Senior editor at @5280Magazine in Denver. Alum of @TexasMonthly, @TexasObserver, @TheAlcalde & @RiceUniversity. Can't resist a good story.
Joined June 2011
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19 years after Michelle Vanek vanished on a Colorado mountain, she appeared in a rescue volunteer's dream with a message: Send women to find me.
A so-crazy-it's-true tale by @hhansman for @5280Magazine. I loved editing this!
5280.com/she-disappeared-on-…
@Longreads @longform
"It is incredible luck. It is the luckiest luck of all," says James Hagadorn, @DenverMuseumNS curator of geology.
Scientists dug under Denver's science museum and unearthed a 67-million-year-old dinosaur fossil. Asher Elbein on how they did it:
5280.com/dinosaur-fossil-dis…
The single most powerful piece of journalism I've read about the flood is this heartwrenching essay by my former TM colleague Aaron, who was swept away and barely made it out. texasmonthly.com/news-politi…
Rose Cahalan retweeted
I spent the last few days trying to make sense of the failures that may have contributed to the TX flood disaster. This isn't comprehensive but it's an attempt at offering a panoramic view of what went wrong in the hopes of grasping toward "never again."
texasmonthly.com/news-politi…
Rose Cahalan retweeted
Volunteers devoted to managing Colorado’s wild horses wonder who will step in when they can’t continue
buff.ly/u0ESZMl
"The phone dropped, and then screaming."
I spoke with search and rescue volunteer Jake Smith about how a 40-person team pulled off the highest-altitude helicopter hoist rescue in Colorado history, including a near-fatal lightning strike: 5280.com/torreys-peak-lightn…
King Soopers sure ain't H-E-B.
CO grocery workers are poised to strike any day. I spoke with them about how understaffing leads to overcharging and unsafe conditions. Some told me they won't even shop at their own stores because of what they've seen:
5280.com/king-soopers-is-so-…
Since 2019, the number of Kroger-owned stores has stayed about the same, but 10% fewer employees, each working 10% fewer hours, now staff them.
The result? Massive food waste, overcharging, and unsafe conditions, King Soopers workers told me.
5280.com/king-soopers-is-so-…
The shroom boom is coming to Colorado, and it's a new Wild West. Fascinating, funny, mind-expanding feature by my colleague @MileHighRobert, who microdosed in the name of journalism!
"Colorado’s psychedelic movement has not only been supported by clinicians and policymakers, but it’s also increasingly embraced by private capital financiers, wellness gurus, wine moms, and tech bros."
@milehighrobert for @5280Magazine:
5280.com/i-tried-magic-mushr…
Rose Cahalan retweeted
In 2020, a horrific arson attack in the Denver suburbs killed five people, including two children. It had detectives stumped for months. They eventually solved the case, but the way they did it could put everyone’s privacy at risk.
wired.com/story/find-my-ipho…
A great tribute to a Texas journalism legend. When I worked at the Observer, Ronnie would often stop by the office to do some writing and regale us with wild, meandering stories. He paved the way.
Ronnie Dugger, founding editor and longtime publisher of the Texas Observer and for many years the crusading conscience of the progressive movement in Texas and beyond, died of complications of dementia at a hospice center in Austin on May 27. He was 95. texasobserver.org/ronnie-dug…
This flamboyant bird has one of the best mating dances in the animal kingdom. But fewer than 4,000 Gunnison sage-grouse remain, and advocates say changes to the Endangered Species Act could drive them to extinction.
My latest in @5280Magazine:
5280.com/gunnison-sage-grous…
Rattlesnake moms support each other by "babysitting" their young 🐍
And other findings from the scientists studying a "mega-den" of approximately 1,000 snakes at an undisclosed location in Colorado 5280.com/surprising-facts-ab…
More than fifty years ago, a @CUBoulder Russian history professor vanished under suspicious circumstances. The Cold War mystery has never been solved—and a new @HistoryColorado exhibit lets visitors play detective. 5280.com/thomas-riha-mystery…
Colorado's @RepPettersen scored a rare win for working moms in Congress this week, evading Republicans' efforts to block her bill that would let lawmakers vote remotely after having a new baby. She's long advocated for parents in her home state: 5280.com/colorado-rep-britta…
Rose Cahalan retweeted
"For one year, his 19th in prison, Stewart found a sense of pride in his life. Something had stirred in him, and he’d wanted to be a better man. For one year, at least, he felt useful." @MileHighRobert @5280Magazine
longreads.com/2025/04/02/eve…
ALT Headline: Everyone Loved a Colorado Prison’s VFW Post—Until a Popular YouTuber Heard About It Dek: When the VFW opened a chapter inside northeastern Colorado’s Sterling Correctional Facility, the post was celebrated as a victory for prison reform nationwide. So why did it get canceled? Tagline: Robert Sanchez for 5280 Magazine A logo in the bottom right reads “Longreads Editor’s Pick”
Gondolas in Denver?!
For my first @5280Magazine byline, I asked urban planning experts if a new proposal to build an aerial tram over downtown could really lift off. (Answer: probably not, but hey, at least we're dreaming big.) 5280.com/could-gondolas-real…
Today is my last at @TexasMonthly. I'm so grateful for an amazing five years at one of the best magazines in the nation, with some of the smartest, kindest journalists around. You can apply for my job here! It's a good one. texasmonthly.com/about/jobs-…
On March 24, I'll join @5280Magazine in Denver as senior editor. I'll be ~75% writing, 25% editing in this role—a longtime dream. Couldn't be more excited for this new adventure at an ambitious, creative, ASME-winning magazine I've long admired!