Rocky Mountain Voice’s Most Viral Moments of 2025

By RMV Editorial Board

2025 was not a year that allowed anyone to stay on autopilot.

It opened with President Donald Trump’s second inauguration and a sweeping federal reset that followed — more than 280 executive orders touching immigration, energy, enforcement, and regulatory authority. It was also a year marked by national tragedy, including the assassination of Charlie Kirk, an event that sent shockwaves through Colorado and reshaped the tone of public discourse.

Against that backdrop, Rocky Mountain Voice didn’t just keep up with the news cycle — it documented it.

And more importantly, readers stayed.

What the work added up to

Rocky Mountain Voice published more than 800 original articles in 2025, written by 98 independent writers across Colorado. Much of that reporting came from school board meetings, courtrooms, county offices, classrooms, and from communities most outlets don’t follow for long.

That work reached further than ever before.

Across RMV’s top three platforms — Facebook, Instagram, and X — reporting generated a combined 12.5 million views and 1.6 million content interactions, with more than 46,400 new followers joining the community in 2025 alone.

RMV content was shared and amplified nationally — including retweets by Riley Gaines, Michael Knowles, and Libs of TikTok, several times over.

That reach was not driven by trend-chasing or outrage. It was driven by persistence, documentation, and stories that showed their work.

The Stories Readers Didn’t Scroll Past

RMV’s most widely shared posts in 2025 did the same thing well. They stayed grounded in facts and showed how decisions landed on real people.

The 25 posts below rose to the top by reach and engagement.

1. RMV and BRAVE Church Remember Charlie Kirk – Watch the full service here.
2. “The DOJ can take a hike”: Jena Griswold rejects federal demand for voter data
   Colorado’s Jena Griswold just told the Trump DOJ to “take a hike” after it demanded the state’s full, unredacted voter file — even as other states uncover noncitizens on the rolls. The national fight over election integrity just hit Colorado hard.
3. The Mountain Minute: 4/18/2025
   Parental rights, rising crime, and Denver inflation—Colorado’s crisis points are colliding. From the HB1312 rally to fentanyl deaths and Gen Z turning red.
4. Day 2 of the Durango 9R Dirty Dozen
   A band teacher hired during COVID molested 37 kids & now faces 56 federal charges. How did this happen—and who’s accountable? Parents demand answers.
5. The Mountain Minute: 5/15/2025
   Denver execs get raises while firefighters are denied. A teen walks free after a deadly crash. Colorado’s grid faces collapse, and SEL sparks new controversy. Plus, Trump’s DOJ shifts spending and Iran faces fresh sanctions.
6. The TRUTH behind Xcel Energy’s shut off warnings
   Colorado didn’t just almost lose power — we learned planned blackouts are now baked into policy. Xcel and regulators approved the rules years ago, but customers were left in the dark. Literally.
7. A FULL breakdown of the Tina Peters’ case
   The Tina Peters case became one of the most widely discussed stories in the country this week. This video walks through the facts, the redactions, the pardon, and what happens next — clearly and in one place.
8. Governor Polis Pushes Record $50.7 Billion Budget Amid Fiscal Concerns
   Governor Polis just dropped a record-breaking $50.7 billion budget—because apparently, fiscal restraint’s gone extinct. More spending, more programs, more problems.
9. What Colorado redacted from a federal prison letter—and why it matters
   Colorado blacked out nearly every line explaining why the feds wanted Tina Peters transferred. RMV got the unredacted version. And the story it tells is explosive.
10. Bill search reveals how Polis grew Medicaid—yet he blames rising costs
    Gov. Polis keeps blaming ‘outside forces’ for ballooning Medicaid costs—but a bill-by-bill breakdown shows the truth: he expanded the program at every turn. Now the price tag is hitting Colorado families hard.
11. The Mountain Minute: 4/15/2025
    Colorado paid millions in Medicaid for dead people. Parents say the state is targeting their rights. Trust in doctors is collapsing. And wolves are dying in Wyoming.
12. One of the most controversial, anti-gun laws in history signed quietly by Polis
    In the end, Governor Jared Polis didn’t make a speech. He didn’t stand before cameras or take questions. He didn’t even put the signing on his public calendar.
13. Campaign-finance storm erupts as Weiser, Bennet and Griswold face 3,674 alleged violations
    A wave of complaints alleges 3,674 campaign-finance violations by Phil Weiser, Michael Bennet, and Jena Griswold — including missing donor data and widespread disclosure failures. The AG has already validated the Griswold complaint.
14. Colorado Among States That Handed Out $1.4B in Medicaid Funds to Illegals
    Colorado is in hot water after a federal audit revealed $1.4B in Medicaid funds were funneled to illegal immigrants — despite federal law. How did it happen? And will taxpayers get their money back?
15. Colorado Joins the Fight to Keep SNAP Benefits for Illegal Aliens
    Colorado just joined 21 states to fight Trump’s push to stop taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits from going to illegal immigrants. Meanwhile 90,000 people are projected to lose eligibility MONTHLY under the new law.
16. The Mountain Minute for 12/12/2025
    Hidden redactions in the Tina Peters case, Trump issues a full pardon, wolf reintroduction costs climb, new regulations hit Jan. 1, AI concerns grow, and Colorado Gives Day shatters records — while energy prices soar in green-mandate states (like CO).
17. The Mountain Minute: 8/6/2025
    Colorado’s budget is bloated, crack pipes are taxpayer-funded, and nuclear energy might be making a comeback.
18. Colorado Democrats Fund Healthcare for Illegal Immigrants as Families Struggle
    Colorado Democrats just voted to allocate $13.9 million in taxpayer dollars for healthcare for illegal immigrants under SB25-93. Meanwhile, hardworking families struggle to afford healthcare, groceries, and rent. Should taxpayers be footing this bill?
19. The Mountain MInute: 4/11/2025
    Secret gun bill signing, parental rights backlash, and zoning showdowns—plus inflation drops and yes, clowns at the Capitol. Catch the wild week in Colorado and beyond.
20. Tina Peters Requests Presidential Pardon as New Evidence Bolsters Her Claims
    New evidence, foreign intel testimony, suppressed documents, and a key witness behind bars. Tina Peters is now asking President Trump for a pardon—and the case just shifted in a way Colorado officials didn’t expect.
21. The Mountain Minute: 10/2/2025
    Colorado’s at a crossroads: DPS eyes another bond, CU fined $50K over anti-Mormon chants, RTD wants $1.6B more, and USDA jobs could boost Fort Collins. Nationally: shutdown hits, military reset vowed, and a fight for the West.
22. The Mountain Minute: 7/18/2025
    Colorado’s on fire—literally and politically. From forced speech lawsuits to collapsing hydropower, and new proof the Trump-Russia story was manufactured.
23. Debate erupts as Eagle County high school students launch TPUSA chapters
    Eagle County students launched TPUSA clubs — and the Left lost its mind. Petitions, protests, and Facebook mobs couldn’t stop them. These teens are proving that courage isn’t canceled.
24. Denver Spends $3 Million Urging Residents to Eat Less Meat
    Denver is spending $3 million telling residents to “eat less meat” in the name of climate change—while Colorado ranchers fight to survive. Critics call it an attack on agriculture, not just beef.
25. The Mountain Minute: 5/21/2025
    Colorado cities are suing the governor, Christian camps are suing the state, and Denver faces massive budget cuts. Meanwhile, Trump pushes peace talks and pro-family savings plans.

What connected these posts wasn’t format or platform — it was substance. Stories involving election integrity, parental rights, school transparency, court procedure, and government accountability consistently outperformed abstract commentary.

Audio Growth: RMV’s Podcast Year

The Mountain Minute Podcast became a regular part of RMV’s work in 2025, with episodes downloaded more than 166,000 times after launching in March.

Spotify performance placed RMV among:

• The top 20% of video podcasts
• A Top 10 show for hundreds of listeners

• A 2025 Marathon Show (listeners stayed longer than 77% of other shows)
• A 2025 Instant Hit (debut season more popular than 82% of new shows)
• A 2025 Most Shared Show (more shares than 76% of other podcasts)

Episodes readers shared

The episodes below drew the most attention, for the same reason readers stayed with RMV’s reporting all year.

Each episode stayed grounded in reporting, records, and firsthand accounts — extending RMV’s written work into long-form conversation.

What 2025 Revealed About Readers

Looking across all of this — the articles, the social engagement, the podcast growth — a few conclusions are clear.

Readers rewarded receipts over rhetoric.

They stayed when reporting slowed down and showed its work.

They leaned in when policy stopped being abstract and reached families, classrooms, courtrooms, and livelihoods.

And they returned when stories were followed through — not abandoned after the first headline.

Independent journalism doesn’t sustain itself by accident. It continues because people decide it matters.

RMV readers made that choice throughout 2025.

That’s the standard Rocky Mountain Voice will keep working toward — close to the record, present when stories get uncomfortable, and finished all the way through.

Thanks for being part of it. And Happy New Year.