More fallout from the Colorado Department of Human Services:
State leadership forced out the longtime head of its department for the deaf and hard of hearing because he was “too close” to his own community, the ex-leader alleges in a federal lawsuit.
www.denverpost.com/2026/04/24/c...
Maddening @samtabachnik.bsky.social story about how Colorado officials have been ignoring federal law and refusing to allow people to appeal adverse unemployment overpayment decisions: www.denverpost.com/2026/05/31/c...
The indictment of half of Costilla County's sheriff department "represented the culmination of years of negligence, incompetence, unethical behavior and, at times, illegal activity perpetrated by the people sworn to serve and protect the community," @samtabachnik.bsky.social writes
Now there's a 3rd felony case in Wyoming against April Morganroth, the reporter (and convicted forger) once fired by a Colorado newspaper for making up quotes
@samtabachnik.bsky.social with the backstory: denverpost.com/2026/04/08/april-morganroth-arrest-wyoming-forgery/?share=oiottlfwpotyewgnmrho
Journalism ethics experts tell @samtabachnik.bsky.social they'd never heard of a reporter getting caught fabricating quotes or inventing sources, then just changing their name in order to keep practicing the trade elsewhere. “It’s safe to say this is historically unprecedented in the modern era.”
Sam Tabachnik
Cool to see @denverpost.com cited in @merriam-webster.com’s Word of the Day! @samtabachnik.bsky.social @sethklamann.bsky.social
An outside firm is investigating workplace conditions within the Colorado Department of Human Services amid high turnover in its leadership team, a cascade of formal complaints and millions of dollars in settlements with departing staff.
www.denverpost.com/2026/04/20/c...
Buckle up for a wild one.
April Morganroth was fired from a Colorado newspaper for making up quotes.
Then she changed her name, moved states, and got back in the journalism game.
Now she's facing decades in prison.
www.denverpost.com/2026/04/08/a...
At various points in her career, journalist April Morganroth reinvented herself to start fresh in a new state, leaving behind a wake of professional and personal misconduct.
5 former Costilla County sheriff employees told me that they received scant training for the job.
Many deputies never completed reports after crimes, they said.
Evidence in a murder case went missing.
www.denverpost.com/2026/05/22/c...
Fresh dispatch from @samtabachnik.bsky.social and I on the troubled town of Hartman:
Cliff Moers, who is deaf, spent nearly two decades with the Colorado Division for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind.
The mishandling of criminal cases has been a common occurrence in Costilla County for years, prosecutors and former employees say. So they weren’t entirely surprised when the San Luis Valley DA announced the indictment of half the…
Colorado overpaid people nearly $100 million in unemployment benefits last year alone, and federal data shows the state has been largely unsuccessful in recouping that money.
The mishandling of criminal cases has been a common occurrence in Costilla County for years, prosecutors and former employees say. So they weren’t entirely surprised when the San Luis Valley DA announ...
At various points in her career, journalist April Morganroth reinvented herself to start fresh in a new state, leaving behind a wake of professional and personal misconduct.
Former Wyoming journalist April Morganroth faces another felony, this time for allegedly forging a letter to enroll her child in Laramie County School District 1 and get special education services. The newest charge adds to the 20 Morganroth already faces. wyofile.com/forged-lette...
The Denver Post’s review of internal complaints and interviews with seven current and former agency leaders and workers paint a picture of a toxic work environment.
Hartman has been operating without a local government since January, when its entire Board of Trustees quit following years of bitter infighting and a violent scuffle that sent one of the trustees to the hospital.
The Denver Post
wyofile.com
The newest Laramie County charge alleges April Morganroth forged a letter to enroll her child in special education services.
