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Douglas County Commissioners Emphasize Local Control Without New Home Rule Election
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Uncategorized, Approved, Local, The Denver Gazette

Douglas County Commissioners Emphasize Local Control Without New Home Rule Election

By Noah Festenstein | The Denver Gazette The future of Douglas County chasing “home rule” status may not be in the hands of commissioners, but rather by residents who are considering placing the issue back on the ballot, according to one commissioner. Last March, Douglas County commissioners proposed to become a home rule county. The three Republican commissioners asserted that home rule status would allow the county to gain “local control” within a Democratic-controlled state. Commissioners said future efforts to gain local control are still a possibility, despite voters overwhelmingly rejecting the proposal in June. Different from municipal home rule charters, home rule counties are rare in Colorado. Out of 64 counties, only four have adopted home rule: Pitkin...
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Loveland City Council Votes To Reset Homelessness Policy
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Loveland City Council Votes To Reset Homelessness Policy

By Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado The city of Loveland is moving forward with two major changes to the way it is tackling homelessness in Northern Colorado. In a Loveland City Council meeting that lasted until nearly 2 a.m. Wednesday, the council finalized two votes to start making changes. "We have been a failure at (addressing homelessness). We need to do something different," said council member Kalina Middleton of ward three. The overall sentiment of everyone in attendance for the meeting was that Loveland needs to change the way it addresses topics involving the unhoused. No matter which side of the debate people fell on, everyone seemed to agree the current situation was not sustainable. "As Loveland continues to grow, the unhoused population for b...
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Old Divides Return as Colorado Lawmakers Brace for Contentious 2026 Session
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Old Divides Return as Colorado Lawmakers Brace for Contentious 2026 Session

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Grab your popcorn, it’s going to be an interesting 2026 legislative session in Colorado. There’s not much you can count on these days, but if you’ve been around the Capitol long enough, you’ve probably seen your fair share of disagreements, both friendly and unfriendly — and you can be sure you’ll see even more when the session is gavelled in on Jan. 14. Here are a few of the biggest battles already brewing amongst lawmakers ahead of the session. The urban-rural divide Nearly 80% of Colorado’s land is considered rural or frontier, but about 86% of the state’s population resides in urban areas, according to Census data. The rural minority has long felt excluded from major policy decisions, as many rural legislators ...
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Colorado to Enforce New Gun Purchase and Ammunition Restrictions in 2026
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KKTV 11, Approved, State

Colorado to Enforce New Gun Purchase and Ammunition Restrictions in 2026

By: Rachel Ramsey | KKTV 11 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Some of the new gun laws set to take effect in Colorado this summer have gotten mixed reactions. Those who support the new laws say they will improve public safety. Those against them say they infringe on Second Amendment rights. Senate Bill 25-003 has seen the most controversy. The law is set to take effect August 1, and will ban the purchase of certain semi-automatic firearms unless certain requirements are met. Those requirements include applying for a permit through your local sheriff’s office, then, if approved, taking gun courses. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT KKTV 11
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Behind AG Weiser’s taxpayer-funded lawsuits against President Trump: Big claims, bigger costs
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Behind AG Weiser’s taxpayer-funded lawsuits against President Trump: Big claims, bigger costs

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Is AG Weiser’s taxpayer-funded Trump Resistance (TM) campaign not as successful as he’d like you to think? ****EDIT as of 1/7/2025. I had some readers on FB mention the link didn’t work. Just in case I added a link that should work below the original Progressive Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has gobbled up lots of our money to fund his Trump Resistance (TM) campaign. Gotta make sure to show those bona fides to his progressive Democratic base. Makes one wonder what his pivot will look like if he wins the primary. Hell, I wonder if he’ll even bother. I remember thinking that surely Jena Griswold would lose to Pam Anderson last Secretary of State election, but Griswold’s handy win clearly ...
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Trump Administration Exposes Billions in Foreign Funding to US Universities
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Just The News, Approved, National

Trump Administration Exposes Billions in Foreign Funding to US Universities

By Steven Richards | Just the News Early in his second term, Trump directed the Education and Justice Departments to enforce federal laws surrounding the disclosure of foreign funding on U.S. campuses after what he viewed as lax enforcement during the Biden administration. With a new tool publicizing foreign funding to U.S. universities, the Trump administration has fulfilled an early promise to end secrecy around contributions from other governments and to ramp up public scrutiny of such contributions. The data show that the top ten contributors provided nearly $63 billion in foreign funding to higher education institutions. Several of these governments are close U.S. allies and partners, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.  Problematic cont...
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Colorado Residents Push Back After Xcel Power Shutoffs Disrupt Thousands
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Residents Push Back After Xcel Power Shutoffs Disrupt Thousands

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado More than 4,000 Coloradans have responded to a state survey regarding Xcel Energy's Public Safety Power Shutoffs last month during extreme wind events and another 160 have provided written feedback to the state's Public Utilities Commission. Most expressed dissatisfaction with Xcel's approach on Dec. 17 and Dec. 19, believing the utility overreacted, and many complained about what they perceive as Xcel's poor or confusing communication around the events. "It was the single most stressful event of my life," wrote one commenter on the commission's website, who headlined their post by saying, "there has to be a better way." Another commented that the PSPS events are "creating unreasonable and unnecessary hardship for resid...
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16 Victims Identified in Disturbing Colorado Hypnosis Sexual Abuse Investigation of Former Teacher
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

16 Victims Identified in Disturbing Colorado Hypnosis Sexual Abuse Investigation of Former Teacher

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado A man who says he is one of at least sixteen victims in an elaborate and disturbing criminal ring that was busted in Colorado is hoping sharing his story could inspire other potential victims to come forward. On Tuesday, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office announced they had arrested former Colorado teacher and 39-year-old suspect, Patricio Illanes on Monday night. Illanes is facing 50 charges of sexual exploitation of a child after more than a decade of working with children. North Carolina resident Diego Pantojas told CBS Colorado he was 16 in 2022 when he joined communities online about hypnosis. But Pantojas says he quickly found himself in an inappropriate conversation with a man in his 30s in Colorado that was allegedly Illa...
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Feds Join Investigation Into Massive Denver Apartment Fire
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Feds Join Investigation Into Massive Denver Apartment Fire

By: Kaylee Harter | Denver7 "[W]e understand the immense challenges this fire has created for residents and businesses," the ATF special agent in charge said. DENVER – Federal agents have been deployed to help investigate the massive fire that broke out at an under-construction apartment complex Friday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced Tuesday. The fire near S. Leetsdale Drive and S. Forest Street smoldered for several days and stretched an entire city block, prompting evacuations and street closures, and injuring one firefighter, according to the ATF release. More than 150 firefighters worked to control the blaze, Denver7 reported, and roughly 18 million gallons of water were used to put out the fire, according to Den...
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Colorado Lawmakers Brace for Wave of Primary Challenges Ahead of 2026 Elections
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Brace for Wave of Primary Challenges Ahead of 2026 Elections

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics As the 2026 election cycle begins, an unusually large number of Colorado lawmakers — many appointed through the vacancy process — are facing primary challenges that reflect deepening divisions within both major parties. But it isn’t only open seats that candidates are looking at: at least 14 current lawmakers, almost all in the House, are facing primary challenges from within their own parties. Six are lawmakers who began their legislative service through the vacancy process, including four who gained their seats in the past year.  On Monday, former Rep. Amy Parks, R-Loveland, announced she would challenge Rep. Ron Weinberg in House District 51. Parks was the partner of the late House Minority Leader Hugh McKean.&nb...
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