary of Keyes v. School District No. 1, Chalkbeat reporter Melanie Asmar worked with Historic Denver on a new project uncovering the half-century fight to desegregate Denver schools, the challenges that remain today, and the story of one school that's been at the center of it all: Park Hill's Stedman Elementary.  Parents, don't forget! Round one of Denver Public Schools' choice process ends on Tuesday, February 14.  Rachel B. Noel and educator Debbi Blair talk about the Noel Resolution in this clip from the Higher Education Diversity Summit. For more on busing, check out this 2019 piece featuring locals recalling their own busing experiences.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866 Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenver Or instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬ Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices