Breaking news reporter

Lauren Penington

Lauren Penington is a breaking news reporter at The Denver Post. Before joining the Post in 2023, she wrote for Law Week Colorado, the Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska and more. Born and raised in Colorado, Lauren studied journalism and political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before returning home to Parker. When she's not in the newsroom, Lauren enjoys concerts (especially at Red Rocks), crossing national parks off her bucket list and hiking in the mountains.

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Abou Diol holds his head near the picture of his brother Djibril Diol and other family members after the news conference announcing the arrests of three juvenile suspects in the arson fire that killed Djibril Diol and four family members, at the Denver Police Crime Laboratory on Jan. 27, 2021. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Final arsonist in Green Valley Ranch fire that killed 5 members of Senegalese family is sentenced to 60 years in prison

July 3, 2024 at 9:18 a.m.

“The sentencing of Kevin Bui marks the end of one of the darkest chapters in Denver’s history,” Deputy District Attorney Courtney Johnston said during the hearing.

Sisters Jennifer and Miranda Wetzler pose for a portrait in Fort Collins on July 12, 2023. The two sisters had hoped to sue their alleged abuser under Colorado's Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act, but the Colorado Supreme Court stuck down the law last week. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Colorado victims of childhood sex abuse, blocked by state Supreme Court, hold out hope for future chance at justice

July 22, 2023 at 2:47 p.m.

The Wetzler sisters were preparing to file a lawsuit under Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act when a unanimous decision by the Colorado Supreme Court on June 20 struck down the...

Rowdy Sheets removes plywood covering a living room window from his father's home that was damaged from a large fallen Cottonwood tree from yesterday's tornado in Highlands Ranch on June 23, 2023. A corner of the roof was heavily damaged by the tree. A rare tornado hit the Highlands Ranch area Thursday afternoon causing damage to roofs and uprooting large trees. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

A tornado left an 8-mile trail of damage through suburban Highlands Ranch. Now comes the clean-up.

June 23, 2023 at 5:48 p.m.

Nobody was seriously injured in the storm, which the National Weather Service said was on the ground for a 15-to-20-minute span as it traveled south of C-470.

Police found skeletal remains under an I-225 overpass in Aurora on April 1, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Aurora Police Department).

Aurora police trying to ID skeletal remains found near I-225

April 15, 2025 at 3:59 p.m.

Officers first learned about the body when they responded to a fight near I-225 and Sixth Avenue, Aurora police said.

Federal agents conduct an immigration enforcement operation at the Cedar Run Apartments on South Oneida Street in Denver on Feb. 5, 2025. Officers from a variety of federal agencies performed large-scale raids across metro Denver. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans from Colorado

April 15, 2025 at 4:26 p.m.

According to the ACLU, one man was identified as a gang member based on a tattoo of his niece’s name -- his only tattoo. He “vehemently denied” being a gang...

DENVER, CO - MARCH 25: I-25 highway sign on March 25, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo By Kathryn Scott/Special to The Denver Post)

Pedestrian running across I-25 hit by car, causing 3-hour closure near Mead

April 15, 2025 at 11:02 a.m.

Larimer County sheriff's deputies initially pulled over the man -- who fled, starting a car chase -- near Rocky Mountain Avenue and U.S. 34 in Loveland.

DENVER, CO. - June 10: United Airlines 787 Boeing Dreamliner leaving DIA on it's nonstop service from its hub in Denver to Tokyo-Narita. June 10, 2013 Denver, Colorado. (Photo By Joe Amon/The Denver Post)

United flight diverted back to DIA after possible “wildlife strike”

April 14, 2025 at 10:59 a.m.

A United flight headed from Denver to Canada was diverted back to Denver International Airport on Sunday night after possibly striking wildlife midair, airline officials said.

A person holds a picture of Christian Glass during a candlelight vigil at Citizen's Park in Idaho Springs, Colorado, on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. A Clear Creek County deputy shot and killed 22-year-old Christian Glass on June 11, 2022, after Glass called 911 for help after crashing his car into a berm. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Former Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 3 years in prison for killing Christian Glass

April 14, 2025 at 2:17 p.m.

Andrew Buen received the maximum possible sentence for criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.

1 dead, 1 injured in crash near the Denver-Aurora border

April 14, 2025 at 7:50 a.m.

The 20-year-old woman, who was driving the car, ran a red light at the intersection of Central Park Boulevard and Montview Boulevard at about 3:47 a.m., Aurora police said.

Slushy snow covers the roads near the U.S. 36 and Sheridan Station on Jan. 11, 2019, in Arvada.

Colorado weather: Morning snow falls Monday in Denver, will return Thursday

April 14, 2025 at 7:00 a.m.

Just two mornings after Denver broke its record for the hottest April 12 on record at 86 degrees, according to NWS records, snow started falling in the city.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the raccoons are likely infected with a disease called distemper, according to WKBN-TV.

Multiple raccoons with deadly contagious disease reported in southern Colorado

April 13, 2025 at 4:03 p.m.

At least three cases of canine distemper — a contagious disease that attacks the respiratory and nervous systems of dogs and other animals — have been confirmed in Colorado this...

3 injured, 1 arrested in Aurora drive-by shooting near Colfax

April 14, 2025 at 5:17 p.m.

Two adults and one child were shot Saturday night while driving in Aurora after the suspect allegedly stole from them, according to the police department.

The Turkey Track fire burning on 128 acres of forest land in Douglas County was 0% contained on Sunday, April 13, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office).

Wildfire burning in Douglas County near Sedalia 45% contained

April 13, 2025 at 6:01 p.m.

A wildfire burning on more than 100 acres of land in Douglas County north of Woodland Park, near Sedalia, was 45% contained Sunday, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.

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