DENVER – The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 3.0 earthquake reported in southern Colorado didn’t actually happen.

USGS geophysicist Don Blakeman told The Denver Post a faulty sensor and a newer geological analyst who misread computer data resulted in the faulty report Monday morning. He says the sensor was likely triggered by a series of temblors in south-central Kansas and north-central Oklahoma.

The USGS originally reported that the quake happened at about 3 a.m. and was centered about 12 miles southeast of Fountain.

Colorado sometimes experiences earthquakes, but they are generally minor and do not cause any damage.

2 Coloradans to be Obama speech guests

DENVER – Two Coloradans will be guests of the White House at the State of the Union speech.

The White House on Monday announced that 27-year-old medical student William Elder, Jr., of Englewood, will sit in the first lady’s box during Tuesday night’s speech. Elder was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 8. He has benefited from medical innovations that will enable him to live a full and productive life.

Denver resident Carolyn Reed will also watch from the first lady’s box. She was one of several Coloradans who joined President Obama for dinner in Denver last year. Reed and her husband wrote the President about how a Small Business Administration loan helped them expand their sub shop business. They gave their workers a raise after their dinner with the president.

VA probing Aurora hospital project

DENVER – The Department of Veterans Affairs is forming an investigative board to probe possible misconduct or mismanagement involving the construction of a VA hospital in Aurora.

The VA issued a statement Monday calling the problems with the project “unacceptable.”

The Denver Post reported that on Dec. 17, the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to partner with the VA to take over the management of the project. The decision came almost 10 days after Kiewit-Turner, the contractor, decided to walk away from construction because of cost overruns.

At that time, it was determined that the cost for the center would be more than $1 billion, far more than the original $604 million price tag, and that the VA had failed to meet its contractual obligations.

An interim deal was reached, and Kiewit-Turner resumed construction Dec. 22.

Associated Press