reflections : This Week's Top Stories from @COIndependent

…Massive police response breaks up protest blockade at ICE headquarters in Colorado…public lands, campaign finance, Manny Salzman obit, Denver public schools, tariffs, Colorado history…

As the divide over immigration policy escalates, Indy reporter Alex Burness was on the scene Thursday as demonstrators began blockading entrances to an ICE field office just south of Denver. Law enforcement officers dressed in full tactical gear arrived to break up the protest.

Latest Trump overhaul on public lands would undo endangered species protections

Colorado conservationists say proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act would prioritize oil and gas extraction, among other business interests, over the preservation and protection of animal habitats.

Manny Salzman's long, strange – and wondrous, but also scientific – trip

The man who founded the Telluride Mushroom Festival— and accomplished so much more — has died. His son, Jason, remembers his father in this lovely obituary. And, if you're wondering, Manny didn't get to "eat psychedelic mushrooms on his deathbed, like he wanted to."

Keefe:
How's Business?

This week, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Mike Keefe offers his take on Trump's controversial imposition of tariffs as a trade war with China escalates. In response to the president's threat of a second round of higher tariffs, China said it would respond in kind.

In Colorado, Democrats see a strong money haul as GOP relies on super PACs

Here's our follow-the-money breakdown from the latest campaign finance reports ahead of the November election. Some of these numbers might make your eyes bug out.

Opposing groups call for all sides to play nice in DPS superintendent search

The debate over who should lead Denver Public Schools next has become heated. The division falls along familiar lines, including disagreement over the best strategies to help struggling schools and the role of charters.

Guest Post: Time to reckon with painful past

Jennifer Woodhull argues Republican gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton, great-grandson of a KKK member, should help CO face its white supremacist history —by doing so himself.