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Chris Outcalt

Articles By Chris Outcalt

How One Coloradan Found Sanity and Community in Disc Golf

What started as a social outlet during the pandemic became a passion that took one writer from local courses in Denver to the 2021 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships in Utah.

Colorado’s International Student Population Has Plummeted

Local colleges and universities are trying to reverse the trend.

Q&A: DPS’ Superintendent on Lessons Learned During Her Rough First Year

From a teacher strike to a districtwide lockdown, Susana Cordova faced a turbulent initial 12 months in charge of the state’s largest school district.

Colorado’s Ongoing Fight to End HIV

Thanks to significant medical advancements, those diagnosed with HIV can expect to live relatively normal lives. But with a recent surge in local rates of other sexually transmitted diseases and an uptick in new HIV cases, has clinical success created a sense of apathy among Coloradans?

For Asylum-Seekers Who Passed Through Aurora, the Saga Is Just Beginning

About 75 parents, mostly women, were separated from their children and detained at Aurora’s ICE processing center over the summer as the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy was put into effect. Now, these families are facing years-long waits just to have their asylum cases heard.

The Long and Winding Case of Homaidan al-Turki

In 2006, a Saudi Arabian man living in Colorado named Homaidan al-Turki, whom federal authorities had long suspected of having ties to terrorism, was sentenced to life in prison on multiple counts of unlawful sexual contact. To this day, al-Turki has maintained that he’s innocent and was instead the target of post-9/11 anti-Muslim sentiment. What if he’s right?

Gerardo Noriega, DACA

How a Denver Man’s Story Helped Shape DACA

Gerardo Noriega was of one America’s first DACA recipients. Here’s how his life helped shape U.S. policy for thousands of immigrants living in the country illegally.

Redford and Fonda Star in Kent Haruf’s Our Souls at Night

The final novel by one of Colorado’s most celebrated authors is being produced as an original film by Netflix.

Climate Change: A Matter Of Degree

Think it’s been hot lately? You ain’t seen nothing yet. Average annual temperatures in Colorado are set to rise 2.5 to five degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2050. If that sounds like a modest increase, think again. We’re here to explain exactly how climate change could alter Colorado as you know it.

Breaking: Adams County DA Offers Juvenile Lifer New Plea Deal

District Attorney Dave Young has offered Giselle Gutierrez-Ruiz a new deal in a nearly 20-year-old case that was highlighted by 5280 earlier this year. 

What Does It Take to Open a Craft Brewery in Denver?

The inside story of what it takes to open a brewery in Colorado’s super-competitive scene—and how the changing dynamics in the industry are altering the future of craft beer.

The 25 Best Places To Live in Denver Right Now

Looking for a new place to call home? We crunched the numbers—and made a few judgment calls—to come up with our second annual list of the Mile High City’s most livable neighborhoods.

New Life for Juvenile Lifers

How a U.S. Supreme Court decision could affect Giselle Gutierrez-Ruiz and more than 40 others in Colorado serving mandatory life sentences for crimes they committed as juveniles. 

Still Life

Giselle Gutierrez-Ruiz has spent nearly two decades locked up in a Colorado prison. Three and a half years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his sentence is unconstitutional. Why hasn’t his case been given a second look?

The Beginner’s Guide to Denver’s Exploding Craft Coffee Scene

Where to drink coffee now, which beans to buy, how to make a better cup of joe at home, and everything else you need to know to enjoy coffee in the Mile High City.

2015: Year in Review

Our annual reminder of the good, the bad, and the ugly in Colorado this past year.

Our Town: Meet… Zaíra*

A Snapshot Of Colorado’s Veteran Community

A new local documentary about PTSD debuts this month. Plus: Colorado’s special connection to the first major battle of the Vietnam War.

Immigration: Colo. Supreme Court to Hear Espino-Paez Case

The state’s highest court has agreed to hear José Espino-Paez v. People, a confounding legal case that could have wide-reaching implications for Colorado’s noncitizens.

Beer Review: Pikes Peak’s Devil’s Head Red Ale

This red ale is enjoyably complex—without being overpowering. 

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