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Author: Jen Schumann

Colorado saw red flags in autism therapy billing and approved higher rates anyway
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado saw red flags in autism therapy billing and approved higher rates anyway

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Federal auditors documented convicted staff working with autistic children. Colorado had no system to catch it. Every week, parents of autistic children in Colorado dropped their kids off with behavior therapists they trusted. What they didn't know—what the state never required anyone to verify—was whether those therapists had passed a background check. Many hadn't. Not because anyone failed a background check. Because Colorado never required one. HHS Office of Inspector General audit highlights—February 2026. Source: https://oig.hhs.gov/documents/audit/11494/A-09-24-02004-highlights.pdf The findings from federal auditors came out in February. At least $77.8 million in improper Medicaid payments for autism therapy in 20...
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Trump re-endorses Hurd in CD3: Says Scheppelman will exit race
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Trump re-endorses Hurd in CD3: Says Scheppelman will exit race

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional reporting, including comments from Colorado Republican Party Secretary Russ Andrews and a statement from Hope Scheppelman confirming she has suspended her campaign. President Donald Trump on Friday morning reversed course in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, re-endorsing Rep. Jeff Hurd and announcing that former challenger Hope Scheppelman would step out of the race to join his administration—a move she later confirmed in a campaign statement. In a Truth Social post, Trump said Scheppelman and her husband Steven—both Navy veterans—will leave the campaign trail “to join my Administration, in a capacity to be determined,” calling them “wonderful and patriotic” supporters of the...
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Colorado law allows probation for child sex assault: A third attempt to require prison time
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado law allows probation for child sex assault: A third attempt to require prison time

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Correction: This story originally identified Sen. Marc Snyder by the wrong first name. His name is Marc, not Chris. We regret the error. Editor’s update: The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up SB26-111 today at 1:30 p.m. Coloradans can watch live here. Seventy percent of people convicted of sexually assaulting a child in Colorado walk out of court on probation. Not prison—probation. Current law allows judges to impose probation for some child sexual assault convictions, and in certain cases prison is not required unless there are repeat offenses. SB26-111 would require prison time for anyone convicted. The bill has failed twice. A third attempt this year Reps. Brandi Bradley and Regina English have b...
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The grassroots upset: How 3,320 volunteers pushed three child-focused measures onto Colorado’s ballot
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The grassroots upset: How 3,320 volunteers pushed three child-focused measures onto Colorado’s ballot

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Three citizen-led ballot initiatives—focused on youth medical procedures, girls’ sports and child trafficking penalties—are now officially headed to Colorado’s November 2026 ballot, a result supporters say wasn’t supposed to happen. That final step came this week, when Propositions 109 and 110 were certified, joining Proposition 108 after a campaign that gathered more than 500,000 signatures statewide. For Erin Lee, executive director of Protect Kids Colorado, the moment lands as something bigger than a successful petition drive—it’s the end of a campaign many didn’t think would get this far. The campaign they said couldn’t work Asked about the process, Lee called it “the hardest, most impossible thing” she’s ever taken on. She s...
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From bill to emergency order: The election fight moves beyond Congress
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Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

From bill to emergency order: The election fight moves beyond Congress

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Senate Republicans opened debate Tuesday on a bill they say will secure American elections. But inside that same fight, a second path is already taking shape—one that doesn’t run through Congress at all. While lawmakers argue over the SAVE America Act and whether it can survive a Senate filibuster, some election-integrity advocates are pushing something far more aggressive: a proposed emergency order that would allow a president to step in and change how federal elections are run. RMV obtained a copy of that proposal—and spoke with one of the men now advocating for it. What’s emerging is not just a policy disagreement. It’s a split in approach. Congress is trying to answer the question through legislation. Others are asking wh...
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Two visions of Colorado’s energy future collide in committee hearing
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Two visions of Colorado’s energy future collide in committee hearing

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Xcel shut off power Saturday afternoon in parts of Boulder and Jefferson counties—roughly 18,000 customers in all. The wind was up, fire danger was high, and outages weren’t limited to the shutoff areas—some hit in the foothills, others farther into the mountains, where crews were still working Sunday. House Bill 26-1246 had come up earlier in the week during a committee hearing. Rep. Ken DeGraaf pointed to those kinds of events as a warning. “Public safety power shutoffs… have become increasingly normalized,” he told lawmakers. What followed wasn’t just a debate over one bill. It was a clash between two different ways of thinking about how Colorado should power its future. At its core, the disagreement comes down to this: should...
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George Markert is running for U.S. Senate. He’s already been in the room.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

George Markert is running for U.S. Senate. He’s already been in the room.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Dinner one night back in 2018 was seafood and gator sausage, with family around the table. Before long the conversation landed where it usually does in the Markert family—service. George Markert was on official Marine Corps business at the time in Pensacola, Fla. Markert was leading a high-level investigation as a colonel. His uncle got word he was in Pensacola and insisted they get together before he left. The worn Constitution changed hands at the end of a family dinner in Pensacola. When Markert flipped it open, he saw a handwritten note. “The note read, ‘This was your grandfather’s, and he held it sacred,’” Markert said. “He did a tour in Washington, D.C. in the Navy back in the 1950s and used to take my dad and his three sibling...
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Colorado eye surgeon sets the record straight on EPA appointment: “I didn’t get my degree out of a Cracker Jack box”
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Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

Colorado eye surgeon sets the record straight on EPA appointment: “I didn’t get my degree out of a Cracker Jack box”

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The New York Times ran its verdict last week on Dr. Brian C. Joondeph’s EPA appointment. Just an eye doctor. Kyle Clark said the same thing. Joondeph is a Colorado retina surgeon and political commentator. Trump’s EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin tapped him for the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee—CASAC. The Times piece, published March 12, went after his qualifications: no air-pollution peer-reviewed research, not a climate scientist, wrong kind of doctor. Clark, a Denver television journalist, flagged the appointment on X. He wrote, “Trump administration appoints Dr. Brian Joondeph, eye doctor and longtime Colorado talk radio regular, to the EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee.” https://twitter.com/KyleClark...
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Federal civil rights office finds Jeffco schools violated Title IX, gives district 10 days to comply
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Federal civil rights office finds Jeffco schools violated Title IX, gives district 10 days to comply

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Girls in Jefferson County Public Schools have been sharing bathrooms, locker rooms, overnight accommodations and sports rosters with male students—and the federal government just said that has to stop. The feds ruled Friday that Jeffco violated Title IX. Colorado’s second-largest school district, serving 74,200 students, has 10 days to comply or face enforcement action—including potential loss of federal funding.  OCR received athletic rosters directly from Jeffco confirming that male students occupy 61 positions on girls' sports teams across the district. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the investigation found the district violated Title IX protections for female students. "Today's findings reveal sweeping ...
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Before he was a congressional candidate, Manny Rutinel was calling animal agriculture “horrific”
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Before he was a congressional candidate, Manny Rutinel was calling animal agriculture “horrific”

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Manny Rutinel spent the better part of six years calling animal agriculture a "horrific, exploitive industry." Rutinel entered the legislature through an appointment in 2023 when Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet resigned from the District 32 seat. Less than two years later, he was filing paperwork for Congress. He's the money leader in a Democratic primary that national strategists are watching closely. Federal Election Commission filings put him at $2.5 million raised—almost as much as Republican incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans. Cook Political Report has it as a toss-up. The seat flipped once already—it could flip again, and the House majority may well come down to it. Evans runs cattle on the side. Has for years. Back at the...
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