Democrat John Hickenlooper defeated challengers Republican Dan Maes and Tom Tancredo, who ran on the American Constitition Party ticket. (Photo by Matt McClain/Getty Images)
Scott McInnis Plagiarism Scandal
Republican Scott McInnis was upset by Dan Maes in the GOP primary in the race for governor after a plagiarism scandal involving essays McInnis was paid to write erupted over the summer. (credit: CBS)
Fourmile Fire
The Fourmile Fire broke out in the foothills west of Boulder in early September and wound up destroying 169 homes. It wasn't Colorado's largest fire, but it was the most destructive in terms of property damage in the state's history. (credit: CBS)
No Charges In Fourmile Fire
It was determined that a volunteer firefighter was responsible for the start of the blaze (not the person pictured). The 70-year-old had been burning brush on his property in a fire pit and a few days later the fire pit apparently reignited because it wasn't fully extinguished. No charges were filed by the Boulder County District Attorney. (credit: RJ Sangosti-Pool/Getty Images)
Deer Creek Middle School
On Feb. 23 two students were shot and injured outside Deer Creek Middle School. Teachers tackled and restrained the gunman, Bruco Eastwood, 32, who apparently had been struggling with mental illness and was a former student of the school. (credit: CBS)
Meningococcal Sepsis Cases
Tiffany and David Hartley
Tiffany and David Hartley (photo credit: the Hartley family)
Police Brutality Video Allegations
Mayor John Hickenlooper asked the FBI to investigate a case that divided a top law enforcement official and an independent watchdog over whether Denver officers caught on video aggressively subduing a man should be fired. Michael DeHerrera said in a lawsuit against officers and the police department that he was slammed to the ground and repeatedly beaten after screaming for help as his companion was forced to the ground by police. (credit: CBS)
Michael Bennett Wins
Kathleen Folden
Kathleen Folden, a truckdriver from Montana, pleaded guilty to entering a museum in Loveland in October and destroying artwork denounced by critics as obscene. Witnesses said Folden screamed "How can you desecrate my lord?" as she used a crowbar to smash a covering over an Enrique Chagoya lithograph. They say she then ripped a panel critics say showed Jesus Christ engaged in a sex act. (credit: Larimer County Sheriff)
Bin Laden Hunter
Gary Faulkner from Greeley was detained in the mountains of Pakistan in June after authorities found him carrying a sword, pistol and night-vision goggles on a solo mission to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden. (credit: CBS)
Rockies President Keli McGregor Dies
On April 20 Colorado Rockies President Keli McGregor was found dead in a downtown Salt Lake City hotel room. McGregor died of natural causes. He was 48, and left behind a wife and four children. (credit: CBS)
Willie Clark Found Guilty
On March 11 Willie Clark was found guilty on 21 counts for his role in the murder of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams. Clark received life in prison plus 1,152 years. Williams was killed on New Year’s Day 2007. (credit: CBS)
iPad Theft
Brandon Darnell Smith was suspected of mangling a shopper's finger while stealing a brand-new iPad at Cherry Creek Mall in April. (credit: CBS)
Boulder Mid-Air Collision
In February in north Boulder a small plane clipped the towline of another plane pulling a glider, sparking a fiery midair crash and killing three people. (credit: CBS)
Colorado State Patrol Trooper Arrested
Colorado State Trooper David Dolan was arrested in March on suspicion of DUI. He had been with the CSP for 21 years. Drivers called to report the trooper driving erratically in his patrol car sourth of Denver. (credit: CBS)
Tebow Fever
The Denver Broncos draft quarterback Tim Tebow and quickly his No. 15 jersey becomes the No. 1 seller in the league. Tebow's role is mostly on the bench during the first 14 games of the Broncos dismal losing season, but in the end he becomes the starter. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Tiny Town Derailment
A train at Tiny Town derailed on Aug. 11 and sent three people to the hospital. Most other adults and children on the train suffered bumps and bruises. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said the volunteer engineer was driving between 12 and 17 mph, as much as five times the normal speed limit, when a train car went off the track. (credit: CBS)
Kayleah Wilson Death
After being considered missing for two months and after numerous extensive searches, the body of Kayleah Wilson, 12, was found in a ditch in Greeley. Following her death, Robert Laurencio Montoya, 18, Kayleah’s boyfriend, was arrested on charges of sexual assault on a child after he admitted to Kayleah’s mother that they had sex. No one has been arrested on murder charges in the death. (credit: CBS)
George Karl Cancer Announcement
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl announced in February he was taking a leave of absence from the team because he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He began coaching the team again in the fall. (credit: Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
Frontier Announcement
Frontier Airline's new owner Republic Airways announced it would keep the Frontier brand name after the company also bought Midwest Airlines and merged the two. (credit: CBS)
Quiznos Pro Challenge Announcement
Gov. Bill Ritter and cycling icon Lance Armstrong proudly announced in August that a international pro cycling stage race would return to Colorado in the summer of 2011. The Quiznos Pro Challenge will span seven days in August and will, for many Colorado natives and cycling fans, stir memories of the Coors Classic. (credit: Jack Dempsey, AP Images for Quiznos)
Shooting At Boulder Store
In May an employee at a Boulder flooring and fireplace store -- 50-year-old Robert Montgomery -- killed store owners Staci and Sean Griffin, shooting them several times before shooting himself in the head. Police said the shooter was upset that his bonus check was $500 less than he expected. (credit: CBS)
Charlie Sheen's Trouble In Aspen
Actor Charlie Sheen was charged in a domestic dispute case that stemmed from an alleged incident that happened in Aspen in December 2009. Sheen was accused of holding a knife to his wife's throat and threatening to kill her at his Aspen home. Prosecutors charged TV's "Two and a Half Men" star with felony menacing and misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault and criminal mischief. (credit: Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images)
Deputy Dies In Line Of Duty
On Nov. 23 Weld County sheriff’s deputy Sam Brownlee died after a shootout with a suspected car thief. Reuben Reyes was able to take Brownlee’s gun and shot him three times. Other officers then shot Reyes, he also died. (credit: CBS)
Gov. Bill Ritter's Bike Accident
Gov. Bill Ritter was hospitalized after being injured in an early morning bike accident in March. Ritter's tire bumped the tire of the cyclist in front of him and they both went down. (credit: CBS)
Colorado Terror Mom?
Jamie Paulin-Ramirez of Leadville was among seven people arrested in Ireland in March as authorities investigated an alleged plot to kill the cartoonist over a 2007 sketch depicting the head of the Muslim prophet Mohammed on a dog's body. (credit: CBS)
Licenses For Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
(credit: Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
Australian Twin Suicide Pact
Kristin and Candace Hermeler, 29-year-old twins from Australia, attempted a dual suicide at the Family Shooting Center inside Cherry Creek State Park in November. Kristin died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Candace survived. A magazine from the 1999 Columbine High School shootings was found in their hotel room. They had expressed empathy for the Columbine shooters who were bullied as the girls said they were bullied themselves.
Broncos In Trouble
Broncos veteram D.J. Williams was arrested on drunk driving charges in November and rookie cornerback Perrish Cox was arrested on sex assault charges in December.
Baskin Robbins Fatal Crash
Francis Hernandez went to trial for vehicular homicide and child abuse resulting in death. Police said in September of 2008 Hernandez ran a red light near Havana and Mississippi. He hit a pickup making a turn into a parking lot and killed two women in the truck. The impact sent the truck into an ice cream shop and killed a 3-year-old boy. (credit: CBS)
Kristen Parker Sentenced
Former hospital scrub technician Kristen Parker was sentenced to 30 years in prison. She pleaded guilty to stealing drugs, injecting herself and then using the dirty needles on patients. Parker infected bout 35 people with Hepatitis C. (credit: CBS)
Estes Park Flooding
The Big Thompson River in Estes Park flooded in June. Some 500 sandbags were handed out to hold back the rising river. (credit: CBS)
Masters Receives Settlement
Timothy Masters received $10 million in settlements from the city of Fort Collins and Larimer County for being wrongly imprisoned. He was released in 2008 after DNA evidence proved he was wrongly convicted in the 1987murder of Peggy Hetrick. Masters spent 10 years behind bars before his release. (credit: CBS)
Josh McDaniels Fired
Josh McDaniels (File photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
Reservoir Road Fire
The Reservoir Road Fire burned two homes west of Fort Collins and forced evacuations of many residents near Horsetooth Reservoir. A homeowner who had been burning brush on his property was charged with starting the blaze. (credit: Tammy Burke)
The Sheepskin Factory Arson
The headquarters of the Sheepskin Factory in Glendale were destroyed Friday in an early morning fire. Investigators believe the fire is suspicious and are searching for suspects. Walter Bond, aka "Lone Wolf," was later charged with starting the fire. He's said to be tied with animal rights groups. (credit: CBS)
Abby Toll Sentencing
Abby Toll, the woman who was accused of taping her boyfriend's dog to a refrigerator was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years on probation. (credit: CBS)
Kara Lounsbury Trial
Kara Lounsbury was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Investigators say she killed her father and step-mother in January of 2010 at their home in rural Adams County. (credit: CBS)
Randy Wilson Death
Kiowa high school teacher Randy Wilson's body was found along the Arapahoe-Elbert county border. It appeared as though he'd been strangled. (credit: CBS)
Shooting In Platteville
Police say a 30-year-old man who tried to run down an officer in Platteville was shot and killed by that officer. There was a confrontation between the suspect, Matt Herrera, and the officer. (credit: CBS)
Workplace Shooting
Julie Kilgore Kidnapping
Police believe they killed a Colorado man wanted in connection with a suspected kidnapping. Dennis Cox, 50, was shot and killed in a shootout with police at a bus station in Fort Collins. Kidnapping victim Julie Ann Kilgore, 48, said her Cox, her ex-fiancee had a "vacant look" when he came to her home with a handgun. The couple had argued the previous weekend. (credit: CBS)
Gilpin Plane Crash
Three people died in a small plane crash in Gilpin County on Rollins Pass. The victims were identified as pilot John Howard, 70, and Catherine Heveran, 56, both of Sunnyvale, Calif.; and James Chatham, 25, of Spokane, Wash., a friend of Heveran's daughter. (credit: CBS)
