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Report finds 63% of age 25-plus Coloradans have education beyond high school, leading the nation
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Report finds 63% of age 25-plus Coloradans have education beyond high school, leading the nation

By Jason Gonzales | Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado residents are still the most educated in the nation, but Massachusetts now shares the top spot, according to a report released last week. This year’s Stronger Nation Report found that 63% of Colorado residents aged 25 and older had an educational credential beyond a high school diploma in 2023, matching Massachusetts. That’s above the national average of 54.9% of residents who have earned college degrees or certificates or an industry certification. The figure is mostly unchanged from 2022, when about 62.9% of Colorado’s residents held a college credential. However, the percentage of Native American Colorado residents with college degrees or credentials has fallen, a troubling sign after years of steady increases. READ THE FULL ST...
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Mayor’s veto of Denver needle exchange bill stands after council declines override vote
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Mayor’s veto of Denver needle exchange bill stands after council declines override vote

By Deborah Grigsby  | The Denver Gazette Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s veto on a City Council resolution lifting limits on needle exchange locations looks like it will stay on the books. His veto letter was officially entered into the record during Monday’s regular city council meeting. Despite the opportunity to override the veto — which requires a nine-vote supermajority — the councilmembers remained silent and declined to vote. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Local egg producers seeing strong demand as prices in stores have risen 37% in last year
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Local egg producers seeing strong demand as prices in stores have risen 37% in last year

By Nate Belt | KDVR-TV Fox 31 News Egg prices have steadily been on the rise for the last couple of years, due to factors like the bird flu currently impacting farmers around the country. There are other options if you’re fed up with prices in the stores. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, the average egg price in the US went up by just shy of 37% in the last year. With prices not expected to go down any time soon, people may be looking for other options away from the grocery store. READ THE FULL STORY AT KDVR-TV FOX 31 NEWS
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Google, arguing it is not a monopoly, asks Ninth Circuit for app store antitrust reversal
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Approved, Courthouse News Service, National

Google, arguing it is not a monopoly, asks Ninth Circuit for app store antitrust reversal

By Michael Gennaro  | Courthouse News Google asked a federal appeals court Monday to throw out a federal judge’s ruling stemming from the 2023 antitrust trial where a jury found that Google’s Play Store and billing services on Android platforms constituted an illegal monopoly. The tech giant argues that it competes with Apple — and that the trial judge stopped it from hammering that point home. In October 2024, U.S. District Judge James Donato ordered Google to open up Google Play and carry third-party app stores, and allow those third-party developers to have access to Google Play’s catalog of apps, among other remedies, in order to increase competition on the Android platform. Epic Games sued Google in 2020 after Google removed Epic’s hit game Fortnite from the Google Play Store...
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Why lawmakers are afraid 24k Coloradans may disappear in the next budget year, and with them $77M
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Why lawmakers are afraid 24k Coloradans may disappear in the next budget year, and with them $77M

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun Nearly 24,000 Coloradans are set to disappear from the state’s population this year — at least as far as the state budget is concerned. It’s no mere illusion. The vanishing act will have real consequences for public services, to the tune of $77 million in required cuts, if lawmakers don’t take action to prevent it. The issue dates all the way back to when the legislature first implemented the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in 1993, the year after voters added it to the state constitution. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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How Durango’s school board kept a charter school out by prioritizing DEI over parents
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

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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Editorial: HB 1055 fixes a $3 million mistake and protects small business, taxpayers
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Editorial: HB 1055 fixes a $3 million mistake and protects small business, taxpayers

By Editorial Board | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As House Bill 25-1055, by Republican Rep. Max Brooks, approaches a committee hearing on Thursday, Feb. 6, stakeholders are emphasizing its significant implications for the state's business environment. The bill seeks to repeal the Democrat-led House Bill 24-1353, which mandates that firearm dealers obtain a state permit to operate. Critics argue that maintaining HB 1353 could impose substantial financial and regulatory burdens on Colorado small business owners. According to the Joint Budget Committee's fiscal analysis, HB 1353 requires an initial general fund expenditure of $618,973 in fiscal year 2024-25 to set up the program, with ongoing costs projected of nearly $3.1 million annually in subsequent years. Additionally, imple...
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Senate confirms Coloradan Chris Wright to lead Energy Department
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Approved, Fox21, State

Senate confirms Coloradan Chris Wright to lead Energy Department

By Rachel Frazin | KXRM-TV Fox 21 News, via The Hill The Senate on Monday confirmed Chris Wright, the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, to lead the Energy Department.  The vote was 59-38. Democrat Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (N.M.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) as well as independent Sen. Angus King (Maine) voted with Republicans to confirm him. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle indicated support for his nomination during his confirmation hearing, and he sailed out of committee on a 15-5 vote.  READ THE FULL STORY AT KXRM-TV FOX 21 NEWS
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The impact Colorado’s only Buc-ee’s has had on small Johnstown
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Approved, KKTV CBS 11, Local

The impact Colorado’s only Buc-ee’s has had on small Johnstown

By Lindsey Boetsch | KKTV-TV CBS 11 News The only Buc-ee’s in Colorado will be open for a year next month. Here in El Paso County, we’re waiting for the next steps for another potential store in Palmer Lake. “I think it’s put Johnstown on the map,” said Johnstown Mayor Michael P. Duncan. Mayor Duncan has been in his seat since April. He wasn’t around for the planning of the Buc-ee’s but his city is reaping the benefits of it being open. “We’re pulling in about $1 million a year. That goes back into the infrastructure. Our fire, our police, our water...,” Mayor Duncan said. READ THE FULL STORY AT KKTV-TV CBS 11 NEWS
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Two found deceased in storm drainage tunnel in Fort Collins
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Two found deceased in storm drainage tunnel in Fort Collins

By Jennifer McRae | CBS Colorado Fort Collins police told CBS News Colorado that two people were found deceased in a storm drainage tunnel early Monday morning. Officers were called to the location under College Avenue about 3:30 a.m. The person told police that there were two people unresponsive in a tent that was set up inside the tunnel. Law enforcement and emergency personnel believe they likely got into the tunnel by crawling under safety gates at the opening. Police said the two found deceased were previously contacted on several occasions by members of the Homeless Outreach and Proactive Engagement team "in an effort to direct them to various city resources." READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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