Elaine Tassy
@elainetassy.bsky.social
Race, Diversity and Equity Reporter, Colorado Public Radio
Ever heard of the historic Lace House in Black Hawk? It's been moved and will open as a museum next year. www.cpr.org/2026/08/03/r...
Why the historic Lace House in Black Hawk was moved from one spot to another
The Carpenter Gothic House Will Re-open as a Museum Next June
cpr.org
The House passed a bill that would make daylight savings time permanent (no fall-ing back 1 hour or spring-ing forward an hour), 308-117. CO Reps voted: YES - Boebert, Crank, Evans, Hurd & Pettersen NO - Crow, DeGette & Neguse #copolitics (I deleted an earlier cause I had the wrong time)
In the third installment of the Aurora is a foodie wonderland series, we visit a Haitian restaurant and learn about some Haitian foods and restaurant traditions from the owner and the sole Haitian resident of the Colorado town of Salida. www.cpr.org/2026/06/18/h...
At a Haitian restaurant in South Aurora, owners make diners feel they’re on the island
Mama Josie Cafe Creole, owned by busy Haitian transplants, has been open for two years.
cpr.org
In the fourth installment of the Aurora is a foodie wonderland series, I visited two take-out places that are side by side, one Aztec Mexican, the other Afro-Caribbean. Guess which one serves crickets in their food? www.cpr.org/2026/06/25/a...
Whether it's salsa with a surprise or Jamaican flavors, you can get it at these side-by-side Aurora shops
Metro Balderas Aztek Food and Kingston International Market are neighbors bursting with flavors.
cpr.org
There's a clinic at Denver Health for women who have experienced Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting. Visits have increased tenfold since it opened in 2017. www.cpr.org/2026/06/17/d...
Visits to a Denver-based clinic caring for survivors of female genital mutilation and cutting have increased tenfold since it opened in 2017
A decade ago, a Denver Health doctor noticed that a number of patients to the human rights clinic were survivors of female genital mutilation.
cpr.org
In part two of the 4-part Aurora the foodie wonderland series, I visit owners of 2 different restaurant incubators at Mango House, a community hub for immigrants. One serves Sudanese chicken sandwich I'd choose for my last meal, the other Syrian food that's also delish: www.cpr.org/2026/06/11/m...
Aurora's Mango House provides a restaurant incubator and space for food from across the world
Micro-restaurants Tata & Nono Kitchen and Jasmine Syrian Food bring their countries' cuisines to Aurora.
cpr.org
Last Thurs, CPR launched a four part series touring the foodie wonderland that is Aurora, Colorado, finding origin stories of the owners of restaurants with 10 tables or less from countries not known for gastronomy. First up is a Uruguayan spot called Orejano. www.cpr.org/2026/06/04/u...
Uruguayan restaurant sizzles on Aurora’s famed South Havana food strip
Cuisine from the tiny South American Country influenced by Italian and Spanish cooking.
cpr.org
Overcrowding is an issue in lots of places ... including Lafayette cemetery, where workers dug up human remains when trying to bury at least 2 people who had pre-purchased plots there. Now a ground penetrating radar survey is being done to assess future availability. www.cpr.org/2026/03/27/l...
One family’s rocky path to getting patriarch buried illustrates overcrowding problem at historic Lafayette Cemetery
About 130 families learn there might be no room when it's time to bury loved ones.
cpr.org
In my deep dive into the life of Renee Good (see post from earlier today) I spoke w/ lawyers for her family, and they say the shooter, Jonathan Ross, and the federal agencies involved, have not responded to their request for documents and evidence preservation. www.cpr.org/2026/03/11/r...
Lawyers for Renée Good’s family say federal agencies not cooperating with request for information
The lawyers say a request to preserve information for use in a possible civil lawsuit has gone unanswered.
cpr.org
I really wanted to know more about Renee Good, killed by ICE in January. Fortunately, my editor allowed me to take some time to do a deep dive into who she was before she died. Read and listen to what I found out about her from her Colorado tribe here: www.cpr.org/2026/03/11/r...
Two months after Rénee Good’s death, her loved ones in Colorado grapple with loss
Classmates and mentors remember Good as a creative force who moved everyone around her.
cpr.org
A documentary about Black men platonically cuddling is screening tonight in Aurora. Yes, you read that right. www.cpr.org/2026/02/06/d...
Cuddling, holding hands: New films explore ways for Black men to heal and resist stereotypes
‘Dark and Tender’ showcases ways to push back against historical images of Black men being portrayed as violent, brutish and oversexualized.
cpr.org
If these third graders from Golden keep it up, I might be out of a job! www.cpr.org/2026/02/02/w...
Wondering about this mild winter? Third-graders get the answers from a meteorologist.
A few fun facts about the rest of the snowy season: This winter, we’re likely to get less snow than last year. Last December was the warmest of
cpr.org
On a five-day reporting trip to Southwest Colorado, I was honored to sit down with one of the elders and learn about some of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe's spiritual traditions. www.cpr.org/2025/12/02/u...
A Ute Mountain Ute spiritual leader reflects the importance and private nature of vision quests, sun dances, and sweat lodge ceremonies
Too few people practice it for numbers to show up in national religious studies.
cpr.org
Where there was once a federally run Indian boarding school that stripped Native kids of their identity, there's now a teaching farm growing blue corn and other produce in Hesperus, Southwest Colorado. www.cpr.org/2025/10/31/1...
Farming program yields robust crops on the grounds of former army post and Indian boarding school
Participants grow fresh produce for personal and professional reasons.
cpr.org
On the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute reservations in Southwest Colorado, elementary schools are trying to teach the Ute language, although there aren't any fluent speakers. One elder also worked on a Ute on-line dictionary. www.cpr.org/2025/12/15/u...
These elementary schools in Southwest Colorado are trying to save the Ute language
The only problem: No one is fully fluent.
cpr.org
Ever think about picking up a piece of pottery from a historical site like Ute Mountain Tribal Park? Don't even try it! www.cpr.org/2025/12/17/m...
Thinking about taking a pottery shard from Mesa Verde or Ute Mountain Tribal Park? Don’t
Drop it right now, before something bad happens to you.
cpr.org
Laguna Pueblo's Thelma Jean (TJ) Atsye's voice leads the audio tour at Mesa Verde National Park. She's the voice and face of the place, and she knows it! www.cpr.org/2025/12/11/m...
Visitors to Southwest Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park can now hear from its direct descendants
A shift away from non-Native voices can be heard during an audio tour and a visitors’ center film at the park.
cpr.org
Danielle SeeWalker gets the last laugh on the whole Vail artist residency thing . . . www.cpr.org/2025/11/24/a...
Danielle SeeWalker, artist who won settlement from Vail, plans trip to West Bank to paint mural
Denver multi-disciplinary plans to use money from First Amendment rights violation case to work with with Palestinian artists
cpr.org
“Don't just acknowledge it. Tell me what you're going to do about it. It's stolen.” www.cpr.org/2025/10/13/c... vis @zialcita.bsky.social
His Cheyenne ancestors were pushed out of Colorado in the 1800s. Now he’s among the leaders of Colorado’s Indigenous land back movement
Hundreds of years after most of Colorado’s Indigenous tribes were forcibly removed from the state, a movement emerges to bring them home.
cpr.org
Near 1 I-70 and Chambers in Aurora, a new shelter is opening on Monday with beds for over 600 people. www.cpr.org/2025/11/14/n...
New shelter for people experiencing homelessness opens Monday in Aurora
It will offer a tiered system for housing, as well as services to get people experiencing homelessness back on their feet.
cpr.org
The autopsy and toxicology reports are now in for the Keenesburg Six, but they don't answer many questions about the accident at Prospect Valley Dairy Farm in August. www.cpr.org/2025/10/31/a...
Autopsies and toxicology reports detail how six dairy workers died, but not what led up to the incident
Each of the victims’ autopsy reports notes that they died of “sudden death due to acute hydrogen sulfide exposure.”
cpr.org
I went on a ghost hunt around the Denver metro for a Halloween story, and found out that Denver Library's main branch basement, and room 320 of the Oxford Hotel, have friendly ghosts. www.cpr.org/2025/10/27/g...
We went ghost hunting just in time for Halloween. Here's what we found
Ghosts of miners emerging from a shaft in Lafayette, a Victorian woman near the Senate at the State Capitol, a rose-scented hotel specter and more.
cpr.org
Here are some updates on the six who died at the dairy farm in Keenesburg, including what was said on the 911 call. www.cpr.org/2025/10/10/p...
Some Prospect Valley Dairy Farm victims have been buried but families are still waiting for answers
Five men and a 17-year-old boy died in what’s being called a containment accident in Keenesburg.
cpr.org
Hispanic Heritage month started this week. The way it will be celebrated this year across Colorado is being impacted by ICE raids. www.cpr.org/2025/09/15/h...
ICE scrutiny means scrapping outdoor, public events for Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations around Colorado
Colorado Hispanic groups are exercising caution during their celebrations, including switching to indoor events or less public activities.
cpr.org
In case you missed CrimeCon, held here in the Denver metro last weekend, I went and here is my report: www.cpr.org/2025/09/06/c...
CrimeCon 2025 draws thousands to Gaylord Rockies in Aurora
Annual convention brings together true crime buffs, but also gives support to victims.
cpr.org
Still trying to learn more about the tragic death of six men at a dairy farm near Keeneburg. On Monday I'll have another story. This one is from this week: www.cpr.org/2025/08/28/o...
OSHA investigating death of 6 workers at dairy farm near Keenesburg
The Denver office of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health could have assisted, but was closed by federal budget cuts in the spring.
cpr.org
The steadiest of Eddies is retiring. Longtime CPR News Morning Edition Host Mike Lamp will sign off September 12th-- his 64th birthday. Mike is unflappable, humble, and has a voice that soothes like baby powder. Before he leaves, he'll join Colorado Matters to discuss his TV and radio career.
Today I went to Keenesburg, CO to try to find out more about the six men killed at a dairy farm there last Wednesday. www.cpr.org/2025/08/25/w...
Here’s what we know about the six people who died at a dairy in Keenesburg
Among the dead are a 17-year-old high school senior at Highland High School in Ault.
cpr.org
Elizabeth School district in Colorado banned 19 books last year. This spring, they were court-ordered to put them back. This month I showed up at two of the schools to see if they did put them back, but I was intercepted. www.cpr.org/2025/08/14/e...
As classes near in Elizabeth, a book ban hangs over the town’s schools
School officials say they have returned “sensitive” books to the shelves after a federal court order, but the issue is far from settled as a trial nears.
cpr.org
