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More than 30 Colorado congregations to leave United Methodist Church in rift over gay marriage, clergy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

A division over whether the United Methodist Church should allow gay clergy and sanction same-sex marriages is causing a split within the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination, and on Thursday, 38 United Methodist congregations in the West will leave the church during the Mountain Sky Conference’s annual meeting in Colorado Springs.The 38 churches filed petitions for disaffiliation, citing “reasons related to human sexuality” as the basis for their departure. They represent about 10% of the churches within the Mountain Sky Conference, which includes Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and parts of Montana. Thirty-two of those churches are in Colorado, mostly in the southeastern portion of the state.“We have theological conflicts with the direction of the United Methodist Church as it’s currently organized and as the future unfolds,” said the Rev. Randy Jessen, a former United Methodist pastor whose congregation in Genoa disaffiliated last fall. R...

Colorado travel business led by women leads all-female groups on adventures worldwide

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

After working toward running her own outdoor-adventure business, Kelly Kimple bought a company with a storied history only to begin an adventure of a lifetime: keeping a travel business going during a pandemic.The Fort Collins woman trained and worked for years as a conservation biologist and eventually took a position with Adventures in Good Company, a travel-adventure business that leads trips for women across the country and around the world.“I was getting ready for something different. I’d been doing research all the time, feeling like it wasn’t the right path for me,” Kemple said.When Kemple took a job with Adventures in Good Company, the founder, Marian Marbury, said she planned to sell the business. After a while, the two reached an agreement and the sale to Kimple closed Jan. 2, 2020.“Then two months later it was the global pandemic and everything shut down. My whole first year it was really hard. I didn’t know if we would make it,” Kimple...

What to do this weekend in Denver: PrideFest; Highland Street Fair; Kolsch beer service

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

Over the rainbowSaturday and Sunday. More than 500,000 people from all over Colorado are expected to turn out for the two-day Denver PrideFest, which has grown into one of the largest Pride events in the nation over the past 50 years. Things kick off on Saturday with a 5K run (registration at 8 a.m.) from the Colorado State Capitol Building, the proceeds of which will benefit the Center on Colfax. That will be followed by the festival itself at Civic Center Park, 101 W. 14th Ave., from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; it includes 250 exhibitors, 30 food and beverage vendors, dancing and performances by drag queens Marcia Marcia Marcia, Big Freedia, Salina EsTitties and more.The Sunday parade, sponsored by Coors Light, begins at 9:30 a.m. at Cheesman Park, travels up Franklin Street to Colfax Avenue and then west to Civic Center Park. Packed with plenty of showy floats, performers, music and more, it kicks off a second day of the festival, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Find more i...

Want to own a gear shop? This Eagle County business is for sale and the owners want to sell it to a local

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

Wanna buy a gear shop?That’s the question Sean Glackin is posing to locals in the Eagle County area. Glackin, who has owned Alpine Quest Sports with his wife, Cory, since 2005, is ready to move to the next chapter in life but wants to see the business go to another person or group who is passionate about the outdoor mountain lifestyle.“I would love to have a local take over this business for several reasons. Having passionate and knowledgeable individuals at the helm ensures a higher level of expertise, personalized service, community connection and advocacy, all of which contribute to a better experience for customers and our river, rock and snow community,” Glackin said.On Alpine Quest Sports’ website, it states that it is a company that is run by those who love the outdoors for those who love the outdoors.The Glackins are working with a business broker, Thom Beckett, but they wanted to put the call out there that this local establishment is up for grabs.Related ArticlesOutdoors |...

Which national park is most popular for hikers? Conde Nast says Rocky Mountain is No. 2

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

Rocky Mountain National Park comes in at No. 2 on a list of America’s five most popular national parks for hiking, according to Conde Nast Traveler, trailing only Zion National Park in southwest Utah.The popularity rating was derived from an analysis of most-searched parks on Google. The others on the list, in order, are Glacier, near the Canadian border, Shenandoah in Virginia and Yosemite in California.Related ArticlesOutdoors | Campground closure at Rocky Mountain National Park could have ripple effect across Colorado forests Conde Nast says Rocky Mountain National Park is “one of the most glorious — and calming — in the country for hiking with clear lakes and luscious meadows set among craggy peaks.”Zion, it says, “traverses plateaus, canyons and even a 2,000-foot sandstone cliff … creating a hiker’s playground of variegated pathways and scenery.” Zion is located about 33 miles from St. George, Utah, which is ...

Hogshead Brewery changes owners, makes plans for second location

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

Walk into Hogshead Brewery and you’ll see its English-style cask ales listed above the bar on a menu on the left. Let your eyes drift to the right, however, and you’ll see an even larger menu of more familiar, carbonated beer styles, like a pilsner, a Mexican-style lager and an IPA.The line between the two is one that the new owners of this 11-year-old neighborhood brewery, at 4460 W. 29th Ave., plan to cross every day with confidence.“We’ve neglected the keg side a little bit, and I’d love to grow the business that way,” said head brewer and co-owner Robert Bell about those familiar lager and ale styles. “But I don’t want to do it at the expense of what we have built and who we are. I’m a diehard true believer when it comes to the cask side. That’s what makes us different than everyone else.”In May, Bell — along with longtime brewery general manager David Liechty and original investor and building owner John Cianci — bought Hogshead from a group led by founding brewer S...

Toddler last seen in Lancaster sought in 'critical missing' case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

Detectives asked for the public's help Thursday in their search for a missing toddler who disappeared from the city of Palmdale. King Josiah Johnson was last seen around 6 p.m. Wednesday in the 39000 block of 180th St. E, according to a bulletin posted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.Investigators expressed concern for Johnson's well-being and described the search as a "critical missing" situation. Johnson is 2 years old, stands 3 feet tall, and weighs 27 pounds with brown curly hair, brown eyes, and a scar near his belly button. King Josiah Johnson (left) and Stacy Deral Seymore are seen in images provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.He was last seen wearing a black shirt and black sweatpants. Investigators said Johnson could be with his father Stacy Deral Seymore.Seymore was described as a Black man standing 6 feet tall and weighing 170 pounds. He was possibly driving a dark blue Dodge Ram truck with work gear in the back and a broken window. Anyo...

Explosion at BBQ restaurant in China kills 31 people

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — China's president ordered a national safety campaign on Thursday after a massive cooking gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the northwest killed 31 people and injured seven others on the eve of a long holiday weekend.The blast tore through the restaurant at around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday on a busy street in Yinchuan, the capital of the traditionally Muslim Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as people gathered ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival, the official Xinhua News Agency said.The explosion left many people unconscious and they needed to be carried out of the shop, according to the online news site The Paper, which quoted a member of the search and rescue team. Victims included elderly people and high school students, it said.An hour before the explosion, employees noticed the smell of cooking gas and discovered that a gas tank valve was broken, according to Xinhua. The blast occurred while an employee was replacing the valve. Is your gas stove hurting your...

These Bay Area cities and counties getting $46 million to clear homeless camps, add shelters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

As frustration mounts over sprawling homeless camps in nearly every corner of the Bay Area, the state is stepping in with millions in cash to help house people living on city sidewalks, parks and floodplains, and add more shelter beds across the region.Eight local cities and counties are set to receive a share of more than $46 million to move potentially a thousand people out of encampments and into shelter or housing. The awards are part of a $350 million statewide effort Gov. Gavin Newsom launched last year to get more homeless people indoors.“We’re doubling down on our investment to ensure that thousands of individuals in communities up and down the state move out of encampments and into housing where they can get the services and help they need,” Newsom said in a statement.Much of the funding will go toward creating private-room shelters and supportive housing, which is a critical step toward putting a dent in the Bay Area’s homeless population of roughly...

How will the Warriors approach the 2023 NBA Draft and free agency beyond that?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:12:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — In November 2020, the Warriors drafted James Wiseman with the No. 2 overall draft pick, their highest pick since they took Mike Dunleavy Jr. third overall out of Duke in 2002.Three years later, though, Wiseman is no longer with the team, and Dunleavy, despite once being made scapegoat for Warriors fans’ frustrations after years of futility, is the team’s new general manager.The Warriors have gambled in the last three drafts, taking some high-upside teenage players with the hopes to groom them to one day take the baton from the dynastic trio as it ages out.But with Stephen Curry still a top-five NBA star at the age of 35, the Warriors should be looking to maximize the here and now. And the process of retooling their roster to be a championship contender once again starts with the No. 19 pick in Thursday’s draft.Last season, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody were expected to step into larger roles having been two lottery picks who had a champions...