DENVER, Colo. — It really is amazing how much you can learn when a beehive is right in front of you. That's especially true when you have the help of someone like Mike Rosol. He's not just any beekeeper; he's attending to bees who live on the properties of major companies like Gates Corporation.

Gates Corporation is a leading manufacturer of application-specific fluid power and power transmission solutions. Head of sustainability, Christopher Thomas, says it is prime to their mission for employees to be a part of direct impact within the community.

"We have a global footprint, offices, manufacturing, distribution, all around the world but have maintained our presence here in Denver, Colorado since our beginnings over 100 years ago," said Thomas. "We encourage people to find those causes, those missions, that make sense both to them but also what's our impact, what's the greater impact that we can create."

For Gates, the partnership with a company like Free Range Beehives was a no-brainer. Companies like IBM and Google have followed suit, dedicating budget lines to saving the bees. Co-founder and VP of operations at Free Range Beehives, John Rosol, explains there is no time to waste when educating people on the declining bee population.

"So, our goal at Free Range Beehives, and what we hope the goal of similar beekeepers and the corporations we work with, is to establish these populations that are good for the environment and the bees," Rosol said. "The situation is quite severe, unfortunately. The bees are facing threats from a number of sources that are primarily human-caused. A world without bees doesn't have humans in it. They are critical pollinators both for agriculture and for the natural world."

There are a few reasons this effort is so different than simply having a hive in your backyard. Expert beekeepers are on site taking care of the hives, companies have more funds to invest, and thousands of employees are impacted by the education they provide.

"Bees are incredibly interconnected with humans and they pollinate 1 out of 3 three bites of food we eat, so over 30% of our crops come from bees, and those are things like avocados, onions, and coffee, which I know I couldn't' live without," Rosol explained.

They found a void to fill, all while connecting these companies to the communities they are a part of.

"There's lots of people here and generally if the leadership cares about these kinds of initiatives, it trickles down," Rosol said.

Another co-founder of Free Range Beehives, Dave Mathias, says by having these partnerships the bees have a better chance of rebounding.

"The impact as it relates to educating employees and the community can be very fruitful. We do a lot of engagement with employees where we take them into the hives," Mathias said. "Any company can write a check to an organization and we just appreciate and I know our clients and partners appreciate that it's something that they are doing that has direct and measurable impact within the community."

They say it's a win-win situation. It's an effort to save the declining bee population and an opportunity to make great impressions and investments within communities.

If you would like to learn more about Free Range Beehives and the work they do, click here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The bipartisan infrastructure bill continues to progress in the United States Senate. A final vote could take place this weekend.

For months, you’ve heard politicians and transportation leaders make the case that now is the time to revolutionize train travel.

The bipartisan bill certainly allocates money in the direction of mass transit and Amtrak.

It invests $39 billion over five years into mass transit, like commuter trains and buses. It also allocates $66 billion for passenger rail, mostly Amtrak.

Both represent an unrepresented amount of funds for those transportation sectors.

But just how transformational is this bipartisan infrastructure deal when it comes to train travel? It depends on who you ask.

"If you ask the question, 'Is more needed?' Absolutely more is needed. Public transit has been underfunded for decades," Paul Skoutelas said.

Skoutelas is the President of the American Public Transportation Association. He advocates for more commuter trains and buses in neighborhoods like yours.

He says rough estimates have put the maintenance backlog for mass transit at $105 billion nationwide. This bill provides only $39 billion.

If the bill becomes law, balancing maintenance needs with the desire for new projects to transform commutes will be tricky.

"Is this enough investment? No, it’s not, but we will take it. It’s significantly important to get us in the right direction," Skoutelas said.

Those who lobby on behalf of Amtrak, though, see things a bit differently.

"Before we get to the financial numbers, what’s even more important are the policy changes," John Robert Smith said.

Smith is with Transportation for America and is a past chairman of the board of directors for Amtrak.

He says the infrastructure bill changes the mission of Amtrak dramatically. Instead of being looked at as a business by the government, it’s now considered a service responsible for connecting big cities with small towns.

"It's a fundamental change in what the mission has been over the last 10 years," Smith said.

But what about the Amtrak proposal released earlier this year to create new routes around the country like Las Vegas to Los Angeles or Colorado Springs to Denver?

"I think the funds provided in the Senate bipartisan bill are significant enough to make vast changes," Smith said.

But Smith thinks the Amtrak map proposal will quickly be redrawn if the infrastructure bill becomes law.

That’s because President Joe Biden, under the bill, will have the ability to appoint all new Amtrak board members who will likely reevaluate everything.

While Smith says this bill can create new routes. Don’t expect super-fast bullet trains like the ones in Japan. There just isn’t enough cash for that.

"You aren’t going to accomplish transformational high-speed rail in a five-year bill," Smith said.

The bipartisan bill does include funds to improve Acela speeds in the Northeast corridor.

While some say the bipartisan infrastructure deal could have included more money, many conservatives in Congress are frustrated because they believe the bill has too much government spending in it, raising the risk for inflation.

A recent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found the bill will contribute $256 billion to the deficit over the next decade.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – As the Derek Chauvin trial gets underway in the death of George Floyd, American studies experts and the mother of Philando Castile are reflecting on the societal impacts these types of court cases can have.

Five years ago, Philando was pulled over by police in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. The officer said his brake lights were out, but after Philando notified the officer he had a firearm on him, the situation quickly escalated and Philando was fatally shot.

“That man walked out of that courtroom with the evidence that clearly showed him murder my son to the extent he stuck the gun in the car to make sure he shot my son in his heart,” Philando’s mother, Valerie Castile said.

At the end of the trial, the officer was acquitted of all charges.

“In my mind, I was like, you have just given these people free reign to kill,” Ms. Castile said.

Ms. Castile says police brutality will not end if, in her words, officers get away with it.

“If you’re not held accountable, you’re like ‘oohwee, I got away with that. Imma do it again and again and again. And that’s what’s been happening,’” Ms. Castile said.

George Floyd also died in the Twin Cities. A little more than nine months later, the first of four officers at the scene of his death will face his fate in court.

What happened to Floyd -- even though it got so much international attention -- is not new. So, what has come out of trials like these from the past? Do we see societal change?

“Yeah, that’s the hard part. This will be a test,” Dr. August Nimtz said.

Dr. August Nimtz is a political science professor at the University of Minnesota. He has been a professor at the university since 1971. He studies the comparison of race, class and ethnicity in the United States. He says he’s witnessed a lot of change in his lifetime.

“In the 1960s, the anti-police brutality marches were almost exclusively African American,” Dr. Nimtz said.

What he saw in the streets in the weeks following Floyd’s death were marches with multi-racial populations, including large groups of Caucasians. He says that has never happened in the history of anti-police brutality protests.

“It’s a big breakthrough in my opinion,” Dr. Nimtz said.

Outrage over the continuous deaths of innocent people has fueled the Black Lives Matter movement. Dr. Duchess Harris is an expert in the movement and a professor of American studies at Macalester College.

“Only 25% of white American supported Black Lives Matter after the killing of Philando Castile," Dr. Harris said. "That number has catapulted since George Floyd to the point that actually United States Senator Mitt Romney was wearing a Black Lives Matter face mask at a protest.”

No matter what happens during the trials, Dr. Harris says people need to pay attention.

“I want people to be engaged. I think that it’s troubling to me right now that citizens are not engaged in what is happening around the nation,” Dr. Harris said./

Depending on the outcome, Dr. Nimtz believes people will once again take to the streets.

“There will be a lot of outrage. That’s why the ruling authorities have put up all of the barricades,” Dr. Nimtz said.

In Philando’s case, Ms. Castile says there was no justice for her son. She’s anxious to see what will happen in George Floyd’s case.

If the officers are convicted instead of being acquitted, Ms. Castile said, “I would just simply say I can see progress. Thank you, Jesus, thank you Lord.”

She is pleading for justice and hoping for change.

“You had eight minutes to change your mind, and you didn’t. You put your hands in your pocket and adjusted your weight. He did that. And you have to be a damn fool if you don’t think that man is guilty. You have to be a fool,” Ms. Castile said.

Almost 100 people in Oregon have now died as a result of a recent heatwave that brought historic temperatures to the Pacific Northwest last week.

Oregon's governor, Kate Brown, said communities of color and low-income families were disproportionately impacted.

She is calling for more federal resources to combat the issue. 

Brown said the heatwave showed a need to prepare even more for climate change.

Heat-related deaths have also been reported in Washington state and Canada.

At the same time, emergency responders in British Columbia are battling more than 180 wildfires, most of which were likely caused by lightning strikes.

This story originally reported by Robin Dich and Alex Livingston on Newsy.com.