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Colorado Moves to Enforce Major Utility Emissions Cuts Despite Cost Concerns
DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Moves to Enforce Major Utility Emissions Cuts Despite Cost Concerns

By: Shannon Ogden | Denver7 The PUC will require utilities like Xcel Energy to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 41% by 2035. DENVER — Environmental groups are celebrating a win in Colorado after the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) agreed to tougher standards on greenhouse gas emissions from Colorado utilities like Xcel Energy. At a meeting Wednesday, commissioners decided to require utilities to reduce these pollutants by 41% by 2035. Sierra Club Colorado was one of the groups arguing for these higher reductions. "I think we should feel proud that we pushed them on this. I think we're really happy with the 41% because it keeps us moving," said Sarah Tresseder, energy organizer of Sierra Club Colorado.  In 2021, Colorado passed the first-in-the-nation "Clean Heat Law" r...
Polis Budget Plan Sparks Bipartisan Pushback Over Medicaid Costs and Pinnacol Gamble
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis Budget Plan Sparks Bipartisan Pushback Over Medicaid Costs and Pinnacol Gamble

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis’ proposed state budget for 2026-27 drew sharp criticism Wednesday from the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, as lawmakers from both parties criticized plans to slow Medicaid spending growth and to rely on a deal to privatize Pinnacol Assurance. This quasi-state agency is the state’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance. Polis has already cut $79 million in the 2025-26 budget, primarily for rates paid to Medicaid providers in dental, behavioral health and services to children with disabilities. The governor’s 2026-27 budget proposes an additional $197.7 million in general fund dollars, or about 5.6%, in the Medicaid program. But the projected growth is at 11.9%, or $631.4 million. He has also brought in...
Douglas County Middle School Teacher Arrested After Alleged Sexual Assualt
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Douglas County Middle School Teacher Arrested After Alleged Sexual Assualt

By: Brooke Williams | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A teacher at Ranch View Middle School in Highlands Ranch was arrested on suspicion of multiple charges, including sexual assault on a child, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday. Detectives with the agency’s Special Victims Unit arrested Teresa Whalin, 28, of Centennial, on Nov. 10 on the following charges: Sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, pattern of abuse Internet exploitation of a child Stalking Whalin was the gym teacher and was placed on administrative leave. The sheriff’s office said she has been employed by the Douglas County School District since July 2021. Affidavit: Relationship went on for over a year According to the arrest affidavit obtained by FOX31 on Wednesday,...
Climate Case From Colorado Could Backdoor Carbon Taxes and Cripple U.S. Energy
Fox News, Approved, National

Climate Case From Colorado Could Backdoor Carbon Taxes and Cripple U.S. Energy

By Emma Colton | Fox News Conservative lawmakers warn an energy case originating in Colorado could bankrupt oil industry. A massive climate lawsuit that could land before the Supreme Court is an attempt at a back-door "carbon tax," a climate attorney previously involved in the case said during a recent legal forum.  "Woke lawfare is finally being exposed for what it really is: a radical attempt to impose Progressive Lifestyle Choices on the American people via the courtroom," O.H. Skinner, executive director of Alliance For Consumers, a nonprofit focused on preserving consumer protection efforts, told Fox News Digital. "Whether it's dark money left-wing nonprofits lying about their efforts to indoctrinate judges or climate lawyers telling the truth about their ...
Colorado Safe2Tell Reports Hit Record High as Student Concerns Surge
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado Safe2Tell Reports Hit Record High as Student Concerns Surge

By Jacob Factor | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado students made a record number of reports last school year to Safe2Tell, which the Colorado Attorney General’s Office said revealed “progress and pain” as students trust the program more but continue to face challenges. The 2024-2025 school year saw students make 31,177 reports to Safe2Tell, an 11% increase from the previous year and the highest number of reports since the organization launched in 2004. “This report tells two stories at once,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a press release. “It shows incredible courage and compassion. Students are stepping up to protect one another in record numbers. But it’s also a reminder that our kids are not okay. These reports reflect real distress, and our collective respo...
Suspect Arrested After Alleged Threat Forces Closure Of Two Colorado Schools
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Suspect Arrested After Alleged Threat Forces Closure Of Two Colorado Schools

By Jacob Factor | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — The Costilla County Sheriff’s Office said a suspect is in custody for allegedly making a threat that closed two school districts in the county, one of which has closed for the whole week. The Sierra Grande School District in Blanca and the Centennial School District in San Luis Monday night both reported a “potential threat” that closed their schools Tuesday. Sierra Grande has about 300 students, and Centennial has about 180 students, according to the Colorado Department of Education, and Costilla County in southern Colorado along the New Mexico border has about 3,500 residents. Costilla County Sheriff Danny Sanchez on Wednesday told FOX31 that the threat came from a man, later identified as suspect David Lee Land...
Trump Team Celebrates End of Schumer Shutdown With Viral Tweet
TownHall.com, Approved, National

Trump Team Celebrates End of Schumer Shutdown With Viral Tweet

By Matt Vespa | Townhall The longest government shutdown is over, and Trump won. He won. And credit to the Republicans. If compromising on protections for federal workers was the price to stop $1.5 trillion from going to illegal alien health care benefits and funding NPR, that’s not the worst outcome. Still, Democrats got nothing. They basically signed onto the exact same deal Republicans pitched in October.  The president signed the bill, which passed the House 222-209 after sailing through the Senate once eight Democrats opted to end this circus and joined Republicans in reopening the government. At the signing, Trump reminded the nation of the damage Democrats did to the country with this shambolic ploy. https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1988809228732035381?s=20 h...
Insurers Made Billions Off Obamacare’s Secret Taxpayer Surplus
Just The News, Approved, National

Insurers Made Billions Off Obamacare’s Secret Taxpayer Surplus

By Steven Richards | Just the News Subsidies were greatly expanded by the Biden administration during the COVID-19 pandemic as an emergency measure, but Democrats have fought to keep them permanent. Those subsidies went mostly to Democratic donors. The 42-day federal shutdown forced by Democrats thrust the economics of Obamacare into the limelight, and exposed an uncomfortable truth: An insurance industry whose executives are increasingly liberal donors has seen its earnings soar with the injection of taxpayer-funded subsidies that propped up Barack Obama's signature health program from collapse. The nation’s largest health insurance companies have seen good business since Obamacare was first passed in 2010 and fully implemented in 2014. This has come in no small part because of...
Charter Renewals, Transgender Athlete Rules Dominate Douglas County Board Debate
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Charter Renewals, Transgender Athlete Rules Dominate Douglas County Board Debate

By: Olivia Young | CBS Colorado Updated on: November 11, 2025 / 10:24 PM MST / CBS Colorado As of 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, the Douglas County School Board had not yet voted on a controversial resolution regarding charter schools in the Colorado county. Douglas County residents packed the final school board meeting under the current board. Last week, voters chose a progressive slate of school board candidates who ran on a campaign of data over politics, teacher retention and equal opportunities for students, flipping the board. Clark Callahan, Kyrzia Parker, Tony Ryan and Kelly Denzler are expected to be sworn in in early December, joining like-minded current members Brad Geiger, Susan Meek and Valerie Thompson. The outgoing board members are Kim Moore, Becky Meyers,...
Seven States Fail to Agree on Colorado River Plan Before Key Deadline
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Seven States Fail to Agree on Colorado River Plan Before Key Deadline

By: Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado The future of the Colorado River, and its use by seven states that rely on it, is still up in the air after negotiators failed to meet a deadline set by the federal government. The Upper Basin and Lower Basin states were asked to have a plan set for the future of the river by Tuesday night, as the current plans are set to expire by the end of 2026. The river is heavily utilized by the Lower Basin states, which make up Arizona, California and Nevada. Otherwise largely deserts, the Colorado River allows for both communities and agriculture to thrive in those states. The Upper Basin, consisting of Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, comparatively rely less heavily on the Colorado River even as populations continue to rise in those states. "We made an ag...