Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Author: Jen Schumann

Colorado Senate Republicans elect leadership team focused on families, farms and affordability
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories

Colorado Senate Republicans elect leadership team focused on families, farms and affordability

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice As the Colorado State Senate prepares to welcome new leadership, the upper chamber’s storied traditions—from appointing its first chaplain in 1885 to its streamlined legislative process—set the stage for a fresh chapter in state governance. The Colorado Senate GOP elected new leadership this week, and two lawmakers are stepping into new roles with the weight of the session—and its unfinished business—clearly in view. The shift puts rural concerns and working family issues squarely in focus ahead of the 2026 session. Sen. Cleave Simpson (Alamosa) was named Minority Leader, taking over for Paul Lundeen. Sen. Lisa Frizell (Castle Rock) was elected Assistant Minority Leader.  “I’m honored by the trust my colleagues have placed in me to le...
Read More
From real estate to crypto to Colorado: Eric Trump to speak at RMV Mountain Majesty Gala
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From real estate to crypto to Colorado: Eric Trump to speak at RMV Mountain Majesty Gala

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice They didn’t want this event to happen. Activists have spent weeks pressuring the venue, trying to intimidate organizers into pulling the plug. But the Rocky Mountain Voice’s first Mountain Majesty Gala is moving forward – and Eric Trump is headlining it. His June 21 appearance comes as conservatives in Colorado work to turn energy into strategy – and frustration into action. While his last name still dominates headlines, Trump arrives not just as a surrogate – but as a strategist, builder and global voice for strength, sovereignty and innovation. With protest threats in the background, and momentum from the base up front, the Gala is already doing what it set out to do: make waves. Trump spent summers in the Czech countryside with his ...
Read More
Released and reloaded: Montrose bond records show cracks feeding Colorado’s criminal underworld
No Comments
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Released and reloaded: Montrose bond records show cracks feeding Colorado’s criminal underworld

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When a Montrose County woman was released on a $0 personal recognizance bond after skipping court in late 2023, it wasn’t her first time facing charges. It wouldn’t be her last either. Within nine months, she was arrested again – this time for second degree assault, harassment and criminal attempt. Her story is not an outlier. It is a warning. “There’s a revolving door with criminals or serious crime,” said Montrose County Sheriff Gene Lillard in a recent interview with RMV. “Last month we picked up one person five times – they were released on PR bond. There’s no consequences.” To illustrate how Colorado laws are contributing to rising crime and lawlessness, Sheriff Lillard prepared and shared a document showing just one small snapshot in ti...
Read More
False claims, real consequences: Judge rejects activist’s First Amendment defense
No Comments
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

False claims, real consequences: Judge rejects activist’s First Amendment defense

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice El Paso County judge rejects motion to dismiss defamation suit against Bernadette Guthrie, ruling that calling a school board member a “child predator” is not protected by the First Amendment. For more than a year, Derrick Wilburn – father, community leader and now an elected school board member – was publicly branded a “child predator” by a vocal district parent. The accusations, repeated at school board meetings, online and even in state legislative testimony, painted him as a man who preyed on children.  Wilburn filed a defamation lawsuit in December 2024, seeking accountability. And on April 29, a Colorado judge drew a legal line.  El Paso County District Court Judge Gregory Werner denied defendant Bernadette Guthrie’s motion...
Read More
A crisis of cradle and classroom: How Colorado’s baby bust is closing schools
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

A crisis of cradle and classroom: How Colorado’s baby bust is closing schools

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s classrooms are getting quieter – not because kids are learning, but because there are fewer of them. Across the state, dropping birth rates and shrinking enrollment are forcing schools to close, merge – or sit half-empty. And the trend isn’t slowing down. In May, the Common Sense Institute released a report warning that Colorado’s birth rate has been declining since 2005 and has fallen faster than the national average since 2011. The report projects the state will lose more than 15,000 children under age 18 by 2030 – roughly the equivalent of the entire Thompson R2-J school district. Denver Public Schools is already deep into closures. According to CSI’s analysis, DPS has approved the closure of seven schools and partial restructur...
Read More
“Write your own rules?” Douglas County voters to decide if it’s time for Home Rule
No Comments
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

“Write your own rules?” Douglas County voters to decide if it’s time for Home Rule

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Supporters call it a chance to protect local values and reclaim decision-making power. Opponents warn the benefits are overstated – and the risks misunderstood. On June 24, Douglas County voters will weigh in on whether to create a Home Rule Charter Commission – and decide who should serve on it. The commission would be made up of 21 members, including six from each commissioner district and three at-large. If the measure passes, the elected commission will draft a charter that could reshape county governance. Ballots were mailed starting June 2. Drop boxes and in-person voting will remain open through 7 p.m. on Election Day. Before voters decide, it’s worth understanding what’s at stake: Home Rule would give Douglas County the chance t...
Read More
Message still matters: How Caliber Contact’s Pollie-winning campaign helped defeat Colorado’s Prop 127
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Message still matters: How Caliber Contact’s Pollie-winning campaign helped defeat Colorado’s Prop 127

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When Colorado voters rejected Proposition 127 in 2024, they didn’t just weigh in on mountain lions and bobcats – they delivered a decisive verdict on who should shape wildlife policy. In the state’s first failed wildlife ballot measure since 1992, 54.7% voted no.  Behind that result was an award-winning campaign by Caliber Contact, a Republican firm that reframed the issue through a values-driven lens by tapping into safety concerns, protective instincts and the voice of everyday Coloradans – over celebrity advocates.  Caliber Contact’s work is once again making headlines after the firm received two Pollie Awards this month for this very campaign – reminding the political world how strategic messaging helped sway one of Colorado’s most h...
Read More
Two CVRs, one pattern: Arapahoe County rewrote its election record, critics say–and no one’s accountable
No Comments
Approved, Local, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Two CVRs, one pattern: Arapahoe County rewrote its election record, critics say–and no one’s accountable

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Arapahoe County quietly replaced its 2020 general election cast vote record (CVR) in early 2025 – years after the election was certified. The change came without public notice, audit, or oversight. The reason? A Yale professor raised concerns about a strange pattern in the data. That pattern, according to a growing number of analysts and lawmakers, was more than just strange. It was statistically impossible. “This is like flipping a coin 3,500 times and getting heads every time,” said Dr. Walter Daugherity, a Harvard-trained computer scientist who presented forensic findings at a press conference held Tuesday on the west steps of the Colorado Capitol. RMV covered the lead-up to the event in a story titled Analyst to reveal altered Arapahoe 20...
Read More
“Aptitude test for your rights?” Mesa County pushes back on SB3 in letter to the DOJ
No Comments
Approved, Local, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

“Aptitude test for your rights?” Mesa County pushes back on SB3 in letter to the DOJ

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Would you need a perfect GPA to speak your mind or worship freely? Mesa County officials say Colorado’s new gun law is treating the Second Amendment that way – and they’ve asked the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene. In a three-page letter sent this month, the Mesa County Board of Commissioners urged federal authorities to investigate Senate Bill 25-003, calling it a “grotesque misuse of government power” that effectively imposes a discriminatory test on anyone wishing to lawfully own or carry a firearm. The law, which takes effect in August 2026, requires residents to complete state-approved firearms training, score 90% on a written exam and obtain conditional approval from their sheriff’s office every five years in order to receive or...
Read More
Analyst to reveal altered Arapahoe 2020 CVR at Tuesday Capitol press conference
No Comments
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Analyst to reveal altered Arapahoe 2020 CVR at Tuesday Capitol press conference

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A nationally recognized computer scientist will present what he says is direct evidence of vote data manipulation in Arapahoe County's 2020 election – and altered ballot records in a newly released 2025 file – at a May 27 press conference at the Colorado State Capitol. Dr. Walter Daugherity, a Harvard-trained expert in computer science and election auditing, is set to speak at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday on the west steps of the Capitol. According to a press release circulated Wednesday, Daugherity will walk the public through four exhibits that show what he describes as "a manipulated cast vote record" and evidence that votes were changed at the ballot level. The core claim: Two cast vote records, one election Cast vote records (CVRs) are...
Read More