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Colorado’s Economy Loses Its Edge as Costs and Regulations Rise
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado’s Economy Loses Its Edge as Costs and Regulations Rise

By: Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Editor’s Note: Once among the nation’s fastest-growing economies, Colorado today confronts mounting challenges that threaten its momentum. This series reveals how a state once defined by prosperity is navigating economic cliffs and ridges. We explore the impact of increased regulations, tariffs, shifting tax policies, the high cost of living and widening urban–rural divides have on businesses, workers, and communities. The series also highlights the push to leverage Colorado’s outdoor economy — one of its most valuable assets — for renewed growth, while working to attract industries like quantum and aerospace while capitalizing on unique industries that call Colorado home. After taking office seven years ago, Gov. Jared Polis set an imm...
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Deadline Nears for Educators Seeking Refund of Union-Backed Political Spending
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Deadline Nears for Educators Seeking Refund of Union-Backed Political Spending

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER—An annual deadline is looming for Colorado teachers to request a refund of that portion of their union dues going to political purposes with which they might well disagree. Members of Colorado’s statewide teachers’ union are entitled to a $49 partial refund of their dues. The money otherwise goes toward supporting union-backed candidates and political causes. Many teachers are unaware of their right to the yearly refund, or the mid-December deadline to apply. Every Colorado teacher who joins their local union automatically joins the National Education Association (NEA) as well as the Colorado Education Association (CEA). According to the CEA website, the statewide union is then organized into approximately 200 ...
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JeffCo SWAT Leader Resigns After Responding Drunk to Evergreen School Shooting
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9News, Approved, Local

JeffCo SWAT Leader Resigns After Responding Drunk to Evergreen School Shooting

By Jeremy Jojola | 9NEWS Internal Affairs documents obtained by 9NEWS describe Sgt. Anthony Hamilton smelling of alcohol while responding to the Evergreen shooting in September. JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A SWAT team leader for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was drunk while responding to the Evergreen High School shooting in September and has resigned amid an internal affairs investigation. Sgt. Anthony Hamilton was set to be fired for violating the department's alcohol policy. According to internal affairs documents, Hamilton admitted in an interview that he drank “the better part of a 12 pack” of beer starting around 6:30 a.m. Sept. 10, the day of the shooting.  Scores of law enforcement officers began responding to the campus after 1...
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Trump Ends Biden Efficiency Mandates to Protect Auto Jobs and Vehicle Affordability
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Daily Wire, Approved, National

Trump Ends Biden Efficiency Mandates to Protect Auto Jobs and Vehicle Affordability

By Mary Margaret Olohan and Zach Jewell | The Daily Wire "This is a win for customers and common sense," said Ford CEO Jim Farley. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is resetting federal fuel standards that were used by President Joe Biden’s administration to impose severe regulations on American car manufacturers. The president unveiled the changes in the Oval Office, promising that the reset of the Biden-era fuel economy standards will save American families a combined $109 billion. The president said he will realign the standards with real world market conditions. “Combined with the insane electric vehicle mandate, Biden’s burdensome regulations helped cause the price of cars to soar more than 425%, and in one case, they went up 18%...
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Federal Judge Says Colorado Health Officials Not Liable in Gas Stove Label Fight
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Federal Judge Says Colorado Health Officials Not Liable in Gas Stove Label Fight

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A federal judge last week dismissed the constitutional claim against leaders of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment over a 2025 law requiring health disclosures on new gas-fueled stoves. In June, Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1161 into law, which requires retailers of gas stoves to affix a “yellow adhesive label” that reads “UNDERSTAND THE AIR QUALITY IMPLICATIONS OF HAVING AN INDOOR GAS STOVE.” The label must also include a URL or QR code to a webpage created by the health department that provides “credible, evidence-based information on the health impacts of gas-fueled stoves.” The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers filed a complaint asserting a single First Amendment vi...
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Small Businesses Lead Surprise Drop in U.S. Private Payrolls
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Small Businesses Lead Surprise Drop in U.S. Private Payrolls

By Reuters | The Denver Gazette WASHINGTON – U.S. private payrolls unexpectedly declined in November as small businesses shed jobs, but the weakness is probably not a true reflection of the labor market’s health, with recent government data showing layoffs remaining at low levels late last month. Economists also cautioned against reading too much into the ADP employment report published on Wednesday, arguing its monthly estimate has historically diverged from the government’s private payrolls count produced by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. “It is too loosely correlated with the official data to be troubling,” said Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “It would be unwise to lower forecasts for the official data, however, on...
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GOP Canvass Board Member Declines to Sign Arapahoe Election Results
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

GOP Canvass Board Member Declines to Sign Arapahoe Election Results

By Jacob Factor | KDVR Fox31 Results were still certified, and a GOP official had certified other county election procedures. DENVER (KDVR) — The election results in Arapahoe County were certified last week by the county’s canvass board, but not with apparent approval of the county’s Republican Party designee. Results from the Nov. 4 general election were certified across the state last week, after procedural steps including post-election audits and reviews of the audits and voter and ballot counts by each county’s canvass board. Even though election officials in Arapahoe County went through the same processes as others —and the Arapahoe County Republican Party Chair John Temple certified other stages in the election process — the Republican Party’s canvass board ...
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Trump Blasts Polis Over Continued Imprisonment of Tina Peters
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Washington Examiner, Approved, National

Trump Blasts Polis Over Continued Imprisonment of Tina Peters

By Washington Examiner Staff | Washington Examiner President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to scold Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) regarding the case of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2024 for charges of giving unauthorized individuals access to the county’s election systems.  Trump lambasted Polis as a “sleazebag” for denying the release of “an elderly woman.” The president said Peters was “unfairly convicted” and should not be in jail. “The SLEAZEBAG Governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, refuses to allow an elderly woman, Tina Peters, who was unfairly convicted of what the Democrats do, cheating on Elections, out of jail!” Trump posted. “She was convicted for tr...
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New PUC Rules Push State Toward Natural Gas Phase-Out and Rising Utility Bills
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The Independence Institute, Approved, State

New PUC Rules Push State Toward Natural Gas Phase-Out and Rising Utility Bills

By Jake Fogleman | The Independence Institute The regulatory noose around Colorado’s natural gas utilities just got a whole lot tighter, and captive ratepayers stand to bear the brunt of the economic pain. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Monday issued a formal decision updating the state’s emissions targets under its first-in-the-nation “clean heat plan” law. The decision established by rule that Colorado gas utilities must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent compared to 2015 levels by 2035, expanding upon the existing 22 percent by 2030 target set in statute. Furthermore, the commission opted to go beyond what the underlying statute required by flirting with a total phase-out of natural gas. Despite claiming it was not setting any fur...
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Trump Administration Presses Democrat States to Share SNAP Data or Face Withholding of Aid
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Trump Administration Presses Democrat States to Share SNAP Data or Face Withholding of Aid

By Darlene Superville and Geoff Mulvihill | The Denver Gazette WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that it will move to withhold SNAP food aid from recipients in most Democratic-controlled states starting next week unless those states provide information about those receiving the assistance. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the action is in the works because those states are refusing to provide data the department requested such as the names and immigration status of aid recipients. She said the cooperation is necessary in order to root out fraud in the program. Democratic states have sued to block the requirement. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia previously sued&...
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