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$400,000 in watches stolen in St. Louis jewelry heist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A Tulsa businessman tells FOX 2 that he’s the victim of a St. Louis high-dollar jewelry heist.Detectives with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed more than $400,000 worth of watches were stolen from the man’s hotel room at the Embassy Suites near America’s Center in downtown St. Louis.“I’m going to be honest with you. I believe this was planned,” Rion Woodiest said. “I really believe this was some kind of jewelry heist.”Woodiest grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois, until his family relocated to Tulsa when he was in high school. After serving seven years in the Army, he went into business four years ago. Ideal Memorial Weekend: Perfect Weather Ahead He sells high-end jewelry, including gold, platinum, and diamond watches.The five stolen watches were Cartier, Rolex, and Audemar Piquet models.The Embassy Suites hotel was like a second home, he said.Woodiest has stayed there more than 600 nights in recent years as he travels for his three businesses: jew...

Yacht remains stuck in the Mississippi River near St. Louis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

ST. LOUIS – As Memorial Day weekend approaches, the U.S. Coast Guard has some safety tips and reminders for anyone planning to head out on the water."The river's always changing. There's constant shoaling," said Lt. John Hancock, U.S. Coast Guard.One hidden danger in the Mississippi River – chevrons. Earlier this week, a yacht from Florida struck a chevron south of the McKinley Bridge and began to take on water. Two men were rescued. As of Thursday afternoon, the boat remains lodged on that chevron.Chevrons are U-shaped rock structures that are built parallel to the flow of the river.Memorial Day weekend is a big weekend for boaters, not only on the river but also on the lakes. The Coast Guard said those can be dangerous waters if you're not prepared. Mother of 10 among three killed in St. Louis County car crash "Anytime you're transiting the river, the bottom of the river is constantly changing," Lt. Colby LaDuque, U.S. Coast Guard Chief Enforcement Officer, said. "And so, it's h...

St. Louis welcomes esports competitors at Ballpark Village

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Hundreds of esports competitors are expected to descend on Ballpark Village downtown this weekend for a major esports tournament. Many of the players are high school and middle school students. This is where the competition is being held today, tomorrow, and Sunday. This is the third year that Fair St. Louis is sponsoring the event.

Denver weather: Afternoon thunderstorms likely to bring rain, lightning, possible hail through Memorial Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

Thunderstorms forming in Colorado’s mountains will roll down into Front Range cities and across Interstate 25 Friday afternoon and evening, bringing rain, lightning, wind and possible large hail, according to the National Weather Service.A pattern of afternoon storms, potentially severe, will persist through the weekend and Memorial Day, weather service forecasters said.Sunny blue skies and warm weather is expected in the mornings.The high temperature in metro Denver Friday will be 78 degrees, forecasters said. On Saturday, the high temperature is forecast at 81 degrees, decreasing to a high of 79 degrees Sunday, then increasing to 81 degrees on Monday. Night low temperatures are expected to stay above 50 degrees.Starting around 1 p.m. Friday, scattered thunderstorms likely will spread eastward — passing over the I-25 corridor and the high plains — with wind gusts at speeds up to 22 miles per hour. Forecasters said lightning strikes could be frequent. The weather s...

Puttshack mini-golf opens with cool vibes, nostalgia and hole-in-one empanadas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

Remember going to the ocean for summer vacation and after you got burned sufficiently at the beach you’d go play mini golf at that crappy little beat-up course with fake pirates shouting “AVAST, me hearties” through tinny speakers and little waterfalls that would sweep your ball away?This ain’t that.Puttshack — a tech-infused, mini-golf facility with a bar and restaurant — opens at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 26, in the RiNo neighborhood. It’s got four separate, nine-hole courses, two of which are ADA-compliant. The national chain — with six other locations around the country, including Austin and Boston — was started by the guys behind Top Golf (and look what a boondoggle that turned out to be).The Chorizo and Cheese Empanadas at Puttshack: puff pastry, spicy chorizo, bell peppers, roasted corn,black beans, Chihuahua cheese and fresh chimichurri. (Regan Baroni, provided by Puttshack)The balls have a “mini iPad” inside of t...

Denver-based education tech firm Guild eliminates 172 jobs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

After years of rapid growth, Guild, a Denver-based technology company focused on employee education, let go of 12% of its workforce on Wednesday.“I’m writing with a heavy heart today to share that we’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate 172 roles at Guild, as a part of a broader organization of the company around our 3-year strategy and 10-year goals,” CEO and co-founder Rachel Romer wrote employees on Wednesday.The company counts 1,400 workers overall, including 730 in Colorado, and has a high-profile list of the country’s top corporations as clients, including Walmart, which turned to it in 2018 to create a program that provided the retail giant’s 1.4 million employees a way to earn a college degree while still employed.Guild’s platform allows companies to provide their employees with learning programs, career coaches and information on career pathways.Related ArticlesBusiness | Lawsuit: Colorado Amazon drivers allege peeing in bottl...

Colorado Mammoth back in National Lacrosse League Finals to defend title after roller-coaster regular season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

In the Colorado Mammoth’s first game of the season, they were blasted by the Saskatchewan Rush, 18-6, and didn’t look anything like the team that won the National Lacrosse League Cup a year ago.The up-and-down play continued throughout an injury-affected regular season, as the Mammoth finished 9-9 and fourth in their division.But Colorado’s made all those struggles look like a red herring in the playoffs as the Mammoth dispatched of the San Diego Seals and the Calgary Roughnecks to set up an NLL Finals rematch with the Buffalo Bandits.“I think we had a bit of a championship hangover going into the season, where it was such a long and grueling season to win the title, and maybe we thought it was going to be easy this year,” Mammoth coach Pat Coyle said. “It didn’t seem like we had the same intensity that we ended the season with the year before.“That being said, the experience from last year served us well when we didn’t play well...

What you should know about the Denver airport’s long security lines as summer travel heats up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

Stress-inducing security waits long have been Denver International Airport’s most notorious feature, and they’re getting worse as the summer travel season begins.DIA forecasts that more than 400,000 passengers will pass through its three security checkpoints over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, from Thursday through Tuesday. Some days will see 70,000 people screened, the airport says.Anyone who’s been through lately knows the lines have been growing at the busiest times in recent weeks.“I am still completely dumbfounded at how bad it was,” Minnesota resident Jill Burcum wrote in a recent letter to the editor published by The Denver Post about her experience flying out of DIA on a Friday two weeks ago. She had trouble finding the end of the snaking line and said she couldn’t find someone to direct her.Aubrey Roth, the airport’s terminal operations manager, acknowledged that her team and the Transportation Security Administration were caught...

Lawsuit: Colorado Amazon drivers allege peeing in bottles, defecating in bags to meet delivery goals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

Three Amazon delivery drivers in Colorado are suing the tech giant over poor work conditions, including allegations of urinating in bottles and defecating in bags.In a lawsuit filed Monday in Denver District Court, drivers Leah Cross, Marco Granger-Rivera and Ryan Schilling said the pressure of “harsh work quotas” around their delivery goals kept them from using restrooms on the job.“Drivers urinate in plastic bottles and even defecate in dog waste bags in the back of their delivery vans to ensure that they do not face discipline for failing to stay on pace with their deliveries,” the lawsuit stated.The lawsuit alleged violations of the drivers’ rights, including defying Colorado’s mandate for employers to provide workers with paid rest breaks every four hours and discriminating against people with female anatomy who cannot properly urinate without bathroom access.But Amazon contested the allegations.“We want to make it clear that we encoura...

Avanti alums plant permanent roots with new Denver restaurant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

Nicholas Kayser and Scott Ericson already live and play in the Highland neighborhood, so they thought, “Why not add work to that list?”The duo, who own Rooted in Avanti F&B Boulder (and the former Del Mar in Avanti Denver), have decided to finally plant some permanent roots. On May 19, they opened Rooted Craft Kitchen at 3940 W. 32nd Ave., where Denver restaurateur Troy Guard’s FNG previously operated.“We wanted to fill a niche in the neighborhood, and 32nd Avenue has a ton of incredible culinary options, but they’re all quite esoteric and ethnically diverse, and there’s no American outlet,” Kayser said. “This is our passion project, this is our baby and this is where we want to be for the next 15 years.”Guard’s TAG Restaurant Group closed FNG, a neighborhood bistro, last fall after five years when he said he couldn’t find the right management team to help the restaurant bounce back after COVID. Kayser previously worked for Guard at the now-closed Zengo in Rive...