The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
WEEK OF MAY 29, 2025
VOLUME 66 | ISSUE 28
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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RED ROCKS ELEMENTARY WARREN TECH GRADS CHART COURSES EVERGREEN SENIORS LEAVE A LASTING CELEBRATES 70 YEARS P2 IN AVIATION P4 LAX LEGACY P16
Judge denies change to Geer’s bond Geer set to enter plea June 23 in crash that killed Golden police officer BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CORRINE@COTLN.ORG
chitecture. “We started two-and-a-half years ago when the property came on the market,” Chad Wallace, Root Architecture’s COO, told about 50 contractors and staff during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “As locals, we are excited to be part of something in Morrison.” Wallace lauded Morrison Mayor Chris Wolfe for his support of the project.
The Colorado School of Mines professor charged in the death of Golden Police Officer Evan Dunn will continue to wear an alcohol-monitoring device on his ankle, the District Attorney’s confirmed May 20. Stephen Geer, 43, has been charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault after he reportedly drove into the scene of a Nov. 6 traffic accident along Highway 58, striking four people. Dunn, 33, died at the scene. Another GPD officer and two civilians were also injured. Geer, who was still listed as a teaching assistant professor on the Mines website as of May 20, was reportedly under the influence of alcohol during the fatal Nov. 6 incident. Geer is still scheduled to enter a plea in the case at 3 p.m. June 23 at the Jefferson County Courthouse. Geer had a bond-modification hearing May 14, where his defense attorney asked whether there was another alcohol-monitoring mechanism Geer could do instead, describing how the ankle monitor was breaking the skin around his ankle.
SEE GROUNDBREAKING, P2
SEE GEER, P3
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Red Hotel on May 19 had a lighter moment after representatives from Root Architecture and Morrison Mayor Chris PHOTO BY DEB HURLEY BROBST Wolfe held up their shovels in triumph. The shovelers were, from left, Krista and Chad Wallace, Wolfe, and Zeke and Amy Freeman.
Construction begins on Red Hotel in Morrison Ceremony brings partners together for groundbreaking BY DEB HURLEY BROBST SPECIAL TO THE CANYON COURIER
It’s official: Construction has started on the Red Hotel in downtown Morrison. Representatives from Root Architecture, which is building the three-story, 22-room
structure, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on May 19 at the empty lot on Bear Creek Avenue that sits between the Morrison Mercantile and the now closed Café Prague. To build the hotel, the new property owners razed the buildings that housed Blend and Morrison Glass. Construction is expected to be completed in summer 2026. The hotel’s name is a nod to Red Rocks Amphitheatre, according to Zeke Freeman, owner of Evergreen-based Root Ar-
HAPPENINGS: 10 | VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 14 | SPORTS: 16 | PUZZLES: 20
CANYONCOURIER.COM • A PUBLICATION OF THE COLORADO TRUST FOR LOCAL NEWS
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