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Author: Jen Schumann

How Durango’s school board kept a charter school out by prioritizing DEI over parents
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How Durango’s school board kept a charter school out by prioritizing DEI over parents

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Ascent Classical Academy seemed to have the community support, the resources and the experience to launch another successful charter school in Colorado. Parents in Durango seemed to want the option. More than 600 families signed letters of intent, but the Durango School Board said no in 2022. This wasn’t a decision based on academic concerns, some say. The school board, backed by a mobilized teachers’ union, rejected Ascent on ideological grounds, blocking an alternative educational model that didn’t align with its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) priorities. The Durango school board rejected Ascent twice, despite the Colorado State Board of Education’s original ruling in the charter school’s favor. The official r...
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Moms for Liberty leader targeted after El Paso Democratic Party vice chair’s call to ‘choose violence’
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Moms for Liberty leader targeted after El Paso Democratic Party vice chair’s call to ‘choose violence’

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Kristy Davis woke up to an email that made her stomach drop. "Where you live, worthless c$#!? I have a sharp blade to stick in your worthless neck." Less than 24 hours earlier, El Paso County Democratic Party First Vice Chair Rob Rogers had posted online: "Being nice is overrated. Just find a good lawyer and choose violence." Davis, the El Paso County chapter president for Moms for Liberty (M4L), doesn’t believe it was a coincidence. "While I cannot definitely tie the death threat to the vice chair, the timing is just really suspect," Davis said. The Colorado Springs Police Department provided Davis with a case number. But beyond that, no action has been taken. "Law enforcement provided me with a case ...
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Durango school board doubles down on DEI and keeps their LGBTQ+ and BLM flags raised
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Durango school board doubles down on DEI and keeps their LGBTQ+ and BLM flags raised

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice "Flags do not harm kids. Hateful words and hateful people harm children." This was the message delivered by Terry Kopack, a local parent, during the Jan. 28 Durango 9-R School Board meeting, where school board members voted unanimously to approve two resolutions supporting LGBTQIA2S+ and IBPOC (Indigenous, Black, and People of Color) students, staff and community members. A public comment session preceded the board’s vote, with all speakers voicing support for the proposed resolutions. The board limited public comments to 10 speakers, before moving into discussion and voting on the resolutions. Among those who spoke, one mother took direct aim at the Colorado GOP.  “I want the Colorado Republican Party to open their...
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Stories of struggle, hardship fuel Rep. Ryan Gonzalez’s push for practical state solutions
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Stories of struggle, hardship fuel Rep. Ryan Gonzalez’s push for practical state solutions

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice What makes a leader relatable? For newly-elected Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, R-Greeley, representing the 50th District in Weld County, it’s growing up in a household where sacrifices weren’t optional, but survival. Gonzalez knows the struggles of everyday Coloradans. As the son of a single mother and a domestic violence survivor, he has lived through them. “When I was 12, my sister ran away. She was gone for three weeks. And I was out putting up missing signs everywhere,” Gonzalez said. “My mom couldn’t eat or sleep. A mother’s worry is, is my daughter safe? Will I find her in a ditch somewhere? The whole time, my dad knew where she was and was covering it up.” For Gonzalez, these moments reflected his mother’s enduring streng...
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Longmire resigns Douglas Co. planning post in protest of treatment Commissioner Thomas received
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Longmire resigns Douglas Co. planning post in protest of treatment Commissioner Thomas received

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Editor's note: This is a developing story and may be updated. Jay Longmire quit the Douglas County Planning Commission this week, protesting what he called years of alleged "bullying, antagonization, abuse, and slander" of Commissioner Lora Thomas by fellow commissioners George Teal and Abe Laydon. "Effective immediately, upon the conclusion of this planning meeting, I’m submitting my resignation as a commissioner on the Douglas County Planning Commission. I find that I must stand on principle. I’m resigning in protest to the way former Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas has been treated by Commissioners George Teal and Abe Laydon over the past several years," Longmire said. He accused Teal and Laydon of stripping...
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Rep. Soper joining sex-assault victims to urge reform in addressing 400-day rape kit processing delays
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Rep. Soper joining sex-assault victims to urge reform in addressing 400-day rape kit processing delays

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In Colorado, when someone is raped, it may take more than a year before a district attorney can assess the evidence and open an investigation. The problem is because of long delays in processing rape kits, which takes more than 400 days now, exceeding the state’s 90-day goal.  To put the rape kit backlog issue into perspective, investigations cannot begin without the results of the forensic analysis, making the overall delay even more damaging. "The longer we're delaying the ability for the criminal justice system to even begin — not just to complete a trial, but for law enforcement and prosecutors to start an investigation — justice is completely stalled," said Republican Rep. Matt Soper, who represents District 54 in th...
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‘Top shelf’ lawmaker Rep. Dan Woog finds inspiration at capitol from his collegiate hockey past
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‘Top shelf’ lawmaker Rep. Dan Woog finds inspiration at capitol from his collegiate hockey past

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Dan Woog doesn’t hesitate when asked which hit was harder — one on the ice as a hockey player or one in politics as an elected official. “Hockey taught me resilience,” said Woog, a former collegiate athlete from Minnesota and the newly-elected House District 19 state representative. “As an athlete, you never quit. You practice, work hard and learn to work with people you might not always agree with.” These lessons prepared him for the highs and lows of his political journey, including his 2022 re-election loss. Hockey, Woog explained, also instilled a drive to persevere through setbacks: “I just believe in the will,” he said. “If we have the will and never give up, great things can happen.”  That drive brought ...
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Cody Davis, the new Mesa Co. Commission chair, prioritizes listening, engaging with community
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Cody Davis, the new Mesa Co. Commission chair, prioritizes listening, engaging with community

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice As Cody Davis received the gavel as the new chair of the Mesa County board of commissioners, he reflected on its playful history. Like when Bobbie Daniel became chair, Davis helped bedazzle it to add a glittery flair in honor of her leadership.  Now that the gavel has been passed to him, Davis joked about expecting “something like Thor’s Hammer” but admitted the simple wooden gavel feels fitting for his no-nonsense approach. “I’m not a very glittery, in-your-face personality," he said. "If I were to upgrade it, maybe I’d add a little plane or something aviation-related." In December, Davis accomplished a little-known feat — he earned his pilot's license. Flying has been a lifelong aspiration inspired by his father, who...
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Coloradans from the plains to the Western Slope celebrated President Trump’s inauguration in D.C.
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Coloradans from the plains to the Western Slope celebrated President Trump’s inauguration in D.C.

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A sharp winter chill permeating the Capital City failed to deter Coloradans from gathering Monday in Washington, D.C., to witness history in the making. For just the second time, and the first time in more than a century, a president serving non-consecutive terms was to be inaugurated. The inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th president was no ordinary affair — it came with its share of surprises, shifting plans and an atmosphere crackling with unpredictability.  Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District on the Western Slope found a unique gathering spot during the inauguration, as U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd’s legislative offices opened their doors to welcome approximately 50 Coloradans. The space became a hub for an impr...
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Rep. Dusty Johnson aims to tackle rural issues through her mantra: ‘cows, cops and coffee’
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Rep. Dusty Johnson aims to tackle rural issues through her mantra: ‘cows, cops and coffee’

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice State Rep. Dusty Johnson, who represents seven mostly sparsely populated counties on the Northeastern Plains of Colorado in House District 63, entered the 75th General Assembly ready to champion rural communities, agriculture and water rights. Representing the state's leading agricultural area, she understands constituents’ challenges firsthand and brings practical insights to the table. House District 63 spans Phillips, Sedgwick and Yuma counties at the eastern edge of the state, across Logan and Washington counties, to Morgan and into a rural portion of Weld County, making it the second-largest landmass district in the state. As Johnson puts it, “My district is the top ag-producing house district in the state.” Th...
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